Top Rated Accounting Software for Bookkeeping

Website: https://quickbooks.intuit.com

Best for: Small businesses that need a full general ledger

Starting price: $38 per month (Simple Start)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Automated bank feeds with automatic categorisation and matching; Invoicing with online payments, reminders and bill pay

Cons: Simple Start is limited to 1 user, so a second user forces a move to Essentials at $85; payroll is a separate add-on from $50 plus $7 per employee a month

QuickBooks Online is the most widely used accounting tool in this set, and its range runs from a free plan at $0 to Advanced at $340 per month. Simple Start costs $38 per month, Essentials $85, Plus $140 and Advanced $340 per month, billed monthly per company. New customers get 50% off for 3 months or a 30-day free trial, not both. The free plan covers 1 user, 2 invoices a month, 1 bank connection and the top 3 reports only. Automated bank feeds with automatic categorisation and matching, plus invoicing with online payments, reminders and bill pay, cover the daily bookkeeping work.

The user limit is the main cost driver. Simple Start is limited to 1 user, so a second user forces a move to Essentials at $85 per month. Payroll is a separate add-on from $50 plus $7 per employee a month, so a team that needs payroll should add that to the subscription price before it compares QuickBooks Online with the other tools here.

Website: https://www.xero.com

Best for: Small businesses that want unlimited users

Starting price: $27 per month (Early)

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Unlimited users on every plan with no per-user fee; Bank reconciliation with automatic transaction matching, plus Hubdoc receipt capture on Growing and above

Cons: Early is capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month, and multi-currency, projects and expense claims need Established at $97; payroll is a separate add-on

Xero is the only tool here with unlimited users on every plan and no per-user fee, which changes the maths for a growing team. Early costs $27 per month in the US, Growing $59 and Established $97 per month, billed monthly in USD before tax. Prices rose on 1 October 2026 from $25, $55 and $90, and new customers get 80% off for the first 3 months. Bank reconciliation with automatic transaction matching is the core strength, with Hubdoc receipt capture on Growing and above.

Early is capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month, so a business that sends more invoices must move to Growing at $59. Multi-currency, projects and expense claims need Established at $97, and payroll is a separate add-on at $36 a month plus $6 per person, through Gusto. The vendor pricing page did not render prices in the text fetch on 11 November 2026, so these figures come from October 2026 checks of the same page.

Website: https://www.freshbooks.com

Best for: Freelancers and service businesses that live on invoicing

Starting price: $23 per month (Lite)

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Unlimited invoices, estimates, time tracking and expenses from Lite, with automated bank import and mileage tracking; Proposals, retainers and double-entry reports from Plus

Cons: Lite is limited to 5 billable clients and has no double-entry reports, bank reconciliation or accountant access; each extra team member costs $11 a month

FreshBooks is built for freelancers and service businesses that live on invoicing. Lite costs $23 per month, Plus $43 and Premium $70 per month on monthly billing, with annual billing 10% off, and Select on quote only. Lite includes unlimited invoices, estimates, time tracking and expenses, with automated bank import and mileage tracking, while Plus adds proposals, retainers and double-entry reports. A 30-day free trial is offered.

Lite is limited to 5 billable clients and has no double-entry reports, bank reconciliation or accountant access, so a freelancer with more than 5 clients must move to Plus at $43. Each extra team member costs $11 a month, and payroll is an extra-cost add-on at $40 a month plus $6 per user.

Website: https://www.waveapps.com

Best for: Freelancers who need free invoicing and bookkeeping

Starting price: $19 per month (Pro)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Genuinely free double-entry bookkeeping and unlimited invoicing on Starter; Pro adds automatic bank import, unlimited receipt capture and late-payment reminders

Cons: No inventory, no time tracking and no project costing at any price; automatic bank import and receipt capture are not on Starter

Wave is the only tool here with a genuinely free double-entry ledger. Starter costs $0 per month, with unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, mobile invoicing and a cash-flow dashboard. Pro costs $19 per month or $190 per year, per business rather than per user, and adds automatic bank import with auto-merge and categorisation, unlimited receipt capture and automated late-payment reminders.

The limits are the missing features. Wave has no inventory, no time tracking and no project costing at any price, so a business that needs those must look elsewhere. Automatic bank import and receipt capture are not on Starter, and card payments cost 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction on Starter, with Pro waiving the $0.60 only on the first 10 card payments a month.

Website: https://www.zoho.com/books/

Best for: Very small businesses that want a free ledger

Starting price: $15 per month (Standard, billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Full double-entry accounting with bank reconciliation, recurring invoices and 50+ reports from the Free plan; Bank feeds, sales-tax tracking and API access from Standard

Cons: Free plan is capped at 1,000 invoices and 1,000 bills a year and 5 scheduled reports; multi-currency and inventory need Professional or above

Zoho Books is the cheapest subscription entry in this set. Standard costs $20 per month billed monthly, or $15 per month billed annually, with higher tiers up to Ultimate at $275 or $240 per month, per organisation, before local taxes. The free plan costs $0 indefinitely while financial-year revenue does not exceed $50,000, with 1 user plus 1 accountant, 1,000 invoices and 1,000 bills a year, and email support only. A 14-day free trial covers the subscription plans.

Full double-entry accounting with bank reconciliation, recurring invoices and more than 50 reports comes from the free tier, with bank feeds, sales-tax tracking and API access from Standard, and multi-currency and project profitability from Professional. The caps are 1,000 invoices and 1,000 bills a year and 5 scheduled reports on the free plan. Multi-currency and inventory need Professional or above, so a business that trades abroad should budget on Professional.

Website: https://www.sage.com

Best for: UK sole traders who need VAT and Making Tax Digital

Starting price: £20 per month (Accounting Start, UK, excl. VAT)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Invoicing, automatic bank reconciliation, cash-flow tracking and VAT returns from Start, with Sage Copilot included; Plus adds inventory, multi-currency, budgets and unlimited users

Cons: Start allows only 1 user and includes no AI receipt or invoice captures; payroll beyond the included employee allowance costs extra per employee, and prices exclude VAT

Sage Accounting is the UK-focused option in this set, built around VAT and Making Tax Digital filing. The UK pricing page lists Sole Trader Free at £0 for non-VAT sole traders, Sole Trader at £7 per month, Accounting Start at £20 per month, Standard at £43 and Plus at £59 per month, all excluding 20% VAT. The current offer is 90% off for the first 6 months. Invoicing, automatic bank reconciliation, cash-flow tracking and VAT returns start on Start, and Plus adds inventory, multi-currency, budgets and unlimited users.

Start allows only 1 user and includes no AI receipt or invoice captures, while Standard includes 30 and Plus 100, then £0.20 each. Payroll beyond the included employee allowance costs extra per employee, and all prices exclude VAT, so a UK buyer should add 20% to the figures above. The US page did not render prices in the text fetch, so UK figures are used here.

Website: https://www.freeagent.com

Best for: UK freelancers who want tax filing handled end to end

Starting price: £19 per month (Sole Trader, excl. VAT)

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Invoicing, expenses, mileage, projects and time tracking with bank feeds, plus payroll and MTD-compatible VAT returns in one price; Limited-company plan adds Corporation Tax and final accounts filing

Cons: UK only, and £19 a month is the top of the entry range if the free bank-account route does not apply; Smart Capture beyond 10 files a month costs an extra £5 a month

FreeAgent is built for UK freelancers, contractors and one-person limited companies that want tax filing handled end to end. Sole Trader costs £19 per month or £190 per year, Partnership or LLP £27 per month, and Limited Company £33 per month or £330 per year, all excluding 20% VAT. New customers get 50% off for the first 6 months, or the first year on annual billing. Invoicing, expenses, mileage, projects and time tracking come with bank feeds, plus payroll, MTD-compatible VAT returns and Self Assessment, in one price.

There is no general free plan, though the full product is free while holding a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business current account, or a Mettle account with at least one transaction a month. The tool is UK only, with a 30-day free trial.

All figures are list prices from the vendor pages in Sources, before tax and before introductory offers. QuickBooks Online, Xero and FreshBooks offer 50% to 80% off for the first 3 to 4 months, so the first bill is lower than the list price shown here. FreeAgent is free in full with a qualifying UK bank account, and Sage Sole Trader Free is free for non-VAT sole traders.