---
title: "QuickBooks alternatives in 2026: 8 options, real prices"
url: "https://conecto.chat/guides/quickbooks-alternatives"
description: "Eight alternatives to QuickBooks Online, prices read November 10, 2026. Three have a free plan, paid plans run $19 to $65 a month and one charges per entry."
author: "Vadim Dunaevskiy"
author_url: "https://conecto.chat/guides/authors/vadim-dunaevskiy"
publisher: "Conecto"
published: 2026-11-10
updated: 2026-11-10
sources_checked: 2026-11-10
standards: "https://conecto.chat/guides/standards"
---

# QuickBooks alternatives in 2026: eight options and what they cost

QuickBooks Online starts at $38 a month for one user. Seven of the eight alternatives below cost less to start: Wave and Zoho Books have free plans, Kick is free for a very small business, and paid plans at Wave, Zoho Books, FreshBooks, Xero and Puzzle run from $19 to $30 a month. We read each price on the vendor's own page on November 10, 2026.

Give this to your agent: `Set up Conecto from https://conecto.chat/SKILL.md, then keep our books and match our bank statements.`

## The alternatives at a glance

| Software | Free plan | Paid plans start at | What the entry plan covers |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| QuickBooks Online | No | $38 a month | One user, with expense categorizing[[1]](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/) |
| Wave | Yes | $19 a month | Unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records on the free plan[[2]](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing) |
| Zoho Books | Yes | $20 a month, or $15 billed annually | Invoices, expenses, bank reconciliation and 50+ reports for one user on the free plan[[3]](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/) |
| FreshBooks | No | $23 a month | Invoices to five clients, expenses and estimates[[4]](https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing) |
| Xero | No | $27 a month | Quotes, 20 invoices, 5 bills and bank reconciliation[[5]](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/) |
| Puzzle | No | $30 a month | One seat, with most transactions categorized automatically[[6]](https://puzzle.io/pricing) |
| Kick | Yes, to 250 transactions a year | $40 a month | Automatic categorizing, receipt matching, profit and loss[[7]](https://www.kick.co/pricing) |
| Digits | No | $65 a month | A plan for solo owners and early-stage businesses[[8]](https://digits.com/pricing/) |
| Conecto (ours) | $1.00 of credit | No plan, pay per entry | Books your AI agent keeps, at $0.01 a booking[[9]](https://conecto.chat/tools/books) |

Several vendors discount the first months. QuickBooks takes 50 percent off for three months, Xero charges $5.40 a month for the first three months of its $27 plan, and FreshBooks takes 80 percent off for four months.[[1]](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)[[5]](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)[[4]](https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing) The table shows the regular prices.

## What QuickBooks Online costs

QuickBooks Online's Simple Start plan costs $38 a month and covers one user, with access for two accountants. The next plan up costs $85 a month and covers three users. Its plans list AI features that categorize expenses and clean up the books.[[1]](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)

So the question for most small businesses is whether an alternative does what they need for less than $38 a month. Seven of the eight below can.

## Wave

Wave's Starter plan is free. It includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, and you pay only when a customer pays you by card, at 2.9 percent plus $0.60. The Pro plan costs $19 a month, or $190 a year, and adds automatic import and categorizing of bank transactions and unlimited receipt capture.[[2]](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing)

**Good for:** a freelancer or a new business that sends invoices and wants the books kept without a monthly bill.

## Zoho Books

Zoho Books has a free plan for one user and one accountant, with invoices, expenses, bank reconciliation, recurring invoices and more than 50 reports. Standard costs $20 a month, or $15 billed annually, for three users, and adds bank feeds, period locking, custom reports and API access. Professional costs $50 a month, or $40 billed annually.[[3]](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)

**Good for:** a small business that wants a free start and room to grow into paid plans.

## FreshBooks

FreshBooks Lite costs $23 a month and sends invoices to five clients, with expense tracking, estimates and tax-time reports. Plus costs $43 a month and raises that to 50 clients. Extra team members cost $11 a month each.[[4]](https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing)

**Good for:** a service business with a handful of clients that bills by invoice. The limit on clients is the thing to check.

## Xero

Xero's Early plan costs $27 a month and includes quotes, 20 invoices, 5 bills and bank reconciliation. Growing costs $59 and Established $97.[[5]](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/) Xero also publishes an MCP server on GitHub, so an AI agent can work in a Xero account.[[11]](https://github.com/XeroAPI/xero-mcp-server) [The best MCP servers for small business](https://conecto.chat/guides/best-mcp-servers-for-small-business) covers it.

**Good for:** a business that wants a full accounting system and an accountant who already knows it.

## Puzzle

On Puzzle you close the books and the AI does the categorizing, reconciling and drafting. The Starter plan costs $30 a month for one seat and lists 85 to 90 percent of transactions categorized automatically, with drafted financial statements and both cash and accrual books.[[6]](https://puzzle.io/pricing)

**Good for:** a founder who keeps their own books and wants software to do the sorting.

## Kick

Kick is free for up to 250 categorized transactions a year, with automatic categorizing, receipt matching, a profit and loss and a balance sheet. Basic costs $40 a month, shown as $480 billed annually, removes the limit and adds reconciliation, a statement importer and access for ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor through MCP.[[7]](https://www.kick.co/pricing)

**Good for:** a sole proprietor with few transactions, or one who wants their own AI agent to read the books.

## Digits

Digits starts at $65 a month for Essentials, which it describes as for solo owners and early-stage businesses. Core costs $100 a month and Pro $250.[[8]](https://digits.com/pricing/)

**Good for:** a growing company that wants more reporting. It is the one option here that costs more than QuickBooks to start.

## Conecto

Conecto is our product, and it is a different kind of thing. It has no app for you to work in. It gives your AI agent, such as Claude or ChatGPT, double-entry books to keep: the agent imports a bank statement, matches each line, books expenses and pulls reports when you ask. Importing and reports are free, each booking costs $0.01 and each matched bank line $0.02.[[9]](https://conecto.chat/tools/books) A month of 40 invoices and 300 bank lines comes to $10.40, with invoices at $0.01 to create and $0.10 to send.[[10]](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices)

Two limits to know. Bank statements come in as files, in CSV, CAMT.053 or OFX, and there is no live bank feed.[[9]](https://conecto.chat/tools/books) And Conecto files no tax return: your adviser gets an export.[[9]](https://conecto.chat/tools/books) [AI bookkeeping](https://conecto.chat/solutions/ai-bookkeeping) shows the tools, and [our two-month test](https://conecto.chat/guides/ai-bookkeeping) shows what the work looks like.

**Good for:** a business that already works with an AI agent every day. If you want to click through the books yourself, pick one of the seven apps above.

## How to choose

- **You want to pay nothing:** Wave, or Zoho Books for one user.
- **You bill a few clients by invoice:** FreshBooks Lite, as long as five clients is enough.
- **You want the system most accountants know after QuickBooks:** Xero.
- **You keep your own books and want AI to sort them:** Puzzle or Kick.
- **Your AI agent should keep the books:** Kick's MCP access, Xero's MCP server, or Conecto.

Before you switch, ask your accountant which systems they work in, and check how each one imports your QuickBooks history.

## How we compared them

We read each vendor's pricing page on November 10, 2026, in US dollars, at regular monthly prices with first-month discounts left out. The table lists each vendor's cheapest paid plan and what that page says it includes. We compared prices and listed features. We did not migrate a set of books into each one, so this guide doesn't judge how easy each is to use.

## Questions

### What is the best alternative to QuickBooks?

It depends on what you need. Wave and Zoho Books are the alternatives with a free plan, Xero is the closest full accounting system at $27 a month, and FreshBooks at $23 suits a business that mainly sends invoices.[[2]](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing)[[3]](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)[[5]](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)[[4]](https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing)

### Is there a free alternative to QuickBooks?

Yes. Wave's Starter plan is free with unlimited invoices and bookkeeping records, and Zoho Books has a free plan for one user.[[2]](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing)[[3]](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/) Kick is free for up to 250 transactions a year.[[7]](https://www.kick.co/pricing)

### What is cheaper than QuickBooks Online?

QuickBooks Online starts at $38 a month.[[1]](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/) Wave Pro at $19, Zoho Books Standard at $20, FreshBooks Lite at $23, Xero Early at $27 and Puzzle Starter at $30 all cost less.[[2]](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing)[[3]](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)[[4]](https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing)[[5]](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)[[6]](https://puzzle.io/pricing)

### Is Xero cheaper than QuickBooks?

At the entry level, yes. Xero Early costs $27 a month and QuickBooks Simple Start $38.[[5]](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)[[1]](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/) Xero Early limits you to 20 invoices and 5 bills.[[5]](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)

### Which QuickBooks alternatives work with AI agents?

Kick lists MCP access with ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor on its Basic plan.[[7]](https://www.kick.co/pricing) Conecto is built for an agent to keep the books, priced per entry.[[9]](https://conecto.chat/tools/books)

This guide is general information, not accounting or tax advice for your business.

## Sources

We read these pages on November 10, 2026. Each number in the guide links to the page behind that sentence.

1. [QuickBooks Online pricing, Intuit](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
2. [Pricing, Wave](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing)
3. [Zoho Books pricing (US)](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)
4. [Pricing, FreshBooks](https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing)
5. [Xero pricing plans (US)](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)
6. [Puzzle pricing](https://puzzle.io/pricing)
7. [Kick pricing](https://www.kick.co/pricing)
8. [Digits pricing](https://digits.com/pricing/)
9. [Bookkeeping tools, Conecto](https://conecto.chat/tools/books)
10. [Invoice tools, Conecto](https://conecto.chat/tools/invoices)
11. [Xero MCP Server, Xero on GitHub](https://github.com/XeroAPI/xero-mcp-server)

Conecto publishes this guide and sells business tools for AI agents. [How we write our guides](https://conecto.chat/guides/standards.md). To report a mistake, write to hello@conecto.chat.

## More guides

- [What is an MCP server?](https://conecto.chat/guides/what-is-an-mcp-server.md): An MCP server gives an AI agent tools it can call, like a CRM, an inbox or a calendar. How MCP works, how to connect a server, and what to check first.
- [The best MCP servers for small business in 2026](https://conecto.chat/guides/best-mcp-servers-for-small-business.md): Eleven MCP servers a small business can connect to Claude or ChatGPT: payments, accounting, CRM, docs, tasks and support, checked on each vendor's docs.
- [Can ChatGPT and Claude send emails?](https://conecto.chat/guides/can-chatgpt-and-claude-send-emails.md): Claude sends Gmail after you approve it, and Outlook mail from work accounts. What ChatGPT's Gmail and Outlook apps can do, and how any agent can send safely.
- [Will AI replace bookkeepers and accountants?](https://conecto.chat/guides/will-ai-replace-bookkeepers.md): BLS projects bookkeeping clerk jobs to fall 6% by 2035 while accountant jobs grow 5%. What AI does in the books today, and what stays with people.
- [MCP vs API: what's the difference?](https://conecto.chat/guides/mcp-vs-api.md): A developer writes code against an API. An AI agent finds an MCP server's tools and calls them itself. How the two differ, fit together, and when to use each.
- [Zapier MCP alternatives in 2026](https://conecto.chat/guides/zapier-mcp-alternatives.md): Six ways to give Claude or ChatGPT actions in other apps: Composio, Pipedream, n8n, Make, Activepieces and Conecto, with prices read on their pages.
- [Claude connectors](https://conecto.chat/guides/claude-connectors.md): Claude connectors let Claude read and act in your apps. Where to find them, how to add a custom connector, what each plan allows, and what to check first.
- [ChatGPT connectors: apps, plugins and custom MCP servers](https://conecto.chat/guides/chatgpt-connectors.md): ChatGPT's connectors are now called apps. What they do, where to find them, how to add a custom MCP server on any plan, and how to connect a tool with no app.
- [AI bookkeeping: what it does, what it costs, and a two-month test](https://conecto.chat/guides/ai-bookkeeping.md): What AI bookkeeping does, what nine options cost (prices read November 4, 2026), and two months of a sample bike shop's bank lines booked by an AI agent.
- [What an answering service costs: 18 services billed for the same calls](https://conecto.chat/guides/answering-service-cost.md): We priced 18 live and AI answering services on the same 50, 150 and 400 calls a month. For 150 calls, live answering ran $309 to $1,725 and AI $79 to $270.
- [Composio alternatives in 2026](https://conecto.chat/guides/composio-alternatives.md): Seven Composio alternatives for giving an AI agent tools and sign-in: Nango, Arcade, Pipedream, Merge, Scalekit, Paragon and Zapier, priced from their pages.
- [The best Claude connectors in 2026, by job](https://conecto.chat/guides/best-claude-connectors.md): 23 Claude connectors for running a business, by job: email, files, CRM, payments, accounting, payroll, contracts and support, from Anthropic's own directory.
- [The best AI agents for small business in 2026](https://conecto.chat/guides/best-ai-agents-for-small-business.md): Nine AI agents a small business can use in 2026, by job: assistants, support, sales, online stores, the inbox and workflows, priced from each maker's page.
- [What an AI receptionist costs: 8 services billed for the same calls](https://conecto.chat/guides/ai-receptionist-cost.md): We priced 8 AI receptionists on the same 50 to 400 calls a month. For 150 calls the bills run from $79 to $270, against $4,525 for a receptionist on staff.
- [Remote MCP servers: what they are and how to connect one](https://conecto.chat/guides/remote-mcp-server.md): A remote MCP server runs at a web address, with nothing to install. How it differs from a local one, how to add one to Claude or ChatGPT, and seven to try.
- [Are MCP servers free? What each kind costs](https://conecto.chat/guides/are-mcp-servers-free.md): The MCP protocol is free and open source. Most vendors add no fee for their own server, connector platforms meter calls, and some servers charge per action.
- [The best AI receptionists in 2026, compared on the same calls](https://conecto.chat/guides/best-ai-receptionist.md): Eight AI receptionists compared on the same calls, from prices read November 10, 2026. Which one costs least at your volume, and what each is good for.
- [What a virtual receptionist costs: six services priced by the minute](https://conecto.chat/guides/virtual-receptionist-cost.md): Six virtual receptionist services priced for the same 50 to 500 minutes a month. A 100-minute month costs $159 to $415, or about $2.72 a minute at the median.
- [Zendesk MCP: the client, the server and what works today](https://conecto.chat/guides/zendesk-mcp.md): Zendesk's MCP client connects Zendesk to other servers. Its own server for your agent was announced for summer 2026. What works today and three ways around it.