Last Updated on September 8, 2026
Most reviews of accounting software start with the feature list. That is the wrong place to start with FreeAgent, because for a large group of UK business owners the only fact that matters is this one: if your business banks with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank or Mettle, FreeAgent is free. Not a trial, not a cut-down tier. The full product, for as long as you hold the account.
For everyone else it costs between £10 and £33 a month once the introductory discount ends, and whether that is good value depends on what you would otherwise pay and what you actually need. This review covers both situations, with every price taken from FreeAgent’s own pricing page on 4 September 2026.
Whito has no affiliate relationship with FreeAgent and nobody paid for this review. Read our review methodology and how we make money.
The quick verdict
FreeAgent is UK-built accounting software aimed at sole traders, landlords, partnerships and small limited companies. It files Self Assessment and VAT directly to HMRC, it is on HMRC’s recognised list for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and payroll is included at no extra cost. Those three things together are unusual at this price.
If you qualify for the free version through your bank, use it. There is no serious argument against software this capable at £0.
If you are paying full price, the decision is closer. FreeAgent holds its own for service businesses and freelancers, but businesses holding stock or wanting a deep app marketplace are better served by Xero or QuickBooks. The detail is below.
FreeAgent pricing, checked 4 September 2026
All prices exclude VAT. Every plan is 50% off for the first six months on monthly billing, or 50% off the first year on annual billing.
| Plan | First six months | From month seven | Annual route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landlord | £5/month | £10/month | £50 first year, then £100 |
| Sole Trader | £9.50/month | £19/month | £95 first year, then £190 |
| Partnership / LLP | £13.50/month | £27/month | £135 first year, then £270 |
| Limited Company | £16.50/month | £33/month | £165 first year, then £330 |
Two paid add-ons exist: Smart Capture Unlimited at £5 a month, which removes the standard limit of 10 receipt and bill captures a month, and an Amazon connection at £6 a month for Amazon sellers.
And the row that is missing from that table: a business current account with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank makes every one of those prices £0 for as long as you keep the account. A Mettle account does the same if you make at least one transaction a month.
The £0 route, spelled out
NatWest Group owns FreeAgent, and it gives the software away to its business banking customers. This is not a stripped version. FreeAgent’s own pages state that free accounts get the same core features as paid ones, with only the two optional add-ons above remaining chargeable, and it stays free for as long as the account stays open.
The conditions, as FreeAgent’s pricing page states them: a business current account with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank qualifies for as long as you retain the account. A Mettle account qualifies as long as it sees at least one transaction a month.
Should you switch banks to get free software? On its own, no. A bank account is a bigger decision than a £19 subscription, and switching your banking to save £228 a year only makes sense if the account suits you anyway. But if you are starting a business and choosing a bank from scratch, or you already bank with NatWest Group and are paying for accounting software elsewhere, this is the cheapest respectable accounting setup available in the UK.
The catch to understand is dependency. The free deal lasts exactly as long as the account does. If you leave the bank later, you either start paying FreeAgent’s full price or you migrate your books. Neither is a disaster, but know it going in.
The month-seven price
Whito prices subscriptions at what we call the month-seven price: the full ongoing cost after the introductory discount expires, because that is the price you actually live with.
On that measure FreeAgent is the most honest of the major UK accounting vendors. Its price doubles at month seven, from £9.50 to £19 for sole traders. When we priced the whole market on 1 September 2026, QuickBooks and Sage jumped roughly tenfold at month seven and Xero fivefold, because their deeper discounts make the entry price look smaller than it is. A doubling is still a jump, but it is the smallest jump in the group, and the advertised price is closer to the truth.
For comparison, Xero’s cheapest business plan works out at £444 a year excluding VAT from year two. FreeAgent’s Sole Trader plan on monthly billing is £228, or £190 on the annual route. QuickBooks’ Sole Trader plan undercuts FreeAgent on headline price, and our MTD software cost guide keeps the current table for the whole market.
What every plan includes
The feature set is the same shape across plans, with tax filing matched to your legal structure. All plans include invoicing with automatic payment reminders, expense and mileage tracking, bank feeds, smart transaction categorisation, cashflow forecasting, projects and time tracking, a mobile app and UK-based support.
Three inclusions deserve more attention than FreeAgent’s own marketing gives them.
Payroll is included, with no per-employee fee
FreeAgent runs payroll inside the subscription: monthly payslips, P60s, Real Time Information submissions directly to HMRC, pension contribution calculations, statutory pay and student loan deductions. There is no stated employee cap and no per-head charge.
Xero’s Grow plan includes payroll for one employee only, and QuickBooks sells payroll as an add-on. For a business with two or three staff, payroll alone can close most of the price gap between FreeAgent and a cheaper-looking rival. FreeAgent’s payroll is simpler than a dedicated payroll product, which is fine for a small stable team and limiting for anything complicated, but as an inclusion at £0 extra it is a genuine differentiator.
Self Assessment files directly to HMRC
FreeAgent auto-populates most of the Self Assessment return from your books and files it directly to HMRC. Xero does not file Self Assessment at all, and QuickBooks only does so on its Sole Trader plan. If January is the month you dread, this feature is worth more than any dashboard.
Making Tax Digital, all three flavours
FreeAgent files MTD-compatible VAT returns directly to HMRC, and it is on HMRC’s recognised software list for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which is the one that matters now. Since 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000 must keep digital records and send quarterly updates to HMRC. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028.
In practice that means four quarterly submission deadlines a year, on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, plus a final declaration by 31 January. The Sole Trader and Landlord plans handle both the quarterly updates and the final declaration inside the software. Limited companies get Final Accounts and Corporation Tax filing instead.
Where FreeAgent falls short
No stock or inventory management. If you buy and sell physical products and need to track what is on the shelf, FreeAgent is the wrong tool, full stop.
A smaller ecosystem. Xero and QuickBooks have app marketplaces with hundreds of integrations. FreeAgent connects to the essentials, but if your business runs on a chain of connected tools, check each link exists before committing.
Fewer accountants know it. FreeAgent is less common in UK accountancy practices than Xero, though plenty of firms that specialise in freelancers and contractors work with it happily. If you already have an accountant, one conversation settles this.
The Smart Capture cap. Receipt scanning is limited to 10 captures a month on the standard plans. A paper-heavy business either pays the £5 add-on or types things in. Minor, but it is the kind of small charge worth knowing about before it appears.
Who FreeAgent fits, by stage
Start. A sole trader or new landlord getting their first proper books. FreeAgent fits this stage almost perfectly, and if you are choosing a business bank account at the same time, the NatWest Group route makes the software decision for you. The Landlord plan at £10 a month full price is also one of the cheapest MTD-ready options for a small property income.
Build. A service business taking on its first employees, registering for VAT, invoicing steadily. Still a good fit. Included payroll and direct VAT filing carry real weight here, and the £33 Limited Company plan is priced below the equivalent Xero or QuickBooks setup once their add-ons are counted.
Scale. Multiple entities, stock, complex reporting, a stack of integrated tools. This is where FreeAgent runs out of road and Xero’s ecosystem earns its price. Most businesses that outgrow FreeAgent migrate at this point, and that is a normal, planned move rather than a failure.
The takeaway
FreeAgent is the rare piece of business software where the pricing page is the most interesting page. Free through the right bank account, the least aggressive intro-discount games in its market, payroll and Self Assessment filing included where rivals charge extra.
If you bank with NatWest Group: use it, and stop paying for whatever you use now unless it does something FreeAgent cannot.
If you do not: it is a solid, honestly priced choice for service businesses, freelancers and landlords, and the wrong choice for anyone with stock. Structure before scale: get the books right on whichever tool matches your stage, and revisit when the business changes shape.
Common questions
Is FreeAgent really free with NatWest?
Yes. A business current account with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank includes full FreeAgent for as long as you retain the account, and a Mettle account includes it if you make at least one transaction a month. It is the complete product, not a reduced tier. Checked on FreeAgent’s own pricing page, 4 September 2026.
How much does FreeAgent cost after the discount ends?
From month seven on monthly billing, excluding VAT: £10 a month for Landlord, £19 for Sole Trader, £27 for Partnership and £33 for Limited Company. Annual billing is £100, £190, £270 and £330 respectively after the first discounted year. Checked 4 September 2026.
Does FreeAgent include payroll?
Yes, at no extra cost on every plan. It generates payslips and P60s, submits Real Time Information directly to HMRC, and calculates pension contributions, statutory pay and student loan deductions. There is no per-employee charge, which rivals typically add.
Is FreeAgent ready for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?
Yes. FreeAgent is on HMRC’s recognised software list for MTD for Income Tax, which applies from 6 April 2026 to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000, dropping to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. The Sole Trader and Landlord plans file the quarterly updates and the final declaration directly.
Is FreeAgent better than Xero or QuickBooks?
It depends on the business. Free through a NatWest Group account, FreeAgent is unbeatable on value. At full price it wins for freelancers, service businesses and landlords who want Self Assessment filing and payroll included, while Xero and QuickBooks win for product businesses with stock and for anyone who needs a large integration marketplace. Our Xero vs QuickBooks comparison covers the other side of that decision.
Who owns FreeAgent?
NatWest Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, since renamed NatWest Group, bought the Edinburgh-based company in 2018. That ownership is why NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and Mettle business customers get it free. FreeAgent operates as its own product with its own team.
Sources
All prices and plan details were read on FreeAgent’s own pages on 4 September 2026: freeagent.com/pricing, freeagent.com/features/payroll, FreeAgent’s free accounting software page and FreeAgent’s MTD for Income Tax guide. Market comparison figures come from the UK Software Waste Index, priced 1 September 2026. Where a rival’s price is not restated here, the current table lives in our MTD software cost guide. Corrections are noted on the page with a date.
