ac-co vs the rest.
Six honest, side-by-side comparisons — price, whether it files direct to HMRC, who reviews before filing, and who each product actually suits. Where a competitor is ahead of us, the page says so.
Where the numbers actually come from.
Every figure under “ac-co” on these six pages comes straight from this site’s own product pages and its live price book — nothing is invented for the sake of the comparison. Every competitor figure is read from that competitor’s own published pricing or product page, most recently on 2026-09-10, and each comparison links the exact page it was read from — a competitor can change its own pricing page after we read it, so check the source yourself before relying on the number.
Self Assessment is the one ac-co product sold from this site today: it carries a “Live” badge, meaning it is available now. ac-co.books, which appears alongside it in the FreeAgent and QuickBooks comparisons, carries a “Beta” badge instead — that’s open beta — join the waitlist, we open seats in batches, the same badge and meaning shown on ac-co.books’ own page. Only Self Assessment closes on a buy button anywhere on these six pages; ac-co.books is described here, not sold.
ac-co vs TaxScouts
TaxScouts built its name on pairing you with a real accountant who prepares and files for you — it has since rebranded to Taxfix, same service. ac-co takes a different route: software that drafts your return from your bank, accounts and HMRC's own pre-population, which you check once and approve yourself.
See the comparison →ac-co vs GoSimpleTax
GoSimpleTax is a DIY tax-return product: you fill in guided forms yourself and submit straight to HMRC, on an annual subscription. ac-co drafts the return for you from your connected accounts, and you approve rather than build it box by box.
See the comparison →ac-co vs untied
untied is a mobile-first tax app aimed at employed and gig-economy earners, tracking income through the year and filing at the end of it. ac-co is built around a full return with every supplementary page — property, self-employment, capital gains — drafted from your accounts in one pass.
See the comparison →ac-co vs TaxCalc
TaxCalc is long-established desktop tax-return software: you buy an annual licence, install it, and work through a guided “SimpleStep” wizard yourself. ac-co is cloud software that drafts the return from your connected accounts, so there's no wizard to work through box by box.
See the comparison →ac-co vs FreeAgent
FreeAgent is an established bookkeeping platform — invoicing, expenses, bank feeds — that also files Self Assessment, VAT and MTD Income Tax updates direct to HMRC, and comes free with several UK business bank accounts. ac-co pairs its own always-on books product with SA100 filing from your connected accounts.
See the comparison →ac-co vs QuickBooks
QuickBooks' Sole Trader Plus tracks income and expenses, estimates your Income Tax, and prepares the figures for your SA103/SA105 — but on its own site it stops short of submitting the SA100 itself. ac-co pairs its own books product with HMRC-recognised SA100 filing from your connected accounts.
See the comparison →