FreeAgent alternatives without NatWest
Free MTD software that does not need a specific bank account
HMRC's directory shows FreeAgent with a free version. In practice that free access requires a NatWest, RBS, Ulster or Mettle account used monthly. Here is what else is free, without the bank tie.
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Total turnover before expenses
Under £1,000 we use the trading allowance automatically
Estimated tax bill
£6,872
15.3% effective rate for 2026/27
- Income tax
- £5,286
- Class 4 NI
- £1,586
Take-home pay
£32,128
after tax, NI and expenses
This is an estimate using HMRC-confirmed rates for 2026/27, not your official tax calculation. TapTax is MTD-compatible, so you can connect to HMRC and file the real figures in a couple of taps.
FreeAgent is a good product with an unusual commercial model, and the model is why this page exists. HMRC's software directory shows FreeAgent with a free version, which is true. What the directory cannot show is the condition attached: as checked in August 2026, FreeAgent is £0 for people holding a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank or Mettle account and using it monthly. NatWest Group owns FreeAgent, so the free tier is a banking benefit rather than a product tier.
If you bank elsewhere and have no intention of moving, that free version is not available to you, and the list price is £19 a month for the sole trader plan or £10 for the landlord plan. This page is about what else you can use.
- HMRC's directory shows FreeAgent with a free version, but the free route requires a NatWest, RBS, Ulster or Mettle account used monthly, as checked August 2026.
- Without a qualifying account, FreeAgent lists at £19/mo sole trader or £10/mo landlord, with £9.50 and £5 promotional rates running.
- FreeAgent is graded 15 of 16 tax-return items ready, which is top-cohort, but not included on foreign property.
- Clear Books Free is the closest bank-independent match: £0 forever, same 15 of 16 grade, and HMRC Assist supported where FreeAgent is not.
- TaxHeaven Angel, My Tax Digital and Self Assessment Direct are also free with no bank condition; TapTax's free tier connects to any bank via open banking.
What HMRC's directory says about FreeAgent
HMRC publishes a feature grid for every listed product using its own three-state scale: ready now, in development, or not included. We scraped all 122 listings on 5 August 2026.
FreeAgent
£19/mo sole trader, £10/mo landlord list; £0 with a NatWest, RBS, Ulster or Mettle account(checked August 2026)
- Free version: yes
- Android; Apple iOS: yes
- Sole trader income: yes
- UK property income: yes
- Foreign property income: no
- Keeps digital records: yes
15/16 tax-return items ready, 1 more in development.
HMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 5 August 2026. Feature flags are vendor-declared.
Promotional rates of £9.50 and £5 have been running. The free route requires a qualifying bank account used monthly. Graded not included on foreign property.
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 5 August 2026.
On capability this is a strong listing and nothing here is a criticism of the software. Fifteen of 16 tax-return items ready puts FreeAgent in the top cohort of the whole directory, alongside Clear Books, QuickBooks, untied, Kletta, RentalBux, TaxHeaven and My Tax Digital. Digital record-keeping, agent software and calendar update periods are all graded ready, and iOS and Android apps are listed.
Two gaps to note. Foreign property is graded not included, so an overseas rental is out. And HMRC Assist submission feedback is graded not included, where Clear Books and QuickBooks are ready.
- Free version (HMRC directory)
- A flag HMRC displays when a vendor declares a free version of its product. It says nothing about the conditions attached. Across the directory those conditions vary enormously: some free tiers are forever-free with no card, some are capped by property or invoice count, some expire on a fixed date, and some require you to open or hold a particular bank account. 31 of the 122 listed products carry the flag, so reading the vendor's own terms is the only way to know what a given free version means.
The bank-linked free tier pattern
FreeAgent is not alone in this, and once you see the pattern across the directory it is hard to unsee. A meaningful share of the free tiers on HMRC's list are customer-acquisition deals for a financial product rather than free software.
31of 122 (25%)list a free versionHMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 5 August 2026Within that group:
- FreeAgent is free with a NatWest, RBS, Ulster or Mettle account, used monthly. NatWest Group owns FreeAgent.
- Coconut Free is tied to a Zempler Bank account deal for new funded accounts, as checked in August 2026. Coconut's own 14-day trial cannot file.
- Monzo, Starling, Lloyds Bank and Tide Accounting all appear on the directory with free versions that come with their business accounts. All four are graded 0 of 16 on tax-return items today, so they are record-keepers rather than return-completers.
None of that is dishonest. Banks giving away MTD tooling to make current accounts stickier is a rational strategy and a genuine saving if you already bank there. It just means "free" on the directory and "free for you" are different questions.
The bank-independent free options are a shorter list, and they are what most people searching for this actually want. The full breakdown is in our analysis of all 122 HMRC-listed MTD tools.
The alternatives, ranked by how closely they match FreeAgent
Clear Books Free: the closest match
Clear Books Free
£0 forever(checked August 2026)
- Free version: yes
- Android; Apple iOS: yes
- Sole trader income: yes
- UK property income: yes
- Foreign property income: no
- Keeps digital records: yes
15/16 tax-return items ready, 1 more in development.
HMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 5 August 2026. Feature flags are vendor-declared. Vendor site
No card, no transaction limits, covers quarterly updates and the final declaration. Graded not included on foreign property, same as FreeAgent.
Grade for grade this is the nearest thing to FreeAgent without a bank condition. Both are established UK accounting products, both are graded ready on digital record-keeping, sole trader, UK property, agent software and calendar quarters, both are not included on foreign property, and both carry 15 of 16 return items with partnership income outstanding. Clear Books Free adds HMRC Assist, which FreeAgent lacks.
The difference is that Clear Books is free for everyone rather than free for NatWest customers.
TaxHeaven and My Tax Digital: free, and ready on foreign property
TaxHeaven
£0 Angel, £58.80/yr Archangel(checked August 2026)
- Free version: yes
- No mobile app listed: no
- Sole trader income: yes
- UK property income: yes
- Foreign property income: yes
- Keeps digital records: yes
15/16 tax-return items ready, 1 more in development.
HMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 5 August 2026. Feature flags are vendor-declared. Vendor site
Angel covers one automated business or income type and three AI uses a month. No mobile app listed. Graded ready on foreign property.
My Tax Digital (Free)
£0(checked August 2026)
- Free version: yes
- No mobile app listed: no
- Sole trader income: yes
- UK property income: yes
- Foreign property income: yes
- Keeps digital records: yes
15/16 tax-return items ready, 1 more in development.
HMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 5 August 2026. Feature flags are vendor-declared. Vendor site
No paid tier at all. Covers VAT and Income Tax, bridging or full accounting, multi-business and agents. Web only, no mobile app listed.
Both are free with no bank condition, both are graded 15 of 16 on return items, and both are graded ready on foreign property where FreeAgent is not. The trade is interface: neither is listed with a mobile app.
If you want a mobile-first product
This is where the market gets thin, and it is worth understanding why before you shortlist.
52of 122 (43%)list a mobile appHMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 5 August 2026Plenty of apps, then. But cross-reference against free filing and the overlap nearly disappears: the products that give away the full obligation are overwhelmingly browser-based, while the mobile-first names charge. Kletta self-serve software lists at £19 to £29 a month (its £49 Care tier includes a human bookkeeper), untied at £129.99 a year, Coconut at £129.99 a year, and TaxZap at around £8.99 a month, none with a permanent free tier.
Three listed products do sit in that overlap, being free, on both app stores, keeping digital records and covering all three income sources: DIY Tax, Self Assessment Direct and RentalBux Free. Each comes with conditions. DIY Tax's free edition is capped at one business or property, 30 invoices and expenses, and MTD for VAT or Income Tax but not both. Self Assessment Direct's mobile flag is vendor-declared and sits oddly against a web-first product. RentalBux Free is the most usable of the three, on its own terms:
RentalBux Free
£0(checked August 2026)
- Free version: yes
- Android; Apple iOS: yes
- Sole trader income: yes
- UK property income: yes
- Foreign property income: yes
- Keeps digital records: yes
15/16 tax-return items ready.
HMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 5 August 2026. Feature flags are vendor-declared. Vendor site
Free plan covers one property and is described as free until March 2028. Graded ready on all three income sources and 15 of 16 return items.
TapTax targets exactly this gap: a free tier with native iOS and Android apps, open banking connection to whichever bank you already use, AI categorisation, receipt capture and CSV import with presets for 16 UK banks, covering sole trader, UK property and foreign property. There is no bank condition and no property cap on the free tier.
The caveat we put on every page applies here too: TapTax is MTD-compatible and going through HMRC's recognition process, so it did not appear on the 5 August 2026 directory scrape. FreeAgent is listed today. If you need to file a live submission this month, use a listed product. TapTax's own return-items grade is mid-pack at roughly six to eight of 16, behind FreeAgent's 15.
Free with a bank account is a perfectly good deal if you already have the bank account. It is a switching cost dressed as a discount if you do not.
Side by side, checked August 2026
| FreeAgent | Clear Books Free | TaxHeaven Angel | TapTax Free | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | £0 with NatWest, RBS, Ulster or Mettle; else £19/mo sole trader, £10/mo landlord | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Bank condition | Yes, qualifying account used monthly | No | No | No, connects to your existing bank |
| Return items ready | 15 of 16 | 15 of 16 | 15 of 16 | 6 to 8 of 16 |
| Sole trader | Ready | Ready | Ready | Yes |
| UK property | Ready | Ready | Ready | Yes |
| Foreign property | Not included | Not included | Ready | Yes |
| HMRC Assist | Not included | Ready | Ready | No |
| Mobile app | iOS and Android | iOS and Android (vendor-declared) | None listed | iOS and Android |
| Final declaration on free | Yes, with qualifying account | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HMRC directory status | Listed | Listed | Listed | Not listed; recognition in progress |
Feature grades in the first three columns are HMRC's own from the 5 August 2026 scrape. Prices are from vendor pricing pages as checked in August 2026.
Who should choose what
You bank with NatWest, RBS, Ulster or Mettle. Stay on FreeAgent. It is free, it is graded 15 of 16, and nothing on this page beats free plus top-cohort completeness.
You bank elsewhere and want the same thing for nothing. Clear Books Free. Same grades on almost every axis, no bank condition, and HMRC Assist on top.
You have an overseas rental. Not FreeAgent, and not Clear Books either, on current grading. TaxHeaven, My Tax Digital, RentalBux, Xero or TapTax.
You want to do your tax on a phone without switching banks. TapTax is built for that shape, with recognition in progress. RentalBux Free is the listed alternative if one property covers you.
You are happy paying and want the accountant ecosystem. FreeAgent at list price is defensible if your accountant already works in it. Otherwise compare against QuickBooks at £10 plus VAT a month, which is graded the same 15 of 16 and adds HMRC Assist.
The bottom line
FreeAgent's free version is real and its HMRC grades are strong. The condition is a bank account most people do not have, and switching banks to save £19 a month is a bigger decision than the saving justifies for most sole traders.
Without that account, the alternatives are genuinely better value: Clear Books Free matches FreeAgent grade for grade at £0 with no strings, TaxHeaven and My Tax Digital add foreign property, and TapTax offers the free-plus-mobile combination that almost nothing on the directory does, with recognition in progress.
Compare any of them against the same source rather than the marketing, in the MTD software directory.
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