# Codat vs FreeAgent API

> Codat scores 64.3 (B) on agent readiness against FreeAgent API's 57.2 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. FreeAgent API leads on reliability and payments & pricing. Both do accounting ledger. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-freeagent
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-freeagent.md (~2,100 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-freeagent.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-freeagent.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Codat scores 64.3 (B) on agent readiness against FreeAgent API's 57.2 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. FreeAgent API leads on reliability and payments & pricing. Both do accounting ledger.

- Codat: grade B, 64.3/100, rank #257 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/codat.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/codat.json
- FreeAgent API: grade C, 57.2/100, rank #426 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/freeagent.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/freeagent.json

## Which one, for what

### Codat (B)

Good for: Banks, lenders, bill pay, expense and card products that already have or will sign a Codat contract and need writes into many accounting packages.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 77 against 50
- Agent ergonomics, 81 against 55
- Security & auth, 49 against 44
- Maintenance & community, 75 against 60

Watch for: No public price. The pricing page returns 404 and fees are set in an order form

### FreeAgent API (C)

Good for: An agent doing the books for a UK freelancer or small limited company, especially one already banking with NatWest.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 85 against 80
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 10

Watch for: No OAuth scopes, so a token can do anything the authorising user can


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Codat | FreeAgent API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 85 | FreeAgent API +5 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 50 | Codat +27 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 55 | Codat +26 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 49 | 44 | Codat +5 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 10 | 30 | FreeAgent API +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 60 | Codat +15 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 74 | FreeAgent API +3 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **64.3 · B** | **57.2 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Codat | FreeAgent API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Codat Limited | FreeAgent |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.codat.io` | `https://api.freeagent.com/v2` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth |
| Pricing | Paid | Your plan |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Codat's Master Services Agreement. The documentation repository codatio/codat-docs is Apache-2.0 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-09-01 |
| Terms last updated | 2022-09-05 | 2025-02-28 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-04-01 | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 2.7k npm/wk, 222 PyPI/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Codat.** Public OpenAPI specs, an Idempotency-Key header on writes, Retry-After on 429 and a written three-month deprecation notice suit an agent that retries. Access is the limitation. No price or self-serve signup is published, the general Accounting API is closed to new clients, and API keys carry no scopes.

**FreeAgent API.** Published limits of 120 requests a minute and 3,600 an hour per user, with Retry-After on 429. No OAuth scopes, so a token can do anything the authorising user can.

## Before you call either

### Codat

1. Send `Authorization: Basic <base64 of the API key>` to https://api.codat.io. The Portal shows the ready-made header value
2. Send a new GUID as `Idempotency-Key` on every POST and PATCH, and reuse the same key when retrying after a 429
3. Treat writes as asynchronous on most APIs. Keep the push operation key and wait for the `{dataType}.write.successful` or `.unsuccessful` webhook
4. Call the Get model (options) endpoint for the connection before a create or update, because required fields differ by accounting package
5. Filter with `query=modifiedDate>...` and keep `pageSize` at 100. The daily quota is 1,000 requests times one plus the number of active connected companies

### FreeAgent API

1. Store the new refresh token from every refresh response. The old one stops working
2. Create the invoice, then PUT /v2/invoices/:id/transitions/mark_as_sent. A draft isn't visible to the customer
3. Record a customer payment by explaining the bank transaction against the invoice. There's no invoice payments endpoint
4. Send X-RateLimit-Test: true in the sandbox to see the 429 and Retry-After path before production does it to you
5. Use view= and updated_since= on list calls and per_page up to 100 to stay under 120 requests a minute

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Codat or FreeAgent API?

Codat scores 64.3 (B) on agent readiness against FreeAgent API's 57.2 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. FreeAgent API leads on reliability and payments & pricing.

### Do Codat and FreeAgent API need an API key?

Codat needs an API key. FreeAgent API uses an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Codat and FreeAgent API without installing anything?

Yes. Codat has a hosted endpoint at https://api.codat.io and FreeAgent API at https://api.freeagent.com/v2.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-freeagent.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-freeagent.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "codat", "b": "freeagent"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare codat freeagent`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/codat.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/freeagent.json

## Other comparisons with Codat or FreeAgent API

- [Apideck Accounting API + MCP vs FreeAgent API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apideck-accounting-vs-freeagent.md)
- [Codat vs FreshBooks API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-freshbooks.md)
- [Codat vs QuickBooks Online API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-quickbooks-online.md)
- [Codat vs Xero API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-xero.md)
- [FreeAgent API vs FreshBooks API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/freeagent-vs-freshbooks.md)
- [FreeAgent API vs Merge Accounting API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/freeagent-vs-merge-accounting.md)
- [FreeAgent API vs QuickBooks Online API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/freeagent-vs-quickbooks-online.md)
- [FreeAgent API vs Rutter Accounting API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/freeagent-vs-rutter.md)
- [FreeAgent API vs Xero API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/freeagent-vs-xero.md)
- [Codat vs Invoice Ninja API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-invoice-ninja.md)
- [FreeAgent API vs Invoice Ninja API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/freeagent-vs-invoice-ninja.md)
- [Apideck Accounting API + MCP vs Codat](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apideck-accounting-vs-codat.md)
- [Codat vs Merge Accounting API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-merge-accounting.md)
- [Codat vs Rutter Accounting API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/codat-vs-rutter.md)