Zoho Books vs FreeAgent for UK Sole Traders: Which Is the Better Fit?

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Both Can Be Free, For Completely Different Reasons

The honest version of Zoho Books vs FreeAgent starts with the fact that most sole traders can get one of them for nothing — but the routes are different, and that shapes the whole decision.

FreeAgent is free if you bank with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Mettle. Not a cut-down version: the full product.

Zoho Books has a free plan with no published turnover limit. You will read that it is capped at £35,000 of revenue, or £50,000 depending on the guide. Zoho’s own UK pricing page states no turnover threshold. The real constraints are volume and seats.

So the comparison for most sole traders is free against free, and the tiebreakers are tax visibility, time tracking and which bank you use. Here is how it breaks down.

Zoho Books vs FreeAgent: The Cost Picture

	Zoho Books	FreeAgent
Free route	Free plan, no turnover limit	Free with NatWest, RBS or Mettle
What the free route gives	1 user + accountant, 1,000 invoices a year	The full product, no feature limits
Sole trader paid	£10/month annual, £12 monthly	£19/month
Partnership	Same price	£29/month
Limited company	Same price	£39/month
MTD for VAT	Yes, including the free plan	Yes
MTD for Income Tax	Yes, enabled on request	Yes
UK-built	No	Yes

All ex-VAT. Zoho Books is priced per organisation, so the figure does not change with your business structure.

FreeAgent’s Price Depends on What You Are

This is the detail most comparisons flatten into a single number, and it matters if you ever incorporate.

FreeAgent charges by business type: £19 a month for a sole trader, £29 for a partnership, £39 for a limited company, all excluding VAT. There is a 30-day free trial on the paid plans.

So the £19 figure usually quoted is the sole trader rate specifically. Incorporate and your software bill doubles, while Zoho Books stays where it is. If becoming a limited company is on your horizon, that is worth factoring in now rather than discovering at the point you are already paying an accountant to handle the incorporation.

The Bank Route Is the Strongest Deal Here

Free FreeAgent via a NatWest, RBS or Mettle business account is the best value in this comparison, because you get the complete product rather than a limited tier. FreeAgent promotes it directly, and Mettle is NatWest’s free app-based business account.

If you are not with one of those banks, opening a Mettle account is a legitimate route — it is free and takes minutes. Our Mettle review covers whether the account itself stands up as your main business banking, which is the question to answer before switching for the software.

Zoho Books’ Free Plan, Precisely

The published limits, from Zoho’s own pricing page:

• 1 user plus 1 accountant — the accountant does not use your seat
• 1,000 invoices a year
• 1,000 expenses a year
• 3 projects
• 50 receipt autoscans a month
• MTD for VAT filing
• MTD for Income Tax, including quarterly updates and the final return

No multi-currency, no workflow automation, no purchase orders. Invoice one client in euros and you need Standard at £10.

The accountant allowance is worth noting, because the usual criticism of this plan is that you cannot give your accountant access. You can.

Full tier ladder in our Zoho Books pricing guide.

Making Tax Digital: Both Are Already Recognised

Worth correcting directly, because this is usually hedged. Both platforms are on HMRC’s recognised software list for MTD for Income Tax as well as MTD for VAT. Neither is “building towards” or “working towards” compliance.

The regime is live:

• £50,000 qualifying income — mandatory since 6 April 2026
• £30,000 — from April 2027
• £20,000 — from April 2028, confirmed rather than expected

Qualifying income is gross turnover, not profit, assessed on an earlier tax year. Quarterly deadlines are 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, with a Final Declaration by 31 January. There is also a first-year penalty easement: no points on the first four quarterly updates for those mandated in April 2026.

One practical catch on the Zoho side: its MTD for Income Tax feature is enabled on request through Zoho’s UK support rather than switched on by default. Arrange that before a deadline. FreeAgent requires no equivalent step.

So on MTD either will serve you. FreeAgent has the edge on making tax feel manageable, which is a different claim from compliance and covered next.

Features for Sole Traders

Self Assessment and Tax Visibility

Where FreeAgent genuinely wins, and the reason it has the following it does among the self-employed.

Its tax timeline shows a running estimate of your Self Assessment liability through the year, broken down into income tax, Class 4 National Insurance and payments on account, so January holds no surprises. For someone managing their own tax without an accountant, that single feature is worth more than most of the rest of this comparison.

Zoho Books handles Self Assessment reporting competently, but the tax estimate is not as prominent or as intuitive.

FreeAgent, clearly.

Time Tracking and Project Billing

The mirror image. If you bill by the hour — consultants, designers, freelance developers — Zoho Books has time tracking and project billing built in from the lower tiers, and the implementation is more complete. FreeAgent supports time tracking but less fully.

Zoho Books. Note the free plan caps you at three projects.

Invoicing

Both are solid. Zoho Books has more template customisation and automated payment reminders on paid plans. FreeAgent’s invoicing is clean and accepts online payments via Stripe and GoCardless.

Slight edge to Zoho Books on automation and templates, though automation needs a paid plan.

Expenses and Bank Feeds

Both photograph receipts through a mobile app and link them to transactions. Both connect to UK banks via open banking, and FreeAgent’s NatWest integration is unsurprisingly seamless if you are already a customer.

Zoho’s free plan caps receipt autoscans at 50 a month, which is ample for most sole traders and worth knowing if you accumulate paper.

Tie, with FreeAgent ahead for NatWest customers.

Ecosystem

Zoho Books connects natively to Zoho CRM, Inventory, Projects and dozens more. If you expect to want a broader toolkit, that is a genuine advantage — our Zoho CRM and Books integration guide shows what that joined-up setup actually delivers.

FreeAgent integrates with third-party tools but has no in-house suite.

Zoho Books, if you will use it.

Usability and Support

FreeAgent was built for non-accountants from the start and it shows: plain language, logical layout, gentle onboarding. Zoho Books is accessible but carries more complexity, partly because it does more and partly because it is one product in a very large suite.

For a sole trader who wants to stop thinking about the software, FreeAgent is the more natural fit.

On support, Zoho offers email, chat and phone with availability varying by plan; FreeAgent offers email and a well-regarded help centre, with phone on some plans. Both have active communities.

Who Should Choose Which

FreeAgent if:

• You bank with NatWest, RBS or Mettle, because it costs nothing and you get the whole product
• You find tax stressful and want continuous visibility of what you owe HMRC
• You want something immediately intuitive, built for UK self-employed people
• You are starting out and want simple and trusted

Zoho Books if:

• You do not bank with NatWest or RBS and will not switch, so FreeAgent means £19 a month
• You bill by the hour and want proper time tracking and project billing
• You already use or plan to use other Zoho tools
• You may incorporate, since FreeAgent goes to £39 for a limited company while Zoho Books does not move
• You want multi-currency later, or automation, without a large step up

FAQ

Is Zoho Books free for UK sole traders?

Yes, and there is no published turnover limit. The real constraints are one working user plus your accountant, 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year, and three projects. Figures of £35,000 or £50,000 turnover circulate but are not on Zoho’s pricing page — the £50,000 is almost certainly a confusion with the MTD for Income Tax threshold.

Is FreeAgent really free?

Yes, with a qualifying NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Mettle business account, and you get the full product rather than a reduced tier. Without one, it is £19 a month for a sole trader.

What does FreeAgent cost if I am not with those banks?

£19 a month for a sole trader, £29 for a partnership and £39 for a limited company, all ex-VAT, with a 30-day trial.

Are both compliant with Making Tax Digital?

Yes. Both are on HMRC’s recognised list for MTD for VAT and MTD for Income Tax. Zoho’s Income Tax feature needs enabling on request through UK support; FreeAgent does not.

Which handles VAT on a free plan?

Both, in their respective free routes. Zoho Books includes MTD for VAT filing on its free plan, which is unusual — QuickBooks charges £16 a month for Simple Start before it will file a VAT return, as our QuickBooks pricing guide sets out.

Which is better for a complete beginner?

FreeAgent. The plain-English interface and the tax timeline make it the friendlier starting point. Zoho Books is not difficult, just more feature-rich, which is more to navigate at first.

Which is better if I might become a limited company?

Zoho Books, on price. FreeAgent’s limited company rate is £39 against £19 for a sole trader, while Zoho Books is priced per organisation and does not change.

The Bottom Line

If FreeAgent is free through your bank, use FreeAgent. It is an excellent product built specifically for UK sole traders, you get all of it at no cost through a NatWest, RBS or Mettle account, and the tax timeline is the best thing in this comparison for anyone doing their own Self Assessment.

If it is not free for you, check Zoho Books’ free plan before paying anyone anything. There is no turnover limit, your accountant is included, and it files both MTD for VAT and MTD for Income Tax — which for a sole trader whose needs fit inside 1,000 invoices a year is a complete compliance solution for nothing.

Pay for Zoho Books Standard at £10 if you need a second working user, multi-currency or automation. That still undercuts FreeAgent’s £19 sole trader rate, and the gap widens considerably if you incorporate.

The only situation where paying FreeAgent’s £19 is clearly right is when you are not with a qualifying bank, you do your own tax, and the tax timeline is worth £228 a year to you. For a lot of self-employed people it genuinely is.

Pricing and features correct at time of writing. Plans and capabilities are subject to change — always confirm current details on the provider’s website before purchasing. This article is general information, not tax advice; check your own position with HMRC or a qualified accountant.