8 Best QuickBooks Alternatives of 2024

on Xero's secure website

Starting at

$15/month

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

Promotion

75% off

for six months on Business Edition plans.

Xero allows unlimited users at every subscription tier, a valuable feature for businesses where several users may need at least limited access to the system to run reports or analyze performance. In terms of functionality and features, Xero is one of QuickBooks Online’s biggest competitors and has a more customizable dashboard that lets each user rearrange or hide panels.

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

4.5

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).

FreshBooks is a simple and affordable option for freelancers and very small businesses that don’t require many users and prioritize being able to operate on the go via mobile app. It’s an especially inexpensive choice for those who can work within lower-tier plans’ billable client limits, and all plans include time tracking.

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

Zoho suite integrations

Zoho Books

4.5

on Zoho Books' secure website

Starting at

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

Promotion

14-day free trial

of the Premium plan.

Zoho Books packs an impressive collection of features and capabilities for an affordable price, and higher-tier plans let users automate workflows and track project profitability. It’s an especially good choice for users that already use the company’s other in-house apps.

Pros

Less expensive than some competitors; free plan available for businesses with less than $50k in annual revenue.
Email support in free plan; 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 solution

Sage 50 Accounting

3.5

on Sage 50 Accounting's secure website

Starting at

$59/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $101.92, $172.

Promotion

Discount for the first year

(terms vary).

Sage 50 Accounting is a desktop product that has to be locally installed, but 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 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, retail and professional services businesses.
Phone and chat support, plus a dedicated account representative in all plans.

Cons

Lowest-tier plan doesn’t include audit trails.

Our pick for

Free QuickBooks alternative

Wave Accounting

3.5

Read Review

Starting at

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $16

Promotion

N/A

Wave’s free accounting software lets you create unlimited invoices and bills, manually enter bank transactions and run reports. Although the free plan can be a simple solution for small, service-based businesses, Wave’s paid Pro plan offers a wider range of features like the ability to add additional users, automatically import bank records and auto-categorize transactions.

Pros

Free plan available.
Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.

Cons

Lacks features that quickly growing companies need, like audit trails.
Must subscribe to Wave’s Pro plan or other 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

Enterprise solution

NetSuite

Starting at

N/A

Quote-based.

Promotion

N/A

Business owners that foresee extreme growth, like global expansion, may consider a cloud-based enterprise resource planning product like NetSuite, as opposed to accounting software intended only for small businesses. Clients can customize their plans with add-on modules and additional users.

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

Industry-specific plans

Striven

3.5

NerdWallet rating

on Striven's secure website

Starting at

$35/month

Per user. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $70.

Promotion

7-day free trial

QuickBooks supports a large variety of industries, but if you’re looking for a product that’s more specific to yours, Striven is worth considering. The company offers different editions of its accounting software for professional services, manufacturing, property management, retail, consulting, law offices and nonprofits, among other industries.

Pros

Offers industry-specific features for consulting businesses, nonprofits, manufacturing companies, professional services and more.
Tools to ensure tax compliance.
Other features include inventory tracking, reporting, invoicing, project management tools and the ability to categorize transactions using classes.
Customer support available by phone and live chat.

Cons

Monthly costs could add up quickly if you require multiple users.
No mobile app.
Limited third-party integrations available; no POS or payroll integrations.

Our pick for

Invoicing-only solution

Square Invoices

5.0

on Square Invoices' secure website

Starting at

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20.

Promotion

30-day free trial

of the Plus plan.

If you’re looking for a product that’s much simpler than QuickBooks and you typically accept transactions via invoice, you might weigh Square Invoices. It doesn’t have all of the accounting bells and whistles that QuickBooks does, but if you don’t need them, Square Invoices can likely save you money. Its free plan includes unlimited invoicing, contracts and estimates.

Pros

Unlimited invoicing, estimates, contracts, users and clients in all plans.
Integrates with Square’s all-in-one payment platform.
Streamlined and intuitive.
Ability to process in-person and online card payments as well as cash, checks, ACH transfers, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Send recurring invoices.
Automatic payment reminders.
Gives clients the option to include a tip.

Cons

Must use Square’s in-house payment processing to accept online payments.
Free plan does not enable custom invoicing fields and the ability to auto-convert estimates into invoices.