Data collected Oct 19, 2026 (PT). Plugin data comes from the WordPress.org Plugins API and the legal points from the German Finance Ministry's FAQ, both loaded directly. "Under 10 installs" means the WordPress.org API reports 0, its value for fewer than 10. Anything marked "estimate" is our judgement. Not legal advice.
The deadline
Germany's Finance Ministry (BMF) FAQ, dated March 2026, sets out the timeline. Since January 1, 2025, every domestic business must be able to receive e-invoices, and an email inbox is enough. Until December 31, 2026, any business may still issue other invoice types (paper always, PDF only if the recipient agrees). Issuers whose previous-year turnover was €800,000 or less get until the end of 2027.
So the first real cliff is January 1, 2027, for B2B sellers above €800,000. That's about ten weeks from this writing.
Two details matter for WooCommerce. First, invoices to consumers are outside the rules, and so are small amounts up to €250 gross. The buyer here is a B2B WooCommerce seller, not every German shop. Second, the BMF names XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 as qualifying formats, except the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles.
The plugin rush
We ran four searches against the WordPress.org Plugins API: "xrechnung" (20 results), "zugferd" (26), "e-rechnung" (25), and "e-invoice xrechnung" (19). After filtering for plugins that actually mention e-invoice formats, we had 20.
Seventeen of the 20 were added to WordPress.org in 2026. Every one of those 17 shows under 10 installs.
The established options are small:
- Faktur Pro for WooCommerce: 900+ installs, 4.6 stars from 32 ratings, listed since 2016. It sends invoices to external invoicing providers.
- POP (SdI, PEPPOL, KSeF, ZUGFeRD): 100+ installs, 4.9 from 15, listed since 2019. XML/PDF output is free and delivery is paid.
- E-Invoicing For WooCommerce: 90 installs, 5.0 from 4. Last updated November 20, 2025, nearly a year ago.
There's also a giant next door. WP Overnight's PDF Invoices & Packing Slips has 300,000+ installs, says it can make "PDF or XML Invoices", and shows up in the "zugferd" search.
Two business models
The new plugins split cleanly by where the invoice gets built.
Local: Falkemit ("100% local"), itdatex Output and Intake ("generated locally"), and Rechnova ("no cloud") build or read invoices inside WordPress.
Connector: Komplyo, IFX (InvoiceFlowX), Agrunert (e-rechnung-cloud), Invoice-api.xhub, GoRoute, and belegfix send order data to an outside service.
Pricing is mostly hidden. The one clear public number we found was on belegfix's page: above 10 invoices a month you need an API key "ab 19 €/Monat" (from €19 a month). Invoice-api.xhub calls itself a free plugin for its API. POP gives away output and charges for delivery. On the vendor sites we loaded we found no public prices for Faktur Pro, Komplyo, or E-Invoicing Pro.
For a merchant comparing options, that's a problem. For a builder, it's an opening.
Where the gaps are
- Checking before sending. The BMF says validation isn't a legal requirement but recommends doing it when you create and send an invoice. Only Deklera, Novair, Brightfern, and belegfix lead with checking. "Which orders would be rejected?" is an easy pitch (estimate).
- Receiving. Every German business must be able to receive e-invoices. Only Rechnova, itdatex Intake, and Brightfern mention receiving, and all three have under 10 installs.
- Saying who it's for. Because B2C and small invoices are excluded, a plugin that says "for B2B WooCommerce stores" upfront matches the real buyer (estimate).
- Naming the profile. Few listings say which ZUGFeRD profile they output, even though two profiles don't qualify.
- Publishing a price. Almost nobody does.
What we'd do
Don't build another generic orders-to-XRechnung generator. Seventeen arrived this year and none has users yet.
If you're building here, lead with validation and B2B scope, or build an add-on for WP Overnight's 300,000+ install base. Publish your price. Plan launches around January 1, 2027 and December 31, 2027.
The 2028 date, checked against the statute
The transition rules sit in § 27(38) of the German VAT Act. They cover only supplies made before January 1, 2028, and both the €800,000 extension and the EDI extension end on December 31, 2027. From 2028 the general transition is over. The permanent exceptions (B2C, invoices up to €250 gross, small businesses) still apply.
Sources
- BMF e-invoicing FAQ (direct): https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/FAQ/e-rechnung.html
- WordPress.org Plugins API searches (direct): xrechnung, zugferd, e-rechnung, e-invoice xrechnung
- belegfix pricing (direct): https://xrechnung.dev/woocommerce/
- § 27 UStG on gesetze-im-internet.de (direct): https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ustg_1980/27.html