AutoFileEmail vs Hubdoc: which one fits how you work?
Hubdoc is a Xero add-on for accountants. AutoFileEmail is a $14.99 tool for the rest of us.
AutoFileEmail
Email → your Drive
Hubdoc
Receipts → Xero
If you don't already use Xero, you probably want us.
Hubdoc is great if you're a Xero customer — it's bundled, and it pushes data straight into your books. AutoFileEmail is better if you just want a tidy Drive folder, you don't run accounting software, or you bill clients with a CPA who handles the rest.
Side-by-side, line by line.
What each product actually does, what it costs, and where it draws the line.
AutoFileEmail | HHubdoc | |
|---|---|---|
| PRICING | ||
| Starting price For a single user / inbox | Free, forever 1 inbox, forward filing. Pro is $14.99 / mo. | Bundled with Xero Free with Xero plans (from $15 / mo). Standalone since 2021: not available. |
| Need a Xero subscription? Or an accounting tool at all | ✓No Standalone product. Connect to Xero / QuickBooks if you want. | ✕Yes Hubdoc is now part of Xero — you can't subscribe separately. |
| WHERE YOUR FILES LIVE | ||
| PDFs filed into your own cloud Drive / Dropbox / OneDrive / Box | ✓Yes — your folder, your structure Stripe, Adobe, AWS each get their own subfolder under a path you pick. | ~Optional, paid add-on Documents live in Hubdoc's UI by default. Export to Drive is available but not the default flow. |
| If you cancel, what happens to old files? | ✓They stay where they are Files are already in your Drive. We just stop adding new ones. | ~Export them first Bulk export available, but you have to do it before you cancel. |
| WHAT IT DOES TO RECEIPTS | ||
| File the original PDF, untouched | ✓Always We rename, route, and timestamp. We never edit or rasterize the file. | ✓Yes Original is kept; an OCR'd version is also generated. |
| OCR / data extraction Vendor name, total, tax, date | ~Filename only Vendor + amount + date in the filename. Not pushed into a structured database. | ✓Full OCR Extracts line items, totals, tax. Designed to feed Xero's transaction list. |
| Push to accounting software | ~Via your CPA's reconciliation flow We're the filing layer. QuickBooks Live and most CPAs read from a shared Drive folder. | ✓Native to Xero One-click publish to Xero with extracted data attached. |
| SETUP & DAILY USE | ||
| Setup time | ~2 min Two Google sign-ins. Done. | 15–30 min Connect supplier accounts (utilities, banks) so Hubdoc can fetch. |
| Auto-fetches from supplier portals Logs into your utility / bank to pull statements | ✕No, by design We file what's already in your inbox. We don't ask for vendor passwords. | ✓Yes — supplier connections Big differentiator if you have utilities / telecom that only post statements to a portal. |
| Backfill existing inbox | ✓1, 3, or 5 year sweep $29 / $59 / $99 one-time. Files everything historical. | ~From signup forward No native bulk-import of old emails. |
When each one is actually the right call.
We'll be honest, Hubdoc is the better tool for a specific kind of customer. Just probably not the one reading this page.
You want a clean Drive, not another dashboard.
- You're a freelancer, solo founder, or consultant.
- Your accountant works from a shared Drive folder, not Xero.
- You'd rather pay $0–$14.99 / mo than $15+ / mo for an accounting bundle.
- You want to backfill 3 years of past receipts on day one.
- You don't want a vendor holding your filing system hostage.
You live inside Xero already.
- Your bookkeeper does daily reconciliation in Xero.
- You need OCR'd line items pushed into transactions, not just PDFs filed.
- You receive utility / telecom bills only via supplier portals (no email).
- You're already paying for Xero — Hubdoc is bundled, no extra cost.
What each one really costs.
Both products bury pricing differently. Here's the apples-to-apples for a single freelancer or solo operator.
AutoFileEmail Pro
- Unlimited receipts filed
- Up to 5 inboxes, 1 cloud destination
- Year-end ZIP export
- Custom rules + Personal/Business tagging
Hubdoc (via Xero)
- Bundled — no extra fee on top of Xero
- Full OCR + Xero publish
- Supplier portal auto-fetch
- You also get all of Xero — but you're paying for it.
Already using Hubdoc? Here's the migration.
The switch takes about ten minutes.
Bulk-export from Hubdoc
Hubdoc's "Download all" gives you a ZIP of every PDF organized by supplier. Save it anywhere.
Drop the ZIP into your Drive
Unzip it into /AutoFileEmail/Receipts/. Folders by vendor — same structure we use going forward.
Connect AutoFileEmail to your inbox
Two minute Google sign-in. We pick up filing new receipts as they arrive.
Run a 1-year backfill
Optional but recommended. $29 sweep of the past year ensures nothing fell through Hubdoc's net.
No data left behind, on either side.
Hubdoc's export is decent — every original PDF, organized by supplier. Once it's in your Drive, AutoFileEmail uses the same structure, so it looks like the same system, just running on your own files.
Need a hand? Email us your Hubdoc export and we'll restructure it into our standard layout for free, one time, on signup.
Honest questions.
Wait — is Hubdoc free?
Sort of. As of 2020, Hubdoc is bundled with all Xero plans at no extra cost. But you can't subscribe to it on its own — you have to be a Xero customer (starting at $15/month for the Early plan in the US).
Does AutoFileEmail OCR receipts like Hubdoc does?
Not at the line-item level. We extract vendor, date, and total to build the filename, but we don't push structured data into a database. If you need OCR'd line items in your books, Hubdoc + Xero (or QuickBooks Receipt Capture) is the better fit.
Can I use both?
Plenty of customers do. AutoFileEmail keeps a clean human-readable archive in their Drive; Hubdoc handles the books. We're not competitive — we're complementary, in that case.
What about supplier auto-fetch?
This is Hubdoc's biggest advantage. They log into supplier portals (utilities, telecoms) and pull statements that never get emailed. We don't do this and have no plans to — we're an inbox-based product, not a credential-storing one.
If I cancel AutoFileEmail, do I lose my receipts?
No. They're already in your Drive. We just stop adding new ones. Hubdoc behaves similarly if you bulk-export before canceling.
Try the version where your files are yours.
2-min setup · No credit card · We don't read your documents.