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7 Best Hammock Alternatives for UK Landlords in 2026 (MTD-Ready Software Compared)

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Updated 21 May 202626 min read

Why Landlords Look for Hammock Alternatives

Hammock has earned its reputation. It was the first landlord-specific software recognised by HMRC for Making Tax Digital, it is FCA-registered (FRN 911254), and Trustpilot users consistently rate it 5 stars. So why do landlords search for alternatives?

Five reasons come up repeatedly:

No sole trader income support

Hammock covers UK and foreign property income only, confirmed on both Hammock's site and HMRC's compatible software register. From 6 April 2026, MTD for Income Tax becomes mandatory for anyone whose combined sole trader plus property income from 2024/25 exceeded £50,000. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. Landlords who also freelance, consult, or run a side business need a second piece of MTD software to cover that stream, or one platform that covers both.

No agent filing on behalf

Accountants and letting agents cannot file MTD quarterly updates through Hammock for their clients. The landlord (or the accountant logged in as the landlord) has to submit directly.

Limited bookkeeping structure

Hammock supports cash basis accounting only. There is no chart of accounts, no journal entries, no formal balance sheet, and no trial balance.

No OCR receipt scanning or AI-driven categorisation

Receipts can be attached manually to transactions, but Hammock does not read them or auto-categorise expenses with AI.

Paid only after the trial

Pricing on Hammock's own site shows £8 + VAT per month for 1–3 properties, rising to £15 (4–10), £25 (11–20), and £31.50 (21+ properties), with a 30-day free trial. There is no permanent free tier. The trial does not include MTD submission.

Each landlord's "good enough" looks different. The seven alternatives below cover every common gap, and every one is HMRC-recognised for MTD ITSA.

At-a-Glance: 7 Hammock Alternatives Compared

Software	Income types supported	Starting price	Free plan
RentalBux	UK property, foreign property, self-employment	Free	Free for 1 property / 1 business until March 2028
PaTMa Property Manager	UK property	£15/month (Pro, 5 units)	Free for 1 property
Landlord Vision	UK property	From around £15–£22/month (varies by plan/source)	14-day trial
Landlord Studio	UK property	£4.90/month (Silver, 2–5 units)	Free GO plan (3 units, no MTD submission)
FreeAgent	UK property, self-employment	£5/month landlords; £9.50/month sole traders (excl. VAT)	Free with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank, or Mettle business accounts
Coconut	UK property, foreign property, self-employment	From £9.95/month	Free for 2 years with Zempler bank account
Untied	UK property, foreign property, self-employment	From £64.99/year	Early-adopter access

For comparison: Hammock starts at £8/month + VAT (1–3 properties), 30-day trial, no permanent free tier.

All prices verified from provider websites or HMRC's MTD software register, May 2026. Excludes VAT unless stated.

1. RentalBux, The Most Complete Hammock Alternative

Best for: Landlords who want MTD, accounting, and property management in one platform, especially those with mixed income or jointly owned property.

Starting price: Free for one property (landlord) or one business (sole trader) until March 2028; paid plans for larger portfolios.

HMRC-recognised for MTD ITSA: Yes, across UK property income, foreign property income, and self-employment.

What RentalBux Does That Hammock Doesn't

RentalBux is the only landlord-first platform on this list HMRC-recognised across all three qualifying income types in a single subscription. For landlords who also freelance, consult, or run a side business, that is the difference between one annual subscription and two.

Other capabilities Hammock lacks:

• Agent filing on behalf, accountants and letting agents can submit MTD quarterly updates and the Final Declaration for their clients

• Pre-built chart of accounts for landlords and sole traders (mortgage interest, repairs, letting agent fees, utilities, tenant deposits) pre-mapped to HMRC Self-Assessment boxes

• Journal entries and double-entry bookkeeping for audit-ready records

• Formal P&L, balance sheet, and trial balance reports

• OCR receipt capture, with AI auto-categorisation in development

• Automatic joint-ownership profit-splitting, define percentages once and RentalBux divides income and expenses across owners automatically

• Automatic HMO unit creation

• Branded invoice creation, useful for commercial landlords and service-charge billing

Where Hammock Still Has An Edge

Hammock provides richer buy-to-let investment analytics: real-time loan-to-value ratios, rental yields, occupancy rates, and per-tenant arrears balances. Its running tax bill estimate with optional automatic savings also has no exact equivalent in RentalBux. If you only own UK property and those investor metrics are why you bought the software, Hammock wins on that specific dimension.

Verdict

RentalBux is the strongest like-for-like Hammock replacement for the majority of UK landlords entering MTD in 2026, particularly anyone with mixed income, joint ownership, or a tight budget. The free single-property plan until March 2028 removes the cost of trying it.

→ Compare RentalBux vs Hammock in full

2. PaTMa Property Manager, Best Landlord-Specific Free Alternative

Best for: Self-managing landlords who want a UK landlord-specific platform with open banking and a free entry tier.

Starting price: Free for one property; Pro from £15/month for five units, then £1.50 per additional unit.

HMRC-recognised for MTD ITSA: Yes, confirmed on HMRC's compatible software register; supports UK property income.

Why It's A Hammock Alternative

PaTMa is one of the few platforms that genuinely competes with Hammock as landlord-built software. It combines tenancy tracking, rent monitoring, compliance reminders, mortgage management, and open banking integration with HMRC-recognised MTD submission. Where it overlaps with Hammock: open banking, property-focused records, MTD compliance, and HMO support. Where it differs:

• Free tier for one property, Hammock has no permanent free option

• Tenancy and compliance management is more developed than Hammock's

• HMO-specific compliance helpers (licensing reminders, fire regulations)

• Per-unit pricing for larger portfolios scales more predictably (£1.50/unit beyond the first five)

Trade-Offs

• UK property income only, no sole trader support and no foreign property (per HMRC register)

• No buy-to-let investment analytics matching Hammock's yield/LTV dashboard

• Mobile app is Android-only at the time of writing; no iOS app

• Smaller market share and lower brand recognition than Hammock

Verdict

A strong like-for-like alternative for self-managing UK landlords who want landlord-specific design plus a free entry point. The clearest gap is the missing iPhone app, if you're an iOS-only landlord, this becomes a deal-breaker.

3. Landlord Vision, Best for Tenant + Compliance Management

Best for: Landlords who want full operational landlord management alongside their accounting.

Starting price: From around £15–£22 per month depending on plan and source; verify current pricing on Landlord Vision's site.

HMRC-recognised for MTD ITSA: Yes, added to HMRC's compatible software register; participant in HMRC's MTD pilot programme since 2017.

Why It's A Hammock Alternative

Where Hammock's centre of gravity is bookkeeping, Landlord Vision's is the full landlord workflow: tenant communication portals, compliance document storage (gas safety certificates, EPCs, EICRs), automated rent reminders, tenancy agreement tools, and per-property accounting, all in one platform. It has been serving UK landlords for over 15 years.

Trade-Offs

• Higher entry price than Hammock for a single property

• Pricing varies significantly across third-party sources, suggesting a complex plan structure, verify current tiers directly

• Investment analytics (yield, LTV, occupancy) are not as prominent as Hammock's

Verdict

If you wish Hammock did more of the operational landlord work (tenant communication, document storage, compliance reminders), Landlord Vision is the most established direct upgrade.

4. Landlord Studio, Best for Mobile-First Landlords and Xero Users

Best for: Landlords who prefer a mobile-first interface, want receipt scanning and GPS mileage tracking, or already use Xero.

Starting price: Free GO plan (up to 3 properties, no MTD submission); Silver £4.90/month for 2–5 units; Gold £9.90/month for unlimited units. PRO plan required for MTD submissions.

HMRC-recognised for MTD ITSA: Yes, officially recognised on 30 March 2026 for UK property income.

Why It's A Hammock Alternative

Landlord Studio shares Hammock's bookkeeping-first style (bank feeds, receipt scanning, expense categorisation, and a polished mobile experience). The main differentiators:

• Direct Xero integration, many landlords run Landlord Studio for day-to-day and sync to Xero for final accounts

• Built-in GPS mileage tracking (Hammock has none)

• Receipt OCR on mobile

• Operational features Hammock skips: tenancy tracking, tenant communication, document storage

• Strong mobile apps used by more than 100,000 landlords globally

Trade-Offs

• UK property income only, no sole trader support

• Free GO plan does not include MTD submission; PRO is required for that

• HMRC recognition is recent (March 2026), so track record on quarterly filings is still building

Verdict

The strongest pick if mobile use is your priority and you want Hammock's clean accounting feel plus operational tooling. Particularly attractive if your accountant uses Xero.

5. FreeAgent, Best Free Option with a Qualifying Bank Account

Best for: Sole traders adding rental income, or landlords who bank with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank, or Mettle.

Starting price: £5/month for landlords, £9.50/month for sole traders (excluding VAT). Free with qualifying NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank, or Mettle business banking accounts.

HMRC-recognised for MTD ITSA: Yes, supports quarterly updates and Final Declaration for UK property income and self-employment.

Why It's A Hammock Alternative

FreeAgent fills the gap Hammock cannot: sole trader income alongside rental income, in one HMRC-recognised system. It is a full accounting platform with double-entry bookkeeping, formal reports, invoicing, and an AI-powered Smart Capture tool that extracts data from receipts and categorises transactions.

For NatWest Group customers, FreeAgent has been free as part of their business banking since 2018, making it the lowest-cost MTD path for a significant portion of UK landlords.

Trade-Offs

• Not landlord-specific; you map accounts to property categories manually

• No buy-to-let metrics (no yield, no LTV, no occupancy tracking)

• No HMO-specific features or per-tenant arrears tracking

• More accounting jargon than Hammock's simpler landlord-focused interface

Verdict

A strong choice if you bank with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank, or Mettle (the free tier is genuinely free, not a trial), or if you're already self-employed and want one platform for everything. Landlords without a qualifying bank account or self-employment income will get more landlord-specific value from RentalBux or PaTMa.

6. Coconut, Best for Sole Traders Who Also Let Property

Best for: Self-employed individuals (freelancers, sole traders, CIS subcontractors) who also have rental income and want one mobile-first app for both.

Starting price: Paid plans from £9.95/month. Free for 2 years with a Zempler business banking account.

HMRC-recognised for MTD ITSA: Yes, supports UK property, foreign property, and self-employment income.

Why It's A Hammock Alternative

Coconut is now part of the GoSimpleTax family and is specifically designed for self-employed individuals and small landlords. It combines bookkeeping, expense categorisation, and MTD quarterly submission in one mobile-first app. Like Hammock, it leans heavily on bank feeds and Open Banking; unlike Hammock, it supports sole trader income natively.

The Zempler partnership is particularly attractive: open a Zempler business account inside Coconut and the software stays free for 2 years.

Trade-Offs

• Less landlord-specific than Hammock or PaTMa (no HMO management, no compliance certificate alerts, no investment metrics)

• Free Zempler route requires opening a separate business bank account

• Designed for individuals rather than property professionals

Verdict

The right pick if you're a freelancer or CIS subcontractor who also lets out a property and wants one tool for both. For pure landlord use cases, RentalBux or PaTMa cover more ground.


7. Untied, Best End-to-End MTD App for Mixed Income

Best for: Landlords with multiple income streams who want a single app that handles digital records, quarterly updates, AND the Final Declaration / Self Assessment in one workflow.

Starting price: From £64.99/year, with plans up to £129.99/year.

HMRC-recognised for MTD ITSA: Yes, Untied was the first end-to-end software HMRC recognised for MTD for Income Tax, covering UK property, foreign property, and self-employment.

Why It's A Hammock Alternative

Untied takes a different approach: it follows the money via bank integration and treats tax as a transaction-level workflow. It supports multiple income sources in a single product without separate licences, includes multi-currency support (100+ currencies), and has an agent portal for accountants.

The key contrast with Hammock is breadth: Untied handles the whole self-assessment journey, not just landlord bookkeeping.

Trade-Offs

• Less landlord-specific than Hammock; no per-property yield/LTV dashboard, no HMO unit tracking, no compliance certificate alerts

• Smaller user base than the bigger players

• Annual pricing model (rather than monthly)

Verdict

A strong fit for landlords with mixed income who want a single end-to-end MTD tool and don't need landlord-specific features beyond accurate income tracking. If your portfolio is property-only, the landlord-first platforms (RentalBux, PaTMa, Landlord Vision) are usually a better fit.

Bonus: QuickFile, Best Free Accounting Software for Small Portfolios

Worth a brief mention even though it didn't make the top 7. QuickFile is a UK-based accounting platform that is HMRC-recognised for MTD for Income Tax, completely free for accounts under 1,000 ledger entries per year, and supports both sole trader and UK property income.

It is not landlord-specific (no compliance reminders, no per-property yield analysis, no tenant management), but for a single-property landlord with simple records who wants free MTD-compliant software outside the RentalBux / PaTMa / FreeAgent options, QuickFile is a credible third route.

The Hammock Alternatives That Didn't Make the Cut

You'll see these names in other Hammock comparison articles. We've left them out of the main list deliberately:

• Property Hawk is free and well-established, but is not on HMRC's MTD ITSA compatible software register. From April 2026, that's a serious problem for any landlord above the qualifying income threshold.

• Arthur Online is a strong property management platform for large or commercial portfolios, but offers no native MTD submission. MTD readiness has to be achieved via a separate accounting integration (Xero or QuickBooks), which adds cost and complexity.

• Rentila has a budget-friendly pricing model and a free single-property tier, but its MTD ITSA status is less clearly documented than the seven alternatives above. Confirm directly with the provider before relying on it for HMRC submissions.

For comprehensive UK property management at scale (50+ units, commercial property, or letting agency workflows), Arthur Online remains a serious option, but it's complementary to MTD software, not a replacement for it.

How to Choose the Right Hammock Alternative

Work through these questions in order. The first one you say "yes" to is your shortlist.

1. Do you have sole trader or self-employment income alongside your rental income? → You need MTD software that covers both income types in one HMRC-recognised platform. → RentalBux (landlord-first), FreeAgent (general accounting), Coconut (sole-trader-first), or Untied (end-to-end).

2. Are you a letting agent or accountant filing on behalf of landlord clients? → You need agent filing. → RentalBux supports this; Hammock does not.

3. Do you want a free, HMRC-recognised entry path into MTD? → RentalBux (free for 1 property/business until March 2028), PaTMa (free for 1 property), FreeAgent (free with NatWest/RBS/Ulster/Mettle banking), or Coconut (free for 2 years with Zempler).

4. Do you want tenant management and compliance reminders alongside accounting? → Landlord Vision (most established) or PaTMa (landlord-first with HMO depth).

5. Are you mobile-first and want polished apps with receipt OCR and mileage tracking? → Landlord Studio is the strongest pick. Coconut is also strongly mobile-first.

6. Do you only own UK property, want minimal hands-on bookkeeping, and value investment metrics above all else? → This is exactly Hammock's sweet spot, staying put may be the right answer.

Conclusion

Hammock earned its position as a leader by being the first landlord-specific MTD software and by executing well on a focused brief: automated bookkeeping for UK buy-to-let investors. That focus is also its limitation in 2026.

UK landlords who need broader MTD coverage (sole trader income, agent filing), proper accounting structure (chart of accounts, journals, formal reports), or a free entry path into MTD have stronger options than Hammock. Every alternative in this guide is HMRC-recognised on the official MTD for Income Tax compatible software register, so the choice is genuinely about fit, not compliance.

The fastest way to evaluate is to start with the free tier of the alternative closest to your situation:

• Mixed income or single-property landlord → RentalBux (free until March 2028)

• Property-only landlord wanting a free start → PaTMa Property Manager (free for 1 property)

• NatWest/RBS/Mettle banking customer → FreeAgent (free with the account)

• Sole trader who also lets property → Coconut with Zempler (free for 2 years)

The right software is the one you will actually use four times a year, every year, from April 2026 onward.