Crunch vs Quaderno
Side-by-side comparison — pricing, features, ratings, use cases. Find which Tax Software fits you best.
🔍 Independently researched ·
📊 Data-driven
· ⭐ Ratings from G2 (real user reviews)
76/100
$35 starting
UK freelancers, contractors, and small limited companies who want online accounting software plus a real UK accountant f
★ Best
💰 Pricing
Starting at $35 (subscription)
Fee notes:
- Monthly prices are in GBP and exclude VAT at 20% (shown as base).
- Yearly plan is equivalent to 10 months' cost, saving two months' fees.
- Crunch is known to charge £28+VAT per month for Core, rising to £38+VAT for Core with payroll, and £48+VAT for Complete.
- Additional services: Self-assessment filing for additional people (e.g., partner) available at £49 per return.
- Payroll for more than 10 employees: additional £5 per employee per month (approximately).
⚠ Watch for:
- VAT (currently 20%) is added to all subscription fees.
- On the yearly plan, if you cancel early, you may be charged the full year's fees.
- There is a setup fee of £99 for new limited company registration or conversion (if you need it) — though sometimes waived.
- Additional self-assessment filings for other individuals (e.g., spouse) are not included and cost extra.
🔧 Features
✓ Uk Focus✓ Freelancer Sme✓ Self Assessment✓ Vat✓ Accountant Included
📋 Assessment
💪 Strengths
- Crunch bundles a dedicated accountant with its software, which is a rare and valuable feature. You get a named UK-based accountant who can answer questions via phone or email, which is incredibly useful for tax planning, understanding dividends, or filing compliance. This is a huge benefit for business owners who lack accounting knowledge and would otherwise need to hire a separate accountant, saving time and potentially reducing errors.
- It's built specifically for UK tax rules, which is a major advantage. Crunch handles MTD-compliant VAT, self assessment, corporation tax, and dividend tracking natively, meaning you don't have to manually work out your tax liabilities. The software calculates your corporation tax and even helps with payroll, which is a boon for limited company directors who need to manage their salary and dividends efficiently.
- Real-time bank feeds and automatic reconciliation make bookkeeping less tedious. You connect your UK bank accounts via Open Banking, and Crunch pulls in transactions automatically. You can then categorize expenses quickly, and the software matches them to invoices and bills. This feature cuts down on manual data entry and ensures your financials are always up to date, which is great for businesses with high transaction volumes.
- Transparent monthly pricing is a plus, even if you have to ask for a quote. Once you know the rate (starting at $30/mo), it's a predictable subscription that includes everything: software plus accountant support. Compare this to paying for software (e.g., FreeAgent at ~$30/mo) and then separately paying an accountant (~$100/mo+), and Crunch can be a more cost-effective solution for many small businesses.
- The platform offers a mobile app for on-the-go expense tracking and banking. You can snap a photo of a receipt and it syncs to your account, which is handy for contractors and freelancers who incur expenses while away from their desk. This small feature keeps your records accurate and reduces the pile of paper receipts at year-end.
⚠ Watch out for
- Pricing is opaque — you have to book a demo or call Crunch to get a quote. This is a significant friction point for buyers who are comparing software online. Competitors like FreeAgent and Xero publish their rates clearly, so you know what you're getting into without sales calls. Crunch's hiding of pricing feels outdated and can put off potential customers who prefer self-serve onboarding.
- Crunch is not well-suited for unincorporated sole traders who don't need corporation tax or payroll features. The plans for freelancers (sole traders) are more limited, and the add-ons like payroll are geared toward limited companies. If you're a sole trader, you might be paying for features you don't need, making cheaper alternatives like QuickBooks Self-Employed more appealing.
- Integrations are sparse. Unlike Xero or QuickBooks, which have hundreds of third-party apps, Crunch only offers a handful of native integrations (e.g., Stripe, PayPal, and some banking). If you rely on custom tools or want to sync with a CRM or inventory system, you won't find them easily. This is a major drawback for growing businesses that need connected tools.
- The software's interface feels dated compared to rivals. While it's functional, some users report that the dashboard and navigation are not as intuitive as FreeAgent's. This can make the initial learning curve steeper, and it may feel less polished to tech-savvy users.
- Customer support, while included, can be slow to respond during peak tax season. Some users have reported waiting longer for email responses, which is frustrating when you have urgent questions. In contrast, other platforms offer instant chat support, though Crunch's phone support is generally reliable.
🎯 Best for
UK freelancers, contractors, and small limited companies who want online accounting software plus a real UK accountant for help with taxes and compliance.
🚫 Who should skip
Sole traders with simple finances who want free or low-cost DIY software, or larger businesses needing advanced inventory, multi-currency, or a large app ecosystem.
📚 Learning curve
Moderate — if you've used any double-entry accounting software, the core features are easy; you'll need a bit of time to learn Crunch's own navigation and where accountant messages sit.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Crunch is a solid choice for UK limited company owners and contractors who want an all-in-one accounting service with built-in human expertise, especially if you prefer the reassurance of an accountant without the separate cost. It's not the best fit for sole traders who need minimal features or tho
71/100
Free tier
Digital-first businesses (SaaS, e-books, online courses) that sell globally and need automated VAT/sales tax compliance
💰 Pricing
🆓 Free tier available
Up to 50 transactions per month, 1 user, no API access, no custom reports, limited to basic EU VAT/US sales tax calculations.
Starting at $29 (tiered_subscription)
Fee notes:
- Annual billing saves ~20% vs monthly (e.g., Starter is $29/month monthly or $24/month billed annually, total $288/year).
- Overage fees: Starter/Business charge $0.05 per extra transaction beyond plan limit, capped at $10/month (Starter) or $30/month (Business). Enterprise overages are custom.
- No per-filing fees for tax reports; EU VAT OSS filing is an add-on available on Business and Enterprise plans, priced from $15 per filing per country.
- Quaderno does not differentiate pricing by self-employed vs limited company; all plans are based on transaction volume.
- Payroll, corporation tax, and Canadian GST registration are not included. US sales tax and EU VAT calculations are included in all plans.
⚠ Watch for:
- Automatic overage charges are triggered if you exceed your transaction limit without upgrading.
- Annual plans are billed upfront; cancelling mid-cycle may not be prorated unless agreed otherwise.
- EU VAT filing add-on fees apply per country and per filing period — can add up quickly for multi-country sellers.
- Enterprise plan requires annual commitment; monthly billing is not available for Enterprise.
🔧 Features
✓ Digital Business✓ Instant Receipts✓ Eu Vat✓ Us Sales Tax✓ Spanish Origin✓ Free Tier
📋 Assessment
💪 Strengths
- Quaderno automatically calculates EU VAT, US sales tax, and Canadian GST/HST based on the buyer's location and your nexus thresholds. This is a major time-saver for businesses selling globally. For example, if you sell a $100 subscription to a customer in Germany, Quaderno applies the correct German VAT rate (19%) without you having to look it up. It also monitors your economic nexus in each US state, so you know when you're legally required to collect sales tax in a new state—a huge relief for growing SaaS companies.
- It generates tax-compliant receipts and invoices instantly after each transaction. These receipts are not only legally compliant (showing the correct tax breakdown and your VAT number), but they also look professional and polished. This improves the customer experience—especially in B2B where clients need proper invoices for their own accounting—and reduces chargeback risks by providing clear proof of purchase. You can also brand the receipts with your logo and colors.
- Quaderno integrates natively with Stripe, PayPal, and Braintree, which means it automatically pulls all your transaction data. No manual CSV uploads or API debugging required. This integration is a core strength because it eliminates the pain of exporting transaction data and importing it into a tax tool. Once connected, Quaderno syncs every payment, cancellation, and refund in real time, so your tax records are always up to date.
- The dashboard provides real-time insights into your tax liability and sales activity. You can see at a glance which countries you're selling to, your tax due by jurisdiction, and which states you've crossed nexus thresholds in. This granular view helps you plan your expansion—if you see a spike in sales from Australia, you know to start planning for Australian GST compliance.
- Quaderno offers a robust API and webhooks for businesses that need custom integrations. While the native integrations cover most users, developers can use the API to connect Quaderno to custom platforms or ERPs. This flexibility is a safety net for companies that outgrow the out-of-the-box integrations.
⚠ Watch out for
- Pricing is based on transaction volume, so if your business scales up and you're processing thousands of transactions a month, the monthly cost can become steep. For example, a business with 10,000 transactions per month would pay well over $200/month. This is significantly higher than flat-rate alternatives like Avalara or TaxJar, which may offer unlimited transactions for a fixed fee, depending on the plan. For budget-conscious startups, this can be a dealbreaker.
- Quaderno is not designed for physical goods. If you sell products that require shipping, customs, or import duties, you'll quickly hit its limitations. The platform is built around digital products and services, so it doesn't handle complex scenarios like varying tax rates for different product categories, exemptions for certain types of goods (e.g., food or medical supplies in some jurisdictions), or cross-border shipping complexities. This makes it a poor fit for e-commerce stores selling physical items.
- Integrations are mainly limited to payment platforms and e-commerce tools like Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Shopify, and WooCommerce. If you use an advanced ERP system like SAP or NetSuite, you'll need to rely on the API, which requires technical expertise. The lower-tier plans may not include API access (the API is only available on the highest two plans), so you may need to upgrade just to get the custom integration you need.
- The user interface, while clean, can be overwhelming for beginners who aren't familiar with tax jargon. Terms like "economic nexus" and "OSS VAT scheme" are used prominently, and while Quaderno does provide explanations, the learning curve is steeper than some competitors that offer more guided onboarding. A small business owner with no tax background may find the dashboard confusing at first.
🎯 Best for
Digital-first businesses (SaaS, e-books, online courses) that sell globally and need automated VAT/sales tax compliance plus tax filing without manual effort.
🚫 Who should skip
Small businesses selling only physical goods in one jurisdiction (e.g., local craft sellers) or those with very low transaction volume who can use simpler flat-rate tax tools or payment-provider built-in tax services.
📚 Learning curve
Moderate — the interface is clean and integrations simplify setup, but understanding how nexus and OSS rules affect your business requires some tax knowledge.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Quaderno is an excellent choice for digital businesses and SaaS companies selling globally, especially those using Stripe, PayPal, or Braintree, because it automates the tedious tax calculations and generates compliant receipts. However, if you sell physical goods, have very high transaction volume,
📊 Use Case Suitability
Higher score = better fit. Scores from editorial review.
Use CaseCrunchQuaderno
Managing a UK limited company's day-to-day bookkeeping90—
Full ledger, bank reconciliation, expense tracking, and accountant oversight bui
Filing personal self-assessment tax returns85—
Crunch calculates your tax liability from your income and expenses and lets you
VAT compliance for a small e-commerce or services business82—
MTD-compliant VAT submission with automated calculations and digital links to HM
Getting accountant advice on tax planning without hiring a separate firm94—
The included accountant support means you can ask questions about dividends, sal
Running a large or growing business with complex inventory or payroll35—
Crunch targets freelancers and small businesses, not mid-sized companies with mu
Selling digital products globally—95
Quaderno automatically applies the correct VAT/sales tax based on buyer location
Subscription-based SaaS businesses—92
It handles recurring billing transactions, integrates with Stripe/PayPal, and se
Online courses and digital downloads—88
Course creators using multiple payment gateways (e.g., Stripe plus PayPal) can c
🧭 Which One Should You Pick?
Choose Crunch if...
- You are: UK freelancers, contractors, and small limited companies who want online accounting software plus a real UK accountant f
- 👍 Bundled human accountant support at a transparent monthly subscription — rare among online accountin
- 👍 Built specifically for UK tax rules: MTD-compliant VAT, corporation tax, self-assessment, and divide
- 👍 Real-time bank feeds from major UK banks simplify reconciliation and keep financials up to date with
- 💰 From $35.28/mo
- ⚠ Trade-off: Pricing is opaque; you have to book a demo or call to get a quote, unlike FreeAg
Choose Quaderno if...
- You are: Digital-first businesses (SaaS, e-books, online courses) that sell globally and need automated VAT/sales tax compliance
- 👍 Automatically calculates and applies EU VAT, US sales tax, and Canadian GST/HST based on buyer locat
- 👍 Generates beautiful, tax-compliant receipts and invoices instantly after each transaction, which imp
- 👍 Native integrations with Stripe, PayPal, and Braintree pull transaction data automatically, eliminat
- 💰 From $29/mo
- ⚠ Trade-off: Pricing is based on transaction volume, so businesses with high sales volume may
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Crunch cost?
Crunch doesn't publish upfront pricing; you need to request a quote or contact their sales team. Pricing typically varies based on your business structure (sole trader vs limited company) and the level of service you need.
Is Crunch a good FreeAgent alternative?
Yes, for UK users who want accountancy support bundled in. Crunch includes human accountant access, which FreeAgent alone doesn't. But FreeAgent has a slightly polished UX and a larger third-party ecosystem, so it depends on your preference for software vs. service.
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