How does FreeAgent compare with our service for tradespeople?

FreeAgent's sole trader plan is £19 a month + VAT, or £190 a year + VAT, as listed on 17 October 2026, and it is free with some business bank accounts. Our yearly plan is £350 including VAT.

The bigger difference is who does the work. FreeAgent is accounting software: you keep your own books in it, or an accountant you choose does. It fills in your Making Tax Digital (MTD) quarterly updates from what you have recorded, and you check them and send them. Ours is a managed service: bank transactions are sorted automatically, we prepare the updates and your tax return, and you confirm every figure before anything is sent to HMRC. Our tax plans start once our HMRC registrations are complete. Until then you can join the waitlist, and no payment is taken.

Prices compared

FreeAgent's prices were checked on its website on 17 October 2026. FreeAgent lists them excluding 20% VAT, so the including-VAT figures are ours, worked out at 20%. Our prices include VAT.

FreeAgent's free route has conditions. Its pricing page says it is free "for as long as you retain the account" with a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business current account, "or have a Mettle bank account and make at least one transaction a month". It adds: "Optional add-ons may be chargeable." One add-on is unlimited receipt capture at £5 a month + VAT, for more than 10 receipts and bills a month. Its free-software page says free accounts get "the same core features as a paid account". Anyone else gets a 30-day free trial.

Our founding offer is for the first 500 trades clients. Cancel any time. We'll remind you before it changes.

What each one does

The GOV.UK software finder lists FreeAgent, and its free bank version, as Ready now for sole trader quarterly updates and for the Construction Industry Scheme on the tax return.

When FreeAgent is the better choice

• You bank with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle. You may get the full software free.
• You are happy to do your own books. FreeAgent's full price comes to £228 a year including VAT, and its yearly plan is half price in the first year. Our yearly plan is £350 including VAT.
• You want invoicing or estimates. FreeAgent includes them, and payroll on the traditional basis. We don't offer them.
• You are VAT-registered. FreeAgent's plan covers VAT returns; ours costs £10 a month extra.
• You already have an accountant who uses FreeAgent, or you need to start now.

When our service may suit you better

• You would rather not keep the books yourself. With FreeAgent, you still check every update. With our Trades Tax plan, the books are kept for you and you confirm the figures. Coming later. Not available yet: starts once our HMRC registrations are complete.
• You don't want to handle the CIS steps. FreeAgent's help centre says MTD users tick a CIS box and check the deductions HMRC sends back before the final declaration, and reset the CIS balance with a journal entry each tax year. With us, CIS deductions are matched to your statements and counted in your tax return. Before you join Making Tax Digital, over-deducted CIS is claimed back through your Self Assessment tax return. Once you are in Making Tax Digital, HMRC adds your CIS deductions to your tax return, and any refund is requested separately through HMRC online services.
• You bank elsewhere and don't want to move. FreeAgent's free route needs a NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle account. We work from the bank account you already have, and we never ask for your HMRC password.

What this means for you

If your self-employed turnover and rent before expenses came to more than £30,000 in 2025-26, MTD starts for you on 6 April 2027. Your first quarterly update covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 and is due by 7 August 2027. Each missed deadline earns a penalty point, and 4 points means a £200 penalty.

Here, the software costs less but you do the work. The managed service costs more and does the work for you. If someone else files for you, they act as your agent with HMRC, and only your main agent can send your tax return.

Steps to choose between them

1. Use the free MTD check to see whether and when MTD starts for you.
2. Check whether you already have a NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle business account.
3. Will you sort your transactions and send four updates a year yourself?
4. Compare yearly prices including VAT. FreeAgent at full price comes to £228. Our yearly plan is £350 including VAT.
5. Ask each provider how CIS deductions reach your tax return, and who checks them.
6. If you would rather hand the work over, see the trades plan and join the waitlist. No payment is taken.