Owners look past QuickBooks Online when the tier ladder, the user caps or the add-on bills stop matching the size of the business. Most move to Xero, FreshBooks or Zoho Books for a like-for-like ledger, to Wave when cost matters most, and to Odoo, Business Central or NetSuite when they outgrow a small-business ledger.
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What each alternative does differently
1. Xero
Bank-feed-first cloud ledger with unlimited users · New Zealand
Xero charges no per-user license fees, so adding a bookkeeper does not move you up a tier. Its plans differ by volume instead: the entry plan allows 20 invoices and 5 bills, and multiple currencies start on the top plan. Payroll is an optional add-on through Gusto.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if user caps, not transaction volume, are what push you up a tier.
Pricing: Published monthly tiers with no per-user license fees; the entry tier caps invoices and bills, and multi-currency sits on the top plan in the US and on the top two UK plans. (free trial)
Full review: #5 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Xero →
2. FreshBooks
Double-entry books for firms that bill for their time · Canada
FreshBooks prices by the number of billable clients (5, 50 or unlimited) rather than by user, and charges $11 a month for each extra team member. It is built around invoicing, time tracking and project profitability for service firms, and has less depth for inventory-heavy businesses.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if you bill clients for time and work, and rarely hold stock.
Pricing: Published monthly tiers priced by the number of billable clients, with each extra team member charged as an add-on. (free trial)
Full review: #1 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit FreshBooks →
3. Zoho Books
Automation-heavy ledger with country-specific tax editions · India
Zoho Books has a $0 plan for businesses under $50K of annual revenue, then tiers by organization with 3, 5 or 10 included users and a $3 monthly add-on user. Inventory and multi-currency arrive on Professional. It is the closest tier-for-tier match to QuickBooks.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if you want similar tiers with more users included at a lower price.
Pricing: Published per-organization tiers with a free plan for very small businesses; paid tiers sit well below QuickBooks and Xero equivalents. (free plan)
Full review: #3 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Zoho Books →
4. Wave
No-cost bookkeeping for very small US and Canadian firms · Canada
Wave's Starter plan is $0 with unlimited invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, and earns money on card payments (2.9% plus $0.60). Pro at $19 a month adds automatic bank imports. It is a small-business ledger, with no inventory or project profitability tracking on the pricing page.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if you need basic books and invoicing and want to pay little or nothing.
Pricing: Starter plan is free; a paid Pro tier adds automatic bank imports and receipt features, with card and bank payment fees on invoices. (free plan)
Full review: #2 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Wave →
5. Akaunting
Open-source ledger you can host yourself · Turkey
Akaunting describes itself as open source accounting software. Its cloud plans cap companies, users and invoices (Standard: one company, one user plus an accountant, 1,000 invoices), and self-hosting is sold on separate on-premise plans. It suits teams comfortable running software themselves.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if you want to host the books yourself or avoid per-user pricing.
Pricing: Free Standard edition to self-host, limited to one company, one user plus an accountant and 1,000 invoices; paid on-premise and cloud plans raise those limits and bundle marketplace apps. (open source)
Full review: #11 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Akaunting →
6. Odoo Accounting
Accounting app inside a modular open-core business suite · Belgium
Odoo is a modular business suite, not a bookkeeping app: one app is free with unlimited users, while the Standard and Custom plans charge per user for all apps. Custom adds multi-company, Studio, the external API and on-premise hosting. Expect to configure it or hire a partner.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if you want accounting joined to inventory, sales and projects in one system.
Pricing: One app can be used free with unlimited users; the full suite is priced per user per month, with multi-company, Studio and self-hosting on the higher Custom plan, and implementation often done by partners. (free plan)
Full review: #12 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Odoo Accounting →
7. Kashoo
Stripped-down bookkeeping for solo owners · Canada
Kashoo gives unlimited users at no extra charge and includes multi-currency, inventory tracking and a double-entry ledger in one plan. Each extra business needs its own subscription. The company now promotes TrulySmall, a newer product that posts transactions automatically, beside the original app.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if you want one plan, unlimited users and simple books.
Pricing: A single flat monthly or annual subscription with published pricing and no per-user tiers. (free trial)
Full review: #8 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Kashoo →
8. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Microsoft's partner-sold finance and operations system · United States
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a full ERP licensed per user: Microsoft lists Essentials at $80 and Premium at $110 per user per month paid yearly, and $8 for team members. It covers finance, sales, inventory and multiple companies, and is bought and implemented through partners.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if you run several companies or need manufacturing and warehouse functions.
Pricing: Microsoft publishes per-user monthly license prices for Essentials and Premium, with cheaper licenses for occasional users; a reseller partner adds implementation and support fees on top. (free trial)
Full review: #14 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central →
9. NetSuite
ERP-grade financials inside a full business suite · United States
NetSuite, part of Oracle, is a cloud ERP whose financial management covers general ledger, planning, revenue recognition and financial consolidation. The page we read lists no prices. It is aimed at companies running a whole business on one system, well beyond a small-business ledger.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if you need consolidation across subsidiaries and have a finance team to run it.
Pricing: Quote only, with an annual base licence, per-user fees and add-on modules; implementation is a separate and often larger cost. (none)
Full review: #7 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit NetSuite →
10. FreeAgent
Self-assessment-ready books for UK freelancers · United Kingdom
FreeAgent is built around UK sole traders, partnerships and limited companies, and also offers a US edition at $22 a month with sales tax reporting and multi-currency invoicing. There is no contract, and you can cancel and download your data from inside the product.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if you are a small UK-linked firm that wants one plan and no contract.
Pricing: Published monthly price by business type; included at no extra cost with several UK business bank accounts. (free trial)
Full review: #10 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit FreeAgent →
11. Clear Books
UK ledger organized around VAT and HMRC filing · United Kingdom
Clear Books is a UK product priced in sterling: Small is £16 a month and Large (£44) adds multi-currency, project accounting and fixed assets. Free plans cover Making Tax Digital for sole traders and landlords. It is of little use to a US-only business.
Switch from QuickBooks Online if your books are kept in the UK and filed under Making Tax Digital.
Pricing: Published monthly tiers in sterling for companies, with multi-currency on the top tier; payroll is a separate bolt-on, and free plans cover sole traders' and landlords' Making Tax Digital filings. (free plan)
Full review: #9 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Clear Books →
Questions and answers
Can I export my data from QuickBooks Online?
Yes, through Settings, then Export data under Tools. Intuit's help article says it exports reports and lists to Excel in one zip, covering posting transactions such as invoices and bills, plus estimates, purchase orders, chart of accounts and products. Attachments export separately in a zip.
What happens to my data after I cancel QuickBooks Online?
Intuit's help page says the data stays available read-only for one year from the date of cancellation, and you can export during that time. The version we read is Intuit's Australian help article, and the same page says trial accounts must export within 90 days.
How much does QuickBooks Online cost today?
List prices on Intuit's US pricing page are Simple Start $38, Essentials $85, Plus $140 and Advanced $340 a month, with 50 percent off for the first three months. A Free plan exists for one user, with two invoices a month and one bank account.
Is there a QuickBooks Online alternative with unlimited users?
Yes. Kashoo states that it supports multiple users at no extra charge, Xero states that it has no per-user license fees, and Odoo's free one-app plan allows unlimited users. Each limits something else, such as invoice volume, features or the number of businesses.
Is there a free QuickBooks Online alternative?
Yes. Wave's Starter plan is $0 and Zoho Books has a $0 plan for businesses under $50K of annual revenue. Wave earns money on card payments (2.9% plus $0.60 per card transaction), and Zoho's free plan allows one user plus an accountant.
Which alternative suits a business that outgrew QuickBooks?
Business Central, NetSuite and Odoo are the larger options in this category. Microsoft lists Business Central at $80 or $110 per user per month paid yearly, Odoo's Custom plan adds multi-company, and NetSuite lists no prices on the page we read.
