# Alternatives to Sage

The UK/EU accounting veteran.

Sage ranks #6 of 10 in Accounting software, with an Alt Score of 78. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from £14.99/month and available on Web, iOS and Android. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/sage/
Category: Accounting software

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Small and medium-sized businesses and their accountants/bookkeepers, ranging from sole traders needing simple invoicing to growing companies needing multi-entity, multi-currency financial management.
- **What you get**: A family of accounting and financial management products—Sage Accounting for small businesses, Sage 50 as desktop accounting software with optional cloud access, and Sage Intacct as a cloud-native financial platform for larger or multi-entity organizations. Core capabilities include invoicing, expense tracking, bank reconciliation, payroll, inventory, and financial reporting. Sage Intacct adds general ledger, AP/AR automation, and revenue recognition for more complex accounting needs.
- **How it works**: Users connect bank accounts, record income and expenses, and generate invoices and reports through a web browser (Sage Accounting, Sage Intacct) or installed desktop application (Sage 50), with data syncing to the cloud for access by accountants and multiple users. Higher-tier products add configurable workflows, approvals, and integrations for more complex organizational structures.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: £14.99/month (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Odoo](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/odoo.md) | 100 | LGPL-3.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [ERPNext](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/erpnext.md) | 86 | GPL-3.0 | Web |
| 3 | [FreeAgent](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/freeagent.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [FreshBooks](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/freshbooks.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [QuickBooks](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/quickbooks.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [Xero](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/xero.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Zoho Books](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/zoho-books.md) | 78 | ? | Web, iOS, Android |
| 8 | [Invoice Ninja](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/invoice-ninja.md) | 73 | Elastic-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android, Windows |
| 9 | [Wave](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/wave.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Accounting software checklist | Sage | Odoo | ERPNext | FreeAgent | FreshBooks | QuickBooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription |
| Starts at | £14.99/month | €11.90/user/month | $5/month | £5/month | $23/month | $38/month |
| License | Proprietary | LGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Invoicing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank feeds | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Expense tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Tax reports (VAT) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payroll available | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Inventory | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Partial |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Accountant access | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Sage. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: Proprietary — <https://us-marketplace.sage.com/en-US/pages/Legal/terms-and-conditions> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are proprietary to Sage or Sage Affiliates and/or licensors.”
- **Pricing model**: Subscription — <https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/sage-accounting/id1341612411> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Choose from 3 different subscriptions: 1. Sage Accounting Start 2. Sage Accounting Standard 3. Sage Accounting Plus”
- **Starts at**: £14.99/month — <https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/sage-accounting/id1341612411> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Sage Accounting Start UK £14.99”
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — <https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/sage-accounting/id1341612411> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “All your information is instantly stored, synced, and available on your iPhone, iPad and via the web, making Sage Accounting the perfect mobile solution for all types of small businesses.”
- **Status**: active — <https://gb-kb.sage.com/portal/app/portlets/results/viewsolution.jsp?solutionid=250916100556683> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “The new standalone plan (effective September 30, 2025)”
- **Invoicing**: Yes — <https://ca-kb.sage.com/portal/app/portlets/results/viewsolution.jsp?solutionid=240304191312200> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Invoices are online. When emailed, customers receive a link to view, save, or print.”
- **Bank feeds**: Yes — <https://ca-kb.sage.com/portal/app/portlets/results/viewsolution.jsp?solutionid=240304191300467> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Use Bank Feeds to download recent bank and credit card transactions automatically. Match downloaded transactions against Accounting records to create any missing entries.”
- **Expense tracking**: Yes — <https://gb-kb.sage.com/portal/app/portlets/results/viewsolution.jsp?solutionid=250626142336367> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Sage Expenses lets employees capture receipts with a mobile app and manage expenses on the go.”
- **Multi-currency**: Partial — <https://ca-kb.sage.com/portal/app/portlets/results/viewsolution.jsp?solutionid=240304191542963> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “This feature is only available in Sage Accounting Plus.”
- **Tax reports (VAT)**: Yes — <https://gb-kb.sage.com/portal/app/portlets/results/view2.jsp?k2dockey=222001000101356> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “If you're registered for VAT, you must submit a VAT Return to HMRC even if you have no VAT to pay or reclaim.”
- **Payroll available**: Partial — <https://gb-kb.sage.com/portal/app/portlets/results/viewsolution.jsp?solutionid=250916100556683> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “The base Payroll subscription will be priced at £5 per month, with additional employees priced in the chart below:”
- **Inventory**: Partial — <https://gb-kb.sage.com/portal/app/portlets/results/view2.jsp?k2dockey=222001000100903> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Stock items”
- **Self-hostable**: No — <https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/sage-accounting/id1341612411> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “All your information is instantly stored, synced, and available on your iPhone, iPad and via the web, making Sage Accounting the perfect mobile solution for all types of small businesses.”
- **Accountant access**: Yes — <https://ca-kb.sage.com/portal/app/portlets/results/viewsolution.jsp?solutionid=210129200645113> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “After you send the invitation, wait for the accountant to accept it. When they accept, Sage will connect your subscription to your accountant's subscription.”
- **API**: Yes — <https://ca-kb.sage.com/portal/app/portlets/results/viewsolution.jsp?solutionid=210126173709727> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “The API is available for developers to integrate their product / app, from https://developer.sage.com/accounting/”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/