Best Invoicing App Italy 2026: Deep Dive Comparison (Fatture in Cloud, Fatture24, Aruba, FatturaPA, SdI, IVA)

Italy was the first EU country to mandate B2B electronic invoicing via a single state-run clearance system (the Sistema di Interscambio, SdI), and since 2019 every partita IVA must send and receive invoices through it. The 2025-2026 update closed the last loophole: forfettario taxpayers below EUR 25,000 are now also in scope, meaning literally every partita IVA in Italy is bound to FatturaPA via SdI.

This guide compares the six dominant invoicing apps for Italian forfettario freelancers, ordinario regime professionals, ditta individuale, and SRL businesses, scoring them against FatturaPA 1.2.2, SdI flow, OSS for cross-border B2C, esterometro (the cross-border invoice register), conservazione sostitutiva (digital archiving), and PSD2 reconciliation with the major Italian banks.

TL;DR

• Winner: Fatture in Cloud Premium at roughly EUR 19 per month. Best Italian forfettario UX, FatturaPA 1.2.2 native, SdI sending and receiving via TeamSystem's accredited intermediary, OSS workflow, conservazione sostitutiva 10 years included, PSD2 with all major Italian banks (Intesa, UniCredit, BPER, Banco BPM, MPS, Crédit Agricole Italia, Banca Sella, Fineco, BNL, Mediolanum).
• Runner-up: Aruba Fatturazione Elettronica at roughly EUR 25/year (yes, year). Cheapest credible option, FatturaPA and SdI complete, weaker UX but unbeatable price.
• Best for SRL with employees: TeamSystem Studio or Zucchetti at EUR 30+/month. Full Italian accounting suite.
• Best free: Fatture24 Free for 1 invoice/month, or Fatture in Cloud 30-day trial.
• Compliance status:
  • FatturaPA via SdI is mandatory for all B2B and B2G since 2019.
  • Forfettario taxpayers included from 2024 if turnover above EUR 25,000, and from 2024-01-01 all forfettario regardless of turnover (per the recent extension).
  • Esterometro replaced by direct FatturaPA cross-border flagging since 2022.
  • Conservazione sostitutiva: digital archiving mandatory for 10 years per CAD (Codice dell'Amministrazione Digitale).
• Monthly cost band for 20-invoice partita IVA: EUR 2-20.

The Italian E-Invoicing Landscape: SdI, FatturaPA, Conservazione, Esterometro

Five terms to know:

• FatturaPA is the Italian XML invoice format (current version 1.2.2). Mandatory for all B2B, B2G, and (since 2024) all forfettario invoicing. Maintained by Agenzia delle Entrate.
• SdI (Sistema di Interscambio) is the centralized state-run clearance system through which every Italian invoice must transit. Run by Sogei for the Agenzia delle Entrate. The buyer's invoice is delivered by SdI to the buyer's PEC (certified email), portal area, or accredited channel.
• Codice destinatario is the 7-character SdI routing code for the buyer's accredited channel. Without it (or a fallback PEC), invoices route to "0000000" and the buyer collects from the SdI portal manually.
• Conservazione sostitutiva is the 10-year digital archival obligation per CAD; software must guarantee unalterability, time-stamping, and digital signature.
• Esterometro was the separate cross-border invoice register; eliminated in 2022, replaced by issuing a FatturaPA with the appropriate cross-border tag (XML "FormatoTrasmissione" FPR12, customer code XXXXXXX for non-EU).

For 2026, if you are a partita IVA in Italy, you must (a) use SdI-capable software, (b) include conservazione sostitutiva (most apps bundle this), (c) handle forfettario "regime forfettario" zero-VAT correctly, (d) report cross-border via FatturaPA flags, not the old esterometro.

The Six Apps: Comparison Table

Prices are list prices for new customers as of Q2 2026, annual billing, excluding 22 percent IVA.

Top Pick: Fatture in Cloud Premium

Fatture in Cloud is the Italian SaaS standard, owned by TeamSystem since 2017 but still operated under its independent brand. The 2025-2026 release made it the right answer for almost any partita IVA below SRL scale:

Feature walkthrough:

• FatturaPA 1.2.2 generation per invoice, with automatic codice destinatario lookup against the customer record. If the buyer is forfettario or private consumer with no codice, the app applies the right fallback (0000000 plus PEC routing).
• SdI sending via TeamSystem's accredited intermediary: the invoice goes through their channel, gets the SdI delivery receipt (ricevuta di consegna) or notification of non-delivery (mancata consegna), and the status is tracked in the app.
• Conservazione sostitutiva for 10 years is included: every accepted invoice is digitally signed, time-stamped, and archived with daily snapshots, in line with the CAD requirements.
• OSS workflow: cross-border B2C above the EUR 10,000 threshold gets destination VAT applied and the quarterly OSS report is generated for the dedicated portal at agenziaentrate.gov.it.
• Cross-border B2B: FatturaPA with FormatoTrasmissione FPR12 and the appropriate codice destinatario "XXXXXXX" for non-EU buyers, with VIES verification for EU buyers.
• PSD2 bank reconciliation covers Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, BPER Banca, Banco BPM, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Crédit Agricole Italia, Banca Sella, Fineco, BNL (BNP Paribas), Banca Mediolanum, plus Wise Business, Revolut Business, N26 Business, Qonto IT.
• Mobile receipt OCR with Italian-specific extraction (scontrino fiscale, ricevuta, IVA breakdown).

Pricing tiers (2026):

• Fatture in Cloud Forfettari: EUR 4/month, simplified for forfettario regime.
• Fatture in Cloud Standard: EUR 12/month, full features for ordinario.
• Fatture in Cloud Premium: EUR 19/month, adds multi-user, OSS, advanced reports.
• Fatture in Cloud Premium Plus: EUR 30/month, adds inventory and project tracking.

Free trial: 30 days, no credit card required.

Runner-up: Aruba Fatturazione Elettronica

Aruba is the Italian price-killer. EUR 25 per year (yes, per year) gets you full FatturaPA generation, SdI sending via their accredited channel, and 10-year conservazione sostitutiva. The interface is utilitarian, the mobile experience is basic, and bank reconciliation is limited, but for a forfettario freelancer sending 5-15 invoices a month, the math is brutal: EUR 25/year against Fatture in Cloud Forfettari's EUR 48/year. Aruba wins.

Choose Aruba over Fatture in Cloud if:

• You are forfettario with low invoice volume and high price sensitivity.
• You do not need PSD2 reconciliation or OSS workflow (most pure-domestic forfettario do not).
• You can tolerate a clunky UI.

When Fatture24 Wins

Fatture24 has a permanent free tier (1 invoice/month) that is useful for hobby partita IVA or test accounts. The Pro tier at EUR 12/month sits between Aruba's price-killer and Fatture in Cloud's premium experience. It is a solid middle-ground if you want a reasonable Italian SaaS without paying Fatture in Cloud rates.

VAT-Specific Features You Cannot Skip

Italian solo entrepreneurs in 2026 deal with five IVA scenarios. Your app must handle all five:

1. Standard 22 percent / reduced 10 percent / reduced 5 percent / super-reduced 4 percent / zero rate. Every app does this.
2. Regime forfettario. Up to EUR 85,000/year turnover (current threshold), you do not charge IVA. Invoice must carry the note "Operazione non soggetta a IVA ai sensi dell'art. 1, commi 54-89, della Legge 190/2014" and the natura code "N2.2" in the XML. Since 2024-01-01, all forfettario must issue FatturaPA via SdI regardless of turnover. All Italian apps handle this with a profile toggle.
3. OSS one-stop-shop B2C cross-border to EU consumers. Above EUR 10,000/year combined cross-border B2C, destination VAT applies and the quarterly OSS report (via Agenzia delle Entrate) is required. Fatture in Cloud, Fatture24, TeamSystem, Danea: yes. Aruba: limited. Zoho: manual.
4. Reverse-charge B2B intra-EU (inversione contabile). Zero-IVA FatturaPA to a verified EU B2B customer with natura code "N6.x" and the note "Inversione contabile - Art. 196 Direttiva 2006/112/CE." VIES verification automatic in Fatture in Cloud and TeamSystem.
5. Split payment for public buyers. When invoicing certain Pubblica Amministrazione buyers, you apply split payment (the buyer pays you the net and pays IVA directly to the Erario). FatturaPA must carry the EsigibilitaIVA="S" flag. All Italian-built apps handle this on the customer record.

Compliance Gotchas Auditors Actually Find

• PDF email instead of FatturaPA via SdI. Since 2019, sending a PDF to an Italian B2B customer is not a valid invoice. The Agenzia delle Entrate considers it omitted invoicing. Penalty per invoice: 90-180 percent of the IVA amount, minimum EUR 500 per invoice. This is the single biggest compliance trap in Italy.
• Forfettario sending PDF after 2024-01-01. Same penalty. Forfettario was the last carve-out, and it closed in 2024. Every forfettario must be on an SdI-capable app.
• Late SdI submission past 12 days. FatturaPA must be transmitted to SdI within 12 days of the taxable event for immediate invoices. Late transmission triggers per-invoice penalties (EUR 250-2,000 depending on amount). Fatture in Cloud and Aruba auto-queue and submit; manual workflows are dangerous.
• Missing codice destinatario or PEC. If both are missing, the invoice routes to the SdI portal and the buyer must check manually. Some buyers will reject (rifiuto) the invoice for missing codice; you must reissue with the correct one within 5 days.
• Esterometro confusion. Esterometro was eliminated in 2022. If your old app still asks for "esterometro export," it is outdated. All cross-border invoices now flow through FatturaPA with the appropriate FormatoTrasmissione and codice destinatario fields.
• Conservazione sostitutiva gap. You must archive every accepted invoice for 10 years per CAD. Most apps include this; verify on contract signing. Manual workflows (Word + PDF) cannot meet the requirement.

Integration: Commercialista Software, Banks, Marketplaces

Commercialista software: TeamSystem Studio, Zucchetti Ago Studio, Wolters Kluwer (B.Point), Buffetti, Sistemi (e/satto). Fatture in Cloud has direct export to TeamSystem Studio (same parent company). Aruba exports to most via XML or CSV.

PSD2 bank reconciliation (top 10 Italian banks): Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, BPER Banca, Banco BPM, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Crédit Agricole Italia, Banca Sella, Fineco, BNL (BNP Paribas), Banca Mediolanum. Plus the neobanks: Wise Business, Revolut Business, N26 Business, Qonto IT.

E-commerce marketplaces: Amazon.it, eBay.it, Subito Plus, Zalando Partner Program, Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop (Italian standard). Fatture in Cloud has Shopify and WooCommerce connectors via TeamSystem ecosystem.

Worked Example: 20 Invoices Per Month Forfettario

Profile: Milan-based freelance translator, regime forfettario (turnover EUR 35,000, well under EUR 85,000), 18 B2B invoices/month to Italian publishers plus 2 B2C cross-border to French and Spanish individuals for online translation services. Coefficiente di redditività 78 percent.

Total cost first year on Fatture in Cloud Forfettari:

• Subscription: 12 × EUR 4 = EUR 48
• SdI sending via TeamSystem: included
• Conservazione sostitutiva 10 years: included
• OSS quarterly report: included
• PSD2 reconciliation (Intesa Sanpaolo conto pro + Revolut Business): included
• Total: EUR 48

Alternative on Aruba Fatturazione Elettronica: EUR 25/year. Wins on price for this profile.

Time saved per week vs free Word + Excel:

• Invoice creation and SdI submission: 15 min → 3 min. Saving: 240 min/month ≈ 60 min/week.
• Conservazione sostitutiva: manual (impossible) → automated. Saving: undefined, since the manual workflow does not meet compliance.
• IVA quarterly liquidazione prep: 2 hours → 15 min (for ordinario; forfettario does not file quarterly). Saving: nil for forfettario.
• OSS quarterly report: 90 min → 15 min. Saving: 75 min/quarter ≈ 6 min/week.
• Bank reconciliation: 60 min/week → 10 min/week. Saving: 50 min/week.
• Total weekly time saved: ~2 hours.

At a translator rate of EUR 40/hour, EUR 48/year subscription pays for itself in less than two weeks.

Polish Reader Angle: Dual-Country Invoicing for a Polish Freelancer in Italy

If you are Polish and have a partita IVA in Italy (or run JDG in Poland while serving Italian B2B clients), 2026 is the year your stack must cover both mandates:

• Poland: KSeF mandatory B2B from 2026-02-01 (large taxpayers) then 2026-04-01 (others), format FA(2).
• Italy: FatturaPA via SdI mandatory for all since 2019, extended to all forfettario from 2024.

Practical setup:

• If you closed your Polish JDG and are now an Italian partita IVA: Fatture in Cloud or Aruba only.
• If you keep your Polish JDG and invoice Italian B2B clients: Polish FA(2) into KSeF, plus FatturaPA via SdI on the Italian side (the Italian buyer cannot accept a non-SdI invoice). This means your Polish JDG, if it sells to Italian B2B regularly, may need to register an Italian fiscal representative or an Italian VAT number, and use an Italian app for the SdI side. Talk to your commercialista.
• If you run both a Polish JDG and an Italian partita IVA: two stacks. Fatture in Cloud on the Italian side, Fakturownia or wFirma on the Polish side.

This is exactly the dual-country complexity where Freenance's Financial Freedom Runway view earns its keep: it lets you split your personal financial runway from each business's cash flow. Financial Freedom Runway is computed as months of personal burn coverable from current liquid net worth, with business reserves shown separately for each entity.

FAQ

Q: Can I still send a PDF invoice to an Italian B2B buyer in 2026? A: No. Since 2019 every B2B invoice in Italy must transit SdI as FatturaPA XML. Sending a PDF is treated as omitted invoicing and carries penalties of 90-180 percent of the IVA amount, minimum EUR 500 per invoice.

Q: Do forfettario taxpayers also have to use FatturaPA? A: Yes, since 2024-01-01 every forfettario must issue FatturaPA via SdI regardless of turnover. The previous EUR 25,000 carve-out was eliminated.

Q: What is the codice destinatario and what if I do not know my buyer's? A: It is a 7-character SdI routing code identifying the buyer's accredited channel. If unknown for a B2B buyer, use the buyer's PEC (certified email) as fallback. If unknown for a private B2C consumer, use 0000000 and the invoice lands in the buyer's SdI portal area.

Q: How does conservazione sostitutiva work? A: Every accepted FatturaPA must be digitally signed, time-stamped, and archived for 10 years per the Codice dell'Amministrazione Digitale (CAD). Most invoicing apps bundle this. Aruba and Fatture in Cloud include it in standard subscriptions; verify before signing.

Q: What is the cheapest fully-compliant Italian invoicing app? A: Aruba Fatturazione Elettronica at EUR 25/year. Full FatturaPA, SdI sending, and 10-year conservazione included. Trade-offs are clunky UI, weak bank reconciliation, and limited OSS workflow.

Q: What about the esterometro? A: Esterometro (the separate cross-border invoice register) was eliminated in 2022. Cross-border invoices now flow through FatturaPA itself with the FormatoTrasmissione FPR12 and the appropriate codice destinatario (XXXXXXX for non-EU; the real EU code for EU buyers). Your app handles this automatically.

Disclaimer

This article is general information for entrepreneurs and freelancers in Italy. It is not tax, legal, or accounting advice. IVA rules, SdI requirements, conservazione sostitutiva obligations, and software pricing change frequently. Always confirm current obligations with your commercialista or the Agenzia delle Entrate, and verify pricing on the vendor's current product page. Nothing here constitutes a financial-services recommendation under KNF or Consob rules.

Sources

• Agenzia delle Entrate, FatturaPA specification 1.2.2 and SdI documentation
• Sogei, SdI operating documentation
• AgID (Agenzia per l'Italia Digitale), Codice dell'Amministrazione Digitale (CAD)
• Legge 190/2014 (regime forfettario), Legge di Bilancio updates
• TeamSystem (Fatture in Cloud), Aruba S.p.A., Fatture24, Danea Soft, Zucchetti product pages
• EU Commission, VIES VAT number validation service