Last Updated on March 16, 2026 by James Hartley
🏆 DEXT UK: ThriveOnz360 Growth members unlock an exclusive Dext deal — 14-day free trial, no card required. Xero App Partner of the Year 2024. 700K+ businesses. Free to join.
Dext pricing UK 2026: the Starter plan costs approximately £24/month on annual billing (£288/year) or £30/month on monthly billing for up to 5 users and 250 documents. The Growth plan costs approximately £40/month annual (£480/year) or £50/month monthly for up to 10 users and 500 documents. The Scale plan costs approximately £72/month annual (£864/year) or £90/month monthly for up to 20 users and 1,000 documents. Annual billing saves 20% across all plans. Dext does not publicly publish GBP prices on its website — these figures are GBP equivalents of published USD pricing, confirmed available in GBP. For accountants and bookkeeping practices, plans start at approximately £190–240/month for 10 client companies. Hubdoc is included free with Xero Standard (£33/month) and is sufficient for sole traders and GBP-only teams with simple needs. Xero Expenses costs £2.50 per user per month as a Xero add-on and covers employee expense claims but not supplier invoice capture. Dext earns its price for businesses processing 60+ documents per month, teams submitting via WhatsApp, or any business needing multi-currency, mileage tracking, e-commerce feeds from Shopify or Stripe, or bank statement extraction.
Dext Pricing UK 2026 — Business & Accountant Plans, True Cost & Honest Comparison
Dext Pricing UK 2026: What You Actually Pay, What You Get, and Whether It’s Worth It
Your accountant keeps recommending Dext. Your Xero dashboard shows Hubdoc for free. AutoEntry quotes something different. Xero now has its own Expenses module. And Dext’s own website shows no prices at all. This guide cuts through the confusion: exact GBP costs for every Dext plan in 2026, how Dext compares to Hubdoc and Xero Expenses, and the honest ROI calculation for your specific situation.
✅ From ~£24/month annual (£288/year)
✅ 20% off on annual billing
✅ 14-day free trial, no card required
✅ Xero App Partner of the Year 2024
✅ 4.7★ Trustpilot · 700K+ businesses
⚠️ GBP prices not published on website
⚠️ Hubdoc is free with Xero Standard
⚠️ Pricing increased significantly in 2023
⚠️ Some cancellation complaints
⚠️ Credits system adds to base cost
~£24
Per month on annual billing (Starter). £288/year. GBP equivalent of published USD price.
700K+
Businesses worldwide. 12,000+ accounting practices. 320M+ documents processed per year.
99.9%
OCR data extraction accuracy. Reads receipts, invoices, bank statements — even handwritten ones.
4.7★
Trustpilot rating. 4.8 on App Store, 4.5 on Google Play. Xero App Partner of the Year UK 2024.
£0
Hubdoc costs UK businesses. Included free with Xero Standard (£33/mo) and Xero Premium.
⚡ Dext UK — Quick Navigation
The Dext Pricing Problem: Why This Article Exists
If you visit Dext’s UK website and try to find out what it costs, you will not find a clean answer. The business pricing page says “choose from a range of good value subscription options” without listing prices. The accountant pricing page shows plan tiers without GBP figures. To see actual UK pricing, you must either start a free trial or contact the sales team.
This is a deliberate commercial choice — Dext moved to a more opaque, contact-us pricing model following a significant 2023 restructure that eliminated unlimited plans and moved to per-client and per-user pricing. For many UK accountants, that transition resulted in price increases of 200–400%. The backlash on AccountingWEB was substantial, and it is something any honest Dext pricing review should acknowledge rather than ignore.
⚠️ Pricing Transparency Caveat — Read Before This Article
Because Dext does not publish GBP prices on its website, the figures in this article are derived from: (1) Dext’s published USD pricing converted to GBP at current rates, confirmed available in GBP per Dext’s own documentation; (2) third-party review platforms that publish Dext pricing data; and (3) UK user reports from AccountingWEB and Trustpilot. All figures should be verified directly with Dext before purchasing — prices can change without notice and may vary by business size, sector, or negotiation. A 14-day free trial requires no credit card and is the recommended way to get accurate current GBP pricing for your specific situation.
What Is Dext? (Formerly Receipt Bank)
Dext was founded in 2010 as Receipt Bank — one of the earliest cloud receipt capture tools for UK accountants. It rebranded to Dext in 2021 following acquisition by IRIS Software Group, one of the UK’s largest accountancy software companies. The rebrand expanded the platform from pure receipt capture into a broader “pre-accounting automation” suite.
What Dext Captures
- Receipts — snap with mobile app, 99.9% OCR accuracy
- Purchase invoices — email forward, PDF upload, drag-and-drop
- Bank statements — PDF extraction, auto-reconciliation
- WhatsApp submission — photo to WhatsApp number
- E-commerce feeds — Amazon, Shopify, Stripe, PayPal auto-import
- Supplier statements — extract and reconcile automatically
- Mileage — GPS tracking via mobile app
- Expense claims — submit, approve, reimburse workflow
What Dext Does With Data
- Extracts: supplier name, date, amount, VAT, currency
- Auto-categorises to your chart of accounts
- Applies supplier rules (Amazon → Xero “Software” account, always)
- Flags duplicates before they reach Xero
- Matches against bank feed — auto-reconciliation suggestion
- Stores originals for 10 years (GDPR-compliant, UK/EU cloud)
- Generates expense reports for reimbursement
- Publishes approved items to Xero, QuickBooks, or Sage
UK-Specific Credentials
- 🏆 Xero App Partner of the Year — UK, 2024
- 🏆 QuickBooks Developer Spotlight 2024
- 🏆 SME News Best Cloud Accounting Software 2023
- GDPR-compliant — UK and EU cloud hosting
- MTD (Making Tax Digital) ready — Dext Solo for MTD IT
- 10-year document retention (HMRC-compliant)
- VAT rate identification and extraction
- CIS (Construction Industry Scheme) document handling
Dext UK Pricing 2026: Total Annual Cost by Plan
The most important number for a UK business evaluating Dext is the total annual cost — not just the headline monthly rate. Here is the complete 12-month cost picture for each plan, including what you actually pay on monthly versus annual billing.
| Plan | Monthly Billing per month |
Annual Billing ★ per month (save 20%) |
Total Annual Cost paid upfront |
Users | Docs/mo | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | ~£30/mo =£360/yr |
~£24/mo | ~£288/yr Save ~£72/yr |
5 | 250/mo | Small teams, straightforward receipt capture, Xero or QuickBooks users |
| Growth | ~£50/mo =£600/yr |
~£40/mo | ~£480/yr Save ~£120/yr |
10 | 500/mo | Growing teams, expense approvals, multi-currency, e-commerce feeds (Shopify/Stripe) |
| Scale | ~£90/mo =£1,080/yr |
~£72/mo | ~£864/yr Save ~£216/yr |
20 | 1,000/mo | Multi-department businesses, high document volumes, advanced supplier rules |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Contact Dext | Unlimited | Custom | Multi-entity, franchise, or large business. Bespoke pricing direct with Dext sales team. |
GBP figures are equivalents of Dext’s published USD pricing. Actual GBP prices may differ — verify at dext.com or via the 14-day free trial. Annual billing locks in the 20% saving for 12 months; monthly billing allows cancellation with 30 days notice.
💡 Annual vs Monthly: the decision rule for UK businesses
Start on monthly billing for the first 60 days — confirm the adoption rate (are your team actually submitting expenses?) and validate your real document volume. Once confirmed, switch to annual billing to lock in the 20% saving. Starting annual risks paying for 12 months on a tool your team doesn’t adopt. The two-month monthly premium (approximately £12–18 extra) is a worthwhile de-risking cost before committing to a full annual contract.
Dext Business Pricing UK 2026: Plans Explained
Dext’s business plans target UK SMEs directly — sole traders, small companies, and growing businesses that want to self-manage their receipt capture and expense management without going via an accounting practice. Plans are structured around number of users and monthly document volume.
Understanding Dext’s Credits System
Beyond the base plan, Dext uses a credits system for three features that are not fully unlimited on any plan:
Bank Statement Extraction
Uploading a PDF bank statement and having Dext extract all transactions as line items — useful for catch-up bookkeeping. Each plan includes a credits allowance; additional credits can be purchased. This is the primary driver of unexpected over-limit charges — monitor usage in Month 1 and 2.
Line Item Extraction
Instead of extracting just the total from a receipt (e.g., “£143.50 — Screwfix”), line item extraction breaks down each product line. Useful for businesses allocating costs by category. Credits-based above plan allowance. Most UK SMEs will not exceed their included allowance.
Supplier Statement Reconciliation
Uploading a supplier’s statement and having Dext automatically match it against captured invoices to identify unmatched items. Very useful for accounts payable teams. Credit-gated. Most small businesses won’t hit the included allowance.
📌 What to Watch: Document Limits
If you exceed your monthly document limit, Dext will continue to accept document uploads but will NOT extract data until your next billing period or until you upgrade. This is a disruption risk during a busy AP run. Choose a plan with 20–30% headroom above your typical monthly volume. Overage behaviour varies by plan — verify directly with Dext before committing.
What Does “250 Documents per Month” Actually Mean?
For most UK SMEs, document count is more generous than it sounds. One document = one receipt, one invoice, or one bank statement page. A 10-person team with 5 expenses each per month = 50 documents. Adding 30 supplier invoices, 10 subscription confirmations, and 5 utility bills = 95 documents total. The Starter plan’s 250-document allowance covers most businesses with fewer than 15 employees unless they process high volumes of purchase invoices or do e-commerce reconciliation. A high-volume scenario: a Shopify store with 8 team members processing 200 supplier invoices, 80 team expenses, and 40 e-commerce statements monthly = ~320 documents, requiring the Growth plan.
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Dext for Accountants & Bookkeepers: Practice Plans UK 2026
The majority of Dext’s UK revenue comes from accountants and bookkeeping firms who subscribe to Dext and deploy it across their client base. Practice plans are priced per client company (not per document volume) and come in two tiers: Essentials and Advanced.
| Feature | Essentials | Advanced ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (10 clients, monthly) | ~£190/mo | ~£240/mo |
| Annual billing discount | Save 13% | Save 13% |
| Mobile document capture | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Bank statement extraction | ✅ With credits | ✅ With credits |
| Core automation (supplier rules, smart splits) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Team and location setup | ❌ | ✅ Yes |
| Custom workflows and approvals | ❌ | ✅ Yes |
| Practice insights dashboard | ❌ | ✅ Yes |
| Advanced automation rules | ❌ | ✅ Yes |
| Xero, QuickBooks, Sage integration | ✅ All | ✅ All |
| 14-day free trial | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
⚠️ The 2023 Pricing Restructure — What UK Accountants Need to Know
In August 2023, Dext eliminated all unlimited plans for UK accountants and moved to per-client pricing. Practices that had been paying a flat monthly fee for unlimited clients faced price increases of 200–400% at renewal. This was widely covered on AccountingWEB and created significant user frustration. Practices evaluating Dext in 2026 should: (1) get a precise quote based on their exact client count — do not assume the starting price applies to your scale; (2) ask explicitly about what happens at renewal if they add clients mid-contract; (3) compare total cost over 2 years, not just Month 1. Dext remains the market leader in UK accountant software despite this backlash, but the pricing structure deserves scrutiny before committing.
Dext vs Xero Expenses vs Hubdoc: The Three-Way UK Comparison for 2026
There is now a third option many UK businesses miss in the Dext vs Hubdoc conversation: Xero Expenses — Xero’s own native expense management module. As Xero has expanded its Expenses feature through 2024–2026, it has become a genuine alternative to Dext for businesses with straightforward employee expense claims and no need for supplier invoice capture. Understanding where each tool fits is the most important pricing question a UK business can ask before committing to Dext.
| Feature | Dext Business | Xero Expenses | Hubdoc |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Price | ~£24–72/mo (annual) | £2.50/user/mo (add-on to Xero plan) |
Free with Xero Std/Premium |
| Receipt capture OCR | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 99.9% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good |
| Supplier invoice capture | ✅ Full — auto-categorise | ❌ Employee expenses only | ⚠️ Basic only |
| WhatsApp submission | ✅ Unique to Dext | ❌ | ❌ |
| GPS mileage tracking | ✅ HMRC-compliant | ✅ Built-in | ❌ |
| Expense approval workflow | ✅ Advanced multi-step | ✅ Native Xero | ❌ |
| E-commerce feeds (Shopify/Stripe/Amazon) | ✅ Automated | ❌ | ❌ |
| Multi-currency | ✅ Full | ✅ Via Xero | ⚠️ Limited |
| Bank statement extraction | ✅ (credits included) | ❌ | ❌ |
| Supplier rules & auto-categorise | ✅ Most advanced | ⚠️ Basic | ⚠️ Basic |
| 10-year document storage | ✅ HMRC-compliant | Via Xero (indefinite) | Via Xero (indefinite) |
| Verdict | Best for invoice capture + high volume + WhatsApp teams + e-commerce | Best for employee expense claims within Xero — not for supplier invoices | Best for simple GBP receipt capture — already free with Xero Std/Premium |
Choose Dext if your team…
- Submits receipts via WhatsApp
- Processes supplier invoices (not just employee expenses)
- Sells on Shopify, Stripe, or Amazon
- Has multi-currency transactions
- Needs bank statement extraction
- Processes 60+ documents per month
Choose Xero Expenses if your team…
- Only needs employee expense claim management
- Already uses Xero and wants one platform
- Needs GPS mileage alongside expenses
- Has minimal or zero supplier invoice volume
- Is GBP-only and values fewer tools
- Has under 10 employees submitting expenses
Choose Hubdoc if your team…
- Already pays for Xero Standard or Premium
- Has simple, low-volume GBP receipts only
- Has 1–5 people, no formal approval workflow needed
- Wants zero additional monthly cost
- Doesn’t need supplier rules or automation
- Can accept slightly lower OCR accuracy
Dext vs Hubdoc vs AutoEntry vs Datamolino: Full UK Comparison 2026
| Feature | Dext Business | Hubdoc | AutoEntry | Datamolino |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK price | ~£24–£72/mo (annual) | FREE with Xero Std ★ | Credit-based ~£20/mo | From ~£39/mo |
| OCR accuracy | 99.9% ★ | Good (improving) | High (4.7★) | High |
| Xero App Store rating | 4.8★ ★ | 3.5★ | 4.7★ | 4.3★ |
| Mobile app quality | Excellent ★ | Good | Good | Basic |
| WhatsApp submission | ✅ Yes — unique ★ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| E-commerce feeds | ✅ Yes ★ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Supplier rules & auto-cat | Advanced ★ | Basic | Good | Good |
| GPS mileage tracking | ✅ Yes ★ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Expense approval workflow | Full ★ | ❌ | Basic | ✅ Yes |
| Bank statement extraction | ✅ Yes (credits) ★ | ❌ | ✅ Yes | ❌ |
| Multi-currency | ✅ Yes ★ | Limited | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| 10-year document storage | ✅ Yes ★ | Xero-linked | Variable | Variable |
Use Hubdoc (free with Xero) instead of Dext when:
- You already pay for Xero Standard or Premium — Hubdoc is already included
- Your team has 1–5 people submitting straightforward GBP receipts and invoices
- All transactions are in GBP — no multi-currency requirement
- You do not need GPS mileage tracking or expense claim workflows
- You do not process e-commerce income — no Shopify/Stripe/Amazon feeds needed
- Budget is a priority and Dext’s ~£24/month is not justified by the difference
Dext earns its price over Hubdoc and every alternative when:
- Your team submits expenses via WhatsApp — a genuine adoption accelerator for field teams
- You need GPS mileage tracking for HMRC-compliant mileage claims
- You process multi-currency invoices from international suppliers
- Your e-commerce runs on Shopify, Stripe, or Amazon — automated feeds save hours
- You need formal expense approval workflows — manager approves before Xero posting
- You need bank statement extraction for catch-up bookkeeping or CIS invoice processing
Dext Solo & MTD for Income Tax 2026: Why This Matters Now
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) is the HMRC mandate requiring self-employed individuals and landlords with income above £50,000 to submit quarterly digital tax updates from April 2026. The threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027, and £20,000 from April 2028. This affects an estimated 780,000 UK sole traders and landlords in the first wave alone.
Dext Solo is Dext’s purpose-built MTD IT solution for individuals and their accountants. For UK accountants with a large sole trader or landlord client base, Dext Solo integrated into Dext Practice is the most cost-effective and scalable way to bring clients into MTD IT compliance without requiring each to take on a full Xero or QuickBooks subscription. For HMRC payment automation post-MTD submission, see Melio Review UK 2026: Pay HMRC Free → — Melio handles HMRC payments from Xero in one click at no monthly cost.
What Dext Solo Does for MTD IT
- Digital record-keeping satisfying HMRC’s MTD IT functional requirements
- Quarterly update submissions directly to HMRC via MTD-compatible software
- Receipt and invoice capture feeding into quarterly income/expense records
- Accountants manage multiple MTD IT clients from one Dext Practice dashboard
- Replaces paper record-keeping for sole traders — fully HMRC-recognised
MTD IT Timeline — Are You Affected?
- April 2026: Sole traders / landlords with gross income >£50,000 — mandatory now
- April 2027: Threshold drops to £30,000 — significantly wider scope
- April 2028: Threshold drops to £20,000 — most sole traders affected
- Dext Solo is the lowest-cost MTD IT solution for pure record-keeping without a full accounting software subscription
- Per-client pricing differs between Solo and full Prepare — ask Dext sales directly
Is Dext Worth the Cost for UK Businesses? The ROI Calculation
For a full side-by-side view of Dext within the wider UK accounting software landscape — including how it compares alongside Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, and Sage — see Best Accounting Software UK 2026: Top 10 for SMEs →
The honest answer on Dext’s ROI is: it depends entirely on how much finance admin time your business currently spends on receipt and invoice processing, and what that time costs.
✅ Dext Clearly Worth It When:
Scenario A — 8-person agency, field team: Team submits ~60 expenses/month via WhatsApp and email. Owner manually enters each into Xero: 3 hours/month at £75/hr = £225/month. Dext at ~£30/month automates entry, approval, and Xero posting. Net saving: £195/month = £2,340/year.
Scenario B — Shopify e-commerce, 3 staff: Shopify settlements, Stripe fees, Amazon refunds, and supplier invoices = 180 documents/month. Manual reconciliation: 5 hours/month. Dext’s automated feeds eliminate 4 of those 5 hours. Annual saving: £3,600 vs ~£30/month cost.
Scenario C — Accountant with 20 Xero clients: Time saving: 1.5 hrs/client/month × 20 × £45 = £1,350/month vs ~£400/month Dext cost. Net saving: £950/month.
⚠️ Dext Marginal — Hubdoc Probably Enough:
Scenario D — Professional services, 3 staff, GBP only: ~20 receipts/month, no mileage, no approvals, no e-commerce. Already paying for Xero Standard (Hubdoc included). Dext at £30/month adds a modest improvement but no feature the business actually needs. Use Hubdoc.
Scenario E — Sole trader, 15–20 receipts/month: Small consultant billing £60K/year. Hubdoc handles this fine at £0 extra. Dext Solo worth considering only if approaching MTD IT threshold. Otherwise Hubdoc is cost-effective enough.
❌ Dext Not Worth It When:
Scenario F — Cash-heavy retail: If significant revenue comes through a till, Dext’s capture workflow doesn’t address the primary reconciliation problem. A dedicated EPOS + accounting integration solves this better.
Scenario G — Already on AutoEntry via accountant: If the workflow is working, the disruption of switching (retraining, re-mapping supplier rules, transferring history) often costs more than the marginal Dext advantage over 1–2 years.
Scenario H — Bootstrapped startup, first 6 months: Under 10 receipts/month. Use a receipt folder. No tool justifies cost at this stage.
Quick ROI Calculator: Is Dext Worth £30/Month for You?
Minutes to manually process each into Xero
Cost of the person doing this work (£/hr)
Monthly admin cost today:
Example: 3 minutes each = 240 min = 4 hours/month
Example: £35/hr (bookkeeper)
80 × 3min ÷ 60 × £35 = £140/month. Dext at £24–30 = net saving £110–116/month = £1,320–1,392/year.
Rule of thumb: if your finance admin time cost on document processing exceeds £60/month, Dext pays for itself on time alone. If below £60/month, evaluate whether Hubdoc or manual processes are sufficient until volume grows. Start monthly, confirm adoption, then switch to annual to lock in the 20% saving.
Dext in the UK SME Finance Stack: Where It Fits
Dext is a pre-accounting capture layer that feeds into accounting software — not a standalone accounting system. Understanding where it sits helps clarify the decision:
Layer 1: CAPTURE
Dext
Snap receipts → extract data → categorise → approve → push to Xero
Layer 3: PAYMENTS
Pay HMRC + suppliers free via bank transfer → auto-reconciles in Xero. Free. No monthly fee.
Layer 4: INT’L FX
Multi-currency supplier payments → Dext captures confirmation → Xero reconciles via bank feed
Full setup guide: UK Expense Management Stack 2026: Dext + Xero + Airwallex →
ThriveOnz360 Partner — Dext
Try Dext Free for 14 Days — Xero App Partner of the Year UK 2024
ThriveOnz360 Growth members unlock an exclusive Dext discount. 14-day free trial, full features, no credit card. Start with real receipts and measure the time saving — that tells you more than any comparison table.
Dext UK — Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Dext cost for a UK small business in 2026?
Dext business plans start at approximately £24/month on annual billing (£288/year) or £30/month on monthly billing for up to 5 users and 250 documents. Annual billing saves 20% and is recommended for businesses intending to use Dext long-term. The Growth plan covering 10 users and 500 documents costs approximately £40/month annual (£480/year). The Scale plan covering 20 users and 1,000 documents costs approximately £72/month annual (£864/year). Dext does not publish GBP prices on its website — start a 14-day free trial (no card required) to see current GBP pricing. Enterprise pricing for high-volume or multi-entity businesses is negotiated directly.
Is Hubdoc free with Xero in the UK?
Yes. Hubdoc is included at no extra cost with Xero Standard (£33/month) and Xero Premium (£47/month) in the UK. For small UK businesses with straightforward GBP-only receipts and a team of fewer than 5 people, Hubdoc handles basic capture at no additional cost. Dext earns its price over Hubdoc when you need: GPS mileage tracking, WhatsApp document submission, e-commerce feeds (Shopify/Stripe/Amazon), multi-currency, bank statement extraction, or formal expense approval workflows.
What is the difference between Dext and Xero Expenses?
Xero Expenses (£2.50/user/month as a Xero add-on) handles employee expense claims — employees submit receipts, managers approve, reimbursements process through Xero payroll. It also offers GPS mileage tracking. It does not capture supplier invoices, handle bank statement extraction, accept WhatsApp submissions, or process e-commerce feeds. Dext does all of these. For businesses where the primary requirement is employee expense claim management and they already use Xero, Xero Expenses may be sufficient at lower cost. For businesses that also process supplier invoices, receive Shopify or Stripe income, or have a field team submitting via WhatsApp, Dext is the more capable tool at comparable or better total cost.
Is Dext the same as Receipt Bank?
Yes. Dext was founded as Receipt Bank in 2010 and rebranded to Dext in 2021 following acquisition by IRIS Software Group. The core product — OCR receipt capture feeding into Xero and QuickBooks — is the same product, significantly expanded. If you see “Receipt Bank” in older content, it refers to the same company and largely the same product now marketed as Dext Prepare. UK accountants who built their workflow around Receipt Bank will find Dext Prepare familiar, with more features added.
Does Dext integrate with Xero for UK businesses?
Yes — Dext’s Xero integration was voted Xero App Partner of the Year (UK) in 2024. The integration pushes approved documents from Dext directly to Xero as bills, receipts, or expense items, with supplier, amount, VAT, and account category pre-populated. The Dext → Xero workflow eliminates manual transaction entry from receipts and invoices. For HMRC payment automation post-reconciliation — paying your VAT bill directly by bank transfer or card — see Melio Review UK 2026: Pay HMRC Free →
Can Dext handle VAT for UK businesses?
Dext extracts VAT amounts from receipts and invoices and tags them before sending to Xero, identifying standard rate (20%), reduced rate (5%), zero rate (0%), and exempt items where the document clearly indicates VAT treatment. The extracted VAT data feeds into Xero’s VAT return preparation. Dext does not submit VAT returns — that is done through Xero’s MTD-compatible VAT filing. For HMRC’s Making Tax Digital for VAT (mandatory for all VAT-registered UK businesses), Dext provides the digital record-keeping layer; Xero handles the MTD submission.
Is there a free version of Dext for UK businesses?
Dext does not offer a permanent free tier. There is a 14-day free trial with full access to features and no credit card required. For UK businesses on Xero Standard or Premium, Hubdoc (free with Xero) handles basic receipt capture at no extra cost. Dext Solo — the MTD for Income Tax product for sole traders — has separate pricing; contact Dext or your accountant for current rates, particularly if approaching the MTD IT threshold (£50,000 gross income from April 2026).
How accurate is Dext’s receipt scanning?
Dext claims 99.9% OCR data extraction accuracy, verified against its processing of 320 million+ documents annually. In practice, accuracy is highest for digital PDFs and clear photographed receipts from major UK retailers where Dext has supplier-specific extraction rules built in. Accuracy drops for handwritten receipts, crumpled or damaged receipts, and non-standard invoice formats. For most UK businesses, the 99.9% figure reflects realistic expectations on clean, everyday business receipts — the AI learns supplier patterns over time and improves with volume.
Can employees submit expenses via WhatsApp to Dext?
Yes — and this is one of Dext’s most cited practical advantages over competitors including Hubdoc, AutoEntry, and Xero Expenses. Team members photograph receipts and send them to a dedicated Dext WhatsApp number. The image is processed by Dext’s OCR, categorised, and placed in the approval queue. For field teams, tradespeople, hospitality staff, or any workforce that lives on WhatsApp rather than desktop email, this submission method drives significantly higher expense capture compliance than app-based alternatives. No other major UK receipt capture tool offers WhatsApp submission as of March 2026.
Is Dext worth it for accountants and bookkeepers in the UK?
For UK accounting practices with 10+ active clients, Dext Practice substantially reduces time spent chasing client receipts, manually entering transactions, and reconciling bank statements. The ROI case is strong when clients submit documents consistently — which is more likely with Dext’s multiple capture methods (WhatsApp, app, email forwarding) than with single-channel alternatives. The 2023 pricing restructure increased costs significantly for many practices — the ROI case requires careful calculation against current per-client pricing rather than historical flat-rate pricing. Start with a 14-day free trial covering several real client workflows before committing.
ThriveOnz360 Verdict — Dext UK Pricing 2026
Dext is the market-leading UK receipt capture tool — at a price that reflects that position. Whether it’s worth paying is a function of your document volume, team size, and capture method.
Dext at ~£24/month annual (£288/year) is a genuine ROI-positive investment for UK businesses processing 60+ documents per month, teams using WhatsApp to submit expenses, e-commerce businesses on Shopify or Stripe, and accounting practices billing for bookkeeping time. For GBP-only businesses with under 5 staff and simple needs, Hubdoc (free with Xero Standard) covers the core use case without the extra cost. If you also need employee expense claims with mileage and approval workflows, Xero Expenses at £2.50/user/month may be the right middle ground. The honest advice: start Dext’s 14-day free trial with real receipts and measure time saved in the first two weeks. Three or more hours saved = it pays for itself. Struggling to adopt it in two weeks = useful signal to stay with Hubdoc.
Quick Decision Guide
Dext (£24–72/mo): 60+ docs/mo · Multi-currency · E-commerce · WhatsApp team · Accountant uses it · CIS construction
Xero Expenses (£2.50/user): Employee expense claims only · Mileage + approvals · No supplier invoices
Hubdoc (free): GBP-only · <5 staff · Simple receipts · Already on Xero Standard
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Disclosure: ThriveOnz360 is a Dext affiliate partner and receives commission on qualifying Dext sign-ups. Where Hubdoc, AutoEntry, Xero Expenses, or Datamolino are recommended as more appropriate alternatives, ThriveOnz360 does not receive commission from those recommendations. Dext pricing figures in this article are GBP approximations of published USD pricing as of March 2026 — actual GBP prices may vary and should be verified on dext.com or by starting a free trial. Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) is a product of IRIS Software Group. Last updated: March 2026.
Former City of London fintech advisor and SME growth strategist with 12 years building lean tech stacks for founders across the UK and Southeast Asia. James has guided 500+ SMEs through software decisions that cut costs and unlock growth — and believes every founder deserves a trusted, independent voice on their side. James Hartley is the editorial pen name of the ThriveOnz360 editorial team.