# HelloBooks vs ClearTax

> Last updated: 2026-05-16
> Canonical HTML: https://hellobooks.ai/compare/hellobooks-vs-cleartax

ClearTax (now Clear) is India's most prominent GST + income-tax-filing brand. HelloBooks is a full accounting product that does the same GST filings — and goes further into bookkeeping, AI categorization, multi-entity, and AI agents.

## Side-by-side

| Feature | HelloBooks | ClearTax |
|---------|-----------|----------|
| Primary use case | Full SMB accounting | GST + IT return filing |
| Pricing | Free + Pro ₹449/mo | GST returns: ₹1,500+ /year; ITR: ₹500+ |
| AI bookkeeping | Yes (agent, OCR, categorization) | No (filing-focused) |
| GST returns | GSTR-1 / 3B / 9 + ITC reconciliation | GSTR-1 / 3B / 9 |
| e-Invoicing | Native IRP | Native IRP (paid) |
| e-Way Bill | Native | Native |
| TDS | Native | Native |
| ITR filing | Hand-off to CA | Self-serve ITR-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 |
| Multi-entity | Native | Per-GSTIN |
| Bank feeds | Yes | No |
| Inventory | Full | None |

## Key differences

**Scope.** ClearTax is filing-tool first; HelloBooks is bookkeeping-first. ClearTax customers need a separate accounting product (Tally, Zoho Books, etc.); HelloBooks customers don't.

**ITR.** ClearTax does direct individual ITR filing — a real strength. HelloBooks routes ITR through a CA via the practice management module.

**AI.** HelloBooks AI categorization + bill OCR. ClearTax has document parsing for ITR / Form-16 but no agentic AI for bookkeeping.

## Coexist or replace?

Many Indian SMBs use ClearTax for GST + ITR while running Tally / Zoho for accounting. HelloBooks consolidates the accounting side and does GST natively, so the question becomes: keep ClearTax for ITR filing convenience, or use a CA via HelloBooks' practice management.

## Choose HelloBooks if you

- Want one product for accounting + GST instead of two.
- Want AI categorization and bill OCR.
- Need multi-entity / multi-GSTIN consolidation.
- Prefer to file ITR through a CA partner.

## Choose ClearTax if you

- Filing returns is your only need (no accounting product needed).
- You self-file ITR-1 / 2 / 3 / 4 and want a polished filing UX.
- You're using ClearTax for IT-side tools (TDS deductors, AIS reconciliation).

## Migration

GST returns history doesn't migrate (each return is portal-filed). HelloBooks pulls GSTR-2A / 2B directly from GSTN for ITC reconciliation; no ClearTax bridge needed.

Canonical HTML: https://hellobooks.ai/compare/hellobooks-vs-cleartax