Cheapest MTD Software UK 2026: An Honest Price Comparison
By The QuarterlyUK Team · 24 February 2026
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax starts in April 2026 for sole traders and landlords earning over £50,000. If you're looking for software, you've probably noticed something: the prices you see on landing pages rarely match what you actually end up paying.
We built QuarterlyUK, so we obviously have a horse in this race. But we're going to be straight with you about what every option costs, what it does, and where each one falls short — including ours.
The comparison table
Prices were checked in February 2026. “Real Price” means what you pay once any introductory offer expires.
| Software | Intro Price | Real Price | HMRC-Recognised | Free Tier | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sage Business Cloud | Free plan available | Free (basic) / £12+/mo (full) | Yes | Yes | Full accounting suite; powerful but complex for basic bookkeeping |
| FreeAgent | Free with NatWest/RBS | £19.50/mo otherwise | Yes | Only via bank partnership | Excellent all-rounder; expensive without the bank deal |
| QuickBooks Simple Start | £1/mo for 3 months | £10/mo | Yes | No | Solid features; price jumps 10x after intro period |
| Xero Starter | ~£7/mo intro | £15/mo | Yes | No | Popular with accountants; price doubles after intro |
| GoSimpleTax | £58.94/year | £58.94/year | Yes | No | Tax return focused; straightforward annual pricing |
| Coconut | Free plan available | ~£9/mo (Pro) | Yes | Yes (limited) | Banking + accounting combined; neat concept for freelancers |
| QuarterlyUK | £2.50/mo | £2.50/mo | No (on roadmap) | Yes | Price is the price. No intro tricks. Local-first data storage. |
The intro price problem
The most common trick in MTD software pricing is the introductory offer. QuickBooks charges £1/month for the first three months, then jumps to £10/month — a 10x increase. Xero's Starter plan roughly doubles once the intro period ends. These aren't hidden fees; they're disclosed in the small print. But when you're comparing options, the headline price you see on the website is almost never what you'll actually pay long-term.
Sage and FreeAgent take a different approach. Sage offers a genuinely free tier, though the full feature set costs £12 or more per month. FreeAgent is free if you bank with NatWest or RBS — a brilliant deal if you do, but £19.50/month if you don't. GoSimpleTax keeps it simple with a flat annual fee of £58.94, which works out to about £4.91/month.
The HMRC recognition question
Here's where we have to be upfront: QuarterlyUK is not yet HMRC-recognised. That means it cannot submit your quarterly updates or Final Declaration directly to HMRC. It's on our roadmap, and we're working towards it, but we're not there yet.
Every other tool in this table can submit directly to HMRC. That's a meaningful advantage, especially if you handle your own tax affairs without an accountant.
However, HMRC's rules do allow you to keep your records in one piece of software and use separate bridging software to submit. Many accountants provide bridging software as part of their service. So if you already use an accountant, the submission part may already be covered — you just need the record-keeping side handled.
Where QuarterlyUK fits
QuarterlyUK is designed for sole traders who want something simple and cheap for the record-keeping part of MTD. It covers the 14 HMRC expense categories, tracks income, generates quarterly summaries, and costs £2.50/month with no introductory pricing games. The price today is the price tomorrow.
Your data stays on your device using local browser storage. We never see your financial records, which is a genuine privacy advantage — but it also means you're responsible for backups (we provide CSV export for that).
Best for: Sole traders who need straightforward digital records and already have an accountant or are willing to use bridging software for the HMRC submission. People who want a simple, affordable tool without being upsold into a full accounting suite.
Not best for: Those who need to submit directly to HMRC right now without an accountant. If you want a single tool that handles everything end-to-end today, one of the HMRC-recognised options above will serve you better — just be aware of the real price.
Our recommendation (honestly)
If you bank with NatWest or RBS, FreeAgent is hard to beat — it's free and does everything. If you want a full accounting suite and don't mind complexity, Sage's free tier is genuinely generous. If you want the simplest path to MTD compliance with direct submission, GoSimpleTax offers fair annual pricing without intro tricks.
If you want the cheapest ongoing cost for clean, simple digital records and you have an accountant handling submissions, that's where QuarterlyUK comes in. £2.50/month, no surprises.
A note on accuracy
Software prices change frequently. We checked these in February 2026, but we recommend visiting each provider's website directly before making a decision. If you spot anything out of date, let us know at hello@quarterlyuk.com and we'll update this page.