FreeAgent vs Validis
FreeAgent
freeagent.comValidis
validis.comSide by side
| Figure | FreeAgent | Validis |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £4.17/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 23 | 1 |
| Spec score · Accounting APIs | 9.1 (#1) | 6.8 (#27) |
| Company history | FreeAgent says it launched in 2007 and identifies its founders as Ed, Olly and Roan. | Validis says it was born in 2016, after its founders began as accountants seeking a faster way to obtain client data. |
| Founded | 2007 | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK | London, United Kingdom |
| Integrations | Supported connections include Open Banking feeds, HMRC, Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless, Basecamp and many listed integration partners. | Validis offers API and MCP integrations, and its site names Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot and Excel as compatible AI tools. |
| What it does | FreeAgent is cloud accounting software for small businesses, freelancers, landlords, accountants and bookkeepers. | Validis extracts and standardizes transaction-level accounting data for audit, lending and advisory workflows, and delivers it through its portal, API or MCP server. |
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.