Pennylane vs Shine Comparison
Compare Pennylane vs Shine features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Pennylane
6.4/10
French accounting, invoicing, cash management and business account platform for freelancers, small businesses, SMEs and the accounting firms that serve them.
Shine
6.1/10
French online business account for freelancers and small companies, with Mastercard cards, built-in invoicing, receipt capture and accounting exports.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.4/10 | 6.1/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 4/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 4/10 |
| Compliance | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 5/10 | 4/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | €7/mo Starter (freelancer) | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | Free Free |
| Features | ||
| Accountant Access | ||
| Bank Reconciliation | ||
| Corporate Cards | ||
| Expense Management | ||
| Invoicing | ||
| Online Payments | ||
| Accounts Payable | Not listed | |
| Budgeting and Forecasting | Not listed | |
| Financial Reporting | Not listed | |
| General Ledger | Not listed | |
| Payroll | ||
| Tax Compliance | Not listed | |
Pennylane vs Shine cost by team size
Shine costs less at 1 user.
| Team size | Pennylane | Shine |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | €7/moStarter (freelancer) | FreeFree |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | FreeFree |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | FreeFree |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | FreeFree |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | FreeFree |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Pennylane
- Higher Scalability score (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Analytics score (6/10 vs 4/10)
Why choose Shine
- Has a free plan (Pennylane does not)
- Higher Support score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
Pennylane
Pros
- Accountants and clients work in the same shared space, which reviewers call its main strength.
- Bank transactions are categorised and reconciled automatically, based on past categorisations.
- A business account with an IBAN and employee cards is included even on the entry plan.
- It is approved for French e-invoicing, and Premium adds electronic filing of VAT and tax returns.
- A 15-day free trial and cancel-anytime billing mean there is no long-term commitment.
Cons
- Reviewers consider it fairly expensive, and there is no free plan.
- Full accounting reports and tax filing are limited to Premium.
- No payroll or CRM of its own; it relies on Payfit, Silae and CRM integrations.
- Users report slow support on complex issues, occasional bugs, and a multi-currency feature that still needs work.
- Pricing for companies with employees is quote-based on the vendor site.
Shine
Pros
- A real free plan that includes unlimited quotes and invoices with automatic reminders
- Cash deposits through tobacconists, which few online business accounts offer
- Strong Trustpilot ratings of about 4.6 to 4.7 out of 5 across thousands of reviews, and an in-house support team based in France
- Paid plans have a 30-day trial and no commitment
Cons
- As a payment institution it offers no overdraft, loans or interest-bearing account
- Higher fees than some rivals on non-euro card payments and international transfers
- No phone support on the Free plan, and reviewers report accounts blocked without warning
- Garnishment processing fees of 10 percent, capped at 100 EUR, criticised as poorly signposted
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Pennylane scores higher on our Finance Software criteria: 6.4/10 against 6.1/10 for Shine. The largest gap is in Analytics: 6/10 for Pennylane and 4/10 for Shine.
Shine has a free plan; Pennylane does not list one.
