Buyer guide

How much does accounting software cost for a small business?

Entry plans range from free (Wave Starter) to $38 per month (QuickBooks Online Simple Start). FreshBooks Lite is $23 per month and Xero Early is $27 per month after its October 1, 2026 increase. QuickBooks limits Simple Start to 1 user plus 2 accountant accesses, so a 5-user team needs Plus at $140 per month. Wave's low price comes with payment processing fees.

Tool	Entry plan	Price per month	Mid tiers	Worth knowing
Wave	Starter	$0	Pro $19	Payment processing fees (2.9% plus $0.60 per card) are where the cost lives
FreshBooks	Lite	$23	Plus $43, Premium $70	Plus covers 50 billable clients
Xero	Early	$27	Growing $59, Established $97	Raised from $25, $55, $90 on October 1, 2026
QuickBooks Online	Simple Start	$38	Essentials $85, Plus $140, Advanced $340	Simple Start covers 1 user plus 2 accountant accesses

Only Wave has an ongoing free plan. QuickBooks Online, Xero and FreshBooks each have a 30-day free trial. Intuit currently advertises 50% off for 3 months for new QuickBooks customers, and FreshBooks' pricing page still shows a 90%-off promotion that its own offer terms previously said ended August 18, 2026.

User and client limits drive the real cost. QuickBooks Essentials supports 3 users and Plus supports 5, FreshBooks Plus covers 50 billable clients, and Xero includes accountant and bookkeeper access at no extra cost.

Figures are published list prices aggregated from vendor pricing pages and independent third-party research as of October 2026. Totals marked as arithmetic are StackScope's multiplication of a listed per-seat price. Confirm current pricing directly with each vendor before purchasing. This is not a recommendation to buy any specific product. See the full Accounting Software report for every source and flagged conflict.