Best invoicing app in the UK
Ten apps, priced and checked on 7 October 2026

There is no single best invoicing app for every UK sole trader, and any list that says otherwise is selling something. There is a best app for how you get paid, and a best app for what happens to the money afterwards.

So this page compares ten apps on the things that change the answer: what the plans limit, what a card payment costs, whether the app chases late payers, and whether it files your Making Tax Digital quarterly updates. Every price and HMRC listing was checked on 7 October 2026, and TapTax, which publishes this page, is ranked on the same terms as everyone else.

How we compared them

We looked at what a UK sole trader actually runs into. First, the limit: invoices a month, clients, or nothing. Second, card fees, because a percentage of every invoice adds up faster than a subscription. Third, chasing, because late payment costs sole traders more than any software does. Fourth, Making Tax Digital: from 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 send quarterly updates through compatible software, so an app that files saves recording your income twice.

Prices are the vendors' own, excluding VAT where they quote it that way, on 7 October 2026. Where a vendor's page could not be read, we used its app store listing or help centre and say so on its own comparison page.

The ten, side by side

Sources: TapTax plans, SumUp, Square, Zoho Invoice, Zoho Books, Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Zervant, Invoice Simple on the UK App Store and Invoice2go, all checked 7 October 2026. Each app's own comparison page, linked below, has the detail.

Best for card payments: SumUp Invoices and Square

If your clients are members of the public who want to pay by card, a payments company's invoicing is the natural fit. SumUp Invoices is free with unlimited invoices and quotes, charges 2.5% per card payment, and on the Free plan pays bank transfers into a SumUp Business Account. Square Invoices is free with unlimited invoices, estimates and contracts, charges 2.5% for UK cards, and adds recurring invoices with a card on file.

Neither does your tax, though SumUp offers a free MTD product for sole trader income only.

SumUp Accounting

£0(checked 7 October 2026)

• Free version: yes
• No mobile app listed: no
• Sole trader income: yes
• UK property income: no
• Foreign property income: no
• Keeps digital records: yes

0/16 tax-return items ready, 9 more in development.

HMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 2 October 2026. Feature flags are vendor-declared. Vendor site

SumUp's free MTD for Income Tax, built on Sage technology. Sole trader income only; not graded for property.

Best for sole traders who do their own books under MTD: TapTax

TapTax is our product, so judge this one by the facts. Starter is £4.99 a month or £49 a year with unlimited invoices from six templates, saved clients and a rate card, repeating invoices and reminders before, on and after the due date. For business clients it can add statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate and £40, £70 or £100 fixed compensation to those reminders. It reads receipts and supplier bills, matches them to your CSV bank statement, and files your quarterly updates for sole trader income and, on Pro at £9.99, property income.

What it does not do: take card payments on an invoice, keep quotes in your account (the quote generator is a free web tool), track time or file VAT returns. TapTax is HMRC-recognised, with its directory listing pending.

Statutory late-payment interest

Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, a business can charge another business 8% a year above the Bank of England base rate on a late invoice, plus £40, £70 or £100 fixed compensation.

Best full accounting with invoicing: Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent

These are accounting packages with strong invoicing inside, and all three are on HMRC's list for MTD for Income Tax.

Xero raised its UK prices on 1 September 2026. On 7 October Simple was £7 a month excluding VAT with quotes and 10 invoices, Ignite £18 with 20 invoices, and Grow £39 with unlimited invoices. Card payments through Stripe were 1.5% plus 20p on standard UK cards.

QuickBooks listed Sole Trader Plus at £10 and Simple Start at £16 a month excluding VAT, with a 90% discount for six months. Recurring invoices start on Essentials at £38. Card payments were 1.2% plus 20p.

FreeAgent lists its sole trader plan at £19 a month excluding VAT, and is free if you keep a NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank business account, or use Mettle with at least one transaction a month. It has recurring invoices, automatic chasers and multi-currency invoices.

Xero

£7 + VAT/mo Simple, £18 Ignite, £39 Grow(checked 7 October 2026)

• Free version: no
• Android; Apple iOS: yes
• Sole trader income: yes
• UK property income: yes
• Foreign property income: yes
• Keeps digital records: yes

4/16 tax-return items ready, 12 more in development.

HMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 2 October 2026. Feature flags are vendor-declared. Vendor site

Prices rose on 1 September 2026. Simple allows 10 invoices a month; unlimited invoicing starts on Grow.

FreeAgent

£19 + VAT/mo, or free with NatWest, RBS, Ulster or Mettle(checked 7 October 2026)

• Free version: no
• Android; Apple iOS: yes
• Sole trader income: yes
• UK property income: yes
• Foreign property income: no
• Keeps digital records: yes

16/16 tax-return items ready.

HMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 2 October 2026. Feature flags are vendor-declared. Vendor site

Full accounting with recurring invoices and chasers. Late-payment interest is added by hand.

HMRC lists what each vendor declares. Feature flags, mobile-app support in particular, are vendor claims rather than verified facts, and listings change. Check with the vendor before you buy. Data: HMRC find-MTD-software service (tax.service.gov.uk), scraped 2 October 2026.

Best free plan that files: Zoho Books

Zoho Invoice is free forever for 500 invoices a year with "Powered by Zoho Invoice" branding. Its sister product Zoho Books has a free plan with 1,000 invoices a year, 50 receipt scans a month and MTD for Income Tax, quarterly updates and the final return, per Zoho's UK pricing on 7 October 2026. HMRC lists Zoho with a free version. It is web-first accounting software, so expect a chart of accounts and more set-up than an invoice app.

Invoice makers that price by volume

Invoice Simple, Invoice2go and Zervant are capable invoice makers that limit their cheaper plans. Invoice Simple Essentials was £6.99 a month for 3 invoices on the UK App Store; Invoice2go Starter £7.99 for 2; Zervant Free 5 a month, with unlimited from £10.99 excluding VAT. They take card payments and keep estimates in the app, but none files Making Tax Digital, and their unlimited plans cost from £10.99 to £44.99 a month. Billdu limits clients instead, and OnlineInvoices prices in dollars with no UK VAT or MTD features.

How to choose in one minute

1. Do your clients pay by card? SumUp or Square.
2. Does your accountant work in Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent? Use what they use.
3. Do you bank with NatWest, RBS, Ulster or Mettle? FreeAgent is free.
4. Do you do your own books and file under MTD? TapTax, or Zoho Books if you want free and do not mind accounting software.
5. Just one or two invoices? Our free invoice generator, no account needed.

The bottom line

“Pick the invoicing app for how you get paid, then check what it does with the money. Under Making Tax Digital, the second question matters more.”

For card payments, SumUp and Square are hard to beat at £0. For full accounting, Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent are the established choices, with FreeAgent free through some banks. For a sole trader who wants invoicing, receipts and quarterly filing in one app for £4.99 a month, TapTax is built for exactly that.

People also ask

What is the cheapest invoicing app in the UK?

Several are free: SumUp Invoices and Square Invoices with unlimited invoices, Zoho Invoice with 500 a year and Zervant with 5 a month, checked 7 October 2026. The cheapest paid app with unlimited invoices and MTD filing is TapTax Starter at £4.99 a month.

Which invoicing app is best for VAT-registered sole traders?

One that files MTD for VAT as well: Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or Zoho Books. TapTax handles VAT on invoices but does not file VAT returns.

Can I charge late payment interest through an invoicing app?

TapTax adds statutory interest and fixed compensation to reminders for business clients if you switch it on. FreeAgent lets you add interest by hand; most invoice apps we checked did not mention it.

Is it worth paying for an invoicing app?

Once you invoice regularly, usually yes: automatic reminders alone tend to bring payments in sooner. Under Making Tax Digital, an app that also files your quarterly updates replaces a second subscription.