Our Nerdy picks for
Free accounting software for Macs
ZipBooksBest Free Accounting Software for Small Businesses
Product | Promotion | Learn more | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Zoho Books Learn more on Zoho Books' secure website | 4.5/5 Best for Scalability | $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275. | 14-day free trial of the Premium plan. | Learn more on Zoho Books' secure website |
Wave Accounting | 3.5/5 Best for Overall free accounting software | $0 Free (Wave makes money via paid money management products). | N/A | |
ZipBooks | Best for Free accounting software for Macs | $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $15, $35, custom. | 30-day free trial | |
Odoo | 3.5/5 Best for Business software integrations | $0 For use of a single app. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $38.90, $58.40. | Monthly discount for the first 12 months. | |
Brightbook | Best for Freelancers and self-employed professionals | $0 | N/A | |
ProfitBooks | Best for Inventory management | $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $15. | N/A | |
Manager | Best for Desktop-based free accounting software | $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $49 for cloud edition. | 14-day free trial of cloud edition. | |
GnuCash | Best for Open-source free accounting software | $0 | N/A |
Our pick for
Scalability
Zoho Books
on Zoho Books' secure website
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.
14-day free trial
of the Premium plan.
Pros
- Less expensive than some competitors; free plan available for businesses with less than $50k in annual revenue.
- Email support in free plan; phone and chat support in paid plans.
- Rich feature set includes excellent invoicing, inventory management, workflow rules and a capable mobile app.
- Add accounting widgets to your phone’s home screen; track time using your Apple Watch.
Cons
- Fewer third-party integrations and reports than some competitors.
- No plan includes more than 15 users (can add additional users for a fee).
Our pick for
Overall free accounting software
Wave Accounting
$0
Free (Wave makes money via paid money management products).
N/A
Pros
- Free.
- Unlimited partners, collaborators and accountants.
- Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
Cons
- Lacks features that quickly growing companies need, like audit trails. There are no additional plans to increase functionality.
- Must subscribe to Wave’s paid services (payroll, payments, advisor, etc.) to receive customer support from a human.
- No third-party integrations, mileage tracking feature or ability to accept in-person card payments.
Our pick for
Free accounting software for Macs
ZipBooks
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $15, $35, custom.
30-day free trial
Pros
- Free plan available.
- Send unlimited invoices and add expenses.
- Unlimited customer and vendor management.
- Free plan includes direct integration with Square and PayPal for payment processing.
Cons
- Free plan lets users connect to only one bank account.
- Limited to one user in the free plan.
- Free plan doesn’t include live customer support.
Our pick for
Business software integrations
Odoo
$0
For use of a single app. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $38.90, $58.40.
Monthly discount
for the first 12 months.
Pros
- Unlimited users.
- Vast library of directly integrated apps means the software can grow with your business.
- Open-source model encourages regular testing and improvement of the software.
Cons
- Paid plan is required to access any additional apps and tools beyond inventory.
- Customer support by email only and only available on weekdays.
Our pick for
Freelancers and self-employed professionals
Brightbook
$0
N/A
Pros
- Send unlimited invoices.
- Add unlimited users.
- Run basic reports, like a profit and loss statement and tax report.
Cons
- Does not use double-entry accounting.
- Must manually import bank statements.
Our pick for
Inventory management
ProfitBooks
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $15.
N/A
Pros
- Run more than 40 financial reports.
- Manage inventory.
- In-app chat and email support available.
Cons
- Free plan capped at 25 invoices per month and can track no more than 25 products or services.
- Free plan accommodates just one user.
- Must manually import bank statements.
Our pick for
Desktop-based free accounting software
Manager
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $49 for cloud edition.
14-day free trial
of cloud edition.
Pros
- Send unlimited invoices.
- Run reports, including a balance sheet, profit and loss statement, aged payables, aged receivables, cash flow statement.
- Email support available.
Cons
- Must upgrade to cloud edition to support multiple users.
- Must manually import bank statements.
Our pick for
Open-source free accounting software
GnuCash
$0
N/A
Pros
- Open-source software is customizable, according to your business’s needs.
- Run reports — like a balance sheet and profit and loss statement — and display results as a bar chart, pie chart or scatter plot.
- Supports double-entry accounting.
Cons
- Less automated than some competitors. Checkbook-style register can make entering transactions tedious.
- Outdated user interface.
- Not capable of multiuser access.
- Support is only available via chat and email forums and user guides; no dedicated customer support team.
Wave Accounting: Best overall free accounting software
Zoho Books: Best for scalability
- $0 per month for the Free plan.
- $20 per month for the Standard plan.
- $50 per month for the Professional plan.
- $70 per month for the Premium plan.
- $150 per month for the Elite plan.
- $275 per month for the Ultimate plan.
ZipBooks: Best free accounting software for Macs
- $0 per month for the free plan.
- $15 per month for the Smarter plan.
- $35 per month for the Sophisticated plan.
Odoo: Best for customization
- $0 per month for use of a single app.
- $38.90 per user per month for access to all apps.
- $58.40 per user per month for access to all apps across multiple companies plus Odoo’s external API.
Brightbook: Best for freelancers and self-employed professionals
ProfitBooks: Best for inventory management
- $0 per month for the Startup plan.
- $15 per month for the SMB plan.
Manager: Best for desktop-based free accounting software
- $0 per month for the desktop version.
- $49 per month for the cloud edition.
GnuCash: Best for open-source free accounting software
Free accounting software features
- Income and expense tracking.
- The ability to automatically import your bank transactions so that you can categorize them.
- Third-party integrations or in-house software options for payments, payroll, etc.