Compare
Bookfolio vs FreeAgent
A detailed comparison between Bookfolio and FreeAgent accounting software.
Updated 1 September 2026
What you get
Bookfolio
FreeAgent
An accountant, included
FreeAgent: CoPilot →A UK accountant in the price
Included with every book
Ask a question or have a return checked before you approve it, inside the product where the figures are. Having us take care of the accounting itself is an agreed service, with the work and costs agreed with you.
Not included
FreeAgent's CoPilot service adds a partner accountant's own monthly fee to your subscription; those accountants are independent practices, not FreeAgent staff.
How you reach support
Message the team in the product
One place for a software question and a bookkeeping one.
Email, phone, and live chat
UK support accountants by email, phone, and live chat, 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 4pm on Friday.
Inviting your own accountant
Invite them at no extra cost
They see the same figures you do, with each transaction's history behind it.
Invite them at no extra cost
FreeAgent is built for business owners and their accountants to work in the same account, and publishes a directory of accredited practices.
Free with your bank
FreeAgent: free with your bank account →A free tier through your bank
Not offered
One published price per active book, whoever you bank with.
Free with a qualifying account
A NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business current account funds a full licence; a Mettle account funds one while you make at least one transaction a month.
Staying on that price
Nothing to keep up
Your price does not depend on the bank account you hold or how often you use it.
Keeping the bank account
FreeAgent states the funded subscription is free subject to you retaining that business current account.
A trade and a property together
One book covers both
One book holds your trade and every property you let, on one subscription.
One account for each
FreeAgent states you need a separate account to file each income stream under Making Tax Digital, and each qualifying bank account funds one licence.
MTD and HMRC filing
FreeAgent: Making Tax Digital →MTD for VAT
Filed from your books
Reconcile the quarter, read the box-by-box breakdown, then send it to HMRC.
Filed from the product
FreeAgent lists itself on HMRC's list of Making Tax Digital compatible software for VAT.
MTD for Income Tax
Quarterly updates and the final declaration
Your trade and each property sit in one Self Assessment book.
For sole traders and landlords
FreeAgent describes HMRC-recognised software for sole traders, landlords and their accountants, with quarterly updates sent from the product.
Payroll reported to HMRC
Run from the same book
Pay your team and send the RTI submission without a separate payroll product.
Included, with no per-employee charge
Payroll is listed on its sole trader, partnership, and limited company plans, and FreeAgent states you can add as many employees as you need at no extra cost.
Corporation Tax return and statutory accounts
As an agreed service
The software prepares CT-ready figures and does not file the CT600. Our accountants can prepare your annual accounts and Corporation Tax return, with the work and costs agreed with you.
Filed for micro-entities
Its limited company plan files CT600 returns to HMRC and FRS 105 micro-entity accounts to Companies House, for most micro-entities.
Everyday bookkeeping
FreeAgent: banking and bank feeds →Bank feeds and imports
Direct bank feeds and CSV import
Included with every book, with duplicate detection across imports.
Open Banking feeds
Open Banking feeds for the banks on its published list, with statement upload for accounts that have no feed.
More than one currency
Foreign currency built in
Foreign-currency accounts and spending come in at daily market rates, into books kept in sterling, with gains and losses tracked.
Accounts and invoices
Multi-currency bank accounts, and invoices raised in other currencies with the rate gain or loss shown.
Third-party app marketplace
No app marketplace
What a UK book needs is in the product itself rather than bought around it.
An integrations directory
A published directory of connected apps, from data entry and e-commerce to practice management.
Pricing model
FreeAgent: pricing →What a price covers
Software and an accountant
One price per active book, with UK accountants on hand included — not billed on top.
Software only
One plan per business type; an accountant is a separate cost on top.
How the price is set
One price per active book
The same published price whether the book is a sole trade, a property business, or a company.
Priced by business type
£10 a month for an unincorporated landlord, £19 for a sole trader, £27 for a partnership or LLP, and £33 for a limited company.
Starting price
£12 a month, excluding VAT
For a sole trader, property, or Self Assessment book. Free for the first 30 days.
From £10 a month, excluding VAT
The landlord plan; new customers are currently offered 50% off for their first six months, then the published rate.
Accurate as of 1 September 2026, checked against FreeAgent's published pricing and plans.
Bookfolio is an independent UK company. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to FreeAgent, and FreeAgent's name is used here only to identify the product being compared.
Pricing
What you would pay
Bookfolio
One monthly price per active book, with UK accountants on hand included. No per-seat fees and no transaction fees.
Sole Trader / Property / Self Assessment
£12 / month
per active book / month
Limited Company
£24 / month
per active company book / month
UK accountants on hand — in the price, not on top of it.
Prices exclude VAT. Free for 30 days, no card required.
See full Bookfolio pricing →FreeAgent
One plan per business type rather than feature tiers, from a landlord's book up to a limited company's — plus the accountant you hire alongside it.
Landlord
£10 / month
For UK unincorporated landlords. MTD for Income Tax, VAT and Self Assessment; payroll is not listed.
Sole trader
£19 / month
MTD for Income Tax, VAT, Self Assessment and payroll.
Partnership or LLP
£27 / month
VAT and the tax timeline; Self Assessment is not listed on this plan.
Limited company
£33 / month
Adds Final Accounts and Corporation Tax filing at year end.
An accountant, on top
£50–£400 / month typical
Unbiased's published guide puts a sole trader at £50 to £150 a month and a limited company at £200 to £400. What you pay depends on your accountant and your workload.
All prices exclude 20% VAT. New customers are currently offered 50% off for their first six months, after which the published rate applies, and there is a 30-day free trial.
FreeAgent: pricing →FreeAgent plan names, prices, and inclusions read from FreeAgent's published UK pricing page on 1 September 2026; typical accountant fees are indicative UK ranges from published fee guides. Bookfolio's prices are the ones on our own pricing page. On either product, a limited company's statutory accounts and CT600 sit with an accountant at year end — your own, or Bookfolio's under a separately agreed service.
Honest fit
Which one suits you
When Bookfolio fits best
You want the accountant included in the price — to ask a question or check a return — rather than hired on top, with the option of handing the accounting over as an agreed service.
You have more than one income stream and want your trade and each property in one Self Assessment book.
You want MTD for VAT, MTD for Income Tax, and payroll filed from the same book, after you have read the figures.
You want one published price per book that does not change with your business type or your bank.
When FreeAgent may suit you better
You hold a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank, or Mettle business current account: a funded licence is free while you keep the account, and that is hard to beat on price.
You want your limited company's Corporation Tax return and micro-entity accounts filed from the same product rather than prepared for an accountant.
You invoice customers in foreign currencies — Bookfolio records foreign-currency accounts and spending, but issues invoices in sterling.
You want a published directory of third-party integrations to connect the other tools you use.
Why people move
What Bookfolio does differently.
✓
The accountant is in the price
Ask a UK accountant a question inside your books, or have a return checked before you approve it — included, not invoiced separately. If you'd like us to take care of the accounting itself, we'll agree the services and costs with you. You approve every figure before anything is filed, either way.
≡
One book for everything you earn
Your trade and each property sit in the same Self Assessment book, with quarterly updates and the final declaration built from it. There is no second subscription to keep in step.
£
One price per book
A published monthly price for each active book, whether that book is a sole trade, a property business, or a company. It does not change with your business type, and it does not depend on who you bank with.
Switching
Moving from FreeAgent
I get FreeAgent free with my bank. Why would I pay?
If the free licence covers what you need, keep it — we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. What a Bookfolio price buys is UK accountants on hand inside the product, and one book covering your trade and your property together. Weigh it against what an accountant would cost you on top.
Do I still need my own accountant?
UK accountants are on hand in Bookfolio for questions and return reviews. If you'd like us to take care of the accounting, we'll agree the services and costs with you — including annual accounts and the Corporation Tax return for a limited company. You can also invite your own accountant to the book at no extra cost.
Can I bring my FreeAgent data across?
Yes. Export your contacts, chart of accounts, and transactions from FreeAgent as CSV files, then import them into a new Bookfolio book. Your FreeAgent data stays yours — take your exports before you close the subscription.
What happens to returns I have already filed?
They stay filed. HMRC holds every return you have submitted, whichever software sent it. Bookfolio picks up from your first open period, and you keep your FreeAgent records for the periods it filed.
Will I lose my HMRC connection?
No. You authorise Bookfolio through HMRC's own sign-in, separately from any other software. You can see which software has authority in your HMRC account, and remove any of it whenever you want.
When is the best time to move?
Most people move at the start of a VAT quarter or a tax year, because the opening balances are simplest then. Moving mid-period works too; it just means entering a little more history.
Can I get my data out again later?
Yes. The full audit trail of every change exports to CSV whenever you ask for it — your records are yours, and we would rather you could leave than feel stuck.
Read the detail before you decide
The filing regimes, who Bookfolio is built for, and what it costs.
MTD for Income Tax
Quarterly updates and the final declaration for sole traders and landlords, filed from your books.Read more →
MTD for VAT
Digital VAT records, a box-by-box return that builds as you reconcile, and filing straight to HMRC.Read more →
For sole traders
One book for your trade, your expenses, and the Self Assessment figures behind them.Read more →
For landlords
Every property as its own income source, with shared costs split fairly across them.Read more →
For limited companies
Company books kept clean all year, VAT filed to HMRC, and payroll run for your team.Read more →
Pricing
One monthly price per active book, published in full, with 30 days free to begin with.See pricing →
Try Bookfolio next to your current books.
30 days free, no card required. Import your last quarter, reconcile it, and ask the accountants a question while you are in there — then decide.