Clear Books vs FreeAgent (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Clear Books if

• Fits if you're a UK sole trader who needs MTD filing and little else
• Works for small UK limited companies that want invoicing, VAT and bank feeds

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you need invoicing or bank feeds on the free plan: it has neither
• Not for you if you're outside the UK, because it's built for UK tax rules
• Watch out: payroll, Instant Bank Payments and Auto Bills are add-ons
• Watch out: prices exclude VAT, and MTD VAT reporting needs Sole Trader Plus at £15 a month
• Pricey if you need projects, multi-currency or fixed assets: that's the Large plan at £39.60 a month

Pick FreeAgent if

• Fits if you're a UK sole trader or limited company filing with HMRC
• Works for you if you bank with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle, as it's free with them

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you run payroll in the US, as the US edition has none
• Pricey if you only send a few invoices, since there's one $27 plan and nothing smaller
• Skip it if you want unlimited receipt scanning included, as that's $6 a month extra
• Watch out: the advertised price is 50% off the first 6 months, then it renews at $27 a month
• Tight if you bank outside the UK, as the bank feeds page names mainly UK banks and support is UK-based

Clear Books

• All prices are in pounds and exclude VAT, and the product is built for UK tax rules.
• Property and Foreign Property plans (free or £5 a month) are not shown in the plan list above.
• Payroll, Instant Bank Payments and Auto Bills (on Small, Medium and Large) are optional add-ons.
• Accountants use a separate partner programme, with unlimited MTD from £50 a month.

FreeAgent

• The advertised prices are 50% off the first 6 months (or first year, paid annually); it then renews at $27 a month or $270 a year.
• Payroll, Making Tax Digital and HMRC filing belong to the UK edition; the US edition lists sales tax reports but no payroll.
• UK prices depend on business type, excluding VAT: £10 a month for landlords, £19 sole traders, £27 partnerships and £33 limited companies.
• Support comes from accountants based in the UK, and the bank feeds page names mainly UK banks.

Clear Books

Making Tax Digital

Free plans cover MTD Income Tax quarterly updates and year-end filing, and the vendor calls itself HMRC recognised software.

Invoicing and payments

Create and email invoices with pay buttons for Stripe and GoCardless; Instant Bank Payments is an optional add-on.

Bank feeds and reporting

Paid plans bring in bank feeds with automated matching and a full reporting suite including a balance sheet.

VAT and CIS

MTD VAT reporting starts on Sole Trader Plus and Medium, and CIS reporting for construction subcontractors on Medium.

Auto Bills and receipt capture

Forwarded supplier bills are read and posted automatically, and receipts can be snapped in the mobile apps.

Payroll add-on

Optional payroll with RTI submissions to HMRC, charged for the employees you run, with its own 30-day trial.

FreeAgent

Estimates and invoices

Send estimates and invoices from templates, convert an estimate to an invoice in one click, and invoice in other currencies.

Bank feeds

Import transactions daily from linked bank accounts, or upload OFX, QIF and CSV statements, and explain each one as money in or out.

Expenses and Smart Capture

Photograph receipts on the phone and upload them. Unlimited Smart Capture scanning is a $6 a month add-on.

Time tracking and projects

Record time with a stopwatch or timesheets and see the income, costs and profit of each project.

Dashboard and Radar

A dashboard shows cash flow and when tax bills are due, and Radar points out trends in the business's numbers.

Sales tax reports

Set one or more sales tax rates, including compound ones, and report tax charged and reclaimable, with Schedule C reporting.

Clear Books

• Sole Trader Free£0

  Making Tax Digital for Income Tax filing and income and expense records, with no bank feeds or invoicing.

• Sole Trader£5

  per month, plus VAT, billed monthly

  For sole traders not registered for VAT: bank feeds, invoicing, receipt scanning, reporting and unlimited users.

• Sole Trader Plus£15

  per month, plus VAT, billed monthly

  Adds MTD VAT reporting, the flat-rate scheme and the VAT domestic reverse charge for VAT-registered sole traders.

• Small£14.40

  per month, plus VAT, billed yearly (£16 billed monthly)

  Limited companies, partnerships and charities: bank feed matching, invoicing, API, dividends tool; £12.80 billed every 2 years.

• Medium£30.60

  per month, plus VAT, billed yearly (£34 billed monthly)

  Adds MTD VAT submissions, purchase orders, CIS returns and unlimited budgets; £27.20 billed every 2 years.

• Large£39.60

  per month, plus VAT, billed yearly (£44 billed monthly)

  Adds project accounting, multi-currency, employee expense claims and fixed assets; £35.20 billed every 2 years.

FreeAgent

• FreeAgent$27

  per month, billed monthly

  Advertised at $13.50 a month for the first 6 months. One plan with invoicing, expenses, banking, projects, time tracking, sales tax reports and multiple currencies.

Clear Books

• Other savings

  50% off the first 3 months

  New monthly, yearly or two-year subscriptions are 50% off for 3 months when bought within 30 days of registration.

• Annual discount

  Save 10% yearly, 20% every two years

  Paying yearly saves 10% and paying every 2 years saves 20% on the Small, Medium and Large plans.

FreeAgent

• Other savings

  50% off the first 6 months

  New customers on monthly billing pay $13.50 a month for 6 months, then $27. The UK offer works the same way on each business-type price.

• Annual discount

  Pay yearly: 12 months for the price of 10

  Paying upfront costs $270 a year, the price of 10 months. The first year is half price at $135.

• Other savings

  Free with a NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle account

  UK businesses with a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business account, or a Mettle account used at least once a month, get FreeAgent free.