Five products people actually shortlist. What each one is for, who it may suit, and what this site has not checked.
Publisher note, 15 November 2026.
Every affiliateUrl in the software data file is still null. Replace it before describing a button as a live affiliate link. Do not add a price unless you copied it from the provider on the same day.
FreeAgent
Bookkeeping and tax software aimed at sole traders, landlords and small companies. FreeAgent says it is part of NatWest Group.
May suit you if
You want invoices, expenses, bank feeds and a tax year in one product, and you are content to work in a browser.
Worth knowing
FreeAgent's own site says a standard licence is included with a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business current account, and with a Mettle account if you make at least one transaction a month and keep Mettle as the primary account in FreeAgent. Optional add-ons may be charged. Personal accounts are not included. Confirm that with the bank before you open an account in order to get the software.
Checked
Bank-account offer and the conditions above, from FreeAgent's pages on 15 November 2026: https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/free-accounting-software/
Not verified by us
Current paid price if you do not have a qualifying bank account.
Whether it is on HMRC's Making Tax Digital software list today. Check that list yourself.
Cloud accounting used by sole traders and by larger businesses that have a bookkeeper.
May suit you if
You want invoicing and bank feeds, your accountant already uses it, or you expect to add apps for parts of the job.
Worth knowing
It is general accounting software. A one-person service business can end up in a product built for a wider range of businesses. Plan names and what each plan includes change.
Not verified by us
Every plan name, price and feature.
Whether the edition you are shown is on HMRC's Making Tax Digital list.
Intuit's UK accounting product, covering day-to-day books rather than a tax return on its own.
May suit you if
You want a similar cloud ledger to Xero, particularly if you buy and sell goods and care about stock.
Worth knowing
Use the UK site. The US product is a different tax system. QuickBooks has several products; the sole-trader one is not the same as the one aimed at larger firms.
Not verified by us
Current UK prices and which features sit on which plan.
Making Tax Digital recognition. Use HMRC's list, not a comparison page.
A long-standing UK accounting supplier. Small businesses are usually looking at Sage Business Cloud Accounting, not the products built for larger accounts teams.
May suit you if
You want a UK supplier and you may add payroll later, or your accountant has asked for Sage.
Worth knowing
The brand covers several products. Picking the wrong one is the usual mistake. This page does not rank them.
Not verified by us
Which current Sage product is the right sole-trader edition, and what it costs.
Making Tax Digital recognition for that specific product.
Tax-return software, rather than a day-to-day bookkeeping ledger. It does a different job from the four products above.
May suit you if
Your records already exist somewhere else and you mainly want help completing the Self Assessment return.
Worth knowing
Filing software does not replace a record of income and expenses. If you are within Making Tax Digital for Income Tax you need software that can keep digital records and send quarterly updates. Do not assume a return-filing product does that because of its name.
Not verified by us
The current price and which parts of the return it covers.
Whether it is recognised for Making Tax Digital quarterly updates. Check HMRC's list.
There is no winner and no star rating. The useful question is which job you need done: day-to-day records, a tax return, or both. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax needs software from
HMRC's list of compatible software.
Being named here is not the same as being on that list.
Prices are missing on purpose. Publishing a plan price from memory would be worse than sending you to the provider. NatWest has described a saving against FreeAgent's lowest tariff; that comparison is not repeated here because this site has not checked the tariff.
Nothing on this page is a recommendation that a product is suitable for you. If your affairs are anything other than a straightforward sole trade, ask an accountant.