Head to head
Zoho Books vs Sage Accounting
Both products assessed against the same checklist, with ratings drawn from 636 verified reviews.
Sage Accounting
Accounting Software
4.2
412 verified reviews
R220
per month, from, excl VAT
- Rating gap
- 0.0
- Reviews behind this
- 636
- Monthly price gap
- R220
- Features they share
- 1
Side by side
How they compare
Ratings computed from published reviews, and the specifications that change what a product costs to run. The washed column is the higher rated of the two.
| Compared on | Higher rated overall | Sage Group plc |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers say | ||
| Overall rating | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Ease of use | 4.1, higher | 4.0 |
| Value for money | 4.3, higher | 4.1 |
| Customer service | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| Functionality | 4.2, higher | 4.1 |
| Verified reviews | 224 | 412 |
| What it costs | ||
| Starting price | Freefree plan available | R220per month, from |
| VAT basis | Excl VAT | Excl VAT |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Published plans | 4 | 3 |
| Vendor and support | ||
| Vendor | Zoho Corporation | Sage Group plc |
| Founded | 1996 | 1981 |
| Support channels | Email, Live chat, Telephone, Knowledge base, Community forum | Telephone, Email, Live chat, Knowledge base, Partner network |
| Integrations listed | 11 | 10 |
| Local bank feeds | 4 | 7 |
The local yardstick
South African compliance
Amber marks a gap rather than a feature. This is usually where the decision is actually made.
Zoho Books
- VAT201 at 15%
- Zero rated and exempt supply handling
- Manual eFiling capture, no direct SARS transfer
- POPIA operator agreement
- Data residency selectable by region
Sage Accounting
- VAT201 at 15%
- SARS eFiling transfer
- Zero rated and exempt supply handling
- IT14SD supporting schedules
- POPIA operator agreement
- CIPC annual return support via accountant
What they cost
Pricing, compared properly
Check the VAT basis on each. Vendors are not consistent, and the difference is 15%.
Zoho Books
Listed excluding VAT
- Free
Free
1 user plus 1 accountant
- R380/mo
StandardPopular
3 users
- R760/mo
Professional
5 users
- R1 150/mo
Premium
10 users
Zoho publishes rand pricing excluding VAT and discounts annual billing heavily. The free plan is limited by annual revenue rather than by feature crippling.
Sage Accounting
Listed excluding VAT
- R220/mo
Start
1 user
- R495/mo
StandardPopular
Up to 3 users
- R735/mo
Premium
Up to 10 users
Sage publishes South African list prices excluding VAT. Add 15% for the figure that lands on your invoice.
Capability
The full feature matrix
Every feature either product offers, and whether the other one has it.
| Compared on | Higher rated overall | Sage Group plc |
|---|---|---|
| 28 features across both products | ||
| Age analysis | Not included | Included |
| Audit trail on every transaction | Not included | Included |
| Bank feeds and automatic matching | Not included | Included |
| Bank reconciliation | Included | Not included |
| Basic inventory | Not included | Included |
| Budgeting | Included | Not included |
| Budgeting and cash flow forecasts | Not included | Included |
| Client portal | Included | Not included |
| Custom functions with Deluge scripting | Included | Not included |
| Customer and supplier ledgers | Not included | Included |
| Fixed asset register | Not included | Included |
| Free accountant and auditor access | Not included | Included |
| Full inventory management | Included | Not included |
| Invoicing and quoting | Not included | Included |
| Invoicing, quoting and retainers | Included | Not included |
| Mobile app for iOS and Android | Included | Included |
| Multi currency | Included | Not included |
| Multi currency invoicing | Not included | Included |
| Project and job costing | Not included | Included |
| Project time tracking and billing | Included | Not included |
| Purchase and sales orders | Included | Not included |
| Purchase orders | Not included | Included |
| Recurring billing and payment reminders | Included | Not included |
| Recurring invoices and debit orders | Not included | Included |
| VAT tracking and VAT201 report | Included | Not included |
| VAT201 and VAT reconciliation | Not included | Included |
| Vendor portal | Included | Not included |
| Workflow automation rules | Included | Not included |
Our verdict
Which one you should buy
We name a winner. Listing differences and leaving the decision to the reader is not a verdict.
Zoho Books gives you more for less. A client portal, workflow automation, project billing, full inventory at the Professional tier and a free plan that is genuinely usable, at prices below Sage at every level.
Sage gives you two things Zoho does not. VAT201 figures that transfer straight into SARS eFiling, and an accountant who almost certainly already knows the system.
That second point is the one buyers underweight. A cheaper system your accountant charges more to work in is not cheaper. Ask them before you migrate, and get a number rather than an opinion.
Our recommendation: if you have an in house bookkeeper and an accountant who is comfortable outside Sage, Zoho Books Standard at R380 excluding VAT is the better value by a clear margin. If your accountant does your bookkeeping, take Sage.
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