QuickBooks alternatives for small business: cheaper and free options

QuickBooks Online is often the default choice, until the promotional price ends and the renewal shows the regular monthly cost. The best QuickBooks alternatives for small business depend on why you want to leave: Zoho Books or Wave if price is the problem, Xero if you want full accounting for less, and Sage Accounting or Xero if you are in the UK and want payroll included. Your country matters as much as the tool, because each vendor sets different plans and prices in each market.

Every price below names the country it was checked for, on 6 October 2026, and links to the vendor page in the sources list. We do not mix prices from different countries in one comparison, and we quote regular prices, not the first-months promotions most vendors were running.

QuickBooks alternatives for small business at a glance

Xero, Zoho Books and Wave all cost less than QuickBooks Online on their US pages, and Zoho Books and Wave have free plans to compare with QuickBooks Free. Sage Accounting is a UK and Canadian option; in the US, Sage sells Sage 50 instead, which costs more than QuickBooks Simple Start.

Tool	Best for	Free plan (US page)	Entry paid plan (US, regular)	Payroll	Watch out for
QuickBooks Online	Businesses whose accountant uses it	Yes: 1 user; 2 invoices/month, or unlimited with qualifying enabled Payments	Simple Start US$38 a month, 1 user	Add-on or bundle	3 users needs Essentials at US$85
Xero	Full accounting for less	No	Early US$27 a month	Included in UK and Australian plans; Gusto add-on in the US	Early caps invoices at 20
Zoho Books	Several users on a small budget	Yes: revenue under US$50K	Standard US$15 a month billed annually, 3 users	Zoho Payroll, US price not shown	Pick your country edition
Wave	Simple invoicing and bookkeeping in the US or Canada	Yes: unlimited invoices	Pro US$19 a month	US and Canada, not Quebec	US and Canada only
Sage Accounting	UK businesses with 1 to 5 employees	Not on US page	Not on US page	Included in UK plans	In the US, look at Sage 50

How do you choose the right QuickBooks alternative?

Start with your reason for leaving, then check that the tool works in your country. Cost-driven switchers usually save most with Zoho Books or Wave. Teams that want accounting depth at a lower price usually compare Xero. UK businesses with a few employees should price Sage and Xero with payroll included.

Use these decision rules:

• Revenue under US$50K a year and fewer than 1,000 invoices: try Zoho Books Free.
• US or Canadian business that wants free invoicing and bookkeeping: try Wave Starter.
• You need 3 users on a budget: Zoho Books Standard lists 3 users. QuickBooks needs Essentials for 3 users.
• You send more than 20 invoices a month and want Xero: skip Early and price Growing.
• UK business with 1 to 5 employees: price Sage Accounting and Xero Grow or Comprehensive, which include payroll.
• Your accountant works only in QuickBooks: ask them first. A cheaper tool that adds hours to your accountant’s bill is not cheaper.

Which accounting software is cheaper than QuickBooks?

On the US pricing pages, Zoho Books, Wave and Xero all start below QuickBooks Simple Start’s US$38 a month regular price. The bigger gap appears at 3 users, where QuickBooks needs Essentials at US$85 a month while Zoho Books Standard covers 3 users for US$15 a month billed annually.

Tool (US page)	Entry paid plan	Mid plan	Higher plan
QuickBooks Online	Simple Start US$38 (1 user)	Essentials US$85 (3 users)	Plus US$140 (5 users), Advanced US$340 (25 users)
Xero	Early US$27 (20 invoices)	Growing US$59 (unlimited invoices)	Established US$97 (multi-currency, projects)
Zoho Books	Standard US$15 annual or US$20 monthly (3 users)	Professional US$40 annual or US$50 monthly (5 users)	Higher plans on the Zoho page
Wave	Pro US$19 a month or US$190 a year	Not applicable	Not applicable
Sage 50 (Sage’s US product)	Pro Accounting US$132.17 a month, 1 user, one-year commitment	Higher plans on the Sage page	Higher plans on the Sage page

QuickBooks showed 50% off for the first 3 months and Xero 80% off for the first 3 months when we checked. Budget for the regular price, because that is what you pay from month four.

A worked cost example

Example only, US prices, regular rates. A 3-person cleaning business wants three logins and payroll for 3 employees.

• QuickBooks: the Workforce Payroll + Essentials bundle at US$125 a month plus US$6.50 per employee, so US$144.50 a month.
• Xero: Growing at US$59 plus Gusto payroll at US$36 plus US$6 per person, so US$113 a month. Confirm user access, which the US page did not detail.
• Wave: Pro at US$19 plus payroll at US$40 plus US$6 per employee, so US$77 a month. Confirm how many people Pro’s multi-user access allows.
• Zoho Books: Standard at US$15 (annual billing) covers 3 users. Zoho Payroll’s US price was not on the page we read, so get a quote.

Over a year, the gap between QuickBooks and Wave in this example is about US$800. That is real money, but weigh it against the hours a switch takes and any extra your accountant charges.

Are there free QuickBooks alternatives?

Yes. Zoho Books and Wave both have free plans to compare with QuickBooks Free, whose base allowance is 2 invoices a month; qualified users enabling QuickBooks Payments can have unlimited invoices. Zoho Books Free is limited by revenue and volume. Wave Starter is limited mainly by automation features and by country.

• Zoho Books Free (US page): annual revenue under US$50K, 1 user plus 1 accountant, 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year, email support.
• Wave Starter: unlimited invoices, estimates and bills. Recurring billing, bank import and automatic reminders are listed with Pro.

Free plans still carry payment fees. Wave lists 2.9% plus US$0.60 per card payment on Starter. If you take most payments by card, compare these fees before you compare subscriptions.

Which QuickBooks alternatives include payroll?

Payroll depends more on your country than on your accounting tool. In the UK and Australia, Xero includes payroll for a set number of people, and Sage Accounting UK includes it too. In the US, every option sells payroll as a separate charge. Check your row before comparing anything else.

Tool	US	UK	Canada	Australia
QuickBooks	Bundles from US$88 + US$6.50 per employee	Add-on, price loaded live	Add-on, price not listed	Not checked
Xero	Gusto add-on: US$36 + US$6 per person	Included: 1 person (Grow), 5 (Comprehensive), 10 (Ultimate)	Add-ons only	Included: 2, 5 or 10 people by plan
Zoho Books	Zoho Payroll (price not shown)	Not checked	Zoho Payroll listed	Not checked
Wave	US$40 + US$6 per employee	Not offered	CA$25 + CA$6 per employee, not Quebec	Not offered
Sage Accounting	Not offered on US page	Included: 1 employee (Start, Standard), 5 (Plus), then £1.85 each	Extension, price not listed	Not checked

What are the best QuickBooks alternatives in Canada?

Canadian buyers can compare Xero, Sage Accounting and Wave on published Canadian prices. QuickBooks Canada showed only its Lite plan price ($20 crossed out to $2 as a promotion, currency not labelled) in the content we could read, so get its other prices from the page directly.

• Xero Canada: Starter CA$25 (20 invoices and quotes, 5 bills), Standard CA$60, Premium CA$80 with multi-currency. 30-day free trial.
• Sage Accounting Canada: Start CA$23 (1 user), Standard CA$50 and Plus CA$72, both with unlimited users. 30-day free trial.
• Wave: Starter free, Pro CA$25 a month or CA$250 a year, payroll in every province and territory except Quebec.
• Zoho Books: we checked only the US edition. Check the Canadian edition’s prices before comparing.

QuickBooks vs Xero: which should you pick?

Pick Xero if you want full cloud accounting at a lower monthly price and send more than 20 invoices a month (so Growing, not Early). Stay with QuickBooks if you need inventory and project profitability on one plan, or if your accountant works mainly in QuickBooks. In the UK and Australia, Xero’s included payroll often decides it.

US plan facts	QuickBooks Online	Xero
Regular prices	US$38, US$85, US$140, US$340	US$27, US$59, US$97
Users	1, 3, 5 or 25, plus accountant access	“No per-user license fees”; counts per plan not listed
Invoice limit on entry plan	None stated on Simple Start	20 invoices on Early
Multi-currency	Check the QuickBooks page for your plan	Established plan
Projects	Project profitability on Plus	Time and cost tracking on Established
Inventory	Listed on Plus	Check Xero’s feature pages
Payroll	QuickBooks Payroll bundles	Gusto add-on, US$36 + US$6 per person

The cost gap is widest in the middle. For 3 people, QuickBooks Essentials is US$85 a month against Xero Growing at US$59, a difference of US$312 a year at regular prices.

How do the other alternatives compare with QuickBooks?

Each other head-to-head comes down to one trade-off.

• QuickBooks vs Zoho Books: Zoho Books gives more users for less, with 3 users on Standard at US$15 a month billed annually. Its free plan also allows far more invoices. The catch is that payroll pricing and some features vary by country edition.
• QuickBooks vs Wave: Wave is the low-cost choice for US and Canadian businesses, free to start and US$19 a month for Pro. QuickBooks offers more plan levels, inventory on Plus and plans in more countries.
• QuickBooks vs Sage: in the UK, Sage Accounting includes payroll for at least 1 employee. In the US, the comparison is with Sage 50, which starts at US$132.17 a month for 1 user with a one-year commitment, so it is not the cheaper route there.

Can you move your QuickBooks data to another tool?

Yes, but plan it as a project, not a button click. Zoho Books documents importing your chart of accounts, contacts, items, opening balances, invoices, bills and payments from QuickBooks Online report exports. For Xero, the App Store lists a third-party service, Migrate from QBO by MMC Convert, which shows its price only when you choose a plan.

Wave’s pricing pages did not describe a QuickBooks import, so ask Wave support what moves before you commit. Whichever tool you pick, follow these steps:

1. Pick a clean start date, ideally the start of a month, quarter or financial year.
2. Export from QuickBooks: chart of accounts, customers, suppliers, items, open invoices and bills, and a trial balance at your start date.
3. Price your real setup in the new tool: users, employees and your country.
4. Reconcile a test copy against the original bank and receivables balances. Choose one live system for issuing invoices and taking payments so customers do not receive duplicates.
5. Keep QuickBooks read access until your accountant confirms the opening balances.

Who should stay on QuickBooks?

Stay if your accountant works mainly in QuickBooks, if you rely on inventory or project profitability (listed on Plus), or if you use QuickBooks payroll and are happy with it. Also stay if you are mid-way through a financial year with a tax deadline coming. A cheaper subscription will not cover the cost of messy books after a rushed move.

What to do next

Work through our guide to choosing invoicing software and the software buying checklist before you start a trial. The profiles for Xero, Zoho Books, Wave, Sage Accounting and QuickBooks Online summarize each vendor’s sourced plans.

The outbound vendor links on this page are ordinary links. YourTechAI has no affiliate relationship with any vendor mentioned here.

Choosing accounting software before choosing an alternative

If you are not already using QuickBooks, start with our small business accounting software comparison. It compares Zoho Books, Wave, Xero, FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online by bookkeeping, billing, team and country requirements. This article addresses the separate question of replacing an existing QuickBooks workflow.