Sage Alternative

Everything Sage Free should have been.

AI bookkeeper. Accountant access. A real upgrade path. From £14/month.

Feature	Accounted	Sage
AI Bookkeeper	Penny — named AI, proactive guidance, all tiers	Copilot on paid Accounting plans only
Messaging Receipt Scanning	Telegram/SMS at launch	Not available
Bank Feeds	Included	Included (Free and Accounting)
Receipt OCR	Included	Included
Invoicing	Professional tier £24	Included (Free and Accounting)
Bulk Invoice Operations	ZIP download, bulk email, bulk mark paid	Not available
MTD VAT Submissions	Starter £14	Accounting plans only (Free is non-VAT)
MTD Income Tax (ITSA)	Included	Included (Free and Accounting)
CIS Management	Professional £24	Sage 50 desktop only (not cloud)
Corporation Tax	Business £34 — in-product with marginal relief	Tracks for CT, filing via accountant tools
Payroll with RTI	Complete £44	Included on Accounting (with auto-enrolment pensions)
Free Accountant Portal	Free forever — practice suite, KYC/AML, tax calendar	Per-client charges, points-based discounts
HMRC Submission Receipts	PDF receipt download, confirmation email	Not available
Section 24 Tax Intelligence	Business £34 — Penny surfaces S24 tax consequence	Record finance costs only, no tax intelligence
Founding Member 50% Off for Life	50% off locked for life	Not available

AI Bookkeeper

Accounted

Penny — named AI, proactive guidance, all tiers

Sage

Copilot on paid Accounting plans only

Messaging Receipt Scanning

Accounted

Telegram/SMS at launch

Sage

Not available

Bank Feeds

Accounted

Included

Sage

Included (Free and Accounting)

Receipt OCR

Accounted

Included

Sage

Included

Invoicing

Accounted

Professional tier £24

Sage

Included (Free and Accounting)

Bulk Invoice Operations

Accounted

ZIP download, bulk email, bulk mark paid

Sage

Not available

MTD VAT Submissions

Accounted

Starter £14

Sage

Accounting plans only (Free is non-VAT)

MTD Income Tax (ITSA)

Accounted

Included

Sage

Included (Free and Accounting)

CIS Management

Accounted

Professional £24

Sage

Sage 50 desktop only (not cloud)

Corporation Tax

Accounted

Business £34 — in-product with marginal relief

Sage

Tracks for CT, filing via accountant tools

Payroll with RTI

Accounted

Complete £44

Sage

Included on Accounting (with auto-enrolment pensions)

Free Accountant Portal

Accounted

Free forever — practice suite, KYC/AML, tax calendar

Sage

Per-client charges, points-based discounts

HMRC Submission Receipts

Accounted

PDF receipt download, confirmation email

Sage

Not available

Section 24 Tax Intelligence

Accounted

Business £34 — Penny surfaces S24 tax consequence

Sage

Record finance costs only, no tax intelligence

Founding Member 50% Off for Life

Accounted

50% off locked for life

Sage

Not available

What Accounted does that Sage doesn’t

AI at every tier

Penny is included from Starter. Sage locks Copilot behind paid Accounting plans.

Free accountant access

Your accountant gets full access for £0. Sage charges per client.

Seamless upgrade path

Move from Starter to Complete without migration. Sage Free to Accounting is a different product.

HMRC submission with proof

Every filing returns an HMRC reference number you can download as a PDF receipt.

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Accounted vs Sage FAQ

Sage Free is a solid starting point but locks AI, VAT filing, and CIS behind paid tiers. Accounted includes an AI bookkeeper from £14/month and gives your accountant free access.

Yes — sign up in under 2 minutes, connect your bank via Open Banking, and Penny imports and categorises your transactions. Your accountant joins for free.

Yes — Accounted is HMRC-recognised MTD software. We file VAT returns, Self Assessment, CIS monthly returns, and RTI payroll directly to HMRC. Every submission returns a reference number you can download.

No. Your accountant gets a free portal with full client visibility, AI workpapers, and bulk operations. No partner programme, no certification, no per-client fees. Ever.

From £14/month for Starter. Professional is £24/month. Business is £34/month. Complete with payroll is £44/month. No add-on fees for CIS, Corporation Tax, or accountant access.