Free MTD software for landlords: the three real routes

Plenty of “best MTD software” lists quietly skip the free options — they don’t pay commission. But for a lot of landlords, especially those with one or two properties and simple affairs, £0 is a perfectly compliant answer. Here are the genuinely free routes, who each one fits, and where the catches hide.

The free routes, honestly

HMRC's own free tool

Good for: A single, simple income source with modest transaction volumes.

Skip it if: You need bank feeds, invoicing, accountant access, detailed reporting or joint-ownership splitting.

Free landlord tiers (Landlord Studio GO, RentalBux)

Good for: One to three properties with light bookkeeping; both handle ownership splits.

Skip it if: You want automatic bank feeds or several income streams (note Landlord Studio GO charges ~£5 per submission).

Free with your bank (FreeAgent, Coconut, Tide, Monzo, Starling)

Good for: Anyone happy to bank where the free software lives — FreeAgent via NatWest/RBS/Mettle; Coconut free for ~2 years with a Zempler account; Tide, Monzo and Starling bundle MTD tools with their business accounts.

Skip it if: You don't want to move or open a bank account to get it.

Other free tiers (Zoho Books, Clear Books, QuickFile, Untied)

Good for: Simple affairs: Zoho Books Free under £35k turnover; QuickFile free under 1,000 transactions/yr; Clear Books and Untied free tiers for basic self-employed/single-source cases.

Skip it if: You have multiple income sources or need accountant collaboration on a free tier.

The catches worth knowing

• “Free” can still charge per submission. Landlord Studio’s free GO plan covers up to three units but charges roughly £5 per MTD submission — four quarters plus a final declaration adds up. Its Pro plan bundles free submissions.
• Bank-linked free software has conditions. FreeAgent is free with a NatWest, RBS or Ulster business account, or a free Mettle account — but you generally need at least one transaction a month to keep it. See the FreeAgent-via-NatWest guide.
• Free tiers have ceilings. Turnover limits, transaction caps or single-source-only rules are common — fine for simple affairs, restrictive if you have several income streams.

When free is the wrong saving

Free stops being a bargain if it costs you hours or risks a missed deadline. Consider paying if you want automatic bank feeds, you juggle several properties or income types, you need your accountant to file on your behalf, or you co-own and want the software to split ownership automatically. Even then, the cheapest paid routes — a landlord Pro plan or bridging software — are often only a few pounds a month.

Find your free (or cheap) match

The two-minute picker always surfaces a free alternative alongside its top pick, so you can see exactly what £0 gets you for your situation. And the comparison table flags every tool with a genuine free tier.