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Comparison · Last updated 2026-07-28

HelloBooks vs Zybra: A free plan with AI included vs a three-year commitment to unlock it

Zybra, from Ahmedabad, is a credible Indian cloud accounting product with a genuinely well-documented double-entry ledger — its own docs define General Ledger, Journal Report and Trial Balance explicitly, which is more than most competitors in this bracket manage.

The catch is packaging. Zybra has no free tier, only a 14-day trial, and its headline prices — ₹4,999 for Prime and ₹6,999 for Advance — are the rate under a three-year commitment against list prices of ₹9,998 and ₹13,998. The AI agent, AI bank reconciliation, Tally integration, GSTR-2A/2B reconciliation, manufacturing and audit trail are all Advance-tier only; the API is Enterprise-only.

HelloBooks is free forever to start with 2,500 AI credits a month, ₹499/month on Pro with unlimited users, and files GSTR-1, 3B and 9 through a named GSP. Zybra pushes data to the GSTN portal but names no GSP and its own filing documentation is inconsistent.

Researched & written by the HelloBooks editorial team. Checked against Zybra'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 Zybra — criteria scorecard
CriterionHelloBooksZybra
Entry price & free tierStrongLimited
Commitment termsStrongLimited
Double-entry general ledgerStrongStrong
GST filing via a named GSPStrongPartial
E-invoicing & e-way bill volumeStrongPartial
AI included at entry priceStrongLimited
Tally coexistenceStrongPartial
Mobile experienceStrongStrong
API accessStrongLimited

Side-by-side feature comparison

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

HelloBooks vs Zybra— feature-by-feature comparison
FeatureHelloBooksZybra
CategoryAI-native cloud accounting with inventory, warehouse, POS and manufacturingCloud GST accounting and billing for Indian MSMEs, with a CA and tax-consultant channel
Double-entry general ledgerYes — chart of accounts, journals, trial balance, IFRS and GAAP compliant reportsYes, and well documented — its docs define General Ledger, Journal Report and Trial Balance explicitly, plus Account Transaction, Bank Summary and Day Book. 80+ reports claimed
PricingFree forever (uncapped by turnover in India); Pro ₹499/mo or ₹4,999/yr; Business ₹1,999/mo or ₹19,999/yrPrime ₹9,998 list, ₹4,999 on a 3-year term; Advance ₹13,998 list, ₹6,999 on a 3-year term; Enterprise custom. All plus 18% GST
CommitmentMonthly or annual, cancel anytime, unused annual months refunded, Free plan kept permanentlyThe advertised 50%-off prices are the three-year rate. The one-year rate is roughly double
Free planFree forever, no credit card — unlimited invoices, bills, quotes and POs, full core reports, mobile app, 2 users, 2,500 AI credits/monthNone. 14-day free trial, no credit card required
Users2 on Free; unlimited with roles and permissions on Pro and Business10 users and roles on Prime; unlimited on Advance
GST return filingGSTR-1, 3B and 9 filed through Fynamics, a named GSTN-authorized GSP, with GSTR-2B and IMS reconciliation and ITC matchingMarketing says "direct GST filing online". One vendor blog describes uploading to GSTN via portal API access; another describes downloading JSON and uploading it manually. No GSP is named, and GSTR-3B and 9 filing are unconfirmed
GSTR-2A / 2B reconciliationGSTR-2B and IMS reconciliation with ITC matching, included from Pro at ₹499/moAdvance tier only
E-invoicing & e-way billsUnlimited — IRN and QR through the IRP, e-way bills through the NIC portal, included from ProYes, but quantity-capped: 150 combined on Prime, unlimited on Advance
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 report — from the Free planAn AI agent and AI bank reconciliation are listed as shipped features, but on the Advance tier only. OCR scanning is metered at 50 scans on Prime, 100 on Advance
Where the AI sitsOne credit wallet across OCR, categorization, matching and the assistant — 2,500/month even on FreeBehind the ₹6,999/year Advance plan, with OCR separately capped by scan count
TallyCoexists — import keeps every voucher number and the connector keeps pushing to Tally 6.2, included from ProTally integration exists but is an Advance-tier feature
Inventory & manufacturingItem master, BOM, FIFO/LIFO/weighted-average valuation, GRN, multi-warehouse, POS, restaurant and manufacturing — included from ProBasic inventory and 10 godowns on Prime; advanced inventory, unlimited godowns, serial and barcode tracking, and manufacturing on Advance. POS not verified
PayrollIndia payroll (PF, ESI, PT, TDS) runs through HelloTime, a sibling productNot found on the features or pricing pages — apparently not offered
API accessIncluded from Pro at ₹499/mo; higher rate limits and a sandbox on Business; public read-only MCP serverEnterprise tier only, on custom pricing. No public developer documentation found
Mobile appFull iOS and Android apps on every plan, including FreeA real strength — 4.9 stars from 935 Play Store reviews and 100,000+ downloads, updated May 2026
Independent ratingsNewer product with a smaller review base — judge us on the free plan rather than review volumeTechjockey 4.1/5 (12); SoftwareSuggest 3.9/5 (7); Play Store 4.9/5 (935). G2 shows 5.0 from a single 2021 review; Capterra has zero

When to choose HelloBooks

  • You do not want to sign a three-year commitment to get the advertised price.
  • You want AI categorisation and reconciliation included rather than behind the ₹6,999/year Advance tier.
  • You need GSTR-2A/2B reconciliation and ITC matching without a tier upgrade.
  • You generate more than 150 e-invoices or e-way bills a year and do not want a volume cap.
  • You want API access at ₹499/month rather than on Enterprise custom pricing.
  • You want a free plan with no clock on it to evaluate against your real books.

When to choose Zybra

  • You want an Indian vendor with unusually clear ledger documentation — Zybra defines trial balance, journal and general ledger explicitly in its docs.
  • Its mobile app is excellent — 4.9 stars from 935 reviews on 100,000+ downloads.
  • You are happy with a three-year commitment and the effective annual price works for you.
  • You have a CA or tax consultant already working in Zybra across their client book.
  • Godown-level inventory tracking with serial and barcode support maps to how you operate.
  • You want a vendor with roughly a decade of operating history in the Indian MSME market.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Zybra cost in 2026?

From zybra.in/pricing on 28 July 2026: Prime lists at ₹9,998 and shows ₹4,999 at "50% off"; Advance lists at ₹13,998 and shows ₹6,999. Both are plus 18% GST, and both discounted figures correspond to a three-year commitment — Techjockey resolves it as ₹4,999 per year under a three-year term. Enterprise is custom. There is a 14-day free trial with no credit card and no free tier. Note that SoftwareSuggest lists Zybra in USD with a completely different structure including a lifetime plan; the vendor page is the reliable source.

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, with 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. Monthly or annual, cancel anytime, with unused annual months refunded.

Is Zybra a real double-entry accounting system?

Yes, and it documents this better than most. Its product docs define General Ledger as the accounts included in the chart of accounts, the Journal Report as all journal entries passed in the software, and Trial Balance as prepared after posting all financial transactions to ensure debits equal credits — alongside Account Transaction, Bank Summary and Day Book reports. That is genuine ledger documentation, not marketing copy.

Does Zybra actually file GST returns?

Its own documentation is inconsistent, so we have not claimed either way. The homepage says "direct GST filing online". One Zybra blog describes enabling API access on the GST portal for 30 days, entering your GSTN username in Zybra and clicking "UPLOAD to GSTN". A second Zybra blog describes downloading JSON from Zybra and uploading it at the GST portal — and that post dates from 2018. No GSP is named anywhere, and GSTR-3B and GSTR-9 filing are unconfirmed. Treat it as prepare and push rather than verified end-to-end filing. HelloBooks files GSTR-1, 3B and 9 through Fynamics, a named GSTN-authorized GSP.

Are Zybra e-invoices and e-way bills unlimited?

Only on Advance. The Prime tier is capped at 150 e-way bills and e-invoices combined; unlimited requires Advance at ₹6,999 a year on a three-year term. HelloBooks includes unlimited e-invoicing through the IRP and e-way bills through the NIC portal from Pro at ₹499/month.

Where does Zybra put its AI?

Behind the Advance tier. An "AI agent" and "AI bank reconciliation" appear as included Advance-plan features on the paid pricing page, which is good evidence they are shipped rather than announced. OCR scanning is metered separately at 50 scans on Prime and 100 on Advance. In HelloBooks, AI is included from the Free plan — 2,500 credits a month covering OCR, categorization, matching and the Munimji assistant, with no per-scan charge.

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. All from one credit wallet with no per-action pricing.

Does Zybra integrate with Tally?

Yes, but only on the Advance tier. HelloBooks includes the Tally 6.2 connector from Pro at ₹499/month — a one-time import that keeps every voucher number, then an ongoing push to Tally if your CA still wants the data there. If your accountant is Tally-based, that gating difference matters.

Does Zybra do payroll?

We could not find payroll on its features page, pricing page or plan feature lists, so it appears not to be offered — we have marked it unverified rather than asserting a gap. HelloBooks handles India payroll with PF, ESI, PT and TDS through HelloTime, a sibling product in the Meru Fin Tech suite, rather than inside the ledger.

What do Zybra users complain about?

SoftwareSuggest reviewers cite customer-service dissatisfaction, missing features including bank integration and save-as-draft, slow loading times in recent reviews, and a sense that it lacks depth versus Tally. A Techjockey reviewer notes features being in the pipeline with waiting involved. Balance against that a 4.9 Play Store rating from 935 reviews. Review volume on the business directories is genuinely thin — 12 on Techjockey, 7 on SoftwareSuggest, one on G2 from 2021 and zero on Capterra — so no rating here is statistically meaningful.

Can I get my data out of Zybra?

Partially documented. JSON export for GSTR-1 is confirmed, and Zybra cites easy data import from other software, but a general full-ledger export path is not documented. Ask before you commit to a three-year term. 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.

Which is better for a CA firm?

Zybra has a CA and tax-consultant channel and claims 500+ such partners. HelloBooks has a free Partner Program — no upfront fee, unlimited clients on one practice dashboard, bulk AI operations across clients, a certified advisor badge and a free directory listing at /find-an-accountant — where you resell standard Pro and Business plans and earn a wholesale discount growing from Bronze 5% to Platinum 20%. You earn margin rather than paying per seat or committing for three years.

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.

Migrating from Zybra?

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.

GST input tax credit

GSTR-2B and IMS reconciliation with ITC matching, from Pro.

Tally integration

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

AI categorization

Auto-coding at 95%+ accuracy — included from the Free plan.

Inventory

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

HelloBooks pricing

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

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