Buyers look past FreeAgent when the 50 percent introductory discount ends, when the free plan tied to a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank or Mettle account no longer applies, or when they need a ledger outside the UK. Most go to Xero or QuickBooks Online, or to Clear Books for UK-only pricing by plan.
Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within
the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. The first three alternatives
go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the
established names follow in their ranked order. How it works:
placement disclosure · editorial process.
What each alternative does differently
1. Xero
Bank-feed-first cloud ledger with unlimited users · New Zealand
Four UK plans from 18 pounds a month (Ignite) to 70 pounds (Ultimate), excluding VAT, each with a six-month introductory discount. Ignite caps invoices at 20 and bills at 10, and multi-currency starts on Comprehensive. All four plans submit VAT returns to HMRC. Payroll is charged per person on top.
Switch from FreeAgent if you want a general-purpose UK ledger with plan tiers instead of one price by business type.
Pricing: Published monthly tiers with no per-user license fees; the entry tier caps invoices and bills, and multi-currency sits on the top plan in the US and on the top two UK plans. (free trial)
Full review: #7 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Xero →
2. QuickBooks Online
The ledger most US accountants already know · United States
Five UK plans, from Sole Trader Plus for one user to Advanced for 25, with a 30-day trial. The UK pricing page we read loaded live prices client-side, so we state none. Payroll is sold as a separate add-on, and Sole Trader Plus does not submit VAT directly to HMRC.
Switch from FreeAgent if you need more than one user seat or your accountant already works in QuickBooks.
Pricing: Published monthly tiers from a limited Free plan (one user, two invoices a month, one bank connection) through Simple Start to Advanced, each capping users; payroll, payments and some add-ons are billed separately. (free plan)
Full review: #6 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit QuickBooks Online →
3. Clear Books
UK ledger organized around VAT and HMRC filing · United Kingdom
UK-only plans with free tiers for sole traders and landlords, then Small at 16 pounds, Medium at 34 and Large at 44 a month, excluding VAT. Multi-currency sits only on Large. Payroll is a separate bolt-on with RTI submissions to HMRC, and there is a 30-day trial.
Switch from FreeAgent if you are a UK sole trader or landlord and want a permanent free tier, or a UK ledger with plain tiers.
Pricing: Published monthly tiers in sterling for companies, with multi-currency on the top tier; payroll is a separate bolt-on, and free plans cover sole traders' and landlords' Making Tax Digital filings. (free plan)
Full review: #2 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Clear Books →
4. Zoho Books
Automation-heavy ledger with country-specific tax editions · India
A free plan covers one user plus one accountant, 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year, and files MTD VAT returns. Paid UK plans run from Standard at 12 pounds to Ultimate at 199 a month per organisation. Extra users cost 2.50 pounds each. Paid plans have a 14-day trial.
Switch from FreeAgent if you want a free tier that still files MTD VAT and a ladder of cheap paid plans.
Pricing: Published per-organization tiers with a free plan for very small businesses; paid tiers sit well below QuickBooks and Xero equivalents. (free plan)
Full review: #5 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Zoho Books →
5. FreshBooks
Double-entry books for firms that bill for their time · Canada
Priced in US dollars on the page we read, by number of billable clients: Lite at 23 dollars covers five, Plus at 43 covers 50, Premium at 70 is unlimited. Each extra team member costs 11 dollars a month. The page showed only US pricing, so UK fit is unconfirmed.
Switch from FreeAgent if you bill clients mostly from the United States and want pricing by client count.
Pricing: Published monthly tiers priced by the number of billable clients, with each extra team member charged as an add-on. (free trial)
Full review: #3 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit FreshBooks →
6. Wave
No-cost bookkeeping for very small US and Canadian firms · Canada
The Starter plan is free, with unlimited invoices, bills and bookkeeping records. Pro costs 19 US dollars a month per business. Online card payments carry per-transaction fees, and payroll is an extra. Prices are shown in US and Canadian dollars only, so there is no UK tax filing to compare.
Switch from FreeAgent if you have moved your business to the United States or Canada and want a free ledger.
Pricing: Starter plan is free; a paid Pro tier adds automatic bank imports and receipt features, with card and bank payment fees on invoices. (free plan)
Full review: #4 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Wave →
7. Kashoo
Stripped-down bookkeeping for solo owners · Canada
One plan with unlimited users, unlimited invoices, multi-currency and a double-entry ledger, priced in US dollars and with a 14-day trial. The page lists bank feeds, projects, items and sales tax, with Square and PaymentEvolution integrations. It names no UK tax filing, so UK users get a plain ledger.
Switch from FreeAgent if you want one plan with unlimited users and have no HMRC filing to do.
Pricing: A single flat monthly or annual subscription with published pricing and no per-user tiers. (free trial)
Full review: #1 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Kashoo →
8. Akaunting
Open-source ledger you can host yourself · Turkey
Open-source software with a free Standard edition for self-hosting. Cloud plans start at 12 US dollars a month (8 billed yearly) for one company, one user plus an accountant, and 1,000 invoices. Self-hosting needs your own server, and the pages we read describe no UK filing tools.
Switch from FreeAgent if you want source code you can host yourself, or a cloud ledger for several companies.
Pricing: Free Standard edition to self-host, limited to one company, one user plus an accountant and 1,000 invoices; paid on-premise and cloud plans raise those limits and bundle marketplace apps. (open source)
Full review: #11 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Akaunting →
9. Odoo Accounting
Accounting app inside a modular open-core business suite · Belgium
One app, which can be Accounting, is free on Odoo Online for unlimited users. The all-apps Standard plan is 19.90 euros per user a month, and the Custom plan adds Multi-Company, Studio and an external API, with Odoo.sh or on-premise hosting. It is a business suite, not a ledger for freelancers.
Switch from FreeAgent if accounting is one module among several and you want to add CRM or stock under one login.
Pricing: One app can be used free with unlimited users; the full suite is priced per user per month, with multi-company, Studio and self-hosting on the higher Custom plan, and implementation often done by partners. (free plan)
Full review: #12 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Odoo Accounting →
10. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Microsoft's partner-sold finance and operations system · United States
Per-user licences, paid yearly: Essentials at 61.50 pounds and Premium at 84.60 a month, excluding VAT, with limited Team Members seats at 6.20. Microsoft sends buyers to a partner for assessment and consulting. Built for finance and operations in a growing company, far beyond a freelancer's needs.
Switch from FreeAgent if you have outgrown a small-business ledger and need finance and operations in one system.
Pricing: Microsoft publishes per-user monthly license prices for Essentials and Premium, with cheaper licenses for occasional users; a reseller partner adds implementation and support fees on top. (free trial)
Full review: #14 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central →
11. Sage Intacct
Dimensional, multi-entity ledger for finance teams · United Kingdom
We could not open Sage's pricing or product pages in this review, because the site blocked automated requests, so we state no vendor-verified detail. It is listed in this category as a finance-team system sold by quote, which puts it well above a ledger priced by business type.
Switch from FreeAgent if you run several entities and need a finance system sold through a sales process.
Pricing: Quote only through Sage or a partner; each application subscription, such as consolidation, inventory or order entry, adds a fee that depends mainly on user count, plus implementation fees. (none)
Full review: #8 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Sage Intacct →
Questions and answers
Can I export my data from FreeAgent?
FreeAgent's help centre lists an article called Export all data, attachments and files, but we could not read it, so check the formats there. Take the trial balance, contact list and attachments before closing the account, whatever the formats are.
Is there a contract to cancel?
No: FreeAgent's pricing page says cancel at any time, and its comparison page says there is no contract. It offers a 30-day free trial. Monthly billing leaves nothing to cancel early, but an annual subscription is a payment already made, so time the move for renewal.
What does FreeAgent cost after the introductory discount?
The regular limited company price is 33 pounds a month or 330 pounds a year, excluding 20 percent VAT. Partnership or LLP is 27 pounds, sole trader 19 pounds and landlord 10 pounds a month at regular prices. The 50 percent discount covers only the first six months or year.
What happens to the free plan if I change bank?
The free plan stops applying: FreeAgent offers it only while you retain a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business account, or make at least one transaction a month through Mettle. You then pay the standard price for your business type, so compare that figure with the alternatives.
Do the alternatives file VAT to HMRC directly?
Most UK-focused ones do, with exceptions. Xero says all four of its UK plans include submitting VAT returns to HMRC, and Zoho Books lists MTD VAT filing on its free plan. QuickBooks states that direct VAT submission is not available on its Sole Trader Plus plan.
Will payroll move with me?
Not automatically. FreeAgent includes payroll on its limited company, partnership and sole trader plans, with PAYE and National Insurance filed to HMRC. Xero charges payroll per person, QuickBooks says its plans do not come with payroll, and Clear Books sells payroll as a separate bolt-on.
