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SPECIFICTION
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FreeAgent vs Sage 50

FreeAgent

freeagent.com

Sage 50

sage.com

Side by side

FigureFreeAgentSage 50
Price from£4.17/mo—
Free planYes—
Free trialYesYes
Open source——
WebYesYes
Windows—Yes
iOSYesYes
AndroidYesYes
APIYesYes
Self-hosted—Yes
Plans published2311
Spec score · Accounting & Finance Software9.1 (#1)8.7 (#8)
Spec score · Bookkeeper Software9.3 (#1)8.7 (#10)
Spec score · Bookkeeping Software9.3 (#5)9.3 (#3)
Spec score · Salon Accounting Software9.2 (#2)8.7 (#14)
Spec score · Core Financial Management9.2 (#2)8.7 (#11)
Developer documentationFreeAgent provides separate company and accountancy-practice API guides, OAuth documentation, resource references and a developer discussion group.Sage’s developer help files include hundreds of C# and VB.NET examples and common-task guides, with developer forum and case support.
Founded20071981
Free planYesNo
HeadquartersEdinburgh, Scotland, UKNewcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
InvoicingUsers can create recurring invoices, automate late-payment reminders, convert estimates into invoices, and accept invoice payments through Stripe and PayPal.Users can create and send invoices, send invoices in batches, schedule recurring invoices, track payments and add reminders or late fees.
Limit: pricingSome reviewers consider FreeAgent expensive versus competitors and note that it lacks the tiered pricing choices offered by QuickBooks.Independent reviewers repeatedly complain that prices and renewals are high for small businesses and can rise without proportionate new functionality.
PayrollThe desktop product includes RTI-compliant payroll functionality.An integrated do-it-yourself payroll module can process hourly or salaried pay, calculate federal, state and local taxes, create W-2s and provide payroll reports.
Rating on Apple App Store4.8 out of 5 from 14K ratings.1.0 out of 5 from 11 ratings
Rating on Capterra4.5 out of 5 from 179 reviews.4.0 out of 5 from 628 reviews
Rating on G24.3 out of 5 from 43 reviews.3.9 out of 5 from 163 reviews
Rating on Trustpilot4.5 out of 5 from 3,035 reviews.4.0 out of 5 from 20,199 reviews
Rating on TrustRadius6.1 out of 10 from 58 reviews and ratings.7.6 out of 10 from 188 reviews and ratings
System requirementsSupported browsers are current Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge; JavaScript and cookies must be enabled, and Internet Explorer 11 is unsupported.The 2026 US edition requires a 2.0 GHz processor, 8 GB RAM, Windows 10 21H1 or later or Windows 11 23H2 or later, 1 GB disk space and .NET Framework 4.8.
What it doesFreeAgent is cloud accounting software for small businesses, freelancers, landlords, accountants and bookkeepers.Sage 50 is accounting software for small and midsized businesses covering invoicing, bills, expenses, payments, payroll-related work and financial reporting.

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

FreeAgent pricing →

Sage 50

  • Pro AccountingPrice not published
  • Pro AccountingPriced on request
  • Premium AccountingPriced on request
  • Premium AccountingPrice not published
  • Quantum AccountingPriced on request
  • Quantum AccountingPrice not published
  • Pro Accounting$132.17 a month
  • Premium Accounting$182.50 a month
  • Quantum Accounting$271.17 a month
  • Pro Accounting with Payroll$1,155 a year

Sage 50 pricing →

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.

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Sage 50

Sage 50 has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.

Visit sage.com