Compare Accounting Software in the United Kingdom

UK accounting software typically costs from £8 to £65 per month, excluding VAT, depending on the provider and plan. Entry plans are around £8/mo (FreshBooks Lite), £10/mo (Zoho Books Standard), £15/mo (Sage Accounting Start), and £16/mo (Xero Ignite and QuickBooks Simple Start). FreeAgent is £19/mo for sole traders, or free for NatWest, RBS, Ulster and qualifying Mettle business banking customers. Several tools have genuine free tiers, including Pandle, QuickFile, Zoho Books, and Wave. Add payroll and extra users on top where they apply. Use the calculator above to compare your exact scenario.

There is no single best option, it depends on your needs. Xero suits businesses wanting unlimited users and a deep app ecosystem. QuickBooks is strong for sole traders thanks to its Self Assessment and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax support. Sage is a UK-headquartered choice with unlimited invoicing from its entry plan. FreeAgent is ideal for contractors and sole traders, especially NatWest and RBS customers who get it free. For a free option, Pandle and QuickFile are well rated. Compare the table above on price, compliance, payroll, and the features you need.

Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent, FreshBooks, Zoho Books, Crunch, Pandle, and QuickFile are all HMRC-recognised for Making Tax Digital for VAT, so they can file VAT returns directly to HMRC. Several are also building or already support MTD for Income Tax (ITSA), including QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Zoho Books, Pandle, and QuickFile. Wave is not HMRC-recognised for MTD and cannot file UK VAT returns, so it is not suitable for VAT-registered UK businesses. Use the Making Tax Digital filter above to narrow the list.

Yes. Pandle offers a genuinely free forever core plan with bank feeds and unlimited users, with a £5/mo Pro tier for MTD VAT submissions. QuickFile is free for businesses staying under 1,000 nominal ledger entries over a rolling 12 months. Zoho Books has a free plan for businesses under a revenue threshold, including MTD VAT filing. Wave offers free core accounting, but it is a poor UK fit with no MTD support. FreeAgent is free for NatWest, RBS, Ulster, and qualifying Mettle business banking customers.

Yes, all the paid and most of the free options here file VAT returns directly to HMRC under Making Tax Digital. Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent, FreshBooks, Zoho Books, Crunch, Pandle, and QuickFile all support direct VAT submission (Pandle and QuickFile require their MTD-ready tier or settings). You connect the software to HMRC once, then submit each quarter from within the app. Wave cannot file UK VAT returns. Use the VAT returns filter above to compare.

FreeAgent has strong Construction Industry Scheme support for both contractors and subcontractors, including CIS deductions and statements (though it does not file the monthly CIS300 contractor return directly). QuickBooks supports CIS calculations and returns from its Simple Start plan upward. Xero offers CIS as an add-on of around £5 per month, and Sage supports CIS from its Standard plan. If you work in construction, use the CIS support filter above and confirm whether the provider files the CIS300 return for you.

Some do. QuickBooks includes Self Assessment preparation and income tax estimates on its Sole Trader and Simple Start plans, and FreeAgent files the Self Assessment return directly to HMRC, which makes both strong picks for sole traders. Crunch includes Self Assessment on its Sole Trader accountancy package. Pandle and QuickFile offer MTD for Income Tax readiness rather than a full Self Assessment service. Xero and Sage do not market a dedicated sole-trader Self Assessment tool. Use the Self Assessment filter above to compare.

It varies. FreeAgent includes PAYE and RTI payroll at no extra cost. Xero has built-in payroll with some seats included by plan and a small per-employee charge beyond that. QuickBooks offers a payroll add-on from around £5 per month plus £1.30 per employee, and Sage runs payroll through its separately priced Sage Payroll product. FreshBooks, Pandle, and QuickFile do not offer payroll, and Wave payroll is US and Canada only. Enter your employee count in the calculator above to see the payroll-inclusive cost for each provider.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA) requires sole traders and landlords with qualifying income to keep digital records and send quarterly updates to HMRC, phasing in from April 2026 for those over £50,000. QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Zoho Books, Crunch, Pandle (Pro tier), QuickFile, and ANNA Money are geared up for ITSA, as are Xero and Sage. FreshBooks and Wave are not. If you have both self-employment and rental income, check how each tool handles multiple income streams, since some need a separate setup per trade. Use the MTD for Income Tax filter above.

Often, yes. Both QuickBooks and Xero raised UK prices in the last year (QuickBooks by roughly 15 to 25% in early 2026, Xero by around 10 to 17% in September 2025), and promotional rates expire after a few months. The prices in this table are the current standard post-promo rates, excluding VAT. If long-term cost matters, the UK-built tools (FreeAgent, Pandle, QuickFile) and the genuine free tiers tend to be more stable. Always check the renewal price, not just the intro offer.

Most platforms let you export your data, and migration tools such as Movemybooks or Dataswitcher can move history between Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage, usually covering the last 24 months. The main friction is switching part-way through a VAT period and re-checking opening balances, so many businesses move at the start of a new financial year, and your accountant can often handle it. Before committing, confirm the provider offers a clean data export so you are not locked in.

In some cases, yes. FreeAgent is free for life for NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Ulster Bank business banking customers, and for qualifying Mettle account holders, because NatWest Group owns FreeAgent. ANNA Money bundles bookkeeping and HMRC filing into its business account and has a free pay-as-you-go tier. Otherwise, Pandle, QuickFile, and Zoho Books offer genuinely free plans for smaller businesses. Use the Free plan filter above to see them.

You can, but only with bridging software that connects your spreadsheet to HMRC and preserves the digital links MTD requires. Bridging tools are cheap, often around £30 a year, but they do not give you bank feeds, invoicing, or reporting, and many accountants prefer full software because they can see the underlying records. For most growing businesses a low-cost or free package like QuickFile, Pandle, or Zoho Books is simpler than a spreadsheet plus bridging setup.