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Type how many people need to log in and how many invoices you send. For each company we pick the cheapest plan that fits, then rank them by yearly cost at the regular price, with the math shown.
| Your business | Lowest cost | A year | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just you, 10 invoices a month (the default) | Wave Pro | $228 | Zoho Books Standard: $240 |
| Just you, 4 customers, 25 invoices and 8 bills a month | Wave Pro | $228 | Zoho Books Standard: $240 |
| 2 people, 5 invoices, 3 customers, 2 bills | Wave Pro | $228 | Zoho Books Standard: $240 |
| 3 people, 30 invoices, 30 customers, 10 bills | Wave Pro | $228 | Zoho Books Standard: $240 |
| 6 people, 100 invoices, 60 customers, 40 bills | Wave Pro | $228 | Zoho Books Standard: $348 |
| Just you, with inventory to track | Zoho Books Professional | $600 | QuickBooks Online Plus: $1,680 |
| 8 people, with inventory to track | Zoho Books Professional | $708 | QuickBooks Online Advanced: $4,080 |
Hand check, row 1: Wave Pro $19 × 12 = $228. Zoho Books Standard and Patriot Basic $20 × 12 = $240. Xero Early $27 × 12 = $324 (10 invoices and 5 bills fit its limits). QuickBooks Simple Start $38 × 12 = $456. FreshBooks Lite allows 5 billable clients, so 10 customers need Plus: $43 × 12 = $516.
Row 4, 3 people: Zoho Standard includes 3 users ($240). FreshBooks Plus is $43 + $11 × 2 extra people = $65 a month ($780). QuickBooks needs Essentials for 3 users ($85 × 12 = $1,020). Xero needs Growing because 30 invoices is over Early's 20 ($59 × 12 = $708).
Inventory, just you: only QuickBooks Plus and Zoho Books Professional (and up) list inventory tracking. Zoho Professional is $50 × 12 = $600; QuickBooks Plus is $140 × 12 = $1,680. With 8 people: Zoho Professional is $50 + $3 × 3 extra users = $59 a month ($708); QuickBooks Advanced (25 users) is $340 × 12 = $4,080.
| Plan | Price a month | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online Simple Start / Essentials / Plus / Advanced (QuickBooks) | $38 / $85 / $140 / $340 | 1 / 3 / 5 / 25 users. Inventory from Plus |
| Xero Early / Growing / Established (Xero) | $27 / $59 / $97 | Early: 20 invoices and 5 bills a month. No per-user fees. Inventory is an add-on (price not listed) |
| FreshBooks Lite / Plus / Premium (FreshBooks) | $23 / $43 / $70 | 5 / 50 / unlimited billable clients. $11 a month per extra team member |
| Zoho Books Standard / Professional / Premium (Zoho) | $20 / $50 / $70 | 3 / 5 / 10 users, then $3 a user. Yearly invoice caps 5,000 / 10,000 / 25,000. Inventory from Professional |
| Wave Pro (Wave) | $19 ($190 if paid yearly) | Per business. Bank auto-import and extra user roles |
| Patriot Accounting Basic / Premium (Patriot) | $20 / $30 | Unlimited customers and invoices. Number of users not listed |
| Wave Starter (free) (Wave) | $0 | No bank auto-import |
| Zoho Books Free (Zoho) | $0 | 1 user + 1 accountant, revenue under $50,000 |
| QuickBooks Free (QuickBooks) | $0 | See vendor for limits |
Regular month-to-month prices read on each company's page on October 21, 2026. Today's sales (QuickBooks 50% off for 3 months, Xero 90% off for 6, FreshBooks 80% off for 4, Patriot 50% off for 3) end, so we leave them out. Zoho and Wave cost less if you pay for a year up front. The free plans aren't ranked because of the limits shown.
The IRS doesn't require any specific kind of records. Any system that clearly shows income and expenses works, even a spreadsheet, if you keep it up (IRS Pub. 583).
Keep most tax records 3 years after you file, employment tax records at least 4 years, and longer in some cases (6 or 7 years) (IRS). Export your data before you switch or cancel.
Wave Starter is free but doesn't import bank transactions (Wave). Zoho Books Free is for 1 user and under $50,000 in yearly revenue (Zoho).
QuickBooks Simple Start allows 1 user, so a second person means Essentials at $85 (QuickBooks). FreshBooks adds $11 a month per team member (FreshBooks). Xero lists no per-user fees (Xero).
Payroll is an add-on: Xero's (by Gusto) is $36 a month + $6 a person (Xero), FreshBooks' is $40 + $6 (FreshBooks), and Wave's starts at $40. Compare it with the payroll cost calculator.
The IRS says the business checkbook is usually the main source for your books (IRS Pub. 583). A separate business account makes bookkeeping much easier. Compare business checking.
Education only, not tax advice. Prices change; confirm on the company's page before you sign up. Nothing you type is sent or saved by us. No company pays to be on this page, and there are no partner links.
For one person sending 10 invoices a month, Wave Pro is lowest at $228 a year at list price, then Zoho Books Standard at $240. Free plans (Wave Starter, Zoho Books Free, QuickBooks Free) exist but have limits.
Regular prices on Oct. 21, 2026: Simple Start $38 (1 user), Essentials $85 (3 users), Plus $140 (5 users), Advanced $340 (25 users). New customers are offered 50% off for 3 months.
For one person, Xero Early is $27 a month vs QuickBooks Simple Start at $38, but Early allows only 20 invoices and 5 bills a month. Xero has no per-user fees, while QuickBooks charges more for each step up in users.
The IRS says keep most records 3 years after filing, employment tax records at least 4 years, and 6 or 7 years in some cases.
Facts and math only, not tax, legal or financial advice. Rules, rates and fees come from the IRS, state agencies and providers' own pages with dates; confirm with a tax professional, your state or the provider before acting.
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