# Countingup review (2026): is it worth £5 a month? > UK business current account with built-in bookkeeping Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Countingup is an app-based business current account for UK sole traders and limited companies, with accounting tools built in. Income and expenses are categorized automatically, and the app creates invoices, stores receipts, estimates tax and files VAT returns to HMRC. The account itself is provided by Griffin Bank Ltd, and the monthly subscription depends on how much is paid into the account. - **Category:** Accounting & Invoicing - **Made by:** Counting Ltd (since 2017) - **Website:** https://countingup.com - **Runs on:** iOS, Android - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want a browser or desktop app, because the listing shows phone apps only. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Countingup is a paid product with a free trial, starting at £5 per month for up to £750 deposited monthly, after a 3-month free trial. - **Pricing model:** Free trial - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** 3-month free trial; the monthly subscription starts after it. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | 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. | Read from https://countingup.com/small-businesses/pricing/ on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Countingup before buying. ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - UK sole traders who want banking and bookkeeping in one app - Directors of small limited companies with up to two directors - Owners who mostly do their admin from a phone ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Countingup is a UK business current account with the bookkeeping built in: categorised transactions, invoices, receipts and VAT returns to HMRC. The monthly fee climbs with how much money lands in the account, and there is no browser or desktop version, so it only suits people happy to run their business from a phone. - **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. - **Free plan and trial: C.** 3-month free trial, then the subscription starts. There is no free plan, and the listing does not say whether a card is needed. - **Features: C.** Categorising, 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. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You open a bank account and connect it before the bookkeeping does anything. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** iOS and Android only; the listing shows no web or desktop app. Integrations on record are iwoca and HMRC. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Countingup's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among accounting and invoicing tools - Countingup's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 43 of the 127 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, and level with 30. - It stands best on value for money (B, above 89 of 127) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 2). - Its paid plans start at about $6.70 a month, against a middle price of $18.09 for the category: 10 of the 90 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 13 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/accounting ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Countingup you would be making live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $80.39 a year. - You could make: Invoicing, expense tracking and reports: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: Live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them. - You could not: A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with iwoca, HMRC **Tags:** Bookkeeping, Invoicing, Expense tracking, Reports ## Alternatives - [FreeAgent](https://toolgpa.com/tools/freeagent): Accounting for freelancers and small firms, built in the UK. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/countingup-vs-freeagent) - [QuickFile](https://toolgpa.com/tools/quickfile): UK online accounting, free for smaller ledgers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/countingup-vs-quickfile) - [Clear Books](https://toolgpa.com/tools/clearbooks): UK accounting with Making Tax Digital and free sole trader plans. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/clearbooks-vs-countingup) - [IRIS KashFlow](https://toolgpa.com/tools/kashflow): UK online accounting for sole traders and limited companies. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/countingup-vs-kashflow) - [Crunch](https://toolgpa.com/tools/crunch): UK online accountants with accounting software included. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/countingup-vs-crunch) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://countingup.com/small-businesses/pricing/ - https://countingup.com/small-businesses/eligibility/ - https://countingup.com/about-us/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/countingup Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).