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Comparison · Last updated 2026-07-28

HelloBooks vs HostBooks: Published SMB pricing vs an enterprise ERP that has withdrawn its price list

HostBooks has materially repositioned. It now sells "Agentic AI ERP" — HB Cloud 360 with the HB Zeno AI layer — to enterprise and mid-market buyers, and it has removed public pricing entirely. Its pricing page shows no price list and the India pricing URL returns a 404. Sales is contact-only.

HostBooks has one credential nothing else in this comparison set has: it is a GSTN-approved GST Suvidha Provider in its own right, confirmed by its own GSP page and a 2019 PR Newswire India release. What it does not currently document is which specific returns it files.

Every price you will find for HostBooks online is a legacy SKU, and they contradict each other four ways — Techjockey says ₹11,999/year, SoftwareSuggest $61/year, G2 lists $11.99–$35.99/month with a stamp saying pricing last updated October 2024, TrustRadius $18.99–$43.49/month, Capterra from $9.99/month. HelloBooks publishes every price: free forever, ₹499/month on Pro, ₹1,999/month on Business.

Researched & written by the HelloBooks editorial team. Checked against HostBooks'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 9 of 9 buyer criteria

HelloBooks vs HostBooks — criteria scorecard
CriterionHelloBooksHostBooks
Pricing transparencyStrongNot offered
Entry price & free tierStrongNot verified
Fit for a small businessStrongLimited
GSP credentialStrongStrong
Documented GST filing scopeStrongNot verified
Double-entry ledger qualityStrongLimited
AI shipped and generally availableStrongStrong
Mobile experienceStrongLimited
Tally coexistenceStrongNot verified

Side-by-side feature comparison

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

HelloBooks vs HostBooks— feature-by-feature comparison
FeatureHelloBooksHostBooks
Who it is sold to nowIndian SMBs directly, plus CA firms through the free Partner ProgramEnterprise and mid-market — the India site cites "1000+ enterprise clients" and enterprise-wide operational leverage. A May 2025 exec interview still frames the market as MSMEs across India, GCC and Southeast Asia
Published pricingYes, in full: Free forever; Pro ₹499/mo or ₹4,999/yr; Business ₹1,999/mo or ₹19,999/yr, plus published prices for eight regionsNo. The pricing page shows no price list and the India pricing URL 404s. Contact sales only
What third parties claimDirectory listings match the vendor pageFour mutually contradictory legacy figures — ₹11,999/yr (Techjockey), $61/yr (SoftwareSuggest), $11.99–$35.99/mo (G2, stamped Oct 2024), $18.99–$43.49/mo (TrustRadius), from $9.99/mo (Capterra)
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/monthNot verified. Only Capterra claims a free version; the vendor is silent. A free trial is claimed by several directories
Double-entry general ledgerYes — chart of accounts, journals, trial balance, IFRS and GAAP compliant reportsYes, but thinly documented — the legacy accounting page mentions chart of accounts and tax ledgers but not journals, trial balance or the double-entry method
What reviewers say about the ledgerConventional double-entry that a Tally- or QuickBooks-trained accountant will recognise immediatelyTwo independent platforms flag it — SoftwareSuggest cons say "General Ledger functionality needs improvement" and a Techjockey reviewer says "general ledger has to improve"
GSP statusFiles through Fynamics, a GSTN-authorized GSPHostBooks is itself a GSTN-authorized GST Suvidha Provider — confirmed on its own GSP page and a 2019 PR Newswire India release. The strongest GST credential in this comparison set
What it filesGSTR-1, 3B and 9 through the GSP, with GSTR-2B and IMS reconciliation, ITC matching and multi-GSTIN switchingNot documented. The current GSP page says only that customers "manage their GST compliance in one place" — which specific returns are filed is unstated
E-invoicing & e-way billsIRN and QR through the IRP; e-way bills through the NIC portal — included from Pro at ₹499/moE-way bill generation is credited by Techjockey; e-invoicing is claimed by SoftwareSuggest but not confirmed on the vendor GSP page
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 reportHB Zeno is the centre of the company positioning and was rolled out during 2023–24, so treat it as shipped. The roadmap — conversational ERP and "zero-click workflows" — is announced only
PayrollIndia payroll (PF, ESI, PT, TDS) runs through HelloTime, a sibling productA module inside HB Cloud 360, not a separate product. TDS filing is credited by directories; PF and ESI handling not verified
TallyCoexists — import keeps every voucher number and the connector keeps pushing to Tally 6.2No Tally integration, import, export or replacement positioning found. Advertised integrations are Oracle, Shopify, Salesforce and Stripe
MobileFull iOS and Android apps on every plan, including FreeDirectories list mobile platforms, but the most consistent reviewer complaint is that it is not mobile-friendly — three separate Techjockey reviews in July 2024 say so
Inventory & operationsItem master, BOM, FIFO/LIFO/weighted-average valuation, GRN, multi-warehouse, POS, restaurant and manufacturing — included from ProInventory and procurement are core ERP modules; manufacturing and retail-chain POS are sold as vertical solutions. Tier requirements are unpublished because tiers are unpublished
Public developer APIAPI access from Pro at ₹499/mo, BI connector, plus a public read-only MCP serverNot verified — no public API documentation found. It operates GSP APIs, which is a different thing
Getting your data outCSV and Excel import/export throughout, plus a migration path with dry-run preview and one-click rollbackNot verified — no documented export path found
Independent ratingsNewer product with a smaller review base — judge us on the free plan rather than review volumeTechjockey 4.3/5 (29) for HostBooks Accounting; SoftwareSuggest 4.3/5 (8); Capterra 4.8/5 (5); G2 4.3/5

When to choose HelloBooks

  • You are a small business and HostBooks now sells to enterprises through a sales process with no published price.
  • You want to sign up today rather than book a demo and wait for a quote.
  • Your CA works in Tally and you need a connector that keeps every voucher number.
  • Your team works from phones — HostBooks reviewers repeatedly say it is not mobile-friendly.
  • You want a documented export path before you put a year of history into a system.
  • You want the ledger itself to be the strong part; HostBooks reviewers on two platforms say its general ledger needs work.

When to choose HostBooks

  • You are an enterprise or mid-market buyer who wants one agentic-AI ERP across finance, inventory, procurement, HR, CRM and quality control.
  • GSP status matters to you at the vendor level — HostBooks is itself GSTN-approved, which is rare.
  • You operate a hotel group, F&B chain, retail chain or distribution network and want a vertical solution rather than a horizontal ledger.
  • You want payroll, compliance and accounting inside one enterprise platform rather than across sibling products.
  • You have the procurement capacity for a contact-sales cycle and a proper implementation.
  • Integrations with Oracle, Salesforce or Stripe are central to your stack.

Frequently asked questions

How much does HostBooks cost?

HostBooks does not publish it. The pricing page returns no price list and the India pricing URL 404s, checked on 28 July 2026 — sales is contact-only via info@hostbooks.com. Every figure circulating online is a legacy SKU and they contradict each other: Techjockey lists ₹11,999 a year excluding GST, SoftwareSuggest $61 a year, G2 lists $11.99 to $35.99 a month with its own stamp saying pricing was last updated in October 2024, TrustRadius $18.99 to $43.49 a month, and Capterra from $9.99 a month. Do not budget from any of them.

Has HostBooks stopped selling accounting software?

No, but it has changed what it is selling. The homepage now leads with "Agentic AI ERP" — HB Cloud 360 plus the HB Zeno AI layer — aimed at enterprise and mid-market buyers, with the India site citing "1000+ enterprise clients". The legacy SMB accounting pages still exist and are still maintained. A May 2025 interview with a HostBooks executive frames the change as horizontal expansion from compliance tooling into modular ERP rather than a pivot away from SMB, and cites 10,000+ paying clients. Both readings are sourced; the site skews enterprise.

What does HelloBooks cost in India?

Free forever with 2,500 AI credits a month, up to two users, and no turnover cap. Pro is ₹499/month or ₹4,999/year against a list price of ₹999 — 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. Every price is on /pricing and there is nothing to negotiate.

Is HostBooks a GST Suvidha Provider?

Yes, and it is a genuine credential worth acknowledging. HostBooks' own GSP page states it is a GSTN-authorized GST Suvidha Provider, and a PR Newswire India release announced its selection as a GSP by GSTN in 2019. That means HostBooks operates GSP infrastructure directly rather than relying on a third party. The gap is that its current GSP page does not say which returns it files — it says only that customers manage GST compliance in one place.

Which files more GST returns?

HelloBooks documents the scope: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and GSTR-9 filed through Fynamics, a GSTN-authorized GSP, with GSTR-2B and IMS reconciliation, ITC matching, e-invoicing IRN and QR through the IRP, e-way bills through the NIC portal, and multi-GSTIN switching per entity. HostBooks has the stronger vendor-level credential but the weaker published scope. If GST filing is your deciding factor, ask HostBooks directly which forms it submits and get it in writing.

Does HostBooks have AI?

Yes — HB Zeno is the centre of its positioning today, described in a May 2025 interview as having been rolled out during 2023–24, with its own dedicated product pages including HB Zeno Document Processing. Treat it as shipped, though HostBooks never uses the phrase "generally available". What is announced-only is the roadmap: conversational ERP and "zero-click workflows" where payables, taxation and banking run in the background.

What AI does HelloBooks ship?

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, Period Autopilot for automated month-end close, and an AI Analysis tab on every standard report. Plus a public read-only MCP server at agents.hellobooks.ai/mcp. The Free plan includes 2,500 credits a month.

Is the HostBooks general ledger any good?

Two independent review platforms suggest it is the weak spot. SoftwareSuggest lists "General Ledger functionality needs improvement" among its cons, and a Techjockey reviewer in September 2022 wrote that the general ledger has to improve. Its own documentation mentions chart of accounts and tax ledgers but not journals, trial balance or the double-entry method. We would want that tested hard in a demo before committing.

Is HostBooks mobile-friendly?

Reviewers say no. Three separate Techjockey reviews in July 2024 independently state it is not mobile compatible, and it is the most consistent complaint in its review corpus alongside cost and a learning curve. HelloBooks ships full iOS and Android apps with complete data entry on every plan, including Free.

Does HostBooks work with Tally?

We found no Tally integration, import, export or replacement positioning anywhere on hostbooks.com. Its advertised integrations are Oracle, Shopify, Salesforce and Stripe. HelloBooks has a Tally 6.2 connector that imports keeping every voucher number and keeps pushing to Tally afterwards, so your CA can stay on Tally while the day-to-day books move to the cloud.

What else do HostBooks reviewers raise?

From Techjockey in July 2024: expensive, not mobile-friendly, and tricky to get the hang of at first, repeated across three reviews. Data-privacy concerns about it being internet-based appear on both Techjockey and SoftwareSuggest. A September 2022 review cites functionality not being up to date and server downtime. Overall ratings are respectable — 4.3 on Techjockey from 29 reviews, its largest credible sample.

Can I get my data out of HostBooks?

We could not verify a documented export path, which is worth resolving before you commit — particularly for an enterprise deployment where you will accumulate years of history. HelloBooks supports CSV and Excel import and export throughout on every plan including Free, and the migration flow at /migrate includes a dry-run preview and one-click rollback.

Is HostBooks a stable company?

It appears well established. HostBooks Limited is Gurugram-based, raised a USD 5 million Series B (the press-release page redirect-looped so we could not confirm the date or investors), and reports 10,000+ paying clients per a May 2025 executive interview alongside "1000+ enterprise clients" on its 2026 India site. A third-party estimate puts ARR at $30.6M with a 278-person team — not vendor-confirmed, so treat with caution.

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.

Migrating from HostBooks?

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.

HelloBooks pricing

Every price published — free forever, Pro ₹499/month, Business ₹1,999/month.

Tally integration

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

Advanced reporting

Balance sheet, P&L, cash flow and general ledger with AI analysis.

Multi-entity accounting

Consolidation and cross-company views from the Pro plan.

Book a demo

Walk through GST scope and migration before you switch.

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