ClearTax vs Zoho Books (2026): which should you pick?

Pick ClearTax if

• Fits if you're an Indian taxpayer with salary or capital gains income who wants a CA to file
• Works for self-employed people in India who want expert-assisted returns

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you're outside India, as it's rupees and Indian tax rules only
• Skip it if you need bookkeeping or invoicing, because it's a tax-filing product
• Watch out: plan prices show only inside checkout, so the figures above are the FAQ's starting prices
• Watch out: audit fees, where an audit is needed, are paid to the auditor and aren't in the plan price

Pick Zoho Books if

• Fits if your business turns over less than $50K a year and you want to pay $0
• Works for businesses already running other Zoho apps

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if your team grows, since plans cap users at 3, 5, 10 or 15 and more cost $3 each a month
• Pricey if you need warehouses or Amazon and eBay channels, which start on Elite at $120 a month
• Not for you if you're past $50K revenue and hoping to stay free
• Tight if you bill a lot: invoices are capped at 1,000 a year on Free, 5,000 on Standard and 25,000 on Premium
• Watch out: automatic bank feeds need Standard, and the free plan can't take paid add-ons other than autoscans

ClearTax

• It serves Indian taxpayers and Indian tax rules only, and prices are in rupees.
• The price of each plan is shown only inside the checkout flow; the pricing page's FAQ gives starting prices.
• Audit fees, where an audit is required, are not part of the plan price and are paid to the auditor separately.
• It is a tax-filing product, not general bookkeeping or accounting software.

Zoho Books

• The free plan stays free only while revenue is under $50K a financial year, and paid add-ons other than autoscans cannot be added to it.
• Each plan caps users at 3, 5, 10, 10 or 15; more cost $3 per user a month, or $2.50 billed annually.
• Every plan caps invoices and bills a year: 1,000 on Free, 5,000 on Standard, 10,000 on Professional and 25,000 on Premium.
• These are US prices; Zoho lists separate editions for 18 countries plus a global one, including the UK, Canada, India and Australia.

ClearTax

Self ITR filing

Upload Form 16 or other documents and the return is pre-filled, with old and new tax regimes compared.

CA-assisted filing

A tax expert files the return for salaried people, investors, traders, freelancers, NRIs and people with RSUs or ESOPs.

Capital gains import

Imports capital gains from more than 80 brokers, according to the homepage, for investors and traders.

Year-round tax support

An annual subscription to a personal tax expert is sold for people who want help beyond the filing.

Business tax products

Separate Clear products cover GST, e-invoicing, TDS compliance, vendor management and input tax credit for companies.

Zoho Books

Invoicing and online payments

Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, retention payments and automatic reminders, with a customer portal for paying online.

Banking and reconciliation

Reconcile accounts on every plan. Automatic bank feeds start on Standard, along with recurring expenses and period locking.

US tax and 1099s

Track sales and use tax, manage W-9s and 1099 contractors, and e-file 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC forms from Standard up.

Projects and inventory

Professional adds timesheets, project profitability and basic inventory. Elite adds warehouses, serial and batch tracking and shipping labels.

Automation and customization

Workflows, approvals and custom roles from Professional; custom modules, buttons and functions from Premium; Blueprints on Elite.

AI in accounting

Ask questions about the books in plain English, spot anomalies and automate collections, plus receipt autoscans on every plan.

ClearTax

• CA-assisted: salary and house rent₹1,299

  per return and up

  Expert-assisted filing for salary and house rent income; the pricing FAQ says plans start from this figure.

• CA-assisted: crypto traders₹2,999

  per return and up

  Expert-assisted plan for people with cryptocurrency income.

• CA-assisted: capital gains₹3,999

  per return and up

  Expert-assisted plan for people with capital gains income.

• CA-assisted: self-employed₹3,999

  per return and up

  Expert-assisted plan for self-employed people and professionals.

Zoho Books

• Free$0

  Revenue under $50K a year. 1 user and 1 accountant, up to 1,000 invoices a year, recurring invoices, payment reminders and 1099 filing.

• Standard$15

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $20 billed monthly. 3 users, bank feeds, sales and use tax, 1099 e-filing, custom reports, API access and 5,000 invoices a year.

• Professional$40

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $50 billed monthly. 5 users, sales and purchase orders, multiple currencies, timesheets, project profitability, retainers and inventory.

• Premium$60

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $70 billed monthly. 10 users, fixed assets, budgets, cash flow forecasting, a vendor portal and custom modules.

• Elite$120

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $150 billed monthly. 10 users, advanced inventory with warehouses and batch tracking, Etsy, eBay and Amazon channels, and up to 2 Shopify stores.

• Ultimate$240

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $275 billed monthly. 15 users and built-in business intelligence with 50+ prebuilt visualizations, KPI tracking and embeddable reports.

ClearTax

No public discounts listed.

Zoho Books

• Annual discount

  Save up to 25% with yearly billing

  Yearly billing cuts Standard from $20 to $15 a month, Professional from $50 to $40, Premium from $70 to $60, Elite from $150 to $120 and Ultimate from $275 to $240.