The Best QuickBooks Alternatives for Accounting 2024 – Top 5 Compared

• Intuitive dashboard: The FreshBooks user friendly interface is clear and minimalistic without sacrificing any capabilities. If you found QuickBooks too complex, it’d be ideal for you.
• Automation: You can automate invoices, reminders, and bank imports in every plan. Many alternatives don’t introduce robust automation tools until the higher tiers.
• Customer portal: Service-based companies will appreciate the comprehensive portal feature. Clients can log in for free and comment on all relevant accounting documents for more seamless communication.
• Time tracker: Unlike many solutions, FreshBooks includes robust time tracking tools from its lowest tier. You can record hours for different projects, clients, and even apps.
• Payment processing: You can filter payments by client, amount, or method to search your database quickly. It’s also possible to implement automatic payment reminders.

FreshBooks has four monthly plans, all aimed at different-sized businesses. The payroll feature can be added to any plan, and it starts at $40 plus $6 per employee per month.

Lite – Designed for freelancers, the plan offers basic invoicing, expenses, and advanced payment management. You can also generate a range of different reports.

Plus – You can find more features for client management in the Plus plan like unlimited estimates and proposals. There’s also the option to add your accountant as a user.

Premium – The Premium plan gives you unlimited clients. You gain profitability tracking and email management tools to help you deal with a larger, more complex customer base.

Select – Aimed at businesses with employees, the Select plan gives you a dedicated account manager and access to advanced payments. You also get a lower rate on payment transfers.

Although the starting cost isn’t the lowest on our list, FreshBooks remains a cheaper alternative to QuickBooks. The platform also offers generous introductory offers to new users, for example, 50% off for the first six months.

Small, service-based businesses can benefit from FreshBooks’ focus on basic accounting, reporting, and client management features. The platform includes many specialized tools like retainers and customizable invoices so you can offer patrons a seamless service.

• Customization options: You can configure many of the accounting and reporting features on Zoho. For example, the receipt feature lets you choose the color, font, and format.
• Mobile app: The Zoho mobile app shares most of the capabilities of the dashboard version. Many alternatives only provide an employee app.
• Inventory management: In the highest tier, you can access all the inventory and shipment management tools you need to manage your online store’s books. This makes it an ideal alternative to FreshBooks, which has limited ecommerce capabilities.
• Multi-currency support: Zoho not only supports different currencies but lets you assign them to clients. That means you save time selecting this option each time you issue an invoice.
• Team collaboration: You can work alongside other users through a variety of communication channels.
• Client portal: Zoho Books has a separate portal for customers to review invoices and quotes, leave feedback, digitally sign documents, and make bulk payments—something platforms like QuickBooks and Xero don’t offer. If you’re feeling a little creative, you can repurpose this feature to manage your vendor payments and invoicing as well.

Zoho has six pricing plans to choose from including a free version. You can add more users for $2.50 per person monthly or 50 autoscans for $8 monthly. These extras involve an annual commitment.

Free – You can access all the essential accounting features like invoicing and expense tracking for free. Unlike the other plans, you can’t add extra users.

Standard – This plan has more advanced accounting tools and support options. You can also invite two team members.

Professional – The Professional plan allows up to five users. You can access more reporting and tracking tools to manage your business as it grows more complex.

Premium – Aimed at streamlining processes, the Premium plan includes more customization features so you can tailor the tools to your unique workflow. The user limit jumps to ten people.

Elite – The main feature of the Elite plan is the extra inventory tools like warehouse management and batch tracking. It’s best for shops and ecommerce stores.

Ultimate – Although the Ultimate plan is double the cost of Elite, it includes many more advanced data analytics and performance management tools. The user limit also rises to 15 people.

Zoho isn’t just a free QuickBooks alternative but also has the most comprehensive no-cost plan of any solution we’ve reviewed. However, it also differentiates itself with its flexible pricing structure and low fees.

Zoho is ideal for small online stores with a growing customer base. The choice of plans and lack of annual commitment means you can choose the fees that suit your current budget as sales fluctuate. There’s also support for inventory tracking and ecommerce integrations.

• App marketplace: Like QuickBooks, Xero connects with a range of different apps and plug-ins. You can build the exact tech stack your business needs.
• Payroll: If you’re looking for a QuickBooks alternative with payroll, Xero has a native solution starting from $29 monthly. You can calculate wages and withholdings and then easily transfer the data to the accounting software.
• Powerful analytics: Xero’s standout feature is its analytics tool with predictive capabilities. We appreciate how it’s an add-on so simple businesses aren’t burdened with the extra complexity until they’re ready.
• Reporting: Xero has an unrivaled level of customization options for different financial reports. You can create them from scratch or edit best-practice templates.

You can only find three monthly plans on Xero’s platform. However, there are optional add-ons to give you more flexibility over the features you pick.

Starter – The lowest tier allows you to access invoicing, billing, reporting, recurring invoices, and bank reconciliation tools. You can use the Hubdoc integration to capture receipts and bills.

Standard – If you upgrade, you can access bulk reconciliations. The tool suggests matches between fields to save you time.

Premium – Designed for global businesses, the Premium plan offers currency support and exchange rates. You can switch between local and foreign reporting to check financial performance.

Xero may not have the lowest starting price, but it offers competitive fees with consistent increases. You can also benefit from their frequent discounts and offers.

Small to medium businesses with clients or customers abroad will enjoy Xero’s affordable pricing, robust analytics, and international support. As you diversify your revenue abroad, the configurable reporting tools ensure you don’t lose track of your finances.

• User permissions: Wave allows you to add unlimited users and assign them different user controls. You can facilitate collaboration without exposing your business to risk.
• Payroll: One of Wave’s standout features is its native payroll. Alternatives don’t always offer a built-in feature to let you manage the data in one place.
• Bookkeeping service: Wave is one of the few solutions to offer bookkeeping services as part of the accounting bundle. The starting price is also much lower than alternatives like QuickBooks.
• Online payments: You can allow clients to pay you through a feature on the Wave invoices. As you only pay per transfer, you can tailor costs to your budget.

There are two Wave plans with the option to add Payroll for $20 monthly and a bookkeeping service starting from $149 monthly.

Starter – The free plan provides unlimited invoicing, estimates, bills, and records. Users can also download the Wave mobile app for free.

Pro – If you switch to the paid plan, you get more advanced bookkeeping features like bank imports and categorization.

Wave doesn’t offer you a wide choice of plans. However, the fees are lower than most alternatives, and the payroll and bookkeeping add-ons are competitively priced.

Startups may find QuickBooks pricing is outside their budget. Wave is an ideal alternative with a free plan and per-transaction pricing so you can control your costs.

• Multi-location support: If you have operations in different countries, Sage can help you maintain compliance with the different tax requirements. Most small to medium business solutions just cover the US and Canada.
• Industry-specific support: Sage helps specific types of companies maintain tax compliance. For instance, they have accounting programs for churches and non-profits.
• Currency support: Like Xero, you can manage invoicing in different currencies and track exchange rates. You can also set foreign prices on your inventory.
• Robust reporting: You can get instant insights into your financial performance to help you make decisions. Sage also has predictive analytics to forecast needs and challenges.
• Automation: Sages lets you set rules and triggers across different entities. That means you can open new divisions and keep processes consistent.

Sage has custom pricing based on your exact business needs. You have to contact the customer support team to get a quote.

Sage accounting is part of a larger ecosystem, making it ideal for larger businesses with more extensive needs. The platform offers a range of HR, workforce management, and CRM tools.