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Both cover accounting & tax and creator finance. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| FreeAgent | Xero | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $33 | From $25 |
| Pricing model | Free trial, then paid | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 30 days | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Not stated |
| Covers | Accounting & Tax, Creator Finance | Accounting & Tax, Creator Finance |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Accounting built around UK sole traders
FreeAgent covers invoices, expenses, VAT returns and the self assessment filing a UK sole trader has to do anyway, and it files them with HMRC directly. Bank feeds and receipt capture keep the bookkeeping from piling up into an annual weekend of dread. It is UK-only, so it is no use to anybody filing anywhere else.
Our note
The bank-account route is worth checking before paying. If you already bank with NatWest or hold a Mettle account, this is a full accounting package for nothing, and it is the only offer of that shape in the category.
Accounting a freelancer can run without help
Xero covers the parts of bookkeeping a creator actually meets: invoices, bank reconciliation, expenses and the reports an accountant asks for in January. Nothing in it assumes you have taken an accounting class. There is no free plan, and the cheapest tier stops at twenty invoices a month, which a busy freelancer clears by the third week.
Our note
Pick Xero over Wave when you have contractors to pay and a real filing to make, and Wave over Xero when you mostly need invoices to look professional. The invoice cap on the entry plan is the thing people hit and get annoyed by, so count last year's invoices before choosing it.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.