Quickbooks Online Pricing & Plan Comparison Explained 2025

This functionality is perfect for service-based companies like independent contractors and attorneys who bill by the hour. For independent contractors in the service sector who file their business income on Schedule C of their personal income tax return, QuickBooks Online Self-Employed is a great tool. It is even considered best for filing taxes and keeping track of freelance revenue. The QuickBooks Online comparison table given below showcases some of the primary features of the five versions of QuickBooks Online. This chart will offer an in-depth, parallel comparison of every plan with its next counterpart. However, note that there’s no direct data migration option available from QuickBooks Solopreneur to any higher version of QuickBooks Online.

QuickBooks Online’s biggest advantage is its ability to be accessed from anywhere with an internet-enabled device. Learn about all the differences in our QuickBooks Online vs Desktop comparison. The largest component of usability is the ability to find bookkeeping assistance when users have questions. This could be in the form of a bookkeeping service directly from the software provider or from independent bookkeepers familiar with the program. Other components of usability include customer service and ease of use.

QuickBooks Online Free Trial

You can access it anytime, anywhere using your account as long as you have an internet connection. If you’re a freelancer or running a very small business, the Simple Start plan is a great starting point. It covers the basics like invoicing, expense tracking, and simple reports, all at an affordable price. As your business grows, you can easily upgrade to a plan with more features. QBO integrates with many third-party apps, but these integrations aren’t always seamless. Some integrations may require additional fees, and compatibility issues can arise.

• The Projects tool in Plus enables you to track income, expenses, and wages by project.
• The plan comes with useful features such as expense tracking, quarterly tax calculator, invoicing, deductions, and some useful reports.
• This accounting application can be a powerful tool for a business owner with a strong work ethic.
• As your business grows and you need more advanced features like bill pay and sales tax tracking, QuickBooks Online Essentials is a solid option.
• Users in specific industries can access unique features and industry-specific reporting.

It integrates seamlessly with other QuickBooks products, making it easy to manage sales and track payments. Pricing is typically transaction-based rather than a monthly subscription. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is the most powerful desktop solution, designed for larger businesses with complex operations and high transaction volumes. It offers advanced inventory management, reporting, and user permissions. QuickBooks Online (QBO) is cloud-based accounting software that helps businesses manage their finances. Because it’s accessible from any device with an internet connection, QBO simplifies accounting, letting you focus on running your business.

How often does QuickBooks change its pricing structure?

Go to ‘Settings’ and select ‘Billing and Subscription’ under the profile tab. Over time, it has emerged as one of the best accounting tools for the self-employed. Many small businesses, even consulting businesses find FreshBooks useful. While we love QuickBooks Online’s accessibility, low learning curve, and simple scalability for multiple business types and sizes, it’s one of the pricier cloud-based accounting solutions. You can access cloud-based software from any web-enabled device—your data isn’t tied to one location but stored on an external server for easy access. QuickBooks’ online software costs a monthly fee, not an annual one.

Plus, with four plans, QuickBooks Online has a plan and price point for most small businesses. QuickBooks for desktop also has a more complicated interface than QuickBooks’ online software. If you’re already familiar with business financials (including if you’re an accountant), QuickBooks Desktop plans give you heftier fiscal reports and more complex accounting features. If you want to access financial data remotely, you usually have to pay an additional fee for offsite hosting. QuickBooks Desktop plans also cost an annual fee per user, and most plans only allow for up to five users.

How much does QuickBooks Self-Employed cost?

QuickBooks’ payroll solutions integrate perfectly with both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop. Along with its higher price, QuickBooks Premier Plus has the same drawbacks as QuickBooks’ other desktop software. Most importantly, it’s definitely harder to learn and use than any QuickBooks Online product, so non-accountants will face a steep learning curve. And while the QuickBooks Desktop mobile app is fine, that’s really all it is—fine.

• With QuickBooks Payroll, you can also offer health benefits and 401(k) plans to your employees.
• If you need to track outstanding payments, QuickBooks Essentials is better, but QuickBooks Plus is excellent if you need project management and inventory.
• The Simple Start plan is perfect for freelancers and small business owners just starting with accounting software.
• QuickBooks Online offers an incredible number of features and automations.
• While Plus supports up to 5 users, Advanced accommodates up to 25 users, custom user permissions, batch transactions, and automated workflows.

On the other hand, the profitability tracking feature lets you view details such as labor costs, expenses, and income. The Essentials plan is best for growing or service-based small businesses. You can have quickbooks online plans comparison up to 3 users per account, which is enough for a small team.

QuickBooks Enterprise: Best for big businesses

For more personalized support in setting up and managing your QBO reports, consider FinOptimal’s managed accounting services. QuickBooks Online (QBO) and QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) cater to different needs. QBO offers a comprehensive suite of accounting tools suitable for small businesses and includes features like in-depth reporting, sales tracking, and profit and loss statements.

But also with manually updating your accounting data to ensure everything matches. Intuit sells pre-printed tax forms and kits to businesses who need them. You can order from them directly using your QuickBooks Online account.

QuickBooks Essentials, on the other hand, is designed for service-based businesses who bill for their time. It supports up to three users and offers everything that Simple Start does along with extra functionality like recurring transactions, multiple currencies, etc. for businesses who need more. If you have a tight budget, you may prefer Wave Accounting to QuickBooks. The application offers customer management and custom invoice creation capabilities. It is better suited for small businesses that offer services, not products.

Advanced suits growing businesses, incorporating all previous features plus enhancements for scalability. It’s ideal for high-volume management with advanced analytics and premium support. QuickBooks Self-Employed is one of the QuickBooks Online versions designed for freelancers and independent contractors providing access to one user and meeting basic bookkeeping needs. Software should be able to track sales tax for multiple jurisdictions with varying tax rates. It’s helpful to have a function to easily record the remittance of the sales tax by jurisdiction. The very best tool will also help determine which jurisdictions sales are taxable to based on the address of the customer or delivery.

Which QuickBooks Online Pricing Plan Is Right For Me?

If you want to give QuickBooks a try before buying, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial or use the company’s interactive test drive that’s set up with a sample company. There are other QuickBooks Online charges in addition to the monthly subscription fee. Not only does this save you time and effort in handwriting checks.

You can easily add tax details, connect bank accounts and set up your business. If your business requires full invoicing and you prefer accounting software with a simple interface, consider using Sage Business. Sage Business is a small business accounting software mostly known for its user-friendliness. Originally known as Sage One, Sage Business was launched in 1981 in England.

QuickBooks Online Simple Start is one of the QuickBooks Online Versions that works well for single users like solopreneurs and small businesses just starting out. With QuickBooks Online Simple Start you can invite up to two accounting firms to review your books at no additional cost. QuickBooks Self-Employed is an easy-to-use, cloud-based software with strong mobile apps.

At the very least, we looked for software that could create multiple projects and separately assign income and expenses to those projects. We also searched for the ability to create estimates and assign those estimates to projects. Ideally, the program would then compare the actual expenses to the costs on the original estimate.

Plus allows you to assign classes and locations to transactions, providing insights into the performance of various divisions or locations. This feature is invaluable for businesses operating in multiple areas or departments, helping identify the most profitable units. Get a bird’s eye view of cash flow so you always know where you stand.