Compare
Collective is a full-service back office with a human bookkeeper and a CPA. Contha is the ledger, not the service.
Collective bundles automated bookkeeping with monthly human review, quarterly tax estimates, entity formation, S-corp election filing, payroll, and a return prepared and filed by licensed tax pros, for $199 a month on an LLC plan or $349 a month on an S-corp plan. That is a real accounting practice sold as software, and it is the right comparison for anyone who wants a person doing the books and the filing. The table is where its own pages say that stops.
| Capability | Collective | Contha |
|---|---|---|
| Files the return | Yes, quarterly estimates, business and personal returns, and year-end filings by licensed tax pros; the S-corp plan adds Form 1120-S | No. What a filing is prepared from, not the filing |
| Monthly bookkeeping | Yes, AI categorizes transactions and flags issues, a human reviews and reconciles | Yes, personal and business on every row, with splits |
| Personal net worth alongside the business | Not published; the accounting page describes one business entity's books | Yes, every account, personal and business |
| Quarterly estimated tax | Yes, state and federal, on both plans | Yes, computed: four payments as a schedule, past due and next |
| Tax set-aside | No; named only as a future capability after the Open Ledger acquisition, not a shipped feature | Yes, against whichever account you name, with the share of each deposit |
| S-corp election and entity formation | Yes, Form 2553 election and new entity formation, on the S-corp plan | No; the owner position and the package, not the election filing |
| Partnership owner position | Not mentioned anywhere; S-corp is the only entity upsell | Yes, owner share, basis, reasonable compensation described |
| Mileage | No feature; a blog post points to other mileage apps instead | Yes, Pub. 463 substantiation per trip |
| Payroll | Yes, run through Gusto: compliant salary, contractor pay, payroll tax filing, on the S-corp plan | No, not a payroll product |
| Accountant handoff | Its own licensed tax pros are bundled in; no handoff to an outside accountant described | Yes, five files and a read-only link that needs no account |
| Invoicing | Yes, on both plans | No, on purpose. Contha sits on top of the bank |
| Price | $199 a month for the LLC plan, $349 a month for the S-corp plan, plus an onboarding fee (amount undisclosed, waived by a signup promotion) | A free week, then Personal $5, Solo $10, Owner $49 a month; two months free on annual billing |
Files the return
- Collective
- Yes, quarterly estimates, business and personal returns, and year-end filings by licensed tax pros; the S-corp plan adds Form 1120-S
- Contha
- No. What a filing is prepared from, not the filing
Monthly bookkeeping
- Collective
- Yes, AI categorizes transactions and flags issues, a human reviews and reconciles
- Contha
- Yes, personal and business on every row, with splits
Personal net worth alongside the business
- Collective
- Not published; the accounting page describes one business entity's books
- Contha
- Yes, every account, personal and business
Quarterly estimated tax
- Collective
- Yes, state and federal, on both plans
- Contha
- Yes, computed: four payments as a schedule, past due and next
Tax set-aside
- Collective
- No; named only as a future capability after the Open Ledger acquisition, not a shipped feature
- Contha
- Yes, against whichever account you name, with the share of each deposit
S-corp election and entity formation
- Collective
- Yes, Form 2553 election and new entity formation, on the S-corp plan
- Contha
- No; the owner position and the package, not the election filing
Partnership owner position
- Collective
- Not mentioned anywhere; S-corp is the only entity upsell
- Contha
- Yes, owner share, basis, reasonable compensation described
Mileage
- Collective
- No feature; a blog post points to other mileage apps instead
- Contha
- Yes, Pub. 463 substantiation per trip
Payroll
- Collective
- Yes, run through Gusto: compliant salary, contractor pay, payroll tax filing, on the S-corp plan
- Contha
- No, not a payroll product
Accountant handoff
- Collective
- Its own licensed tax pros are bundled in; no handoff to an outside accountant described
- Contha
- Yes, five files and a read-only link that needs no account
Invoicing
- Collective
- Yes, on both plans
- Contha
- No, on purpose. Contha sits on top of the bank
Price
- Collective
- $199 a month for the LLC plan, $349 a month for the S-corp plan, plus an onboarding fee (amount undisclosed, waived by a signup promotion)
- Contha
- A free week, then Personal $5, Solo $10, Owner $49 a month; two months free on annual billing
Checked 17 September 2026, against Collective’s own published documentation: the Collective pricing page, Collective accounting product page, Collective taxes product page, Collective payroll product page, the Open Ledger acquisition announcement. If a row is out of date, tell us and it will be corrected on the page, not deleted.
The honest read
If you want a person doing the books and the filing, Collective is built for that. If you want your own accountant kept in the loop, this is.
Collective is the right call for a solopreneur who wants a bookkeeper and a tax pro on staff, an S-corp election filed, and a return prepared by someone else, and who can pay $199 to $349 a month for it. Contha is for someone who wants the same numbers computed in software at a fraction of the price, with a read-only handoff to whatever accountant they already have, not a new one assigned to them.
Also against Monarch Plus, QuickBooks Solopreneur, Found, Keeper, Copilot Money, YNAB, Wave, Tiller, Lili, Hurdlr, FreshBooks.
Keep Collective if it is enough. If the tax is the reason you are here, start with Contha.
A free week, no card. Then Personal $5, Solo $10, Owner $49 a month. Read-only connections, cancel any time.