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.
Our Nerdy picks for
Best QuickBooks Alternatives
Product | Promotion | Learn more | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Xero Learn more on Xero's secure website | 4.5/5 Best for Simplicity, unlimited users | $13/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $37, $70. | 30-day free trial or monthly discount (terms vary). | Learn more on Xero's secure website |
FreshBooks Learn more on FreshBooks' secure website | 3.5/5 Best for Freelancer-friendly features | $17/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $30, $55, custom. | 30-day free trial or monthly discount (terms vary). | Learn more on FreshBooks' secure website |
Wave Accounting | 3.5/5 Best for Free QuickBooks alternative | $0 Free (Wave makes money via paid money management products). | N/A | |
Zoho Books | 4.0/5 Best for Zoho suite integrations | $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275. | 14-day free trial of the Premium plan. | |
Sage 50cloud Learn more on Sage 50cloud's secure website | Best for Desktop QuickBooks alternative | $57/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $92, $152.42. | Discount for the first year (terms vary) | Learn more on Sage 50cloud's secure website |
NetSuite | Best for Enterprise solutions | N/A | N/A | |
Sage Accounting Learn more on Sage Accounting's secure website | 3.5/5 Best for Basic, affordable accounting tools | $10/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $25. | 70% off of the Sage Accounting plan for six months or free 30-day trial. | Learn more on Sage Accounting's secure website |
Our pick for
Simplicity, unlimited users
Xero
Learn more
on Xero's secure website
Starting at
$13/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $37, $70.
Promotion
30-day free trial
or monthly discount (terms vary).
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, whose highest-tier online plan caps users at 25, Xero allows unlimited users at all plan levels — and at a lower price point. If you want less expensive software that competes with QuickBooks’ rich feature set, Xero could be a good fit.
Pros
- Unlimited users in all pricing plans.
- Integrates with more than 1,000 third-party apps.
- Feature set includes an excellent mobile app and suite of reports, capable invoicing features, plus automated bill and receipt capture through Hubdoc.
- Simple layout and easy to use.
Cons
- No phone number for customer support listed.
- Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
Our pick for
Freelancer-friendly features
FreshBooks
Learn more
on FreshBooks' secure website
Starting at
$17/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $30, $55, custom.
Promotion
30-day free trial
or monthly discount (terms vary).
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, Stripe or PayPal. 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.
Pros
- Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
- Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
- Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
- Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
- Lacks features that quickly growing companies need, like audit trails for accountants to review.
- Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
- Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
Our pick for
Free QuickBooks alternative
Wave Accounting
Starting at
$0
Free (Wave makes money via paid money management products).
Promotion
N/A
Wave delivers on most of the basics for micro businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs without requiring expensive add-ons. It’s a good alternative to QuickBooks 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.
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
Zoho suite integrations
Zoho Books
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.
Promotion
14-day free trial
of the Premium plan.
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 across the board, 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.
Pros
- Less expensive than some competitors; free plan available for businesses with less than $50k in annual revenue.
- Email support in free plan; 24/5 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
Desktop QuickBooks alternative
Sage 50cloud
Learn more
on Sage 50cloud's secure website
Starting at
$57/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $92, $152.42.
Promotion
Discount for the first year (terms vary)
Sage 50cloud is a desktop product that has to be locally installed, similar to the desktop version of QuickBooks, and it includes features you’d find in cloud-based software, like automated bank reconciliation. This makes it a good solution for small-business owners who are hesitant to adopt an entirely cloud-based system or who don’t have reliable internet access. Entrepreneurs who are newer to accounting will also appreciate having a dedicated account representative and free training modules to help them get used to the software.
Pros
- Advanced inventory tracking and job costing features.
- Industry-specific features for construction, manufacturing and distribution businesses.
- Phone and chat support, plus a dedicated account representative in all plans.
Cons
- Runs on Windows operating systems only.
- Lowest-tier plan doesn’t include audit trails.
Our pick for
Enterprise solutions
NetSuite
Promotion
N/A
Business owners who foresee extreme growth, like global expansion, may consider a cloud-based enterprise resource planning product like NetSuite, as opposed to accounting software like QuickBooks that is intended for small businesses. Clients can customize their plans with add-on modules and additional users. Combined, these factors determine your business’s annual license fee. In addition to its core accounting features, NetSuite also offers CRM, payroll and HR solutions so that larger businesses can centralize all of their software under one umbrella.
Pros
- Can scale to accommodate larger, enterprise businesses.
- Offers an array of other software products, like CRM, HR, supply chain management, global business management and commerce software for larger companies.
- Industry-specific software solutions for a wide range of businesses, including nonprofits, advertising and digital marketing, consulting, retail and food and beverage.
Cons
- Pricing is not transparent.
- Setup fee.
Our pick for
Basic, affordable accounting tools
Sage Accounting
Learn more
on Sage Accounting's secure website
Starting at
$10/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $25.
Promotion
70% off
of the Sage Accounting plan for six months or free 30-day trial.
Sage Accounting offers two plans: one for newer businesses that only need the basics and another with additional features, like access for unlimited users and cash flow forecasts. At $25 per month, the higher-tier plan is less expensive than QuickBooks’ entry-level online subscription. On top of that, it includes inventory management — something you only have access to in QuickBooks’ cloud-based Plus plan and higher. The main differentiating factor between the two products is scalability. Whereas QuickBooks can support growing businesses with complex reporting needs, Sage Accounting is geared toward very small businesses with 10 employees or fewer.
Pros
- More affordable than QuickBooks.
- Strong inventory management and access for unlimited users in the higher-tier Sage Accounting plan.
- Weekday phone and chat support in all plans.
Cons
- Offers fewer reports and integrations than QuickBooks.
- Entry-level plan doesn’t enable accrual-based accounting and doesn’t let you send quotes or estimates.
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 more than 50 reports in its entry-level plan alone, 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.
If you're a solopreneur and plan 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.
For a deep dive into the benefits and drawbacks of one of the most popular products in Intuit’s accounting software lineup, read our review of QuickBooks Online. In the meantime, here’s a brief overview.
QuickBooks pros
QuickBooks’ accounting capabilities are among the best for small businesses, but make sure you understand how to use them properly to get the most value out of the product. Here are some its top highlights:
- Robust reporting. The entry-level plan, for example, includes more than 50 reports.
- Offers more than 750 integrations, including in-house bookkeeping services through QuickBooks Live and payroll software through QuickBooks Payroll.
- Scalable plans can support your business at various growth stages.
- Phone and chat support available seven days a week.
QuickBooks cons
Just because QuickBooks comes with a lot of benefits doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for every business. Here are some its main drawbacks:
- 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.
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 might also know the ins and outs of Xero.
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. Just remember: It doesn’t integrate with point-of-sale systems or third-party apps for payroll.
The following comparison articles explain the major differences between QuickBooks Online and its competitors.
Last updated on June 2, 2023
Methodology
NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including scope of features and integrations, customer support and cost, among others. 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. Simplicity doesn't always translate into ease of use. Less scalable products are typically simpler, but diminished functionality can cause headaches down the road for growing businesses. 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Xero is one of QuickBooks’ biggest competitors and offers many similar features, including a wide range of reports, transaction tracking capabilities and integration options. If you want to get a better idea of what Xero’s user interface is like, you can test the software out for free for 30 days.
QuickBooks does not have a free version, but it does offer free 30-day trials if you want to test it out before committing. Free QuickBooks alternatives include Wave and Zoho Books’ entry level plan.
QuickBooks Online offers promotions for new customers who are willing to skip the free trial and jump straight into a monthly subscription. Usually, it’s 50% off for the first three months, which can save you a total of $45 to $300 the first year, depending on the plan. QuickBooks sometimes offers larger discounts around particular holidays, like Memorial Day.