SumUp Accounting vs Xero
Both are full cloud accounting tools for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
SumUp Accounting is the cheaper starting point at £0 (VAT included) versus from £100.80/yr for Xero — but the cheapest plan only wins if it covers the income types you actually have.
| SumUp Accounting | Xero | |
|---|---|---|
| True annual cost from | £0 | from £100.80/yr |
| Self-employment | Yes | Yes |
| Property / rent | No | Yes |
| Keeps your spreadsheet | No | No |
| Accountant access | No | Yes |
| Type | full cloud accounting | full cloud accounting |
| HMRC status | Recognised | Recognised |
| Price verified | 2026-07-01 | 2026-06-24 |
SumUp Accounting
A free MTD for Income Tax tool for sole traders, built into SumUp's platform and powered by Sage. Turns the payments, invoicing and banking data you already capture in SumUp into MTD submissions at no extra cost.
- Sole traders who already use SumUp
- People who want a free, payments-integrated MTD tool
Xero
Full cloud accounting. The Simple plan is purpose-built for MTD for Income Tax with bank-feed automation, so you do less typing.
- Sole traders who want proper bookkeeping
- People who want bank feeds to do the work
Not sure either is right? Use the finder to get a recommendation ranked by what it will actually cost you.
Prices are each tool's cheapest plan, VAT included, last verified 1 July 2026 (catalogue reconciled 1 July 2026). Links are affiliate links and never affect ranking. Not affiliated with HMRC; not tax advice.