Which QuickBooks Product Do You Need?

QuickBooks is known for its vast suite of small-business accounting software. It offers six types of products: QuickBooks Self-Employed, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Pro Plus, QuickBooks Premier Plus, QuickBooks Enterprise and QuickBooks Mac Plus.

One of the four QuickBooks Online plans will likely be the best choice for most small businesses. QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based, user-friendly solution that includes the core features needed to manage your business finances. This version of QuickBooks also offers hundreds of integration options and makes it easy to work with an accountant or bookkeeper.

On the other hand, QuickBooks Self-Employed is great for freelancers and independent contractors, and QuickBooks Desktop — which includes Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Enterprise — is ideal for medium to large businesses, especially those with advanced inventory, sales and reporting needs.

Best for: Freelancers and independent contractors.

QuickBooks Self-Employed is designed specifically for freelancers and independent contractors to separate their business and personal expenses and prepare their taxes. It includes basic invoicing capabilities and mobile apps for receipt capture and mileage tracking. Top-tier plans also offer direct support for tax filing.

While this QuickBooks product is easy to use, it doesn't offer extended accounting capabilities (e.g., billing, inventory, reporting) or a chart of accounts.

Pricing

From $15 to $35 per month.

Pros

• Designed specifically for self-employed professionals.

• Includes free access for your accountant or bookkeeper.

• Customer support via live chat and email.

• Option to upgrade for additional tax features and support.

Cons

• Doesn’t include an accounting menu or chart of accounts.

• Can have one user only.

• Not easy to scale; requires transferring data to QuickBooks Online.

» Read our full QuickBooks Self-Employed review

Best for: General small businesses.

QuickBooks Online, often considered the industry standard for accounting software, is a powerful cloud-based product. While it’s fairly user-friendly, some basic accounting knowledge will help you get started. And its popularity makes it easy to work with an accountant or bookkeeper.

With four plan options and hundreds of third-party integrations, QuickBooks Online is easily scalable. Some of the more advanced capabilities of the top-tier versions, such as inventory management, reporting and job costing, also make it competitive with QuickBooks Pro Plus.

Pricing

From $25 to $180 per month.

Pros

• Four QuickBooks Online versions make it easy to scale as your business grows.

• Strong inventory, job costing and reporting capabilities with Plus and Advanced versions.

• Multiple users available with Essentials, Plus and Advanced versions.

• Ability to integrate with hundreds of other business tools.

Cons

• Monthly costs can be expensive.

• Some features (e.g., inventory tracking, project profitability) require top-tier plans.

• Learning curve to get started.

» Read our full QuickBooks Online review

Best for: Small businesses with advanced accounting needs; businesses that prefer locally installed software.

QuickBooks Desktop offers a suite of software options that you download and install on your computer. QuickBooks Pro Plus, its most basic version, offers a full range of features including invoicing, inventory tracking, reporting, billing, and income and expense tracking. It can be a viable option for small or medium-sized businesses that need more than QuickBooks Online can offer or for those that prefer a locally installed solution.

Pro Plus also offers unlimited customer support, automatic updates, and data backup and recovery. As a QuickBooks Desktop product, however, Pro Plus is limited in terms of accessibility, mobile apps and the number of users.

Pricing

Pro Plus starts at $349.99 for an annual subscription for one user.

Pros

• Features cover accounting, inventory management, invoicing, billing and more.

• Over 200 third-party integrations.

• Annual subscription price may be more affordable than QuickBooks Online in some cases.

Cons

• Software only compatible with PCs.

• Allows up to three user accounts; pricing increases per user.

• Process to scale and transfer data to other Desktop versions can be complicated.

» Read our full QuickBooks Pro Plus review

Best for: Medium-sized businesses; industry-specific tools.

Compared with Pro Plus, Premier Plus offers more in-depth capabilities, especially for reporting, job costing, inventory management, sales orders and project profitability. Additionally, Premier Plus includes industry-specific features, making this QuickBooks product a good option for manufacturers, wholesalers, nonprofits and retailers.

The advanced functionality of Premier Plus comes with a hefty price tag. You’ll also likely need some accounting knowledge to make the most of this system.

Pricing

Premier Plus starts at $549.99 for an annual subscription for one user.

Pros

• Advanced inventory management, reporting, job costing and project profitability functionality.

• Industry-specific features and reporting.

• Over 200 third-party integrations.

Cons

• Only allows up to five users; pricing increases per user.

• Compatible with PCs only.

• Unnecessarily expensive if you don’t use the advanced features.

• Complicated process to scale; must transfer data to QuickBooks Enterprise.

» Read our full QuickBooks Premier Plus review

Best for: Larger businesses with sophisticated inventory, reporting, pricing and accounting needs.

QuickBooks Enterprise is the most customizable and powerful version of all the QuickBooks products, making it ideal for larger businesses looking to efficiently manage their complex financial processes. It builds on Premier Plus with QuickBooks’ most advanced inventory, reporting and pricing capabilities, as well as VIP membership in Priority Circle, QuickBooks’ premium customer support service.

Unlike the other QuickBooks Desktop products, Enterprise is more easily scalable, offering four plans, as well as the option to add remote access via hosting. There’s also an accountant-specific version of Enterprise, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Accountant, which allows accountants to more easily work with their business customers.

When it comes down to it, however, QuickBooks Enterprise is expensive, especially if you opt for a higher-tier plan or need more than one user. The average small business probably doesn’t need the advanced features included in this software and can find a much more affordable alternative.

Pricing

Starts at $1,340 per year for one user. Pricing is based on the plan, number of users and whether you opt for hosting to access your software from any internet-enabled device.

Pros

• Advanced inventory, pricing, reporting and sales features.

• Four plans make it easier to scale than other QuickBooks Desktop products.

• Industry-specific editions available.

• Up to 40 users.

• Priority customer service included.

Cons

• Expensive; pricing increases per user.

• Compatible with PCs only.

• Remote access requires additional fees.

• Detailed features make this the most difficult QuickBooks product to learn.

» Read our full QuickBooks Enterprise review

Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses that use Macs and want locally installed software.

QuickBooks Mac Plus is the only desktop version of QuickBooks that is compatible with Mac systems. It is similar to QuickBooks Pro Plus in many ways.

• Solid accounting features, such as invoicing, billing, inventory tracking, reporting, budget creation, and sales and customer management.

• No third-party app integrations, mobile apps or remote access via hosting.

• Can be difficult to work with your accountant (if they use a PC) or scale to another version of QuickBooks.

Pricing

Starts at $349.99 for an annual subscription for one user.

Pros

• Designed specifically for Macs.

• Add-on services such as payroll, payments and point of sale.

• Easy to set up and use.

Cons

• No remote access, mobile apps or third-party integrations.

• Only offers up to three users.

• Can be difficult to scale, work with your accountant.

• Not as widely used as other QuickBooks products.

» Read our full QuickBooks Mac Plus review

Consider these factors when determining which version of QuickBooks is best for your business: