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6 Best QuickBooks Alternatives of April 2024

The best QuickBooks alternatives are easy to use, customizable and — in some cases — fill a specific niche.
By Hillary Crawford, Karrin Sehmbi
Last updated on January 2, 2024
Edited bySally Lauckner
Fact checked and reviewed

⏰ Estimated read time: 7 minutes

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QuickBooks has more than 7 million online customers, according to the most recent data from its parent company, Intuit. But it isn't the best accounting software choice for every small business. Self-employed entrepreneurs and micro-business owners, especially, might find that QuickBooks alternatives offer simpler solutions at a lower price point. Other competitors can accommodate an unlimited number of users, unlike QuickBooks, and provide a similarly robust feature set.
Here are the best QuickBooks alternatives for small businesses, including what sets them apart.

Best QuickBooks Alternatives

Product
Promotion
Learn more

Xero

Learn more

on Xero's secure website

5.0/5

Best for Overall alternative

$15/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $42, $78.

30-day free trial

or monthly discount (terms vary).

Learn more

on Xero's secure website

FreshBooks

Learn more

on FreshBooks' secure website

4.5/5

Best for Freelancer-friendly features

$19/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $33, $60, custom.

30-day free trial

or monthly discount (terms vary).

Learn more

on FreshBooks' secure website

Zoho Books

Learn more

on Zoho Books' secure website

4.5/5

Best for Zoho suite integrations

$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

Sage 50 Accounting

Learn more

on Sage 50 Accounting's secure website

3.5/5

Best for Desktop solution

$59/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $96.58, $160.

Discount for the first year

(terms vary).

Learn more

on Sage 50 Accounting's secure website

Wave Accounting

3.5/5

Best for Free software

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $16

N/A

NetSuite

Best for Enterprise solution

N/A

Quote-based.

N/A

Our pick for

Overall alternative

While QuickBooks has long dominated the accounting software market, Xero is increasingly rising as a top alternative. It’s robust accounting software that is packed with features and is available in three pricing tiers. With a base plan that’s half the cost of QuickBooks Online’s entry-level accounting plan and that has nearly all the same capabilities, Xero stands out as an excellent QuickBooks alternative.

Learn more

on Xero's secure website

Starting at
$15/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $42, $78.

Promotion
30-day free trial

or monthly discount (terms vary).

Our pick for

Freelancer-friendly features

The low cost of FreshBooks’ monthly plans along with its invoicing and time and expense tracking features make this accounting software especially appealing for freelancers. FreshBooks also offers a full-featured mobile app, which makes it easy to track mileage from your phone, send invoices and communicate with clients.

FreshBooks

Learn more

on FreshBooks' secure website

Starting at
$19/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $33, $60, custom.

Promotion
30-day free trial

or monthly discount (terms vary).

Our pick for

Zoho suite integrations

If you’re already using one of Zoho’s other business apps, or you’re interested in an ecosystem of business software that integrates seamlessly, then Zoho Books may suit your accounting needs well. It has multiple plan options, including a free accounting plan, so it can scale up as your business evolves. Zoho Books is light on third-party software integrations, but it integrates with a number of other Zoho apps, including CRM, Expense and Inventory.

Zoho Books

Learn more

on Zoho Books' secure website

Starting at
$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.

Promotion
14-day free trial

of the Premium plan.

Our pick for

Desktop solution

With cloud accounting software dominating the market, it can be challenging to find well-built, reasonably priced and reliable desktop-based accounting software. That’s where Sage 50 Accounting delivers. Its monthly plans are priced considerably lower than QuickBooks Enterprise, which is now the only remaining QuickBooks desktop accounting solution. Sage 50 also includes industry-specific reports, which not many of its competitors do.

Sage 50 Accounting

Learn more

on Sage 50 Accounting's secure website

Starting at
$59/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $96.58, $160.

Promotion
Discount for the first year

(terms vary).

Our pick for

Free software

Wave’s accounting (and invoicing) software may be free, but it doesn’t skimp on all your necessary accounting functions and features. It uses the industry-standard double-entry accounting method, lets you customize your chart of accounts and gives you the freedom to switch between cash basis and accrual basis accounting for your reports. It also includes features for automatic reconciliation. For small businesses with basic bookkeeping and invoicing needs, Wave’s software is likely to deliver.

Wave Accounting

Starting at
$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $16

Promotion
N/A

Our pick for

Enterprise solution

Unlike QuickBooks Enterprise, NetSuite is cloud-based enterprise-level accounting software. In fact, NetSuite’s integrated accounting solution offers accounts receivable and accounts payable as well as tax management alongside day-to-day accounting functions like managing cash and a general ledger. For midsize and larger businesses, NetSuite’s powerful accounting software and additional business and financial management products are worth consideration.

NetSuite

Starting at
N/A

Quote-based.

Promotion
N/A

Our picks for the best QuickBooks alternatives

Xero

Best overall QuickBooks alternative
Price:
  • $15 per month for the Early plan.
  • $42 per month for the Growing plan.
  • $78 per month for the Established plan.
Why we like it: Business owners who prefer ease of use and simplicity will appreciate Xero’s minimalist design and jargon-free language. Like QuickBooks, it's widely used, which makes it easy to find accountants who support it. Unlike QuickBooks, however, Xero allows unlimited users at all plan levels — and at a lower price point. As a QuickBooks alternative, Xero offers less expensive software that competes with QuickBooks’ rich feature set. Read our full Xero Accounting review.

FreshBooks

Best for freelancer-friendly features
Price:
  • $19 per month for the Lite plan.
  • $33 per month for the Plus plan.
  • $60 per month for the Premium plan.
  • Custom pricing for the Select plan.
Why we like it: With strong invoicing capabilities and an intuitive mobile app, FreshBooks is an affordable alternative for freelancers who might not need all of the features that QuickBooks offers its online customers. The software lets you log time, track mileage, snap photos of expense receipts, set up recurring invoices, send automatic payment reminders and accept payments online through FreshBooks Payments or Stripe. And unlike QuickBooks, which only lets you mark expenses as “billable” in the Online Plus plan and higher, FreshBooks lets you rebill clients for expenses in all plans. One downside: It comes with a stricter user limit. All plans, except the Select plan, include access for only one user; additional users cost $11 each per month. Read our full FreshBooks review.

Wave

Best for free software
Price:
  • $0 for the Starter plan.
  • $16 per month (or $170 billed annually) for the Pro plan.
Why we like it: Wave delivers on most of the basics for micro businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs without requiring expensive add-ons. It’s a solid QuickBooks alternative if you’re on a tight budget and run a small operation, but it’s not ideal for scaling your business. Still, it can be sufficient for businesses with straightforward financials, especially if your main objectives are keeping tabs on expenses, sending invoices and tracking income. Read our full Wave Accounting review.

Zoho Books

Best for Zoho suite integrations
Price:
  • $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.
Why we like it: Zoho Books offers a lot of the same features as QuickBooks, like inventory management, reporting tags, invoicing and bank rules — but at a lower price. Higher-tier plans also include extra features you don’t find among all accounting software, like customizable workflow rules for email alerts and the ability to let your clients approve or comment on timesheets before adding billable hours to an invoice. If you commit to the Zoho ecosystem, you can smoothly integrate its CRM and other software with Zoho Books. If not, its third-party integrations might be limiting. Read our Zoho Books review.

Sage 50 Accounting

Best for desktop solution
Price:
  • $58.92 per month for the Pro Accounting plan.
  • $96.58 per month for the Premium Accounting plan.
  • $160 per month for the Quantum Accounting plan.
Why we like it: If your business is smaller in size and you have need for only a few users to access your accounting software, then Sage 50’s desktop accounting software is an excellent alternative to QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, which is designed — and priced — for much larger organizations. You can purchase Sage 50’s mid-level plan, Premium Accounting, for less than QuickBooks Enterprise’s lowest-tier plan. Sage 50 Accounting will give you unlimited phone and chat support and advanced reporting,  like you’d get with the least expensive QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise plan, in addition to advanced inventory tracking and management plus invoice tracking and a long list of additional features. Like QuickBooks, Sage 50 Accounting offers payroll as an add-on. Read our full Sage 50 review.

NetSuite

Best for enterprise solution
Price: Quote-based.
Why we like it: If you run a large business or anticipate rapid growth of your business, then you may be interested in enterprise-level accounting software. While QuickBooks’ enterprise solution is locally installed on a desktop (unless you pay extra for cloud access), NetSuite’s solution is cloud-based from the start. That means you can get real-time access to your financial data anytime, anywhere. In addition to its core accounting features, NetSuite also offers CRM and HR solutions (including payroll) so you can centralize all of your software under one umbrella.

When to choose an alternative to QuickBooks

QuickBooks is a great option for growing small businesses that work frequently with an accountant or bookkeeper and that could benefit from detailed transaction tracking and in-depth reporting. With robust reporting, more than 750 integrations, scalable plans and customer support that’s available seven days a week, QuickBooks helps you keep a finger on the pulse of each area of your business. If you’re considering one of QuickBooks’ small-business products, the Plus plan gives you access to a range of useful features like inventory tracking, project profitability tools and billable expenses.
Just because QuickBooks comes with a lot of benefits, though, doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for every business. Here are some reasons you may want to explore QuickBooks alternatives:
  • The cost of QuickBooks can be high. 
  • Simple Start and Essentials plans don’t let you mark expenses as billable.
  • Each plan limits how many users you can add. 
And if you're a solopreneur who plans to keep your business very small, you can find simpler, more affordable options in our list of the best accounting software for freelancers and the self-employed.

What is the best alternative to QuickBooks?

The best QuickBooks alternative for your business depends on your budget, the type of business you run and which features you need. In other words, the right fit will vary from business to business.
In terms of QuickBooks’ biggest competitors, Xero is a strong contender. It offers a lot of the same key features as QuickBooks at a lower price point and is growing in popularity in the U.S. Your accountant or bookkeeper will almost certainly be familiar with QuickBooks, but they may also know the ins and outs of Xero.

Is there a free alternative to QuickBooks?

One of the best free accounting software options is Wave Accounting. It’s not as scalable as QuickBooks, but it can accommodate solopreneurs and, in some cases, businesses with a handful of employees.
Wave has income and expense tracking, invoicing, basic reports and bank feeds, and it lets you add as many collaborators as you need for free. It doesn’t, however, integrate with point-of-sale systems or third-party apps for payroll.
Former NerdWallet writer Amrita Jayakumar contributed to this article.
Last updated on January 2, 2024

Methodology

NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, reasonably priced, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including range of features, cost, ease of use, accounting standards compliance, scalability, ease of sharing with accountants, integrations, customer support, pricing transparency and availability of a free trial period. Learn more about how we rate small-business accounting software.
These ratings are meant to provide clarity in the decision-making process, but what’s best for your business will depend on its size, growth trajectory and which features you need most. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.

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