Bokio vs FreeAgent
Bokio
bokio.co.uk
FreeAgent
freeagent.comSide by side
| Figure | Bokio | FreeAgent |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £24.95/mo | £4.17/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 23 |
| Spec score · Gym Accounting Software | 8.9 (#4) | 9.2 (#1) |
| Company founding | LinkedIn lists Bokio as founded in 2015, headquartered in Göteborg, privately held and employing 51–200 people. | FreeAgent was launched in 2007 by founders Ed Molyneux, Olly Headey and Roan Lavery. |
| Data protection | Bokio says user data is handled according to GDPR and that it does not sell or distribute user data to third-party companies. | The FAQ says data is encrypted in transit with SSL, stored in Ireland, protected with 256-bit AES encryption and exportable as XLSX. |
| Expenses | Users can upload receipts, record expenses and schedule payments. | The product records expenses and mileage and lets users capture receipts with a phone camera. |
| Founded | 2015 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Gothenburg and Stockholm, Sweden | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
| Invoicing | Users can create, email or download invoices, record payments, manage credit and supplier invoices, and create quotes. | Users can create recurring invoices, automate late-payment reminders, convert estimates into invoices, and accept invoice payments through Stripe and PayPal. |
| Licence | SoftwareWorld classifies Bokio as proprietary software. | The service is supplied under a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence rather than as source code for customer modification or redistribution. |
| Mobile app | The app uploads accounting documents, reads receipts with AI, generates reports and tracks transactions and invoices. | FreeAgent offers iOS and Android apps for tasks including expense recording, time tracking, invoice management and bank transaction reconciliation. |
| Ownership | Crunchbase says Bokio was acquired by Visma. | NatWest Group acquired FreeAgent in early 2018, while FreeAgent says it remains operationally independent. |
| Praise: ease of use | Trustpilot UK reviewers repeatedly describe Bokio as easy to use, simple to learn or relatively easy to use. | Independent reviewers repeatedly praise the clean interface, straightforward invoicing, easy bank reconciliation and suitability for non-accountants. |
| Product | Bokio is an online accounting system for bookkeeping, invoicing, expenses and financial administration. | FreeAgent is accounting software designed to automate business admin such as invoicing and expenses, streamline tax reporting and provide business insights and reports. |
| Rating on Capterra | 3.0 out of 5 from 3 reviews. | 4.5 out of 5 from 179 reviews. |
| Rating on Google Play | 2.1 out of 5; the independent comparison page does not state the number of ratings. | 4.3 out of 5 from about 1.73K reviews. |
| Security | Bokio states that data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with optional two-step authentication. | FreeAgent says it is Cyber Essentials Plus certified, uses fault-tolerant infrastructure and follows UK DPA 2018 and UK GDPR requirements. |
Plans
FreeAgent
- Sole trader£10 a month
- Partnership or LLP£19 a month
- Limited company£33 a month
- FreeFree
- Bank-account-funded accountFree
- Eligible bank-account planFree
- Landlord — billed monthly£5 a month
- Smart Capture Unlimited add-on£5 a month
- Sole trader — billed monthly£9.50 a month
- Landlord monthly£10 a month
In their own words
FreeAgent
FreeAgent is accounting software for business administration, invoicing, expenses, tax reporting and business reports. It builds real-time accounts from bank statements, invoices and expenses, with Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet and Trial Balance reports. Users can create recurring invoices, automate late-payment reminders, turn estimates into invoices and accept payments through Stripe and PayPal. FreeAgent can generate MTD-compatible VAT returns and file them directly to HMRC; payroll calculates PAYE and National Insurance and can submit Real Time Information payroll to HMRC. Its iOS and Android apps cover expense recording, time tracking, invoice management and bank transaction reconciliation. It supports bank feeds from most UK banks via Open Banking and connections to HMRC for MTD VAT. The software is designed for small businesses, accountants and bookkeepers. A free plan is listed, alongside paid plans such as Sole trader at £10 a month and Limited company at £33 a month. Smart Capture includes up to 10 receipts and bills per month as standard; a paid Unlimited add-on removes that cap.