Holded review: software or gestoría for the self-employed?
We look at Holded for the self-employed in Spain: official 2026 prices, limits, tax filing and VeriFactu. Compare the annual cost of the software with professional help before you choose.
In short
- Holded Plus normally costs €15 a month excluding VAT; the promotion available at the time of writing cuts it to €7.50 for the first three paid months: price list, 12/10/2026.
- Holded lets you file certain modelos, the Spanish tax return forms, with a digital certificate: official help, accessed 12/10/2026.
- Before you compare fees, pin down who will review your expenses, answer your questions and prepare your returns.
- Plus includes 250 invoices per calendar year, one user and one bank; Básico, 1,000 invoices, two users and five banks: Holded limits, accessed 12/10/2026.
Holded review: is it worth it for you?
In this Holded review, the short answer: it may suit you if you want to handle your own invoicing; if you would rather hand it off, compare a tax return review and filing service. It lists plans from €15 to €199 a month excluding VAT, before promotions (price list, 12/10/2026); confirm the price when you sign up.
We have not tested a paid account: we compare what Holded publishes, the reviews cited and a cost example with stated assumptions. Sources were accessed on 12 October 2026. We compare verifiable tasks and costs that meet the same needs, in line with article 10 of the Spanish Unfair Competition Law (Ley de Competencia Desleal), accessed 12/10/2026.
What does Holded do, and what do you pay for separately?
Holded brings together invoicing, accounting, customer management, projects and other parts of the business. That breadth can help if you want to work from the same information across several tasks. This is a judgement of fit based on its published features, accessed 12/10/2026, not a promise that you will save time.
Before you pay, be clear on who does the tax work. Holded advertises free access for your Partner adviser without using up a user seat. The firm's fees and the scope of its review are a separate part of the budget: Holded prices, accessed 12/10/2026.
Does Holded file taxes or just create invoices?
Its documentation lets you complete, review and file modelos with the AEAT (Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria, Spain's tax agency). The forms enabled include Forms 111, 115, 123, 130, 303 and 390; you need a digital certificate and the relevant permissions: Taxes section, accessed 12/10/2026. This selection is not a list of your obligations: confirm which ones you need and which are available on your plan.
To know who reviews your business, your documents and the draft, look at the service you have hired. Name the person responsible for each task and agree how you will deal with missing information.
The diagram below shows two ways of splitting the work. With a gestoría, always confirm that these tasks are part of the service you pay for.
If you still blur keeping records with reviewing the tax treatment of each transaction, start with our guide to accounting for the self-employed.
Which pros and cons should you weigh?
When it can be a good buy
When you want to run your business yourself. The Plus listing for the self-employed includes invoices, quotes, an expense scanner and a bank connection. If those are your everyday tasks, it is worth a trial with your own workflow: Plus plan, accessed 12/10/2026.
When you already have an adviser you work well with. Being able to give them access lets you set up a working relationship inside the tool. Before you change firms, ask whether the problem is really how you share documents: adviser access in Holded, accessed 12/10/2026.
When project tracking matters. Básico includes project profitability tracking, according to its listing. If you need to link work to income, that feature can matter more than picking the lowest fee: Básico plan, accessed 12/10/2026.
Limits to check before you pay
The limits are specific: Plus lists 250 invoices a year, one user and one connected bank; Básico, 1,000 invoices, two users and five banks. Holded states that annual limits run by "calendar year", January to December, not from the date you sign up: official comparison, accessed 12/10/2026. Count all your activity when you choose a plan.
There are paid add-ons too. Holded advertises Inventory from €25 a month and €10 a month for each additional Platform user, excluding VAT, according to its price list accessed 12/10/2026. Only budget for what you need and check what the starting fee covers.
One specific tax limitation deserves attention: its help centre says the Canary Islands Forms 420 and 425 are not yet available. If your business needs those forms, work out how you will handle them before you sign up: tax documentation, accessed 12/10/2026.
What do Holded reviews praise and criticise?
Reviews are most useful when they describe what happened and how it was resolved. These two experiences posted on Trustpilot help you frame questions about support. They are individual accounts, not a representative sample or an audit of the software:
- Help with questions. Mellina praised the patience and help she got from Marisa in her Trustpilot review of 06/10/2026, accessed 12/10/2026. That account rates one specific interaction; it does not set a response time for your account.
- Trouble reaching a human. Walter described a problem getting escalated, but updated his review to acknowledge Anna's good follow-up afterwards: Trustpilot, updated 01/10/2026, accessed 12/10/2026. It is worth reading how the issue ended, too.
When you compare reviews about support, keep the plan in mind: Holded reserves priority phone and email support for Avanzado and Premium, according to its price list accessed 12/10/2026. Ask which channel you will have and how an issue is escalated when the first reply does not solve it.
Give more weight to reviewers who describe a task like yours. Check the date, the plan if stated and the provider's reply. In the demo, try an invoice, an expense and a partial payment; note what you can sort out yourself and what needs help. You will have your own view on top of the reviews.
Holded pricing: what would you pay in 2026?
This table shows each plan's monthly fee with its included users; it is not a per-user price. All Holded amounts in this table exclude VAT (IVA, Spain's value added tax). The last column multiplies the regular monthly fee by twelve, with no promotions applied: official prices, accessed 12/10/2026.
| Holded plan | Regular monthly fee | Monthly fee during the three promotional months | Twelve monthly fees without promotion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plus | €15 | €7.50 | €180 |
| Básico | €29 | €14.50 | €348 |
| Estándar | €59 | €29.50 | €708 |
| Avanzado | €99 | €49.50 | €1,188 |
| Premium | €199 | €99.50 | €2,388 |
The totals in the last column are our own calculations. Holded also offers annual billing and a 14-day trial with no card, but no permanent free plan: pricing FAQ, 12/10/2026. Ask for the amount and terms of annual billing; this table does not reflect that offer.
The 50% discount for three months advertised in the Holded price list, 12/10/2026 is temporary. Before you pay, check it is still available when you sign up and note the fee that will apply once it ends.
Annual example: a designer who keeps her adviser
Example
Lucía is a fictional self-employed designer who issues 12 invoices a month, works alone and uses one bank: 12 × 12 = 144 invoices a year. On those numeric limits she fits the Holded Plus plan, accessed 12/10/2026; she still needs to check the features she needs.
For her adviser's work we will use a hypothetical quote of €50 a month excluding VAT, with an agreed scope. It is an assumption for this exercise, not a market rate or a commercial offer.
We don't give a market range because we have not compared quotes with the same scope. Replace that figure with your real quote; the calculation leaves out add-ons, setup and any services outside the quote.
- Software without promotion: €15 × 12 months = €180 a year.
- Professional work as quoted: €50 × 12 months = €600 a year.
- Regular combined cost: €180 + €600 = €780 a year.
- If the promotion applies to the software: €7.50 × 3 + €15 × 9 = €157.50 for twelve paid months; with the adviser, €157.50 + €600 = €757.50.
The promotional calculation starts at the beginning of the paid period, after the free trial. We have not applied the discount to the professional fees. Both the price and the length of the promotion come from Holded, accessed 12/10/2026.
The useful comparison is between equivalent work: software plus an adviser on one side, against a gestoría that includes the invoicing you need on the other. Check preparation, review, filing, questions and exclusions. If the combined offer does not cover one of those tasks, ask for its price before you compare the totals.
How Melso helps
If sorting documents and reviewing returns eats up your time, Melso organises your income and expenses and prepares and reviews the returns included according to your business and tax profile: see the tax service scope.
Holded and VeriFactu: what is confirmed?
Holded advertises VeriFactu invoicing on all its plans, with no extra module charged for that feature. This is the feature the provider publishes; this article is not a technical certification of the software: official price list, accessed 12/10/2026.
Under the rules, VERI*FACTU systems send invoicing records to the AEAT. The regulation treats that voluntary sending as one option; keep it separate from the obligation to adapt your system.
That is set out in article 15, "Possibility of sending the invoicing records generated to the tax authority", and article 16, "Verifiable invoice issuing system", of Royal Decree 1007/2023, accessed 12/10/2026. Sending those records is not the same as having someone review and file your tax returns.
Important
The deadlines in force when we checked are before 1 January 2027 for affected corporate income tax (Impuesto sobre Sociedades) payers and before 1 July 2027 for everyone else required to comply, including the self-employed within the scope of the regulation. The extension is set by Royal Decree-law 15/2025 and explained by the AEAT, sources accessed 12/10/2026.
Among the self-employed, the regulation covers personal income tax (IRPF) payers with business activities who use invoicing software. There are exclusions by taxpayer and by transaction, plus regional particularities: read articles 1, 3 and 4 of Royal Decree 1007/2023, accessed 12/10/2026 before you apply the deadline to your case.
Ask them to show you what happens when you issue an invoice, correct it and check it was sent. To prepare that test, there is more context in our guide to VeriFactu for the self-employed.
Holded alternatives: software, an adviser or both?
The choice depends on which work you want to keep. This table suggests options by need, not a universal ranking of providers.
| Your situation | Option worth comparing | What to check before deciding |
|---|---|---|
| You want to handle invoices, expenses and banks yourself | Holded, for its published features for the self-employed (source, 12/10/2026) | That your plan covers your volume, banks and everyday tasks |
| You are happy with your adviser and need to share documents | Holded with your adviser, confirming the Partner access terms (source, 12/10/2026) | Fees and split of tasks in writing |
| You want to hand off preparing and reviewing your returns | A gestoría with invoicing included or coordinated | Forms covered, approval, filing and receipt |
| You only need to issue simple invoices | Quipu as a candidate for its invoicing feature for the self-employed (official source, 12/10/2026) | A test with your documents, total cost and export options |
| Your issue is unusual tax transactions | An adviser who confirms experience with your case | Explicit cover for those transactions |
Holded can be the best choice for you if you want to run the software and keep operational control, especially if the professional review is already sorted. This recommendation rests on its features and adviser access, accessed 12/10/2026; it does not assume that every plan covers the same things.
If you are looking for another tool, you can read on with our Quipu review. If you want to hand off tax work, use the criteria in best online gestoría and ask each candidate for an equivalent scope.
How to check it fits before you switch
- Map your workflow. Write down which invoices you issue, which expenses you receive and how you check payments. Include one common exception, not just the simplest transaction.
- Ask for a full demo. Follow a document all the way to recording and review. Use test examples, without issuing fictitious invoices as real transactions.
- Split responsibilities. Decide who corrects documents, answers questions and checks the filing. Ask the professional to list which tasks their quote covers.
- Plan your exit. Before you sign up, ask for a sample export and the terms for accessing your data if you cancel. If you are also changing professional, agree the start period and the document handover when you switch gestoría.
Holded's subscription guide, accessed 12/10/2026 recommends exporting to Excel from each section before deleting the account and warns that you will not be able to recover the data afterwards. Open the downloaded files and check with your adviser that they hold everything you need before you close access.
Common mistakes when comparing options
- Treating the promotion as the regular cost. Keep the introductory fee and the renewal fee separate.
- Confusing access with a professional service. Ask for the firm's quote even if it can log in to your software.
- Choosing from a feature list. Tie each feature to a specific task you do in your business.
- Assuming a return is reviewed because it is calculated. Find out who checks the documents and sorts out the exceptions.
- Switching without agreeing who closes the open period. Put in writing who finishes the previous period and who starts the next one.
How Melso helps
Melso is your AI tax agent, with human professionals behind it: it organises your income and expenses from the documents you send on WhatsApp, issues invoices with your approval and prepares and reviews the returns included according to your business and tax profile.
You review and approve the exact draft in the app; with the required authorisation, the professional files that version and the real filing receipt proves it was filed.
On its plans, Pro costs €59 a month or €588 a year (€49 a month equivalent) and Plus, with more AI usage, €119 a month or €1,188 a year (€99 a month equivalent); both include the Renta, Spain's annual income tax return (Form 100, modelo 100).
Other annual and informative returns, payroll and AEAT notices need written confirmation; check the service scope before you sign up.
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This article is for information only and does not replace professional advice for your case. Last reviewed: 12 October 2026.
Sources
- Holded: prices, plans for the self-employed and comparison, Holded (accessed )
- What you can do in the Taxes section, Holded (accessed )
- Royal Decree 1007/2023: regulation on invoicing software systems, BOE (accessed )
- Royal Decree-law 15/2025: extension of the adaptation deadlines, BOE (accessed )
- Information note on the extended deadline to adapt invoicing systems, AEAT (accessed )
- Law 3/1991 on Unfair Competition: article 10, BOE (accessed )
- Mellina's review: help from Marisa, 6 October 2026, Trustpilot (accessed )
- Walter's review: support follow-up, updated 1 October 2026, Trustpilot (accessed )
- Quipu: invoicing software for the self-employed, Quipu (accessed )
- Holded: subscription, data export and account deletion, Holded (accessed )
