Pandle vs Xero for Making Tax Digital

We checked these prices on 25 October 2026.

By the selector's own rules, Pandle and Xero both work for landlords and sole traders, including people with both kinds of income, so the choice comes down to the four points where they differ. Xero offers support for jointly owned property and handling for holiday lets, which Pandle does not. Xero does not offer a free plan, which Pandle does. Their cheapest plans are listed as free for Pandle and £7 plus VAT a month (Simple) for Xero.

Pandle suits sole traders and landlords who want free MTD submissions without a usage cap, small portfolios that can start with manual bank imports and users willing to pay a modest amount for live feeds and per-property projects. Xero suits landlords with multiple properties, sole traders who also need payroll and anyone already using an accountant on Xero.

The facts on this page come from each provider’s own pages and from HMRC’s software list, and how we compare products explains how we check them.

If you are thinking of moving from one to the other, the guide to changing your MTD software explains what GOV.UK says about when you can move and what happens to your records.

Where they differ

These are the points where our checks of the two products came out differently. A “No” means we did not find that feature on the provider’s own pages when we last checked them. Where we had nothing to go on for one of the two, we leave the point out here rather than guess.

Where Pandle and Xero differ
Point	Pandle	Xero
Cheapest plan	Free	£7 plus VAT a month (Simple)
Free plan	Yes	No
Jointly owned property	No	Yes
Holiday lets and former FHL	No	Yes

On the other points we compare (more than one property, self-employment income, bank feeds, receipt capture, phone apps and accountant access), they give the same answer, or at least one provider does not say. The full list is under each product’s own page.

Both send MTD for VAT returns, from different plans: Pandle from the Pandle plan and Xero from the Ignite plan.

What HMRC’s software list says about both

HMRC’s list marks each feature as available now or intended for later. This is what HMRC’s list says, not something we have tested ourselves. Where HMRC lists a product under more than one name, we show the strongest answer and the listing it comes from.

What HMRC’s software list says about Pandle and Xero
Feature	Pandle	Xero
Your tax return and other income
Sending your tax return	Available	Available
Foreign property	Not stated	Available
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)	Intended	Availablesince 16 October 2026
Employment (PAYE)	Availablesince 9 October 2026	Intended
UK dividends	Availablesince 9 October 2026	Availablesince 16 October 2026
UK interest	Availablesince 9 October 2026	Availablesince 17 July 2026
Capital gains	Availablesince 9 October 2026	Intended
How it works
Bridging software that connects to your records	Available	Not stated
Calendar update periods (1 April to 31 March)	Available	Available
A free version	Available	Not stated
Welsh language	Not stated	Not stated
Accessibility
Blindness or impaired vision	Available	Not stated
Deafness or impaired hearing	Available	Not stated
Motor or physical difficulties	Available	Not stated
Cognitive impairments	Available	Not stated

This is HMRC’s list as it stood on 30 October 2026, at HMRC’s commit 201b34e. A date beside a feature is when HMRC’s list changed it from intended to available. HMRC’s software finder shows the current answers. How we read HMRC’s list

Does HMRC’s software list show Pandle and Xero as available for sending your tax return?

For sending your tax return, HMRC’s software list as it stood on 30 October 2026 marks it “Available” for Pandle and marks it “Available” for Xero.

Does HMRC’s software list show a free version of Pandle or Xero?

For a free version, HMRC’s software list as it stood on 30 October 2026 marks it “Available” for Pandle and says nothing either way for Xero.

How many features does HMRC’s software list mark as available for Pandle and Xero?

HMRC’s software list as it stood on 30 October 2026 covers 15 features, and it marks 12 “Available” for Pandle and 6 “Available” for Xero. For Pandle, it marks 1 “Intended” and gives no answer on 2. For Xero, it marks 2 “Intended” and gives no answer on 7.

The cheapest plan for your situation

A product’s cheapest plan is not always one you can use, because some plans are only for landlords or only for sole traders. These are the lowest prices the selector would show each reader, as each provider states them. Where a price grows with the number of properties, it is shown as a starting price. The figure over 12 months is the same plan at its regular price, worked out the way the software cost calculator does it.

Pandle

For landlords: Free
For sole traders: Free
For people with rental and self-employment income: Free
Cheapest plan over 12 months: Free

We checked Pandle’s prices on 25 October 2026.

Xero

For landlords: £7 plus VAT a month
For sole traders: £7 plus VAT a month
For people with rental and self-employment income: £7 plus VAT a month
Cheapest plan over 12 months: £84 plus VAT

We checked Xero’s prices on 25 October 2026.

Notes from our checks

Pandle

Pandle's free plan includes MTD Income Tax submissions and no usage limits. Live bank feeds, projects for separating properties, receipt uploads and mileage tracking are Pro features at £5 + VAT per month. Confirm joint-ownership, foreign-property and final-return coverage for your exact setup.

Xero

Regular prices include the September 2026 increase. Xero advertises one month free or 90% off for the first six months for eligible new customers. Simple is for non-VAT-registered businesses. Payroll, Expenses and other add-ons depend on the plan.

Neither product is ranked above the other here: the page sets out what each provider says so you can weigh it against your own situation. How we compare products

Check which fits your situation

Hear about price changes once a month

We’ll email you a link to confirm first. Once you confirm, Acrenvo will send one email a month summarising the MTD software price changes we have checked and any changes to HMRC’s list of software for MTD for Income Tax, with links to the pages on Acrenvo where each change is recorded. Each email may also pick out one dated finding from that month’s record and list the coming MTD for Income Tax deadlines. If nothing changed in a month, we send nothing. In future it may also carry one advert and news of paid guides or templates from Acrenvo, each clearly labelled for what it is. Every email has a stop link, and stopping takes a single click.

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