5 Best Accounting Software Picks for 2026
After looking at more than 50 accounting software products, I think these five fit the bill for the most small businesses.
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Most small businesses need accounting software to track their finances. The alternative is spreadsheet accounting, which can be cumbersome.
Below are the top solutions for small businesses. I made these picks by analyzing more than 30 data points for every contender, including whether each had the following critical features:
- Free trial or free plan. It’s important to test accounting software before you commit to it. I did with each of these. Take advantage of free trials and free plan options to get a feel for a product’s user interface. The right option will seem intuitive and easy to navigate — but a lot of that depends on individual preference.
- Reconciliation tools. Reconciliation is at the heart of accounting, and you need to do it every month. I tested out each product’s reconciliation process. All of these picks help you match bank transactions to accounting software entries.
- Invoicing. Not all businesses need to send invoices on a regular basis. But it’s a useful feature to have. All of these picks also let you give clients the option to pay invoices online.
- Key financial reports. Financial reports help you gauge your business’s health. All of my choices include the most important ones, like the balance sheet and profit and loss statement. FreshBooks least expensive plan is a notable outlier. Its lacks a double-entry accounting report.
- Mobile app. Being able to access your books from anywhere can give you peace of mind. It doesn’t mean you have to constantly open the app when you’re not working. But it makes it convenient when you need to check in here and there. Most accounting apps let you view business insights, send invoices and snap photos of expense receipts.
The capabilities above are critical for most small businesses. But the best option for your business depends on its size, complexity and industry.
Also consider cost, integrations and user interface. And before you make a decision, reach out to your accountant and/or bookkeeper to make sure they’re familiar with your pick.
Here are the best accounting software products and where they stand out.
Our 2026 list of the best accounting software
- Best for most small businesses → QuickBooks Online
- Best for ease of use → Xero
- Best for all-in-one business software suite → Zoho Books
- Best for project management → FreshBooks
- Best for free, unlimited invoicing → Wave
These are the best of the best in 2026. To see more options, explore our full comparison of the best accounting software for small businesses.
QuickBooks Online: The best for most small businesses
When you start a business, it’s hard to know which accounting software product will be the right fit. If you don’t want to think too hard about it, QuickBooks Online is likely your best bet. As the industry standard in small-business accounting, it can support most business sizes and types.
Intuit, QuickBooks’ parent company, was founded in 1983. Currently, it has more than 100 million customers. That means most accountants and bookkeepers know their way around the software. This is a must if you plan on working with a professional to manage your books. Other accounting software, like FreshBooks and Zoho Books, isn’t as popular.
My personal experience with QuickBooks Online has also been largely positive. I became QuickBooks-certified in 2022, and my husband’s brewery currently uses the software.
I find it pretty intuitive and appreciate how many online tutorials and resources are available. When you hit a snag, it’s easy to find a Reddit thread or QuickBooks forum post that helps you get past it. That said, it’s obviously not perfect (see my grievances below).
What I like about QuickBooks Online
Scalability. Unlike some of its competitors, QuickBooks Online is able to grow with your business. It can accommodate solopreneurs and multi-location businesses alike. Unless your business needs enterprise-level software, it should meet most of your needs.
For example, its highest-tier Advanced plan supports up to 25 users and three accountants. That’s more than most businesses will need. You can also add on in-house bookkeeping services to take some of the work off your plate.
Depth of features. The sheer variety of features in QuickBooks Online contributes a great deal to its scalability. For example, the entry-level Simple Start plan has the basics: reporting, automated bank feeds, receipt capture and invoicing. As you level up, you’ll find project profitability tracking, budgeting tools and inventory management.
Reporting capabilities and transaction tracking also become more granular. The Plus plan, for instance, lets you track classes and locations to compare different segments of your business.
Read our full review of QuickBooks Online for more information.
👉 See our overview of QuickBooks Online’s fees and other key details
Monthly pricing:
- $38 per month for the Simple Start plan.
- $75 per month for the Essentials plan.
- $115 per month for the Plus plan.
- $275 per month for the Advanced plan.
Key details:
- Accountant access: You can invite your accountant to collaborate in all plans.
- Automated bank feeds: Bank transactions automatically flow into QuickBooks in all plans.
- Integrations: QuickBooks Online has more than 800 integrations with POS, payroll, e-commerce software, etc.
- Support: All plans have phone and live chat support Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT and Saturday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT.
What I don’t like about QuickBooks Online
Price hikes. QuickBooks’ pricing is not one of its strengths. It’s more expensive than lots of competitors. And Intuit tends to increase its prices frequently. For example, QuickBooks Online raised its pricing three times from 2023 through 2025 (e.g., from $30 to $35 to $38 for the Simple Start plan).
This is certainly a pain point among users. But most business owners I’ve spoken with still choose to use QuickBooks because it’s hard to find an equally capable alternative.
Clunky point-of-sale integration. My husband’s brewery used QuickBooks Online’s native integration with Square, and it didn’t go smoothly. We eventually needed an accountant to help separate sales tax and employee tips from the brewery’s earned income. My husband ended up undoing the integration altogether.
This isn’t ideal. But the brewery needed bookkeeping assistance anyway, so it wasn’t a reason to ditch QuickBooks altogether. However, I highly recommend you read reviews of integrations to make sure they work correctly.
Xero: The best for ease of use
When it comes to scalability and versatility, Xero is similar to QuickBooks Online. But I found its user interface to be more pared down in my hands-on testing.
Xero has more white space and groups tabs into category names instead of displaying them all in the sidebar. This can make it easier to use if you prefer clean layouts and minimal clutter. It’s also a plus for business owners with no prior bookkeeping experience.
With more than 4.5 million subscribers, accountants typically know how to navigate Xero. And since it has more than 1,000 integrations, it should sync up with your other business software programs.
In terms of pricing, Xero is less expensive than competitors like QuickBooks. Its priciest plan is $90 per month. In comparison, QuickBooks’ mid-tier Plus plan is $115.
What I like about Xero
Cash forecasting tools. Xero stands out, in part, for having cash forecasting capabilities in all of its plans. The entry-level Early plan lets you forecast cash flow 30 days out. The Established plan allows you to do so 180 days out. This is valuable for businesses trying to plan for different scenarios or even slow seasons.
Most competitors are missing this feature. Others charge more than lots of small businesses may want to spend. QuickBooks Online, for instance, only includes that capability in its $275/month Advanced plan.
Unlimited users. Most competitors limit how many people can use the accounting software. Xero doesn’t, regardless of which plan you choose. That’s especially useful to businesses that need to give accounting software access to multiple employees.
Xero pairs that with the ability to set roles and permissions, so employees can’t access sensitive information. For example, maybe your store manager needs invoicing features to bill customers. You can give them those without letting them access the company’s complete books.
Read our full review of Xero for more information.
👉 See our overview of Xero’s fees and other key details
Monthly pricing:
- $25 per month for the Early plan.
- $55 per month for the Growing plan.
- $90 per month for the Established plan.
Key details:
- Accountant access: All Xero plans let you add an unlimited number of users (including accountants).
- Automated bank feeds: All Xero plans automatically sync your bank transactions to the software.
- Integrations: Xero integrates with more than 1,000 apps for payroll, POS, e-commerce software, etc.
- Support: Xero has email and outbound phone support. In May 2026, it began offering one-on-one onboarding support to new customers for the first 90 days as well. But there’s no inbound phone or live chat support.
What I don’t like about Xero
Invoice limits. Xero’s entry-level plan only lets you send 20 invoices per month. You need to subscribe to its Growing or Established plan to access unlimited invoicing. Other products, like Wave, support unlimited invoicing — even in their free plans. This isn’t a big deal for businesses that don’t transact via invoice. But it still feels like an unnecessary limitation to put on a paid subscription.
Zoho Books: The best all-in-one business software suite
Zoho offers dozens of business software products all under one roof. Zoho Books is its accounting solution. It’s both affordable and scalable — a difficult balance to strike. That’s because it has a free plan, plus five paid options.
The free plan includes accountant access and supports up to 1,000 invoices per year. It has bank reconciliation tools and basic reports too. This could be enough for a microbusiness or solopreneur.
More complex businesses can opt for higher-tier plans that let you create automated workflows and track KPIs. Businesses can also add other Zoho subscriptions if, for example, they require more advanced inventory management. As long as they’re willing to commit to the Zoho ecosystem, additional software capabilities are basically at the tips of their fingers.
What I like about Zoho Books
Free plan. Zoho Books’ free accounting software plan is one of the best around. Unlike other free options (Wave, most notably), Zoho lets you collaborate with your accountant and scan photos of receipts to extract expense details. You’ll also find vendor management tools and a client portal.
However, there aren’t automated bank feeds. This is the biggest reason, in my opinion, to upgrade to a paid Zoho Books plan.
Scope of in-house solutions. Zoho also has software for social media management, inventory, marketing campaigns, HR, payroll and security. And that only scratches the surface. Altogether, Zoho has more than 80 native apps.
But are in-house solutions really better than third-party products? In most cases, yes. Integrations with third-party products (like QuickBooks’ integration with Square) aren’t guaranteed to work well. Programs that have been created under the same roof, potentially by the same developers, usually integrate more seamlessly.
Read our full review of Zoho Books for more information.
👉 See our overview of Zoho Books’ fees and other key details
Monthly pricing:
- $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.
Key details:
- Accountant access: All plans, including the free one, let you invite your accountant to collaborate.
- Automated bank feeds: You need to subscribe to one of Zoho Books’ paid plans to automatically import new bank transactions.
- Integrations: For the most part, integrations are limited to in-house products. Some exceptions include Square, SurePayroll and a handful of payment gateways.
- Support: Email support in free plan. Phone and live chat support from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET on weekdays in paid plans.
What I don’t like about Zoho Books
Customer support reviews. Most accounting software products get critical online reviews when it comes to customer service. Sometimes, these have to do with wait times. In Zoho Books’ case, commenters claim representatives aren’t helpful — even when you can reach them. Some users say representatives direct them to help articles they’ve already read, for example.
Maybe representatives don’t seem as knowledgeable because there are just so many Zoho products. Regardless, my concern is that it might be difficult to find help elsewhere. Zoho Books typically isn’t as popular among accountants and/or bookkeepers as QuickBooks Online and Xero.
FreshBooks: The best for project management
FreshBooks is one of my top accounting software picks for freelancers in particular. And some of that has to do with its project management tools.
Most competitors only include project tracking capabilities in their higher-tier, more expensive plans. For example, QuickBooks makes you subscribe to its $115-per-month Plus plan to access them. Even Zoho Books only includes them in its mid-tier Professional plan.
FreshBooks lets you manage project budgets in all its plans. This is a big value-add for project-based freelancers trying to keep spending to a minimum. However, you will need to opt for FreshBooks’ Premium plan to track project profitability.
What I like about FreshBooks
Client communication tools. All of FreshBooks’ plans come with a standout client portal. Among other things, it lets customers view past invoices and communicate with you. You can also use it to invite clients to collaborate on projects. And if they have questions, they can send them straight your way.
Competitors like Xero, QuickBooks Online and Wave don’t offer this.
Tailored to freelancers. On top of project management tools and a client portal, FreshBooks includes free time and mileage tracking. This can help freelancers accurately bill clients for their time and stay on top of mileage deductions.
Read our full review of FreshBooks for more information.
👉 See our overview of FreshBooks’ fees and other key details
Monthly pricing:
- $23 per month for the Lite plan.
- $43 per month for the Plus plan.
- $70 per month for the Premium plan.
- Custom pricing for the Select plan.
Key details:
- Accountant access: You must subscribe to FreshBooks’ $43-per-month Plus plan or up.
- Automated bank feeds: You can automatically import bank transactions in all plans. But you’ll need the Plus plan to access reconciliation tools.
- Integrations: FreshBooks integrates with SurePayroll and Gusto for payroll. But POS integrations are limited.
- Support: All plans include phone support from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET on weekdays. There’s email and live chat support as well.
What I don’t like about FreshBooks
Entry-level plan is missing key features. FreshBooks’ least expensive plan lacks features most competitors include — sometimes even for a lower price. For example, the Lite plan is missing reconciliation tools, double-entry accounting reports and accountant access. Zoho Books provides all of these capabilities in its free plan.
Billable client limits. I understand FreshBooks putting a limit on billable clients in its Lite plan. But even the $43-per-month Plus plan caps clients at 50. If you have more billable clients than that, spending $70 per month for the Premium plan is a tough sell.
Like FreshBooks, Xero’s least expensive plan limits how many invoices you can send. But it only costs $55 for a plan that allows for unlimited invoicing (and billable clients).
Wave: The best for free, unlimited invoicing
Wave stands out for its simplicity. It doesn’t have a giant list of features like more robust competitors do. That’s OK — and perhaps even preferable — for solopreneurs and very small businesses or side hustles.
You can use its free plan to track income and expenses, send unlimited invoices and run basic reports. If you’re using its online payment processing services, you can also automatically send out invoice payment reminders.
However, you’ll need to subscribe to its paid plan for automated bank feeds, transaction categorization and accountant access. And unlike its competitors, it doesn’t have audit trails in any of its plans. This could be problematic if you’re giving employees access to the software.
What I like about Wave
Low barrier to entry. Wave’s free plan and simple set of features don’t require much of a commitment. If you only handle a few transactions each week, you might give it a try. And if you decide it isn’t for you, you can move onto a more suitable alternative. Just make sure you make the decision relatively quickly so you don’t need to migrate pages and pages of transactions.
Easy invoicing. I tested out Wave’s invoicing system, and it doesn’t get much simpler. You can choose from three different templates and upload your own logo. After choosing your brand colors, you just fill out the fields for item name, price, quantity and tax.
Read our full review of Wave for more information.
👉 See our overview of Wave’s fees and other key details
Monthly pricing:
- $0 for the Starter plan.
- $19 per month for the Pro plan.
Key details:
- Accountant access: You must subscribe to Wave’s paid plan to add additional users, including accountants.
- Automated bank feeds: Only available in the $19-per-month Pro plan.
- Integrations: Wave has its own bookkeeping services and payroll. Otherwise you need to pay for Zapier to integrate with third-party products.
- Support: You must pay for a service (like online payment processing or the Pro plan) to access live support. Chat and email support is available from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET on weekdays.
What I don’t like about Wave
It put a paywall on formerly free features. If you read customer reviews of Wave, you’ll notice they’re pretty unhappy about its pricing. It doesn’t make much sense when you consider its paid plan is only $19 per month. You start to put the pieces together when you realize it used to offer some features, like automated bank feeds, for free.
To be fair, competitors like Zoho Books also save automated bank feeds for paid plans. I don’t fault Wave for making that adjustment. Putting a paywall on receipt scans doesn’t make as much sense to me. Zoho Books, for example, includes 50 receipt autoscans per month in its free plan.
No inventory tracking or report filters. Wave has a low barrier to entry, but that doesn’t mean all businesses should give it a try. Its use case is limited to side hustles and very small businesses that only need the basics. If your business might eventually require additional capabilities, like inventory tracking or more granular reporting, you should stick to a better equipped alternative.
Methodology
NerdWallet independently reviews accounting software products before determining our top picks. We collect the data for our software ratings from products’ public-facing websites and from company representatives. Our editorial team reviews information on a regular basis for consistency and accuracy.
We also periodically update our scoring system to reflect changing industry norms and business needs. For instance, in 2026, we stopped factoring in whether mobile apps work for both Android and iOS smartphones. If an accounting software product has its own mobile app, it’s almost always available for both operating systems.
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. The best accounting software received top marks when evaluated across 10 categories and more than 30 subcategories. 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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Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses
| Product | Starting at | Promotion | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Xero Nerdwallet Rating on Xero's website | $25/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $55, $90. | 90% off for 6 months. | on Xero's website |
 QuickBooks Online Nerdwallet Rating on QuickBooks' website | $38/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $75, $115, $275. | 50% off for 3 months or free 30-day trial. | on QuickBooks' website |
 FreshBooks Nerdwallet Rating on FreshBooks' website | $23/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $43, $70, custom. | 70% off for 4 months. | on FreshBooks' website |
 Zoho Books Nerdwallet Rating on Zoho Books' website | $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275. | 14-day free trial of the Premium plan. | on Zoho Books' website |
