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

Pick Holded if

• Fits if you're a Spanish freelancer who needs invoicing with Verifactu
• Makes sense if you want inventory and a CRM next to your books

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you stay on the free plan: 20 invoices and 50 scanned expenses a year
• Watch out: Basic allows 2 users and Standard 4, and extra users cost €12 a month each
• Watch out: Inventory starts at €25 a month and HR is €3 per employee, both as add-ons
• Not for you if you're outside Spain, unless you've checked the tax forms for your country
• Pricey if you need full accounting: that starts at Standard, €69 a month

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

Holded

• Prices are in euros, exclude VAT, and the page does not say whether the figures assume monthly or annual billing.
• Each plan caps users (2 on Basic, 4 on Standard); extra users cost €12 a month each.
• Inventory starts at €25 a month and the HR module is €3 per employee a month, both as add-on Gems.
• Tax forms and e-invoicing features listed on the page are Spanish; check coverage for other countries.

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.

Holded

Invoicing and quotes

Unlimited invoices on paid plans, with quotes, proformas, recurring invoices, a client portal, multi-currency and Verifactu.

Accounting

Standard and above add automatic journal entries, analytical accounting and annual accounts that an accountant can work from.

Bank connections and Wallet

Connect bank accounts to match transactions with invoices and expenses; Holded Wallet adds supplier payments and team cards.

Expense scanner

Scans receipts and extracts their data, with a fair-use limit tied to the plan's AI usage.

Spanish tax forms

Lists VAT models 303, 347, 349, 369 and 390 and IRPF models, with corporate tax forms 200 and 202 from Standard.

Inventory, CRM and projects

Inventory and HR are paid Gems; the CRM and project profitability tracking are part of the plans.

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.

Holded

• Light€0

  Free invoicing with Verifactu for 1 user, limited to 20 invoices and 50 scanned expenses a year.

• Starter€19

  per month, excluding VAT

  1 user with unlimited invoices and expense scanning, 1 connected bank, VAT and income tax returns and a sales funnel.

• Basic€34

  per month, excluding VAT

  2 users, 5 connected banks, cash flow, 10 recurring invoices, recurring purchases and 1 free point-of-sale store.

• Standard€69

  per month, excluding VAT

  4 users, full accounting, unlimited banks, SEPA remittances, corporate tax forms and user roles.

• Advanced€115

  per month, excluding VAT

  7 users, custom roles and fields, payment reminders, cash flow scenarios and priority support.

• Premium€229

  per month, excluding VAT

  15 users, unlimited recurring invoices, multi-country VAT and 100,000 API calls a month.

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.

Holded

• Other savings

  50% off the first 3 months

  New customers get 50% off paid plans for their first 3 months, then the regular price applies, per the pricing page.

• Other savings

  Black Friday: 70% off for 3 months

  For new customers until 30 November 2026, every paid plan is 70% off for the first 3 months, in place of the usual 50%.

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.