UK accounting software costs range from £0/month (FreeAgent if you bank with NatWest/Mettle, or Wave at the very basic end) to £55/month (Xero Ultimate) for solo freelancers and small Ltds. This reference page gives the headline pricing across all major UK platforms with the caveats — introductory discounts, mandatory add-ons, transaction caps — that change the real cost.
The headline range
- £0 — FreeAgent via Mettle, NatWest, RBS or Ulster banking
- £0 — Wave / QuickFile free tier (basic features, UK MTD caveats)
- £10–15/mo — entry-tier paid plans (QuickBooks Self-Employed, Xero Starter)
- £28–32/mo — standard tier (Xero Standard, QuickBooks Essentials, Sage Accounting)
- £42–55/mo — premium tier (Xero Premium/Ultimate, QuickBooks Plus, Sage Plus)
Plan-by-plan pricing (May 2026)
QuickBooks UK
| Plan | Monthly | Best for | Key features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Employed | £10 | UK sole traders | Self Assessment, mileage, basic MTD-VAT |
| Simple Start | £15 | Small Ltds, growing sole traders | Full bookkeeping, single user, MTD-VAT, MTD-ITSA |
| Essentials | £32 | Active Ltds | Multi-currency, bills, 3 users |
| Plus | £47 | Multi-product or project Ltds | Project tracking, stock, 5 users |
| Advanced | £95 | Multi-employee small businesses | Advanced reporting, 25 users |
Xero UK
| Plan | Monthly | Best for | Key features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | £15 | Very low-volume freelancers | 20 invoices/month, 5 bills, MTD-VAT |
| Standard | £30 | Active freelancers + small Ltds | Unlimited transactions, multi-currency, projects |
| Premium | £42 | Multi-currency-heavy businesses | Advanced FX, multiple users |
| Ultimate | £55 | Larger small businesses | Multi-entity, advanced features |
FreeAgent
| Plan | Monthly | Best for | Key features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Via Mettle/NatWest/RBS/Ulster | £0 | UK sole traders + small Ltds | Full FreeAgent — sole trader or Ltd |
| Sole Trader direct | £19 | Sole traders not in NatWest banking | Full FreeAgent sole trader features |
| Limited Company direct | £29 | Ltds not in NatWest banking | Includes payroll, dividends, statutory accounts |
Sage Accounting
| Plan | Monthly | Best for | Key features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting Start | £14 | Small operations | Single user, basic invoicing, MTD-VAT |
| Accounting | £28 | Standard small businesses | Unlimited users, full features |
| Accounting Plus | £36 | Multi-currency / stock businesses | Multi-currency, stock, advanced reporting |
Wave
| Plan | Monthly | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter (free) | £0 | Very simple UK sole traders | US-headquartered; MTD-VAT support limited |
| Pro | £15–22 | Wave users who need add-ons | Adds recurring invoicing + paid features |
QuickFile
| Plan | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | £0 | Up to 1,000 ledger entries/year |
| Affinity (paid) | ~£60/year | Unlimited entries |
The fine-print that changes real cost
Introductory discounts
QuickBooks, Xero and Sage all run 50–75% off discounts on their first 3–6 months. Headline £30/mo plans can land at £10–15/mo for the first 3–6 months, then jump to the headline rate. Useful for trial periods; factor in the rate jump for your annual budget.
Mandatory add-ons
- Payroll: +£5–6/mo per employee on Xero and QuickBooks. Bundled on FreeAgent. Add ~£60–72/year for single-director Ltd if you take a salary.
- Receipt capture: Hubdoc included free with Xero; built-in on QuickBooks; included on FreeAgent. Dext (£15+/mo) is standalone if you want best-in-class.
- Multi-currency: Standard tier on Xero (£30); Essentials on QuickBooks (£32); all FreeAgent plans; Plus on Sage (£36).
Annual vs monthly billing
Xero and QuickBooks bill monthly by default but offer ~10% annual discounts on prepayment. Sage offers similar. FreeAgent direct is monthly only.
Accountant referral pricing
If you use an accountant, they may have wholesale pricing on Xero/QuickBooks they can pass on. Sometimes 20–40% below retail. Worth asking before subscribing direct.
Real-cost comparison for typical scenarios
UK sole trader on a budget
FreeAgent free via Mettle = £0/year. Otherwise QuickBooks Self-Employed = £120/year.
UK sole trader, no banking switch possible
QuickBooks Self-Employed at £10/mo = £120/year.
Single-director Ltd, with director's salary
FreeAgent free via Mettle (payroll bundled) = £0/year. Xero Standard (£30/mo) + Payroll (£6/mo) = £432/year. QuickBooks Simple Start (£15/mo) + Payroll (£5/mo) = £240/year.
Multi-currency Ltd with overseas clients
FreeAgent free via Mettle = £0/year (multi-currency on all plans). Xero Standard = £360/year. QuickBooks Essentials = £384/year.
UK Ltd with 3-employee payroll
FreeAgent Ltd (£29/mo, payroll bundled) = £348/year. Xero Standard (£30) + Payroll (£18/mo for 3) = £576/year. QuickBooks Essentials (£32) + Payroll (£15/mo for 3) = £564/year.
Is paid software worth it?
For UK freelancers earning above ~£20k turnover, almost always yes. Per-month subscription cost is typically recovered in:
- 5–10 hours/year of saved bookkeeping time (vs spreadsheet)
- Missed-deduction recovery (most freelancers find at least 1–2 deductions they'd otherwise miss)
- Cleaner MTD-VAT submissions (avoids late-submission penalties at £200+/each)
- Lower accountant fees if they work in your platform (£200–500/year saving vs platforms they're less fluent in)
The decision isn't usually "free vs paid" — it's "which paid platform" given that free FreeAgent via Mettle banking is mathematically the best free option for most UK freelancers.
Direct links to the providers
Different business models. FreeAgent (NatWest-owned) bundles the cost into banking. QuickBooks Self-Employed targets the absolute-budget sole trader segment. Xero positions premium at the mid-market. Sage prices around the UK incumbent. All have their place.
Genuinely yes for the first 3–6 months. After that, plans renew at headline rates. Worth using introductory discounts to trial multiple platforms before settling.
Saves ~10% but locks you in for the year. Worth it once you're confident on platform fit; not worth it during your first 6 months.
The main ones: payroll add-ons (£5–6/mo per employee on Xero/QB; included on FreeAgent), receipt capture (mostly bundled now), multi-currency tier gates, and accountant collaboration limits on lower tiers (Xero Starter has no accountant invite at lowest level on some plans).
UK accounting software is essentially all subscription-based now. Sage 50 desktop (legacy) had a one-off purchase model but the cloud Sage Accounting product is subscription. GnuCash is free (open source) but the time cost of using it is the real expense.
Accounting software has seen ~5–10% annual price increases over the last 3 years. Expect that pattern to continue.
Pricing reference as at May 2026. Verify on provider sites — pricing changes frequently.