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Comparison · Last updated 2026-07-28

HelloBooks vs AlignBooks: Published pricing and a free plan vs a quote-only cloud ERP

AlignBooks is an Indian cloud ERP from Align Info Solutions covering accounting, GST, inventory, POS, payroll and CRM. It is a genuine double-entry system, and it does claim direct GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B submission plus in-app e-invoice and e-way bill generation.

The problem for a buyer is that AlignBooks no longer publishes tier prices. Its own price-list page shows plan feature caps but no rupee figure against BASIC, PREMIUM, ULTIMA or ERP+ — only add-ons (₹800 per extra user per year, ₹3,000 per extra location, ₹100 per payroll employee). Any comparison page quoting an AlignBooks plan price has invented it.

HelloBooks publishes every price: free forever with no turnover cap in India, Pro at ₹499/month, Business at ₹1,999/month, all with unlimited users on paid plans. Where AlignBooks is genuinely stronger is breadth of ERP modules in a single suite.

Researched & written by the HelloBooks editorial team. Checked against AlignBooks's public pricing and docs on 2026-07-28 · how we compare.

Scorecard: how they stack up

An at-a-glance rating on the criteria that decide an accounting-software purchase. Ratings reflect verifiable facts — not an invented score. See how we compare.

HelloBooks rates strong on 8 of 9 buyer criteria

HelloBooks vs AlignBooks — criteria scorecard
CriterionHelloBooksAlignBooks
Pricing transparencyStrongNot offered
Entry price & free tierStrongLimited
Double-entry general ledgerStrongStrong
GST filing via a named GSPStrongPartial
E-invoicing & e-way billsStrongStrong
AI shipped and generally availableStrongNot offered
Breadth of ERP modulesPartialStrong
Tally coexistenceStrongNot verified
Documented data portabilityStrongNot verified

Side-by-side feature comparison

Where a value is shown as “—”, the feature was not verified at review time. See AlignBooks's site for the latest specifics. No paid placements — how we compare.

HelloBooks vs AlignBooks— feature-by-feature comparison
FeatureHelloBooksAlignBooks
CategoryAI-native cloud accounting with inventory, warehouse, POS and manufacturingCloud ERP — accounting, GST, inventory, POS, procurement, CRM, HR and payroll in one suite
Published pricingYes, in full: Free forever; Pro ₹499/mo or ₹4,999/yr; Business ₹1,999/mo or ₹19,999/yrNo. The price-list page shows plan caps but no tier price. Third-party listings say "Price On Request"
What is publishedEverything — plan prices, credit pack prices and regional pricing for eight marketsAdd-ons only: ₹800/extra user/year, ₹3,000/extra location/year, ₹100/payroll employee/year, ₹2,000+GST per print-layout change
Free planFree forever, no credit card, uncapped by turnover in India — unlimited invoices, bills, quotes and POs, full core reports, mobile app, 2 users, 2,500 AI credits/monthNo commercial free tier. A trial exists but its length is not published. Certified Professional and Education editions are stated as free
Invoice capsUnlimited invoices on every plan, including FreeCapped by tier — 1,200 B2B/yr on BASIC, 2,400 on PREMIUM, 6,000 B2B + 20,000 B2C on ULTIMA
Users2 on Free; unlimited with roles and permissions on Pro and Business2 on BASIC, 5 on PREMIUM and ULTIMA, 10 on ERP+, with extra users at ₹800 each per year
Double-entry general ledgerYes — chart of accounts, journals, trial balance, IFRS and GAAP compliant reportsYes — configurable chart of accounts, automated posting to pre-configured general ledgers, bank reconciliation, balance sheet, P&L, cash flow and fund flow
GST return filingGSTR-1, 3B and 9 filed through Fynamics, a named GSTN-authorized GSP, with GSTR-2B and IMS reconciliation, ITC matching and multi-GSTIN switchingClaims one-click GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B push to the GSTN server with no additional API cost. No GSP is named. GSTR-9 is not mentioned
E-invoicing & e-way billsIRN and QR through the IRP, e-way bills through the NIC portal — included from ProBoth generated in a single step with IRN and e-way bill numbers written back to the bill — a genuine strength
AI capabilityAI categorization at 95%+ accuracy, OCR line extraction, Munimji assistant with 60+ tools, WhatsApp bookkeeping with voice notes, AI payables, AI calling for AR, CFO agent, AI analysis on every reportOnly "Gemini Ai" appears in a list of integration partners. No AI feature page, launch note or documentation was found
TallyImport keeps every voucher number; the Tally 6.2 connector keeps pushing to Tally if your CA wants itNo Tally integration, export or migration path found on the vendor site
Inventory & operationsItem master, BOM, FIFO/LIFO/weighted-average valuation, GRN, multi-warehouse, POS, restaurant and manufacturing — included from Pro at ₹499/moInventory and POS from PREMIUM; multi-warehouse, multi-branch, multi-currency and payroll from ULTIMA; production module exists with tier gating unpublished
PayrollIndia payroll (PF, ESI, PT, TDS) runs through HelloTime, a sibling product in the Meru Fin Tech suiteIncluded from ULTIMA, at ₹100 per employee per year on top
Mobile appFull iOS and Android apps on every plan, including FreeAndroid and iOS, 4.2 stars from 548 Play Store reviews, updated July 2026, with barcode scanning and Amazon bulk invoice import
API accessIncluded from Pro at ₹499/mo; higher rate limits and a sandbox on Business; public read-only MCP serverAPIs listed from ULTIMA upward. No public developer documentation portal was found
Reported reliability99.9% uptime on AWS with daily encrypted backups; SOC 2 Type II certifiedPlay Store reviewers in 2026 report a server crash with unrecovered data and, separately, four years of data lost overnight. A Capterra reviewer in Dec 2025 reports reports taking a minute each to save
Getting your data outCSV and Excel import/export throughout, plus a migration path with dry-run preview and one-click rollbackNo documented export or backup procedure found — the help documentation URLs return 404
Independent ratingsNewer product with a smaller review base — judge us on the free plan rather than review volumeSoftwareSuggest 4.5/5 (71); Techjockey 3.8/5 (30); G2 4.2/5 (12); Capterra 3.5/5 (12); Play Store 4.2/5 (548)

When to choose HelloBooks

  • You want to see the price before you talk to a salesperson, and you want it to be the same price next year.
  • Invoice caps are a problem — HelloBooks has no invoice limit on any plan, including the free one.
  • You want AI doing the categorisation and reconciliation, not a logo in an integrations list.
  • Your CA still works in Tally and you need a connector that keeps every voucher number.
  • You want a documented export path and a migration with dry-run preview and one-click rollback.
  • You want to test on a free plan that is uncapped by turnover in India rather than an unspecified trial.

When to choose AlignBooks

  • You want procurement, CRM and HR in the same suite as accounting, and consolidating vendors matters more than price transparency.
  • One-step e-invoice plus e-way bill generation with write-back to the bill is a well-built part of AlignBooks.
  • You need many physical locations under one system — extra locations are priced at ₹3,000 each per year.
  • You are an education institution or a certified professional and qualify for the free editions.
  • You have already had a demo, have a written quote in hand, and the number works for you.
  • Your business is inventory-led and you want POS, warehouse and production configured by an implementation team.

Frequently asked questions

How much does AlignBooks cost?

AlignBooks does not publish it. Its own price-list page shows a feature-comparison matrix with user, location and invoice caps for BASIC, PREMIUM, ULTIMA and ERP+/Enterprise, but no rupee figure against any plan, checked on 28 July 2026. The only published prices are add-ons: ₹800 per additional user per year, ₹3,000 per additional location per year, ₹100 per payroll employee per year, ₹75 per 300-SMS pack, and ₹2,000 plus GST per print-layout change. Third-party directories list it as "Price On Request". If you see a comparison page quoting an AlignBooks plan price, treat it as invented.

What does HelloBooks cost in India?

Free forever with 2,500 AI credits per month, up to two users, and no turnover cap in India. Pro is ₹499/month or ₹4,999/year against a list price of ₹999 — that includes unlimited users, multi-entity, GST filing and e-invoicing, Tally sync, API access, inventory, three-way matching and multi-currency. Business is ₹1,999/month or ₹19,999/year. Launch pricing is rate-locked for twelve months after you subscribe.

Is AlignBooks a real double-entry accounting system?

Yes. Its finance module documents a configurable chart of accounts, automated financial posting to pre-configured general ledgers, cost-centre and attribute tracking, bank reconciliation, and output of balance sheets, P&L, cash flow and fund flow statements. This is a full ERP accounting module, not a billing app, and any comparison implying otherwise is wrong. Worth knowing though: AlignBooks' own help documentation currently returns 404 on the indexed URLs, so that claim rests on marketing and analyst pages rather than product docs.

Does AlignBooks actually file GST returns?

It claims to. Its GST page says you can submit GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B on a mouse click, that the system validates and pushes data to the GSTN server, with no additional API cost and no JSON handling. What it does not do is name a GSP — the "no additional API cost" wording implies a bundled GSP relationship but the partner is not disclosed, and GSTR-9 is not mentioned. HelloBooks names its GSP: GSTR-1, 3B and 9 are filed through Fynamics, a GSTN-authorized GSP.

Which is better for e-invoicing and e-way bills?

Both are strong and AlignBooks deserves credit here. Its single-step generation writes the IRN and e-way bill number straight back onto the bill with no JSON download or upload. HelloBooks generates IRN and QR through the IRP and e-way bills through the NIC portal, included from Pro at ₹499/month. If e-invoicing volume is your whole problem, either will do the job.

Does AlignBooks have AI?

Not in any documented sense. The only AI reference anywhere on the site is "Gemini Ai" appearing in a list of integration partners on the homepage — no feature page, no launch announcement, no documentation. Its "new features" page renders as an empty template. We have marked this unverified rather than claiming a gap, but if AI-assisted bookkeeping is what you are shopping for, there is nothing here to evaluate.

What AI does HelloBooks include?

AI auto-categorization at 95%+ accuracy, OCR bill and receipt capture with smart line-item extraction, Munimji — a conversational accounting assistant with 60+ tools — bookkeeping over the official WhatsApp Business API in Hindi, English and Hinglish with voice notes and India data residency, AI payables, AI calling for overdue receivables, a CFO agent, and an AI Analysis tab on every standard report. The Free plan includes 2,500 AI credits a month so you can test all of it without paying.

Are the invoice caps on AlignBooks a real constraint?

They can be. BASIC allows 1,200 B2B invoices a year, PREMIUM 2,400, and ULTIMA 6,000 B2B plus 20,000 B2C. For a business raising a hundred invoices a month, BASIC is already tight. HelloBooks has no invoice limit on any plan, including Free — the metered resource is AI credits, not documents.

What do AlignBooks reviewers complain about?

The complaints are recent and serious enough to name. Google Play reviewers in 2026 report a server crash with data not recovered, and separately four years of data lost overnight with no backup. A Capterra reviewer on 24 December 2025 rated it one star, saying each report takes a minute to save. Another on 9 September 2025 rated it two stars citing bugs and login failures, and moved to Zoho Books after two months. Techjockey notes support is poor and the UI cluttered. There are positive reviews too — one five-star Capterra review the same week praises the clean interface — but the ratings spread is wide: 4.5 on SoftwareSuggest from 71 reviews against 3.5 on Capterra from 12.

Can I get my data out of AlignBooks?

We could not verify a documented export or backup procedure — the help documentation URLs return 404 as of July 2026. Combined with the data-loss reviews above, that is a genuine open risk rather than a gap in our research. Ask AlignBooks directly for their documented export path before you have a year of history in there. HelloBooks supports CSV and Excel import and export throughout, on every plan including Free.

Can HelloBooks work alongside Tally?

Yes, in both directions. The Tally 6.2 connector does a one-time import that keeps every voucher number, then keeps pushing to Tally on an ongoing basis if your chartered accountant still wants the data there. We found no Tally integration or export path on AlignBooks at all, which matters if your CA is Tally-based.

How do the two compare on inventory?

AlignBooks gates inventory and POS to PREMIUM, and multi-warehouse, multi-branch and multi-currency to ULTIMA. HelloBooks includes item master, bill of materials, FIFO, LIFO and weighted-average valuation, goods-receipt notes, low-stock alerts and forecasting from Pro at ₹499/month, plus a full warehouse module, POS, restaurant and manufacturing with MRP and job costing. Every movement posts to valuation and the general ledger in the same transaction.

Does HelloBooks do payroll?

Not directly in India — payroll with PF, ESI, PT and TDS runs through HelloTime, a sibling product in the Meru Fin Tech suite. AlignBooks bundles payroll from the ULTIMA tier at ₹100 per employee per year. If you want payroll inside the same subscription as the ledger, that is a fair reason to look at AlignBooks.

Is HelloBooks secure?

HelloBooks is SOC 2 Type II certified, with the report available under NDA through the Trust Center; ISO 27001 is on the compliance roadmap and we do not claim it as certified. Data is AES-256 encrypted at rest and TLS 1.2+ in transit, MFA is available, hosting is AWS with 99.9% uptime and daily encrypted backups, and bank connections are read-only. India DPDP is covered; sub-processors and residency detail are published at /trust-center.

Should I switch from AlignBooks?

If AlignBooks is working, your quote is fair and you value the ERP breadth, stay. The reasons to look elsewhere are specific: you cannot get a published price, you are hitting invoice caps, you want AI in the product rather than in an integrations list, your CA needs Tally, or the data-loss reviews worry you. Our Free plan has no clock on it, so run a month in parallel and decide on evidence.

Migrating from AlignBooks?

HelloBooks supports CSV import for chart of accounts, customers, vendors, items, invoices, and bills. For QuickBooks Online, we offer a built-in two-way sync. For other platforms, our migration team can assist with a structured cutover.

Start freeTalk to migration teamView pricing

Related reading

India GST returns

GSTR-1/3B/9 filed via Fynamics, a GSTN-authorized GSP.

E-invoicing software

IRN and QR generation through the IRP, included from Pro.

HelloBooks pricing

Free forever, Pro ₹499/month, Business ₹1,999/month in India.

Inventory

Item master, BOM, valuation methods and GRN — included from Pro.

Tally integration

Import keeping every voucher number, plus ongoing push to Tally 6.2.

Trust Center

SOC 2 Type II, encryption, daily backups and data residency detail.

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