Ecologi Alternatives: Which Carbon Platform Is Right for a Growing Business?

Quick Answer: The best Ecologi alternatives for growing businesses include Seedling (full-scope, expert-guided carbon management for companies up to around 2,000 employees), Greenly (accessible SME and mid-market carbon tracking with broad framework coverage), Plan A (a decarbonisation-first platform for European mid-market and enterprise teams), SME Climate Hub (a free first-step tool for smaller businesses), NatWest Carbon Planner (operational planning with a cost-saving focus), and Carbon Trust (high-quality templates and guidance for teams with internal sustainability resource).

At a Glance: Platform Comparison:

Ecologi is a climate action platform that launched in 2019, originally as Offset Earth, built around subscription-based carbon offsetting for individuals and businesses. In 2022 it added Ecologi Zero, a free, Xero-integrated carbon accounting tool for small service businesses. In February 2025 it acquired Net Zero Now, an SME platform with sector-specific protocols rooted in hospitality and later extended to professional services. The Ecologi Zero name now refers to that combined, sector-led offering, aimed at SMEs to large corporates and enterprise organisations.

Its strengths are accessibility, a trusted brand, and a strong portfolio of verified climate projects. However, Ecologi's roots are in offsetting, with measurement added later. The original footprinting tool largely relied on spend-based data, a recognised starting point but a more challenging foundation for genuine decarbonisation or third-party reporting.

For businesses that need activity-based, full-scope footprints and compliance-ready reporting across frameworks like SECR, PPN 006, and B Corp, a measurement-first platform such as Seedling may be a stronger choice.

This guide covers six alternatives, who each one suits, and how they compare to Ecologi.

The 6 Best Ecologi Alternatives

1. Seedling: Best for Growing Businesses That Want Expert-Guided, Measurement-First Carbon Management

Website: seedling.earth

Best for: Businesses up to ~2,000 employees wanting accurate, full-scope carbon management across any sector

Pricing: Subscription pricing; see seedling.earth/pricing

Seedling is carbon management software built for companies of up to around 2,000 employees that want accurate, full-scope carbon accounting backed by expert support. The platform covers Scopes 1, 2, and 3 in line with the GHG Protocol, and goes well beyond spend-based estimation. Seedling is built around activity data: energy usage, vehicle mileage, employee commuting surveys, supplier data requests, and detailed material inputs. That means your footprint reflects actual emissions, not just spend patterns.

Every Seedling customer works with a dedicated carbon expert who guides them through data collection, builds a quantified decarbonisation plan, and supports SBTi-aligned target-setting. Crucially, Seedling is measurement and reduction first. Investing in verified climate projects is available within the platform, but it sits after a credible plan to reduce emissions, never instead of one.

Outputs are expert-reviewed and assured to the GHG Protocol standard, and feed directly into compliance reports for SECR, B Corp, PPN 006, EcoVadis, ISO 14064, and more. Seedling integrates with Xero, Sage, and QuickBooks, and works across a wide range of sectors, from consultancy and law to manufacturing, logistics, and fashion. Time to output is typically two to four weeks and requires around one day of your time in total.

What it does well:

• Full-scope GHG Protocol measurement (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) using activity data rather than spend estimates
• Dedicated carbon expert included as standard, across every sector, not just selected ones
• Compliance-ready reports for SECR, PPN 006, B Corp, EcoVadis, ISO 14064, and SBTi
• Built-in employee survey and supplier engagement tools
• Integrates with Xero, Sage, and QuickBooks

Where it differs from Ecologi:‍

Seedling is measurement and decarbonisation first, with offsetting as an optional step that follows a reduction plan rather than leading the strategy. Its activity-based methodology and full-scope, framework-ready outputs apply consistently across sectors, making it a strong fit for businesses that need carbon data they can rely on for procurement bids, client reporting, and certification.

2. Greenly: Best for Mid-Market Carbon Tracking with Broad Framework Coverage

‍Website: greenly.earth

Best for: SMEs and growing businesses with EU reporting requirements or broad framework needs

Pricing: From approximately £5,000 per year

Greenly is a French carbon accounting platform with a library of more than 300,000 emission factors and integrations with over 100 tools, including Xero. It offers a quick online calculator as an entry point to its broader platform, and covers key frameworks including CSRD, SBTi, and CDP. Its supplier engagement feature can send automated data requests to large numbers of suppliers at once, which is useful for businesses with significant Scope 3 supply chain exposure.

Greenly is accessible and fast to set up, and its framework coverage is broad. The full platform is positioned closer to enterprise pricing than some SME-focused tools, which can make it feel like a meaningful step up for smaller businesses.

‍What it does well:

• Extensive emission factors library and broad framework coverage
• Supplier engagement at scale
• CSRD, SBTi, and CDP-aligned reporting
• Strong European market presence

‍Where it differs from Ecologi:

Greenly is a measurement-led platform from the outset, with broad cross-sector framework coverage, where Ecologi's depth is strongest within its specific sector protocols. For businesses with EU operations or wide-ranging compliance needs, Greenly's coverage is a strength.

3. Plan A: Best for European Mid-Market to Enterprise Teams Wanting a Decarbonisation-First Platform

‍Website: plana.earth

Best for: Mid-market to enterprise businesses, particularly those with European or CSRD reporting requirements

Pricing: On application; positioned at the enterprise end of the market

Plan A is a Berlin-founded carbon management platform with a decarbonisation-first approach and TÜV-certified methodology. It combines carbon accounting, reporting, and reduction planning, and uses AI to support data mapping, anomaly detection, and scenario modelling. With offices across Berlin, Munich, Paris, and London, it has a strong European presence and is built to handle the more complex compliance requirements faced by larger organisations.

Plan A is a capable, rigorous platform, but it is aimed higher up the market than most SME tools. For smaller businesses, or those that mainly need UK-focused outputs like PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plans, it can be more than the situation calls for.

‍What it does well:

• Certified, decarbonisation-first methodology
• Strong CSRD and broader regulatory coverage
• AI-supported data processing and scenario modelling
• Expert advisory support

‍Where it differs from Ecologi:

Plan A is built for the mid-market and enterprise end of the market, with a heavier focus on European regulatory reporting. Ecologi is more accessible and sector-led, while Plan A offers greater depth for larger, more complex organisations.

4. SME Climate Hub: Best Free First-Step Tool for Smaller Businesses

‍Website: smeclimatehub.org

Best for: Small businesses taking their first steps into carbon measurement

Pricing: Free

The SME Climate Hub offers a simple free carbon calculator alongside its climate commitment resources. The tool takes a small set of inputs, typically energy use, headcount, and a few activity metrics, and returns an estimated footprint. It is designed to give SMEs a quick starting point and to support public Net Zero commitments, rather than to produce an audit-ready result.

As a free tool, the SME Climate Hub serves a specific purpose well: getting a rough estimate quickly and building internal buy-in. It is not suited to compliance reporting or to organisations that need their footprint to stand up to external review.

‍What it does well:

• Free and fast to use
• Good entry point for businesses with no prior carbon data
• Supports public Net Zero commitments

‍Where it differs from Ecologi:

The SME Climate Hub is a lightweight calculator rather than a full platform. It is best used to understand the scale of your emissions before moving to a more rigorous, reporting-ready solution.

5. NatWest Carbon Planner: Best for Operational Insights and Cost-Saving Focus

‍Website: natwest.com/business/green-banking/carbon-planner

Best for: UK SMEs that want carbon measurement alongside practical cost and energy savings

Pricing: Free

NatWest's Carbon Planner is a free digital tool aimed at UK business banking customers, though it is available to anyone. It guides SMEs through energy, transport, and some operational activities to produce a carbon estimate, then generates an action plan with specific reduction suggestions, including costings and expected savings. That reduction planner is a genuine differentiator, connecting the carbon calculation directly to practical operational changes and their financial implications.

Scope coverage is strongest for energy and transport, and weaker for complex Scope 3 categories. For businesses that need auditable reporting or compliance outputs, the NatWest Carbon Planner is not the right tool. For businesses that mainly want to understand their biggest emissions sources and identify cost-saving reductions, it is useful.

‍What it does well:

• Free, easy to use, and tailored to UK SMEs
• Reduction action planner with cost and carbon savings estimates
• Practical operational focus

‍Where it differs from Ecologi:

The NatWest Carbon Planner is focused on operational action planning and cost savings rather than verified climate projects or sector-specific reporting. It covers fewer Scope 3 categories and does not produce compliance-grade outputs.

6. Carbon Trust: Best for SMEs with Internal Sustainability Resource

‍Website: carbontrust.com

Best for: Organisations with a sustainability lead or QHSE manager comfortable with technical documentation

Pricing: Many resources free; tailored support at consultancy rates

The Carbon Trust provides guidance, spreadsheet templates, and online tools for emissions measurement. Rather than a single click-and-go platform, its resources form a high-quality technical toolkit for teams that are confident working with detailed documentation. The methodology is robust, and used carefully, the templates can support a full-scope inventory aligned with recognised standards.

The trade-off is time and capability. The Carbon Trust's resources assume you have someone internally who can work through them carefully. For teams without that capacity, the free tools can be difficult to navigate without experienced support.

‍What it does well:

• Strong technical methodology and credible guidance
• Free templates and resources available
• Full-scope measurement possible if resources are used thoroughly

‍Where it differs from Ecologi:

The Carbon Trust is a toolkit rather than a managed platform. It requires more internal effort, but produces a rigorous result when used well. Unlike Ecologi, it does not bundle in verified climate projects or a guided software process.

How We Chose These Platforms

Every platform in this list was assessed for its relevance to small and mid-sized businesses actively evaluating Ecologi alternatives. We assessed each option against four criteria: the quality and scope of carbon measurement methodology, the level of expert support available, the practicality of onboarding and ongoing use for non-specialist teams, and the transparency of pricing. Platforms aimed primarily at large enterprises were noted where relevant but treated as a step beyond the core use case for most businesses comparing Ecologi.

FAQs

Does Ecologi still offer a free carbon accounting tool?

When it first launched in 2022, Ecologi Zero was a free, Xero-integrated tool aimed at UK service-based small businesses, producing a largely spend-based footprint. Since the Net Zero Now acquisition in 2025, the Ecologi Zero name now describes a more comprehensive, expert-supported carbon management offering aimed at established businesses. If you need a genuinely free starting point, then Seedling Starter, the SME Climate Hub or NatWest Carbon Planner are better suited to a quick, no-cost estimate.

‍What is the difference between an offsetting-led and a measurement-led platform?

An offsetting-led platform starts with funding climate projects to compensate for emissions, then adds measurement as a supporting step. A measurement-led platform starts with an accurate footprint, builds a plan to reduce emissions, and treats offsetting as an optional final step for what cannot yet be reduced. The order matters: best practice, and the position Seedling takes, is to prioritise reducing emissions first and only offset what remains, rather than offsetting in place of a reduction plan.

‍What is the difference between spend-based and activity-based carbon accounting?

Spend-based methodology estimates emissions by multiplying what you spent on a category by an industry-average emissions factor. It is fast, because it uses financial data you already have. Activity-based methodology uses the actual physical quantities involved: kilowatt hours of electricity, litres of fuel, tonnes of materials, kilometres travelled. The GHG Protocol recognises both, but is explicit that activity-based data produces more accurate results and should be used where available. Spend-based figures can also fail to capture real reductions, because they track expenditure rather than emissions.

‍Which Ecologi alternative is best for B Corp, PPN 006, or SECR reporting?

For businesses that need compliance-ready outputs, Seedling generates B Corp Climate Transition Plan data, PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plans, and SECR-formatted disclosures directly from the platform, with a dedicated expert guiding the process. Free tools like the SME Climate Hub and NatWest Carbon Planner are useful for a first estimate, but typically require additional manual work to meet specific reporting formats.

‍Which alternative is best for a business that has never measured its carbon footprint before?

For a quick first estimate at no cost, the SME Climate Hub or NatWest Carbon Planner give a fast starting point. For businesses that need compliance-grade data, or that are already facing reporting requirements from clients or procurement teams, Seedling is the stronger choice: a dedicated carbon expert guides you through the full process from data collection to final outputs, and the platform is designed to improve accuracy year on year.

About Seedling

Seedling is carbon management software built for businesses that want accurate, expert-guided carbon accounting without the overhead of enterprise software or the cost of a consulting project. The platform covers full Scope 1, 2, and 3 measurement aligned with the GHG Protocol, going well beyond spend-based estimation to use the activity data that makes footprints accurate and reductions visible. Compliance-ready outputs cover SECR, B Corp, PPN 006, EcoVadis, ISO 14064, and SBTi. Every customer works with a dedicated carbon expert who supports measurement, builds a quantified decarbonisation plan, and tracks progress year on year. Time to output is typically two to four weeks. Book a demo at seedling.earth/book-a-demo.

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