Best accounting software for small businesses in the UK (2026)
Four apps compared on what they cost a UK sole trader, partnership or limited company, including extra users and Making Tax Digital support.
Quick answer
For a sole trader with two logins and 15 invoices a month, Zoho Books Standard costs least at £12 a month before VAT, then Xero Ignite at £18 and FreeAgent at £19. FreeAgent is free while you bank with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle. None of the four publishes card-processing rates on its UK pricing page.
Key points
- At our reference profile, Zoho Books costs £12 a month, Xero £18, FreeAgent £19 and FreshBooks £38, all before VAT.
- FreeAgent prices by business type: £19 for a sole trader, £27 for a partnership and £33 for a limited company.
- FreeAgent is free with a NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle business account.
- Xero's £18 Ignite plan stops at 20 invoices a month; payroll is included from Grow upwards.
- FreshBooks caps plans by billable clients and charges £8 a month per extra team member.
- None of the four lists card-processing fees on its UK pricing page, so only subscriptions are compared.
What you would pay
Set your own numbers. The list below is ranked with this same calculator at our reference profile: a sole trader with two logins, 12 clients and 15 invoices a month averaging £800.
- Zoho Books Standard£12.00Payment fees not published
- Xero Ignite£18.00Payment fees not published
- FreeAgent Sole trader£19.00Payment fees not published
- FreshBooks Plus£38.00Payment fees not published · includes £8 for extra logins
Regular published prices only. Introductory offers and tax are left out. Figures are arithmetic on the provider’s own numbers, not a recommendation.
The list, in order
Order follows the published method on How we rank. Providers cannot pay for a position.
Zoho Books
A free plan for one user, then paid tiers priced by users and invoices a year, from £12 a month for three users.
Suits: budget-conscious teams of up to 10. Watch for: payment processing fees are not published on the pricing page.
- From
- £0/mo
- Paid from
- £12/mo (3 users)
- Card fee
- Not published
- Invoices
- 1,000 a year on Free
Xero
Four plans with no per-user fees. Ignite caps you at 20 invoices a month; higher plans add payroll for 1, 5 or 10 people.
Suits: VAT-registered firms that want payroll in the same app. Watch for: Ignite caps you at 20 invoices and 10 bills a month.
- From
- £18/mo
- Payroll
- Included from Grow
- Card fee
- Not published
- Logins
- Unlimited
FreeAgent
One full-featured plan priced by business type, from £19 a month for a sole trader to £33 for a limited company, including payroll and Self Assessment.
Suits: sole traders and limited companies filing their own returns. Watch for: the price depends on business type, not on the features you use.
- Sole trader
- £19/mo
- Partnership
- £27/mo
- Limited co.
- £33/mo
- Logins
- No per-user fee
FreshBooks
Plans capped by billable clients, from 5 on Lite to unlimited on Premium. Extra team members cost £8 a month each.
Suits: freelancers billing a small client list. Watch for: client caps per plan and £8 a month for each extra team member.
- From
- £16/mo
- Direct debit
- Capped at £4
- Card fee
- Not published
- Extra user
- £8/mo
Figures read from each provider’s own page on 28 October 2026. Prices exclude VAT. Reference profile: a sole trader with two logins, 12 clients and 15 invoices a month averaging £800. Unranked entries publish no price that fits it.
- QuickBooks Online UK — prices load in the browser only and could not be read on 28 Oct 2026. To be confirmed by hand.
- Sage Accounting — its pricing page refused automated reads on 28 Oct 2026. To be confirmed by hand.
Most UK small-business accounting apps cost under £40 a month before VAT. What sets the price is less the features than the limits: how many people log in, how many invoices you send, and, at FreeAgent, what kind of business you run.
The list is ordered by the cheapest plan that fits a reference business: a sole trader with two logins, 12 clients and 15 invoices a month. Change the inputs in the calculator above, including the business type, and the order updates. Prices were read from each vendor's UK pricing page on 28 October 2026 and exclude VAT. The method is on how we rank.
| App | Plan that fits | A month, before VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Zoho Books | Standard | £12 |
| Xero | Ignite | £18 |
| FreeAgent | Sole trader | £19 |
| FreshBooks | Plus + 1 extra user | £38 |
Zoho's free plan drops out because it allows one user. FreshBooks Lite drops out because it covers five billable clients, and its second login costs £8.
FreeAgent's pricing page lists one feature set at three prices: £19 a month for a sole trader, £27 for a partnership or LLP, and £33 for a limited company. Payroll and Self Assessment filing are included. The same page says FreeAgent is free while you bank with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank or Mettle, which for many sole traders makes it the cheapest option of all.
- Xero charges no per-user fee. Its UK pricing page caps Ignite at 20 invoices a month and includes payroll for 1 person on Grow, 5 on Comprehensive and 10 on Ultimate.
- Zoho Books prices by users and invoices a year: one user and 1,000 invoices on Free, three users on Standard. Its UK pricing page lists the tiers.
- FreshBooks caps billable clients at 5 on Lite and 50 on Plus, and charges £8 a month per extra team member.
If you also pay staff, our UK payroll comparison covers standalone payroll tools, some of which are free for very small employers.
None of the four publishes UK card-processing rates on its pricing page, so this list compares subscriptions only. FreshBooks states that its direct debit fee is capped at £4 a payment, or £2 on Premium. Our guide to invoice payment fees explains how card, bank transfer and direct debit costs work.
QuickBooks Online UK and Sage Accounting could not be read automatically on 28 October 2026 and are left out until confirmed by hand. The US comparison covers dollar pricing.
Keep reading
Best accounting software for small businesses in the US (2026)
Five apps compared on what they cost at your team size: subscription, extra logins, and the fee on every invoice a client pays online.
Guide · US & UKHow invoice payment fees work: card, ACH, bank transfer and direct debit
The fee on every invoice a client pays online, explained with worked examples for card, ACH, bank transfer and direct debit in the US and UK.
Calculator · UK editionAccounting software cost calculator
The same calculator on its own page, in pounds.
Questions
Which accounting software is cheapest for a UK sole trader?
Zoho Books Free costs nothing for a single user, and its Standard plan is £12 a month before VAT for up to three users. FreeAgent is £19 a month for a sole trader but free while you hold a NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle business account. Prices were read on 28 October 2026.
Do these apps work with Making Tax Digital?
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax started on 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, falling to £30,000 in 2027. Xero lists Making Tax Digital VAT returns on its plans. For any app, check that it appears in HMRC’s software finder for the tax you need to file.
Are UK prices shown with or without VAT?
Without. All four vendors quote UK prices excluding 20% VAT, so a £12 plan costs £14.40 a month if you are not VAT-registered. VAT-registered businesses can usually reclaim the VAT on software they use for the business, which makes the ex-VAT price the real cost.
Why is QuickBooks not in the UK list?
QuickBooks Online UK draws its prices on the page with scripts, and our reading of the page on 28 October 2026 returned no figures. Rather than copy prices from elsewhere, we have left it out until the prices are confirmed by hand from QuickBooks’ own page. Sage is excluded for the same reason.
Is FreeAgent really free with a bank account?
FreeAgent’s pricing page says the software is free for as long as you keep an eligible business account with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank or Mettle. If you close that account, the regular price for your business type applies. Mettle’s own page adds that you need at least one transaction a month.