Ember vs IRIS Elements: Which Is Better Accounting Software?

We compare them based on real user reviews, prices and what features they both offer.

Ember vs IRIS Elements Basics

	Ember	IRIS Elements
Software Website	Ember Website	IRIS Elements Website
HMRC MTD Status	Not Included	In Development
Who Can Use It?	Businesses and Self-employed	Businesses and Accountants
HMRC Listed Features	None	None
Platforms	Web-based application, Android, and iOS	Cloud-based application

Note data for this section comes from HMRC here and here

Wondering if Ember or IRIS Elements has better user reviews. We compared them below.

	Ember	IRIS Elements
Trustpilot Rating	4.8	3.6
Number of Trustpilot Reviews	213	1616
iPhone App Rating	4.3	No Rating
Number of iPhone Reviews	37	No Reviews
Android App Rating	2.9	No Rating
Number of Android Reviews	42	No Reviews

Please note ratings we’re accurate at the time of writing but may have since changed

Which is cheaper Ember or IRIS Elements? Here are their prices compared.

Data taken from each company’s website at the time of writing but may have since changed.

Data taken from each company’s website at the time of writing but may have since changed.

	Ember	IRIS Elements
Payroll Software Integration	Yes	Yes
Track VAT	Yes	Yes
VAT Filing	Yes	Yes
Real-Time Financial Reports	Yes	Yes
Prepare Self Assessment	Yes	Yes
Income Tax Estimates	Yes	Yes
Manage Income & Expenses	Yes	No
Create Invoices	Yes	Yes
Forecast Cash Flow	Yes	Yes
Accept and Make Payments In Different Currencies	Yes	No
Employee Time Tracking	No	No
Projects	No	No
Bank Feed Integration	Yes	Yes
End of Year Filings	Yes	Yes
Capture Bills And Receipts	Yes	No
Bulk Reconcile Transactions	Yes	No
Track Inventory & Stock Levels	Yes	No

	Ember	IRIS Elements
Pros	Ember offers its free account to both sole traders and limited companies. Emberâ€™s Pro plan for sole traders is one of the cheaper paid accounts on the market. The Pro and Unlimited plans are Making Tax Digital-compliant. Ability to submit VAT tax returns directly to HMRC with the Pro and Unlimited plans. Every Ember plan comes with discounts on other business tools and services.	Free trial Making Tax Digital Ready Automated Compliance
Cons	The free Starter plans are not MTD-compliant, and you will not be able to sign up for that plan if your business is VAT-registered. This means you cannot submit your VAT returns directly to HMRC if you are on a free plan. There is currently no multi-user access, regardless of which plan you are on. Emberâ€™s full payroll function is only available to limited companies paying for the Unlimited plan and as a paid extra There is no built-in cash-flow forecasting function, regardless of your plan.	No app