QuickBooks
QuickBooks · Finance & Accounting
Small business accounting from Intuit, dominant in the US SMB market (~85% share). Distinctive for its accountant network — most US CPAs recommend it as the default, creating an ecosystem lock-in. QuickBooks Online priced $30-$200/mo across four tiers. Recent AI features add auto-categorization and cash flow forecasting. QuickBooks Desktop still exists for legacy users; new sign-ups pushed exclusively to Online. Real cost bloat comes from add-ons: Payroll, Payments, TSheets.
In other words, QuickBooks Online is worth it for US-based SMBs (1-50 employees) that need bookkeeping + invoicing + basic reports — the household-name accounting default with strong accountant ecosystem. Simple Start covers solo/small; Essentials adds bill pay and time tracking; Plus adds inventory and project profitability; Advanced adds custom permissions. Moderate learning curve; accountant partnership recommended. Native integrations with 750+ apps including Gusto, Shopify, Square. Downside: raised Simple Start ~8% Aug 2026 (AI-features justification), and international/multi-currency support lags Xero.
Pricing summary
$30/mo billed annually
Both
Main metered limit
2026-08-15 refresh: Intuit's announced increases are now IN EFFECT (renewals on/after Aug 1 2026; website list prices updated Aug 3 2026). Confirmed current US list: Simple Start $38 (UNCHANGED — Intuit explicitly excluded Simple Start, Ledger, Lite and Free from the increase), Essentials $85, Plus $140, Advanced $340. Advanced's +70% jump is partly bundling: Workforce Elite payroll (previously a $160-250/mo add-on) is now included. Intuit cites AI features (Continuously Clean Books, Invoicing on Autopilot, Conversational BI, Intuit Intelligence). Sources: quickbooks.intuit.com/r/product-update/quickbooks-price-changes/, firmofthefuture.com/product-update/quickbooks-price-changes/, certumsolutions.com/library/quickbooks-price-increase-august-2026. Resolves the 2026-07-29 source conflict — Intuit's own figure of $85 for Essentials is authoritative over third-party $75 claims. Annual-billing equivalents for Essentials/Plus/Advanced not published; left blank rather than guessed. Entry unchanged so no Up snapshot; Essentials/Plus/Advanced written as Stable baselines (first-ever snapshot for those tiers).
International or multi-currency? Pick Xero. Freelancer wanting invoicing-first? FreshBooks. Free option? Wave (US/CA only).
All plans
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Key limit |
|---|---|---|---|
Simple StartEntry tier | $38 | $30Save 21% | 1 user, income/expense tracking, invoicing (excluded from Aug 2026 increase) |
Essentials | $85 | — | 3 users, bill management, time tracking (was 75, raised Aug 1 2026) |
Plus | $140 | — | 5 users, inventory + project profitability (was 115, raised Aug 1 2026) |
Advanced | $340 | — | 25 users, now includes Workforce Elite payroll (was 275, raised Aug 1 2026) |
All tier prices verified August 23, 2026 · View source →
Price history
Price tracking is just getting started for QuickBooks. Full history will build as we log changes. See what we have so far →
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