Countingup vs Xolo (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Countingup and Xolo share a 2.2 GPA, and only Xolo has a free plan.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Countingup grades higher on value for money. Xolo grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Countingup
UK business current account with built-in bookkeeping
Xolo
Invoicing, accounting and compliance for solo business owners
Which one is for you
Pick Countingup if
- Fits if you are a UK sole trader or a one-or-two-director limited company who does admin from a phone
- Works for owners who want business banking and VAT filing under one login
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a browser or desktop app, because the listing shows phone apps only
- Not for you if you are a partnership, charity or trust, or your company has more than two directors or corporate shareholders
- Pricey if money flows through it, since the fee rises from £5 to £12 to £20 as deposits grow
- Watch out: more than 3 free transfers or Direct Debits a month cost 27p each, ATM withdrawals £1 and foreign card spending 3%
Pick Xolo if
- Fits if you freelance abroad and want an Estonian company run for you
- Works for sellers who want invoices without registering a company
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you invoice a lot through Go, since 5.9% of everything adds up
- Skip it if you're not using Estonia, as Leap is built around its tax reporting
- Watch out: Leap starts at €59 a month excluding VAT and rises to €259 and up
- Watch out: early annual reports and late documents cost €200 each
- Not for you if you sell to consumers, because Go is for B2B services only
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACountingupFair | 2.2GPAXoloFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B£5 a month while deposits are under £750, against $14 where the cheaper quarter of accounting tools starts. It goes to £12 up to £7,500 and £20 beyond, so a busy business pays more. | CLeap starts at €59 a month excluding VAT, but that includes accountants doing your filings, so it's set against services rather than apps. Go costs 5.9% of what you invoice. |
| Free plan and trial | C3-month free trial, then the subscription starts. There is no free plan, and the listing does not say whether a card is needed. | CGo has no monthly fee, but takes 5.9% of everything you invoice. No trial for Leap. |
| Features | CCategorising, invoices, receipt photos, VAT filing and a tax estimate cover a sole trader's basics. No payroll or stock, and it is built only for UK sole traders and limited companies. | CInvoicing, company set-up, accounting and tax reporting. Leap is tied to Estonian companies and Go serves B2B services only. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You open a bank account and connect it before the bookkeeping does anything. | CNo rating on record. The accountants do much of the work, but you still set up the company and links. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiOS and Android only; the listing shows no web or desktop app. Integrations on record are iwoca and HMRC. | BWeb only, with links to LHV, Wise, Revolut, Payoneer, Stripe, PayPal, Shopify and Amazon. |
| Best for | a UK sole trader who wants bank and books in one app | freelancers running an Estonian e-Residency company |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Countingup and Xolo. How we grade
Price against what you get
Countingup starts at about $6.70 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Xolo starts at about $65.91 a month and scores 2.3.
Xolo scores higher, and starts $59.21 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 13 score higher than Countingup for less, and 30 score higher than Xolo for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Countingup also covers reports.
At a glance
| Countingup | Xolo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | £5 per month for up to £750 deposited monthly, after a 3-month free trial | €59 per month (Xolo Leap Starter), excluding VAT |
| Free plan | None | Xolo Go has no monthly fee: you invoice without a company and pay a 5.9% flat-rate fee. |
| Free trial | 3-month free trial; the monthly subscription starts after it. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Counting Ltd | Xolo OÜ |
| Price read from | countingup.com | xolo.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Countingup
- Open to UK residents aged 18 or over who are sole traders or directors of limited companies; partnerships, charities and trusts are not supported.
- Limited companies must be limited by shares, with up to two directors and all shareholders being individuals.
- Fees apply beyond 3 free account transfers and outgoing Direct Debits a month (27p each), plus £1 per ATM withdrawal and 3% on foreign transactions.
- An app is needed to open and use the account; no desktop or browser app is listed on the pages read.
Xolo
- Prices are in euros and exclude VAT; Premium and the e-commerce add-on (€59 a month) vary with complexity.
- Leap is built around Estonian companies and Estonian tax reporting; Xolo also runs Spain and Italy products with separate pricing.
- Xolo Go serves B2B services only, and its 5.9% fee applies to what you invoice.
- Early annual report delivery and late documents cost €200 each, and the Pro promotion needs a minimum of 6 months.
Key features
Countingup
- Business account with accounting
- Payments in and out are categorized automatically, with cashflow and performance reporting in the app.
- Invoices and payment links
- Create and send invoices from the app, see which are unpaid and get a notification when a payment lands.
- Receipt capture
- Photograph receipts in the app and attach them to the matching transaction.
- VAT and tax
- VAT returns are filed to HMRC through a Making Tax Digital-compliant tool at no extra cost, with a running tax estimate and deadline reminders.
- Tax pots
- A tax pot sets money aside, and the page says deposits into it earn 1.45% variable interest.
- Accountant access
- An Accountant Hub lets an accountant see the data they need through secure access.
Xolo
- Invoicing without a company
- Xolo Go issues invoices with a VAT number under a partnership agreement and pays out to a personal bank account.
- Company registration
- Leap helps register an Estonian company remotely for e-Residency holders, and the site says registration can take one or two days.
- Accounting and tax reporting
- Accountants prepare monthly bookkeeping, Estonian VAT declarations, annual reports and income and social tax reporting on Leap plans.
- Invoices and recurring billing
- Invoices are created and sent from the Xolo Self Service portal, with recurring invoices, VAT checks against VIES and multi-currency billing.
- Expense handling
- Each company gets a unique email address to forward expense documents, which are digitized automatically.
- Bank and payment links
- Leap plans list integrations with LHV, Wise, Revolut, Wamo, Payoneer, Stripe and PayPal.
Plans
Countingup
Entry£5
per month while total monthly deposits are £0 to £750
Includes all banking, accounting and tax features. The page does not name the tiers; they are set by deposits.
Mid£12
per month while total monthly deposits are £750.01 to £7,500
Same features as the entry tier, priced by how much money comes into the account.
Unlimited deposits£20
per month for unlimited monthly deposits
Same features, with no cap on deposits.
Xolo
Xolo Go€0
per month, pay-as-you-go
Invoice without a company for a 5.9% flat-rate fee; B2B freelance and contracting services.
Leap Starter€59
per month, excluding VAT
Estonian company accounting; first 12 months or until revenue of €4,000. 50 sales and 20 purchases a month.
Leap Standard€99
per month, excluding VAT
Same service as Starter without the revenue limit; up to 50 sales and 20 purchases a month.
Leap Pro€139
per month, excluding VAT
Up to 500 sales a month, shareholders, OSS reporting and investment activities. Two months free on offer.
Leap Premium€259
per month and up
For complex companies: 500+ sales a month, 1 hour a month with a senior accountant and priority support.
Ways to pay less
Countingup
No public discounts listed.
Xolo
- Other savings
Two months free on Leap Pro
The pricing page offers two months free on Pro, saving €278, if you use Leap for a minimum of 6 months; it then renews at the standard fee.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Countingup or Xolo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Countingup is cheaper to start with: about $6.70 a month, against about $65.91 a month for Xolo. Countingup starts at £5 per month for up to £750 deposited monthly, after a 3-month free trial, and Xolo starts at €59 per month (Xolo Leap Starter), excluding VAT.
Which has a free plan, Countingup or Xolo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Xolo has a free plan. Countingup does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Countingup and Xolo run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Countingup lists iOS and Android apps and only Xolo lists a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.