QuickFile vs QuickBooks
Side-by-side comparison for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
QuickFile
UK-built, genuinely free under 1,000 transactions/year.
QuickFile is a UK-built cloud accounting platform with a generous free tier, free for small businesses with fewer than 1,000 nominal ledger entries in a year, and £60/yr above that. Full MTD support for VAT and Income Tax, HMRC-recognised on the free tier with no MTD features held back behind the paywall. Probably the most capable free accounting tool in the UK market, with Pandle and Clear Books as the closest free alternatives.
Visit QuickFileQuickBooks
Big US brand with strong UK MTD support.
QuickBooks Online is Intuit's cloud accounting product. Regular heavy discounts (often 90% off for 6 months) make it effectively cheap to start. Full MTD VAT and Income Tax support.
Visit QuickBooksFull feature comparison
| QuickFile | QuickBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & compliance | ||
| Price from | Free | £12/mo |
| Free tier | ✓ | – |
| HMRC-recognised | ✓ | ✓ |
| Features | ||
| Bank feeds | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile app | – | ✓ |
| Receipt scanning | – | ✓ |
| CIS support | – | ✓ |
| Furnished holiday let support | – | – |
| VAT submission | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bridging software | – | – |
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multiple properties | – | – |
| Accountant access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Best suited to | ||
| Sole Traders | ✓ | ✓ |
| Landlords | ✓ | – |
| Airbnb / Short-let Hosts | – | – |
| CIS Subcontractors | – | ✓ |
| Uber & Gig Drivers | – | – |
| Freelancers | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spreadsheet Users | – | – |
| Simple Affairs | ✓ | – |
| Accountants | – | ✓ |
| VAT-Registered | ✓ | ✓ |
✓ = supported. Based on each provider's published plans; check their site for the latest details.
QuickFile verdict
The best free accounting option for sole traders who've outgrown HMRC's basic tool, with double-entry bookkeeping, bank feeds, and MTD filing all included on the free tier.
QuickBooks verdict
A strong all-rounder, especially for CIS subcontractors. Watch the post-intro pricing.