Free vs Paid Digital Bookkeeping Software: What You Need to Know

MTDify offers both a free Starter Edition and a paid Local Edition. Here is what each includes, who each version is for, and how to decide which one suits your bookkeeping needs.

Quick Answer

MTDify Starter (free):
Basic bookkeeping, no setup required, simple digital record-keeping for income and expenses, limited features.

MTDify Local (paid):
Full bookkeeping system with unlimited transactions, receipt uploads, multi-year support, CSV exports, reporting, recurring entries, and automatic daily backups.

Choose based on your transaction volume, need for extra features, and whether you want long-term bookkeeping tools.

What Free Bookkeeping Software Actually Means (MTDify Starter)

The MTDify Starter Edition is a stripped-back bookkeeping tool designed for people who want a simple way to organise their income and expenses without learning complex software.

What it includes:

• Basic income + expense recording

• Simple categories

• Clear monthly list of transactions

• Stores data locally on your machine

• No account creation, no setup

• Free forever

Limitations of Starter:

• No receipt uploads

• No year-to-year rollover

• No multi-year summaries

• No CSV export

• No recurring entries

• No category reporting

• No advanced filters

• No automatic backups

• No extra features added later

MTDify Starter is intentionally minimal and is perfect for beginners or very small businesses.

What Paid Bookkeeping Software Provides (MTDify Local)

The Local Edition gives you the full system with all upgrades included.

What MTDify Local includes:

• Unlimited transactions

• Automatic daily backups

• Multi-year support (2024, 2025, 2026 and beyond)

• Year-to-year switching

• CSV export (income + expenses + categories)

• Category filtering and searching

• Receipt uploads

• Recurring monthly entries

• Simplified profit reports

• Built-in secure storage for receipts

• Windows executable you can run offline

Local Edition is designed for long-term use and full bookkeeping organisation.

The True Cost Comparison

This comparison focuses on practicality, not subscription prices.

Using MTDify Starter (free):
Great when your needs are minimal, but you manually handle everything.

Where time gets lost:

• Filing receipts separately

• Manually adding recurring monthly entries

• No reporting or summaries

• Working without categories

• No CSV export for accountants or your own records

Estimated yearly time cost:
8–15 hours depending on business size.

Using MTDify Local (paid):
Designed to reduce admin, store everything in one place, and avoid duplication.

Where time is saved:

• One-click recurring entries every month

• Automatic daily backup

• Full CSV exports

• All receipts stored inside the app

• Multi-year switching without separate files

Estimated yearly time saved:
10–20 hours.

When you consider time saved, Local Edition often becomes cheaper than staying on free tools.

When MTDify Starter Makes Sense

Starter Edition is ideal if:

• You are brand new to bookkeeping

• You want to “try before upgrading”

• You have fewer than 20–30 transactions a month

• Your income sources are simple

• You do not need receipts stored inside the software

• You are testing your business idea

• You want a free offline bookkeeping tool with no setup

Starter is also good for hobby businesses, micro-side hustles, or people who simply want something uncomplicated.

When MTDify Local Makes Sense

Local Edition becomes the better choice when:

• You want to organise receipts properly

• You have many monthly transactions

• You want multi-year bookkeeping

• You want category reports for tax time

• You need CSV export for accountants

• You want recurring entries

• You want everything backed up automatically

• Your business is growing

• You want all your books in one system for years

If you are handling anything more than “light” bookkeeping, Local Edition is significantly more efficient.

Features That Matter Most in MTDify Local

The upgrades you feel the most:

• Unlimited transactions (Starter is not built for high volume)

• Receipt uploads

• Automatic daily backup folder

• CSV export for year-end

• Multi-year navigation

• Recurring monthly entries

• Simple profit reporting

These features save time every single month.

Common Misconceptions

“I should stay on Starter because free is best.”
Not always. Starter is for simplicity, not long-term bookkeeping.

“Local Edition looks complicated.”
It is designed for non-technical users — everything is point-and-click.

“Paid means cloud subscription.”
No.
MTDify Local is a one-time purchase, runs offline, and stores everything locally.

 

Switching From Starter to Local Edition

Switching takes minutes:

• Delete Starter

• Download Local Edition

• Start fresh or move over your database (see guide and documentation)

• Continue bookkeeping without losing momentum

Switching does not affect your computer setup — both apps run the same way.

The Bottom Line

MTDify Starter is a free, lightweight tool for simple bookkeeping.

MTDify Local is a full offline bookkeeping system designed for people who want receipts, backups, reporting, recurring entries, and multi-year support.

Starter is perfect if you want simple record-keeping.

Local is the better long-term solution if you want to organise your finances properly and avoid manual work.