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Accounting software — full comparison
Prices reflect each vendor's published billing model; see tier notes for user limits and add-ons. All four vendors currently display, or have recently displayed, promotional pricing; where vendor pages and offer terms conflict, the report flags the conflict rather than treating the promotion as verified. Only the standard, non-promotional rate is ever used to judge value.
QuickBooks vs. Xero pricing in 2026: Xero is cheaper at every tier after a October 1, 2026 price increase still left it below QuickBooks — Early is $27/month vs. QuickBooks' Simple Start at $38, and Growing is $59 vs. QuickBooks Essentials at $85. Xero also prices by unlimited users at every tier, while QuickBooks caps Simple Start at 1 user. For free accounting software for a small business, Wave is the standout — its Starter plan is genuinely $0 forever with unlimited invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records, not a trial. The cheapest accounting software overall depends on team size: Wave wins for a solo user, but FreshBooks' $11/month per additional Team Member can make it cost more than QuickBooks or Xero once a team grows past 2–3 people.
| Tool | Free plan | Entry tier | Mid tier | Highest public price | Aggregated sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | 30-day free trial; no ongoing free plan. [VENDOR]Simple Start allows 1 user + 2 accountant accesses. [VENDOR] | $38/mo standardSimple Start · MONTHLY: $38 standard. Intuit's current dedicated discount page explicitly advertises 50% off for 3 months for new customers (Simple Start $19/mo during the promo; free trials not eligible) [VENDOR]. Other current Intuit pages still show stale/conflicting older figures and 90%-off text — use $38 standard and flag those pages as stale. ANNUAL: $456/year — derived, straight 12× standard monthly, not a published vendor annual-billing rate [DERIVED — VENDOR]. 5 users: N/A — entry tier supports 1 user; moving up tiers is required. [VENDOR] | $85/moEssentials · 3 users + 2 accountants [VENDOR]. Named mid tier, not used for the fixed 5-user breakpoint since this tier itself only supports 3. New tier confirmed between Essentials and Advanced: Plus, $140/mo, 5 users + 2 accountants — adds inventory, project profitability and budgeting. [VENDOR] Other current Intuit pages still show stale Essentials $75/Plus $115/Advanced $275 figures — do not use those; $85/$140/$340 are the current standard list prices. | $340/moAdvanced · 25 users + 3 accountants [VENDOR]. Publicly priced list price, not Contact Sales. Adds custom roles, automated workflows, advanced/custom reporting, unlimited classes/locations, backup/restore and Priority Circle support. | Catch: pricing increases and support inconsistency recur in reviews. [3P — G2] Praise centers on ease of use, broad accounting workflows, bank connections, and integrations. G2's review summary also flags expense tracking, missing features, and support as recurring negatives. G2/Capterra currently still list the stale Essentials $75/Plus $115/Advanced $275 figures, which conflict with Intuit's current $85/$140/$340 — flagged, not used. [3P — G2/Capterra] Users: 1 on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus, 25 on Advanced. Invoices/bills/clients: no numeric cap found beyond user limits. Upgrade trigger: needing more than 1 user, or inventory/project profitability (Plus). AI: no separate AI add-on price found; Intuit Intelligence (25 prompts/month) plus tier-dependent Accounting AI, Payments AI, Sales Tax AI, Customer AI, Finance AI and Project Management AI are bundled into the relevant tiers, not sold separately. [VENDOR] |
| Xero | 30-day free trial; no ongoing free plan. [VENDOR]Accountant/bookkeeper access included at no extra cost. [VENDOR] | [PRICE INCREASE — Oct 1, 2026] $27/mo standardEarly · MONTHLY: $27 standard, up from $25, effective October 1, 2026; applies to new and existing US subscribers, excludes add-ons and sales tax [VENDOR]. Xero's current main US pricing page advertises 80% off for the first 3 months (code DC80325309US) = $5.40/mo for 3 months, then $27 — other current Xero pages still display the prior 90%-off-for-6-months offer, a live vendor-source conflict; verify the active offer at checkout. [VENDOR — source conflict] ANNUAL: not publicly offered — monthly-only public pricing. Xero states no per-user license fees, so 1-user and 5-user prices are identical. [VENDOR] Early remains capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills. | [PRICE INCREASE — Oct 1, 2026] $59/mo standardGrowing · MONTHLY: $59 standard, up from $55, effective October 1, 2026 [VENDOR]. Current main page promo = $11.80/mo for first 3 months, then $59 — see Early's cell for the promo source conflict. ANNUAL: not publicly offered. Removes Early's invoice/bill caps. JAX automated reconciliation available starting here, not on Early. | [PRICE INCREASE — Oct 1, 2026] $97/mo standardEstablished · MONTHLY: $97 standard, up from $90, effective October 1, 2026 [VENDOR]. Current main page promo = $19.40/mo for first 3 months, then $97 — see Early's cell for the promo source conflict. ANNUAL: not publicly offered. Publicly priced, not Contact Sales. | Catch: advanced reporting/customization and occasional bank-feed issues are recurring complaints. [3P — G2] Reviewers consistently praise the clean interface, ease of use, invoicing, and reconciliation. Capterra currently shows stale pre-increase figures ($25/$55) and G2 shows even older figures ($13/$37/$70) — both conflict with Xero's current Oct. 1 pricing and are flagged, not used. [3P — G2/Capterra] Users: unlimited on every tier, no per-user fee. Invoices/bills/clients: Early capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills/month; Growing and Established remove that cap. Upgrade trigger: exceeding Early's invoice/bill volume, or needing JAX automated reconciliation. AI: JAX (Xero's AI finance partner) carries no additional charge; JAX automated reconciliation is bundled starting on Growing, not available on Early. [VENDOR] |
| FreshBooks | 30-day free trial; no ongoing free version. [VENDOR / 3P — Capterra] | $23/mo standardLite · MONTHLY: $23 standard. FreshBooks' current pricing page still displays 90% off for 3 months ($2.30/mo), while FreshBooks' own formal offer terms previously stated that version of the promotion ended August 18, 2026 — this conflict has not been cleanly resolved; the current page keeps showing 90% off despite that stated expiration, so don't treat the promo as definitely verified. [VENDOR — source conflict] ANNUAL: $248.40/year — now vendor-published in FreshBooks' 2026 price-change FAQ (includes a stated 10% discount vs. monthly), not a derived figure. [VENDOR] 1 included user; additional Team Members are $11/mo each. Other published add-ons: Advanced Payments $20/mo, FreshBooks Payroll $40/mo + $6/mo per user. 5-user equivalent: $67/mo, assuming 1 included user + 4 paid Team Members [DERIVED — VENDOR: $23 + 4×$11]. Lite supports 5 billable clients. | $43/moPlus · [VENDOR] 50 billable clients; adds receipt scanning and accounting reports. ANNUAL: $464.40/year, vendor-published (10% discount vs. monthly). [VENDOR] | $70/moPremium · [VENDOR] unlimited clients. ANNUAL: $756.00/year, vendor-published (10% discount vs. monthly). [VENDOR] Select tier above this is Contact Sales/custom, not publicly priced. | Catch: client caps and paid team-member add-ons can raise the real cost as a business grows. [3P — G2; 3P — Capterra] Praise is dominated by ease of use, invoicing, quick setup, and customer support. Reporting limitations and per-client pricing recur as complaints. Capterra currently lists Lite $21/Plus $38/Premium $65, and G2 shows the promotional $2.30/$4.30/$7.00 figures plus a separate G2 Deals 90%-off-for-4-months offer — none of these match FreshBooks' current $23/$43/$70 standard prices; flagged, not used. [3P — G2/Capterra] Users: 1 included, additional Team Members $11/mo each. Invoices/bills/clients: Lite 5 billable clients; Plus 50; Premium and Select unlimited. Upgrade trigger: exceeding 5 clients, or needing more than 1 user without paying per-seat. AI: no separate AI add-on price found; recurring invoices and automated bank import are bundled into the tier, with receipt scanning bundled starting on Plus. [VENDOR] |
| Wave | Ongoing Starter plan: $0. [VENDOR]Includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records. Online payments, receipt scanning, and payroll are separate paid add-ons — not part of the free plan's limitations, but genuinely optional extras. [VENDOR] | $19/mo standardPro · MONTHLY: $19 standard; $9.50/mo current promo for first 3 months — not the standard price [VENDOR]. ANNUAL: $190/year — vendor-published annual-billing price [VENDOR]; annual promo price not publicly specified. Pro is priced per business profile, not per owner or per seat, and includes unlimited user access — 1-user and 5-user prices are identical. [VENDOR] | — (by design)No public mid tier exists — this is not a research gap. Wave currently presents Pro as its only paid subscription tier; there is no distinct mid-tier product to price. [VENDOR] | $19/moPro · $19/mo monthly or $190/year annual. [VENDOR] Publicly priced; no Contact Sales tier exists above it. | Catch: payment processing fees are where Wave's real cost lives, not the subscription price. Starter charges 2.9% + $0.60 per Visa/Mastercard/Discover transaction and 3.4% + $0.60 for Amex; Pro waives the fixed $0.60 fee for the first 10 qualifying transactions in each monthly subscription period, then reverts to the same rate as Starter for the rest [VENDOR — Wave's own payments pages]. On high-volume invoicing this adds up fast and is easy to miss when comparing Wave's low subscription price against competitors. [3P — G2] Users consistently praise the free core, simple interface, and invoicing/bookkeeping value. Capterra currently confirms Pro $19 and the free tier; G2's current pricing page is stale and focuses on older Wave payroll products rather than the current Starter/Pro accounting subscription — its review data still supports the free-tier/value sentiment theme. [3P — G2/Capterra] Users: unlimited on both Starter and Pro, priced per business profile not per seat. Invoices/bills/clients: unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records on both tiers. Upgrade trigger: wanting bank import automation, receipt capture bundled in, the first-10-transaction fee waiver, or online payments/payroll access. AI: no separate AI add-on price found; automatic bank import, transaction categorization, and unlimited receipt capture are bundled into Pro. Receipt scanning alone is also available standalone on Starter at $8/month or $72/year for those who don't want the full Pro upgrade. [VENDOR] |
Figures are aggregated from vendor pricing pages and independent third-party review research, verified October 3, 2026. Current promotional offers were checked where publicly displayed as of that date — see each vendor's cell for the verified offer status, since promotional terms can change without notice (Xero's own promo changed multiple times over the course of 2026 alone). Review sentiment for this report draws on G2 across all four tools, plus Capterra for FreshBooks specifically — it does not represent Trustpilot or Reddit consensus, which were not gathered for this report. No "Best value" badge is assigned in this report: the four tools have materially different user/capacity models (per-user fees vs. unlimited users, different invoice/client caps), and a price-only badge would misrepresent that. Confirm current pricing directly with each vendor before purchasing. This is not a recommendation to buy any specific product.
Price increase (Xero, Oct 1, 2026): Xero's US standard monthly prices increased across all three tiers — Early $25→$27, Growing $55→$59, Established $90→$97 — effective October 1, 2026, applying to new and existing US subscribers. This is a confirmed vendor price change, not a promotional fluctuation.
Promotional-price caution: FreshBooks remains the clearest example of a current-page/offer-terms mismatch — its pricing page still displays "90% off for 3 months" while FreshBooks' own formal offer terms previously stated that specific promotion ended August 18, 2026. As of this recheck the page still shows 90% off, so the conflict persists rather than being resolved either way. This report does not treat that displayed promo as a verified active offer. Always check a vendor's offer terms page, not just the headline price, before assuming a promo is still running.
Tier structure: QuickBooks Online — Simple Start ($38) / Essentials ($85) / Plus ($140, 5 users — not previously priced in this report) / Advanced ($340). Xero — Early / Growing / Established. FreshBooks — Lite / Plus / Premium / Select (Contact Sales). Wave — Starter (free) / Pro; no separate public mid or top tier beyond Pro. [VENDOR]
Sources checked
FAQ
Common questions
Did Xero's prices change recently?
Yes — Xero raised its US standard monthly prices across all three tiers effective October 1, 2026: Early went from $25 to $27, Growing from $55 to $59, and Established from $90 to $97. This applies to both new and existing US subscribers.
Does QuickBooks Online have a Plus tier between Essentials and Advanced?
Yes — QuickBooks Online Plus sits between Essentials ($85/month, 3 users) and Advanced ($340/month, 25 users), priced at $140/month for 5 users. It adds inventory tracking, project profitability, and budgeting on top of Essentials' features.
Is Wave really free for core bookkeeping?
Yes — Wave's Starter plan is $0 on an ongoing basis and includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records with unlimited users. The real cost for most users comes from payment processing fees (2.9% + $0.60 per Visa/Mastercard/Discover transaction), not the subscription itself.
Does FreshBooks charge extra for additional team members?
Yes — every FreshBooks plan includes only 1 user by default. Additional Team Members cost $11/month each, so a 5-person team on the $23/month Lite plan would actually cost about $67/month ($23 + 4 × $11).
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