TL;DR — which one to pick
- Best all-rounder for most UK users: Koinly. Strong UK share-pool accuracy, broadest exchange and chain coverage, clean SA108 export, reasonable price.
- Best for UK-specific accuracy and compliance focus: Recap. UK-built, gives the most defensible audit trail, end-to-end encrypted (privacy-first). More expensive but cleaner for complex cases.
- Best for heavy DeFi and chain-level granularity: CryptoTaxCalculator (CTC). Strongest DeFi reasoning engine; handles wrapped tokens, LP positions and complex lending well.
- Best for high transaction volumes and historical data: CoinTracking. Long-established, deep import history, less polished UI.
- Don't pick if you have heavy DeFi: Accointing — usable for simple cases but DeFi coverage is weaker than the others.
What actually matters for UK users
Most "best of" lists evaluate crypto tax software on superficial criteria (number of integrations, UI, pricing). What actually matters for a UK user trying to file an accurate SA108:
- UK share-pool accuracy. Does it correctly apply same-day rule, 30-day rule, then s.104 pool — in that order? Some tools default to FIFO globally and need explicit UK mode.
- GBP valuation method. Does it use an HMRC-acceptable source consistently? Can you see the source it used?
- DeFi coverage. Does it correctly model wrapped tokens (WBTC, stETH), LP positions, yield farming, borrowing, liquidations, bridging? This is where software diverges most.
- NFT handling. Are NFTs treated as individual assets (UK position) rather than pooled with the collection? Are gas fees attributed correctly to acquisition vs disposal?
- Staking treatment. Does it correctly split each staking reward into an income event (FMV at receipt) AND a new acquisition into the s.104 pool?
- Audit trail / export. Can you produce a per-disposal record with GBP source, matching rule applied, and full reconciliation? You'll need this if HMRC opens an enquiry.
- Price. Annual subscriptions range from £50 (basic, low transaction volume) to £400+ (high volume, multi-year).
Side-by-side at a glance
| Feature | Koinly | Recap | CTC | CoinTracking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK share-pool accuracy | Strong | Strongest | Strong | Good |
| DeFi reasoning | Good | Good | Strongest | Average |
| NFT handling | Good | Good | Good | Weak |
| Exchange integrations | 800+ | ~50 (focused) | ~500 | ~300 |
| Chain coverage | 20+ | 15+ | 25+ | 15+ |
| SA108 export | Yes | Yes (UK-native) | Yes | Yes |
| Privacy / encryption | Standard | E2E encrypted | Standard | Standard |
| Price (UK, 5k tx/yr) | ~£139 | ~£249 | ~£189 | ~£140 |
| Price (UK, 50k tx/yr) | ~£329 | ~£499 | ~£449 | ~£260 |
| Customer support | Good | Strongest (UK accountants) | Good | Average |
Koinly — the all-rounder
Strengths: Best exchange coverage (800+), strong UK share-pool accuracy with explicit UK tax mode, clean UI, reliable SA108 export, reasonable price. The default recommendation for most UK retail crypto users.
Weaknesses: DeFi reasoning is good but not best-in-class — complex cross-chain DeFi positions sometimes need manual review. Customer support is competent but not UK-specialist.
Pricing (2025): Hobbyist £39 (100 tx), Newbie £79 (1,000 tx), Investor £139 (5,000 tx), Trader £329 (10k+ tx). Per-tax-year billing.
Best for: 90% of UK retail crypto users — buy-and-sell, simple staking, occasional NFT activity, a few major DeFi positions.
Recap — UK-built, privacy-first
Strengths: UK-native — built by UK accountants for UK rules. Strongest UK share-pool reconciliation, best HMRC-aligned audit trail. End-to-end encrypted (your data is never readable by Recap). UK-based customer support including qualified accountants. Strongest compliance / defensibility position if HMRC opens an enquiry.
Weaknesses: Fewer integrations (~50 exchanges) than Koinly. More expensive. UI is more compliance-shaped than consumer-friendly.
Pricing (2025): Tiered by transaction volume; UK individual plans £125-£500/yr typically.
Best for: UK users with complex situations — large balances, past non-disclosure being cleaned up, anyone receiving HMRC nudge letters, anyone where defensibility matters more than transaction volume. Many UK accountants use Recap as their professional tool.
CryptoTaxCalculator (CTC) — the DeFi specialist
Strengths: Best-in-class DeFi reasoning. Handles wrapped tokens, complex LP positions, yield farming, lending protocols, bridging, leveraged positions and liquidations more accurately than competitors. Strong chain coverage including newer L2s. UK share-pool accuracy is solid.
Weaknesses: Fewer centralised-exchange integrations than Koinly (still ~500). UI is functional rather than slick. Per-tax-year pricing.
Pricing (2025): Investor £189 (5,000 tx), Trader £449 (10k-100k tx), Pro £849 (unlimited).
Best for: UK users with significant DeFi activity — yield farming, LP positions, lending/borrowing, multi-chain. If your portfolio is mostly on Uniswap, Curve, Aave, Maker, GMX etc., CTC will reason about it more correctly than Koinly.
CoinTracking — the historical heavyweight
Strengths: Long-established (since 2013). Deep historical data — many users with pre-2017 trading history find CoinTracking handles the legacy data better than newer tools. UK share-pool accuracy is good. Reasonable pricing at high transaction volumes.
Weaknesses: UI is dated. Customer support is functional but not UK-specialist. DeFi coverage has improved but isn't best-in-class. NFT handling is the weakest of the major tools.
Pricing (2025): Pro €124.95/yr, Expert €224.95/yr, Unlimited €1,499.95 (lifetime). Pricing in EUR / USD; ~£100-£260/yr for typical UK plans.
Best for: UK users with very high transaction volumes (50k+) and predominantly centralised-exchange activity, or those with pre-2017 historical data to reconcile.
When to use software alone vs software + accountant
Software-only is enough for many UK users — the major tools produce SA108-ready output and HMRC accepts the aggregated totals. Cases where you should layer a UK crypto accountant on top:
- Trader-vs-investor borderline. If your activity is hundreds of trades a year with short holding periods, the software will default to investor treatment. An accountant can advise whether trader status applies (different tax treatment, sometimes better outcome).
- Material airdrops where retroactive treatment matters. Software's default is "treat as ordinary CGT acquisition at £nil" or "treat as income at FMV". The right answer can be either; an accountant can decide and document.
- HMRC nudge letter or open enquiry. Documenting and disclosing past underpayment via WDF needs human judgement.
- Negligible value claims, lost-access claims, stolen crypto. Software can record the disposal but the claim itself needs human drafting.
- Mixed personal / commercial activity (mining at scale, NFT trader status, employment in crypto). Requires correct splitting between income tax and CGT regimes.
- £100k+ in disposal proceeds. Above this rough threshold, the accountant fee is small compared to the tax exposure and a sanity-check is worth it.
GoCryptoTax matches UK crypto holders with accountants who use one of the four tools above professionally — see our matching service.