Best Accounting Software UK (2026): 7 Compared

4.5/5 · From £16/mo ex VAT (Ignite plan) · 30-day free trial · MTD VAT and Income Tax ready

Xero won our testing for the second year running because it gets the daily grind right. Bank reconciliation is the fastest of any package we tested: the matching suggestions were correct for 87% of our test company's transactions, so a month's reconciliation took us under 20 minutes. Every UK high street bank plus Starling, Monzo, Tide and Revolut connected first time through open banking.

The catches: the entry Ignite plan caps you at 20 invoices and 10 bills a month, which busy sole traders will outgrow quickly, and there is no phone support at any price. You raise a case online and Xero calls you back if needed. If you want a human on demand, look at QuickBooks or Sage. Full detail in our Xero review.

4.5/5 · From £10/mo ex VAT (Sole Trader plan) · Frequent intro discounts · MTD VAT and Income Tax ready

QuickBooks' £10 Sole Trader plan is, in our view, the cheapest sensible way for a sole trader over the £50,000 threshold to handle MTD for Income Tax: it keeps digital records, sends quarterly updates and estimates your tax as you go. The mobile app is the best in this group, with mileage tracking and receipt capture that actually reads UK receipts correctly.

It also has real phone support in UK hours, which none of the cheaper rivals match. The downsides are aggressive upselling inside the product and headline prices that jump sharply once the introductory discount ends. Budget on the full rate, not the promo. Full detail in our QuickBooks review.

4.5/5 · Free with NatWest, RBS or Mettle business account, otherwise from £19/mo ex VAT · Payroll included · MTD VAT and Income Tax ready

FreeAgent is the quiet bargain of UK accounting. If your business banks with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or the app-based Mettle, you get the full product free for as long as you keep the account and meet the bank's usage conditions. That is not a stripped-down tier: it includes payroll, VAT filing, Self Assessment support and corporation tax forecasting.

It was built in Edinburgh for UK freelancers and contractors, and it shows: the Self Assessment workflow is the clearest we tested. It runs out of road above roughly ten employees and has no stock control, so growing product businesses should look at Xero or Sage. Full detail in our FreeAgent review.

4/5 · From £15/mo ex VAT (Start plan) · Unlimited users on Standard and Plus · MTD VAT and Income Tax ready

Sage's trump card is unlimited users on its Standard and Plus plans, where Xero and QuickBooks meter access or charge more as you add people. Combine that with a brand every UK accountant knows and Sage Accounting is the safe choice for a five-to-twenty person business that wants staff raising invoices and a bookkeeper tidying up behind them.

The product itself is solid rather than delightful: reconciliation takes more clicks than Xero and the interface feels a generation older in places. But reporting is strong, support includes phone and webchat, and the Individual plan gives landlords a cheap MTD route. Full detail in our Sage review.

4/5 · Free plan for small businesses under Zoho's revenue cap, then from £10/mo ex VAT · MTD VAT ready; confirm Income Tax status on HMRC's list

Zoho Books gives you more accounting per pound than anything else here. The free plan is a real product with invoicing, bank feeds and MTD VAT filing, and even the top plans undercut Xero's middle tier. If you already use Zoho CRM or Zoho Mail, the integration is seamless.

The caveats are UK-shaped: there is no built-in UK payroll, fewer UK accountants know it, and at the time of writing its MTD for Income Tax recognition needs checking against HMRC's current list before you rely on it. Full detail in our Zoho Books review.

3.5/5 · From £15/mo ex VAT (Lite plan) · Strongest invoicing and time tracking · MTD VAT ready; not recognised for MTD Income Tax at the time of checking

FreshBooks makes the nicest invoices in this group and its time tracking is genuinely built in rather than bolted on, which makes it a natural fit for designers, consultants and anyone billing by the hour. Clients can pay invoices online and the chasing emails send themselves.

As a UK accounts package it is thinner: no UK payroll, the Lite plan caps you at five billable clients, and sole traders facing MTD for Income Tax should verify recognition on HMRC's software list before committing. It files MTD VAT returns fine. Full detail in our FreshBooks review.

3.5/5 · Free plan, Pandle Pro £5/mo ex VAT · UK-built · MTD VAT ready; confirm Income Tax status on HMRC's list

Pandle is a UK-built package from the team behind an online accountancy firm, and it exists to be cheap. The free tier covers unlimited invoices and bank imports, and Pro adds live bank feeds, receipt uploads and cash flow forecasting for £5 a month, which is the lowest paid price in this comparison by half.

You give up polish, integrations and payroll, and support is email-led. We have not given Pandle a full standalone review yet; it earns its slot here as the honest answer to "what if I just want something cheap that files VAT?". It also features in our free accounting software guide.