Is FreeAgent or Lago better?

Neither clearly leads. FreeAgent starts at Free and Lago at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, FreeAgent or Lago?

FreeAgent starts at Free and Lago at Free.

Does FreeAgent or Lago run on more platforms?

FreeAgent runs on Web. Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.

Can I use FreeAgent for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is FreeAgent best used for?

FreeAgent is most often used for submitting vat and self assessment tax returns to hmrc directly, splitting rental income and expenses across multiple properties automatically, collecting invoice payments faster through one-click payments and reminders, capturing bills and receipts via ai to auto-categorize expenses. Of those, submitting vat and self assessment tax returns to hmrc directly and splitting rental income and expenses across multiple properties automatically are not what Lago is typically brought in for.

What can FreeAgent do that Lago cannot?

Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits.

Accounting · head to head

FreeAgent vs Lago

FreeAgent

Accounting

Accounting software for small businesses and freelancers

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: FreeAgent introductory pricing shown is 50% off the regular rates; Lago free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FreeAgent and Lago actually diverge.

Attributes where FreeAgent and Lago differ
Attribute	FreeAgent	Lago
Pricing model	subscription	Freemium with optional paid tiers
Platforms	Web	Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in FreeAgent

Nothing recorded that Lago does not also cover.

Only in Lago

Real-time usage metering
Multiple pricing models
Automated invoicing
Prepaid credits
Entitlements
Multi-currency support
Payment orchestration
Revenue analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

FreeAgent

Submitting VAT and Self Assessment tax returns to HMRC directlynot Lago
Splitting rental income and expenses across multiple properties automaticallynot Lago
Collecting invoice payments faster through one-click payments and remindersnot Lago
Capturing bills and receipts via AI to auto-categorize expensesnot Lago
Filing Real Time Information payroll directly to HMRC for employeesnot Lago

Lago

Building usage-based billing for high-volume APIs and infrastructurenot FreeAgent
Implementing metered billing for AI and tokenized servicesnot FreeAgent
Creating subscription and hybrid pricing modelsnot FreeAgent
Managing multi-currency billing for global companiesnot FreeAgent
Maintaining billing infrastructure without vendor lock-innot FreeAgent

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

FreeAgent

Introductory pricing shown is 50% off the regular rates
All prices exclude 20% VAT
Add-ons required for some features (Smart Capture Unlimited £5/month, Amazon integration £6/month)

Lago

Free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap
No specific pricing published for Pro annual plan or Scale plan
Self-hosted and on-premise deployments require engineering resources
Community support only on free tier
Scale plan requires annual contracts and sales engagement

Pricing, plan by plan

FreeAgent

Free

Sole Traders$9.5/month
- Introductory rate (regular price £19/month)
- Annual option at £95/year (regular £190)
Landlords$5/month
- Introductory rate (regular price £10/month)
- Annual option at £50/year (regular £100)
UK Partnerships/LLPs$13.5/month
- Introductory rate (regular price £27/month)
- Annual option at £135/year (regular £270)
UK Limited Companies$16.5/month
- Introductory rate (regular price £33/month)
- Annual option at £330/year (regular £330)

Lago

Free

Build (Free)Free
- 10,000 managed entities per month
- 5M usage events per month
- 1K events per second rate limit
Pro$399/month
- 10,000 entities included (graduated pricing to 100K)
- 25M usage events included (to 500M with graduated rates)
- 10K events per second (upgradeable to 100K)
Scale$null/custom
- Custom entity and event volumes
- 50K events per second (upgradeable to 100K)
- RBAC and SSO (SAML)

Which should you pick?

Choose FreeAgent if

You want to start without paying.

FreeAgent review

Choose Lago if

You need real-time usage metering.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.
You also want multiple pricing models.

Lago review

Questions people ask

Is FreeAgent or Lago better?: Neither clearly leads. FreeAgent starts at Free and Lago at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FreeAgent or Lago?: FreeAgent starts at Free and Lago at Free.
Does FreeAgent or Lago run on more platforms?: FreeAgent runs on Web. Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.
Can I use FreeAgent for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is FreeAgent best used for?: FreeAgent is most often used for submitting vat and self assessment tax returns to hmrc directly, splitting rental income and expenses across multiple properties automatically, collecting invoice payments faster through one-click payments and reminders, capturing bills and receipts via ai to auto-categorize expenses. Of those, submitting vat and self assessment tax returns to hmrc directly and splitting rental income and expenses across multiple properties automatically are not what Lago is typically brought in for.
What can FreeAgent do that Lago cannot?: Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FreeAgent: Does FreeAgent offer a free option?

FreeAgent is free for qualifying customers maintaining business accounts with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank, or certain Mettle accounts.

Source

Lago: Can I use Lago open-source for free?

Yes, Lago is open-source under the AGPLv3 license and can be self-hosted. The cloud-based Build plan is also free with limits of 10,000 entities and 5M events per month.

Source

FreeAgent: What is FreeAgent's pricing for sole traders?

Sole traders pay £9.50/month (50% introductory rate; regular £19/month), or £95/year annually (regular £190/year), excluding 20% VAT.

Source

Lago: What payment providers does Lago integrate with?

Lago integrates with Stripe and Adyen for payment processing. It is not a payment processor itself but orchestrates payments through these providers.

Source

FreeAgent: What add-ons does FreeAgent offer?

Optional add-ons include Smart Capture Unlimited at £5/month and Amazon integration at £6/month, allowing customers to extend base plan functionality.

Source

Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

Yes, Lago supports multi-currency billing with automatic currency conversion for global businesses.

Source

FreeAgent: Does FreeAgent offer a trial?

FreeAgent provides a 30-day free trial with no commitment, and customers can cancel at any time during or after the trial period.

Source

FreeAgent vs Lago

FreeAgent

Lago

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in FreeAgent

Only in Lago

What people use each for

FreeAgent

Lago

Where each one falls short

FreeAgent

Lago

Pricing, plan by plan

FreeAgent

Lago

Which should you pick?

Choose FreeAgent if

Choose Lago if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on FreeAgent

More on Lago

Keep looking

Other head to heads