Starling vs Zoho Books Comparison
Compare Starling vs Zoho Books features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Starling
6.6/10
A UK digital bank business account with built-in invoicing, bookkeeping, and Making Tax Digital tax tools for sole traders and small limited companies.
Zoho Books
7/10
Cloud accounting software from Zoho for small and growing businesses, covering invoicing, bank reconciliation, bills, inventory and financial reporting.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.6/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Compliance | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Customization | 3/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 3/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | £7/mo Accounting Plus | $20/mo Standard |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Business Account + Accounting Essentials | $70/mo Premium |
| Features | ||
| Accountant Access | ||
| Bank Reconciliation | ||
| Expense Management | ||
| Invoicing | ||
| Online Payments | ||
| Tax Compliance | ||
| Accounts Payable | Not listed | |
| Audit Trail | Not listed | |
| Budgeting and Forecasting | Not listed | |
| Financial Reporting | Not listed | |
| General Ledger | Not listed | |
| Inventory Accounting | Not listed | |
| Multi-currency | Not listed | |
Starling vs Zoho Books cost by team size
| Team size | Starling | Zoho Books |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeBusiness Account + Accounting Essentials | FreeFree |
| 5 users | FreeBusiness Account + Accounting Essentials | $50/moProfessional |
| 10 users | FreeBusiness Account + Accounting Essentials | $70/moPremium |
| 25 users | FreeBusiness Account + Accounting Essentials | FreeFree |
| 50 users | FreeBusiness Account + Accounting Essentials | FreeFree |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Starling
- Higher Support score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Cost score (9/10 vs 8/10)
Why choose Zoho Books
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 3/10)
- Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 4/10)
Pros & Cons
Starling
Pros
- The business account has no monthly fee, and UK transfers, invoicing, and up to five expense cards are free.
- The free Essentials tier includes MTD for Income Tax submissions, which helps sole traders and landlords facing the April 2026 rules.
- VAT returns can be filed to HMRC from inside the banking app for £7 a month until April 2027.
- Bank feeds connect to Xero, QuickBooks, and FreeAgent.
- UK-based support is available 24/7 in the app, and Finder ranked it highly for customer satisfaction in 2026.
Cons
- It is not a full accounting system: there is no general ledger, payroll, or multi-entity support.
- Accountants only get view-only access.
- Only GBP and EUR accounts are available, and new USD account applications are paused.
- Eligibility is strict: directors and people with significant control must be UK residents.
- Overdrafts and loans are not available to new business customers, and there are no branches.
Zoho Books
Pros
- The free plan includes online payments, bank reconciliation, recurring invoices and 1099 tracking for one user plus an accountant.
- Pricing is per organization, not per user, so small teams avoid per-seat costs.
- It connects natively with Zoho CRM, Zoho Payroll, Zoho Inventory and Zoho Analytics.
- Professional and higher plans include custom workflows, custom roles and approvals, and Premium adds custom modules and functions.
- On the Elite plan, inventory features cover warehouses, serial and batch tracking, and marketplace sync.
Cons
- Budgets, multi-currency and advanced inventory are only available on higher-priced tiers.
- Reviewers on Capterra and in NerdWallet's write-up describe slow or unhelpful customer support.
- It has fewer third-party integrations than its main competitors, according to NerdWallet.
- A PeerSpot reviewer found it awkward to invoice the same customer in different currencies.
- Even the top plan has a hard cap of 15 users, plus annual transaction limits.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Zoho Books scores higher on our Finance Software criteria: 7/10 against 6.6/10 for Starling. The largest gap is in Customization: 3/10 for Starling and 8/10 for Zoho Books.
Yes, both Starling and Zoho Books have a free plan.
