The industry standard for small business accounting — powerful, accountant-friendly, but no free tier. Here's what it really costs and the free alternatives.
By Bookkeeping Reviews · Published 2026-08-24 · 9 min read
QuickBooks Online is the industry standard for small business accounting — the most widely used, most feature-complete option, but it has no free tier. Pricing in 2026 runs roughly $30/month (Simple Start), $60-90 for higher plans depending on features. It's powerful: bank feeds, invoicing, inventory, payroll and project tracking. If you need the standard that accountants expect, QuickBooks is the safe pick — but you pay for it. For zero cost, Wave handles invoicing and bookkeeping free, and FreshBooks/Xero are strong rivals.
QuickBooks Online is Intuit's cloud accounting product — the default choice for millions of small businesses. It covers invoicing, expense tracking, bank feeds, inventory, payroll, project profitability and tax-ready reports, with a huge ecosystem of integrations and accountants who already know it.
Simple Start: ~$30/month — income & expenses, invoicing, tax deductions
Essentials: ~$60-65/month — adds bill management and time tracking for up to 3 users
Plus: ~$90/month — adds inventory and project profitability (up to 5 users)
Advanced: ~$200+/month — business analytics, dedicated account team
Prices vary by region and promotions — confirm on quickbooks.intuit.com before subscribing.
No. QuickBooks Online has no free tier — only a free trial (typically 30 days), after which you pay from ~$30/month. This is the main reason free tools like Wave are so popular.
Best for: completely free bookkeeping (our review)
Best for: clean cloud rival (our review)
Best for: invoicing + time tracking (our review)
Best for: free open-source desktop
Best for: free tier + growth path
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