Milometry vs Vimcar

Read this part first

If you drive a company car in Germany and you want to use the Fahrtenbuchmethode instead of the one percent rule, Milometry is not what you need, and Vimcar is. We would rather lose the sale than have your claim rejected.

That is not modesty. It is what the rule says, and the rest of this page explains it, because it is the single most important thing a German driver can know before choosing any mileage app.

The rule this is all about

An elektronisches Fahrtenbuch is only accepted by the Finanzamt if it is manipulationssicher: later changes must be either technically impossible or completely documented. It has to be complete, recorded promptly, exportable in readable form, and kept for ten years under the GoBD.

The consequence is blunt. A phone app that you can edit afterwards without leaving a trace does not qualify, and plain spreadsheets or hand filled apps without a change log are rejected. Milometry is a phone app. Your trips live on your phone and you can edit them, which is a feature everywhere else in the world and a disqualification here.

In practice, clearing that bar means hardware: a device in the car reading the odometer over OBD, so the mileage comes from the vehicle rather than from a phone that might have been somewhere else. That is exactly what Vimcar sells.

Note the boundary, because it matters. This strict standard applies to the Fahrtenbuchmethode for valuing private use of a company car. Claiming Reisekosten at 0,30 € per kilometre for business trips in your own car is a different exercise under different rules, and that is where an app like ours is a reasonable tool. If you are not sure which of the two you are doing, ask your Steuerberater before you buy anything, including ours.

What Vimcar does well

The dongle closes the loop. Reading the odometer from the vehicle is the difference between a record and evidence. Nothing a phone can do on its own is equivalent, and we are not going to pretend our GPS trace is.

It is built for the audit, not the driver. Ten year retention, documented changes, export in a form a Prüfer will accept. That is an unglamorous set of features and it is the entire reason the product exists.

Hardware is included. At the published price the dongle comes with the subscription and shipping is free, which is cleaner than paying separately for a device.

It scales to a fleet. If you are running vehicles rather than driving one, Vimcar goes where we do not.

What it costs

24,90 € a month per vehicle plus 19% VAT on a twelve month commitment, or 21,90 € on twenty four months, billed annually. There is a reduced first year for new customers.

That is roughly 355 € a year with VAT on the twelve month plan. It is a lot more than a mileage app, and it should be: you are buying hardware and an audit position, not a tracker.

What we are for in Germany

Milometry is a single payment, once, and it records business trips in your own car so you can claim the Kilometerpauschale. It knows the German rate, sets distances in kilometres, and keeps everything on your phone with no account.

For a freelancer or an employee claiming Reisekosten in their own car, that is a proportionate tool at a proportionate price. For company car Fahrtenbuch compliance, it is the wrong tool at any price.

Which one you should pick

Pick Vimcar if you have a company car and you are using the Fahrtenbuchmethode. This is not a close call and we are not going to manufacture one.

Pick Milometry if you drive your own car, claim business kilometres at the published rate, and want a simple record you buy once, which never leaves your phone.

Claim figures are estimates, not tax advice.