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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 | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $33 | From $20 |
| Pricing model | Free trial, then paid | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 30 days | None |
| 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.
Free accounting for a one person business
Zoho Books gives a solo business a genuinely free plan with invoices, expenses, bank reconciliation and 1099 tracking on it, which is more than most vendors put behind their cheapest paid tier. It is worth the trade if you already use anything else Zoho makes. On its own it is a heavier, more form-driven thing to learn than the tools built for freelancers first.
Our note
This is the strongest free accounting product a solo creator can get, and the catch is not the features but the interface: it is built by a company that sells fifty products and it feels like it. If you already resent bookkeeping, Wave will annoy you less.
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.