FreeAgent vs Sage 50
FreeAgent
freeagent.comSage 50
sage.comSide by side
| Figure | FreeAgent | Sage 50 |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £4.17/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 23 | 11 |
| Spec score · Accounting & Finance Software | 9.1 (#1) | 8.7 (#8) |
| Spec score · Bookkeeper Software | 9.3 (#1) | 8.7 (#10) |
| Spec score · Bookkeeping Software | 9.3 (#5) | 9.3 (#3) |
| Spec score · Salon Accounting Software | 9.2 (#2) | 8.7 (#14) |
| Spec score · Core Financial Management | 9.2 (#2) | 8.7 (#11) |
| Developer documentation | FreeAgent 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. |
| Founded | 2007 | 1981 |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK | Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom |
| Invoicing | Users 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: pricing | Some 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. |
| Payroll | The 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 Store | 4.8 out of 5 from 14K ratings. | 1.0 out of 5 from 11 ratings |
| Rating on Capterra | 4.5 out of 5 from 179 reviews. | 4.0 out of 5 from 628 reviews |
| Rating on G2 | 4.3 out of 5 from 43 reviews. | 3.9 out of 5 from 163 reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 4.5 out of 5 from 3,035 reviews. | 4.0 out of 5 from 20,199 reviews |
| Rating on TrustRadius | 6.1 out of 10 from 58 reviews and ratings. | 7.6 out of 10 from 188 reviews and ratings |
| System requirements | Supported 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 does | FreeAgent 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
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
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.