Accounting Software 2026: Free Plans and Price Increases
QuickBooks Free connects one bank account; Zoho Books Free and Wave Starter do not. QuickBooks Online raised prices from August 1 renewals, Xero on October 1, and FreshBooks from January 27. Zoho Books and Wave did not change plan prices in 2026.
Prices read on each vendor's own page on 2026-10-08.
Free plans
QuickBooks Free, Zoho Books Free and Wave Starter cost $0 and differ in bank connections, invoice limits and who may use them.
| QuickBooks Free | Zoho Books Free | Wave Starter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $0 while the business's revenue for the financial year is $50,000 or less | $0 |
| Bank connection | 1 bank account; its transactions import automatically | None. Bank reconciliation only; bank feeds start on Standard ($20 a month, or $15 a month billed annually) | None. Bank connections need Pro ($19 a month or $190 a year) |
| Invoices | 2 a month (unlimited if you qualify for and turn on QuickBooks Payments) | Up to 1,000 a year | Unlimited |
| Users | 1 user, no accountant access | 1 user and 1 accountant | The owner only; more users need Pro |
| Other limits | Top 3 reports (profit and loss, balance sheet, account quick report). No mobile app, no third-party integrations, no automatic sales tax | Up to 1,000 expenses a year; 50 receipt autoscans a month | Receipt capture needs Pro |
| Since | On Intuit's pricing page from September 2026 | On 2026-06-01 Wave moved free legacy accounts that did not use Wave's payments, payroll or another paid Wave service onto Starter; they lost their bank connections | |
| Source | quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing; quickbooks.intuit.com/compare/quickbooks-free-vs-free-accounting-software | zoho.com/us/books/pricing | waveapps.com/pricing; support.waveapps.com "FAQ: Plans for legacy businesses" |
Price changes in 2025 and 2026
Each row gives the old and new monthly price, who pays it, and from what date.
| Vendor | Plan | Old | New | Who pays it | From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xero | Early | $25 | $27 | New and existing US subscribers | 2026-10-01 | Xero's US price update notice |
| Xero | Growing | $55 | $59 | New and existing US subscribers | 2026-10-01 | Xero's US price update notice |
| Xero | Established | $90 | $97 | New and existing US subscribers | 2026-10-01 | Xero's US price update notice |
| QuickBooks Online | Essentials | $75 | $85 | Existing subscribers from their next billing date on or after 2026-08-01; new customers from 2026-08-03 | 2026-08-01 | Intuit's price change FAQ |
| QuickBooks Online | Plus | $115 | $140 | Existing subscribers from their next billing date on or after 2026-08-01; new customers from 2026-08-03 | 2026-08-01 | Intuit's price change FAQ |
| QuickBooks Online | Advanced | $275 | $340 | Existing subscribers from their next billing date on or after 2026-08-01; new customers from 2026-08-03 | 2026-08-01 | Intuit's price change FAQ |
| FreshBooks | Lite | $21 | $23 | New customers from 2026-01-27; existing customers from their first bill after 2026-03-05 | 2026-01-27 | FreshBooks' 2026 price change FAQ |
| FreshBooks | Plus | $38 | $43 | New customers from 2026-01-27; existing customers from their first bill after 2026-03-05 | 2026-01-27 | FreshBooks' 2026 price change FAQ |
| FreshBooks | Premium | $65 | $70 | New customers from 2026-01-27; existing customers from their first bill after 2026-03-05 | 2026-01-27 | FreshBooks' 2026 price change FAQ |
| Xero | Early, Growing, Established | $20, $47, $80 | $25, $55, $90 | New and existing US subscribers | 2025-10-01 | Xero's 2025 US price update notice |
| Wave | Pro | $16 ($170 a year) | $19 ($190 a year) | New subscriptions only | August 2025 | waveapps.com/pricing (2025-08-02, 2025-08-14) |
| QuickBooks Online | Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, Advanced | $35, $65, $99, $235 | $38, $75, $115, $275 | New and existing client-billed subscriptions; existing accountant-billed subscriptions from 2025-08-01 | 2025-07-01 | Intuit's 2025 price change FAQ |
| FreshBooks | Lite, Plus, Premium | $19, $33, $60 | $21, $38, $65 | New customers | March 2025 | freshbooks.com/pricing (2025-03-02, 2025-03-11) |
Zoho Books did not change its plan prices in 2025 or 2026. QuickBooks Free, Simple Start, Lite and Ledger did not change in 2026.
Current US list prices
Prices are monthly US list prices before tax. Introductory discounts apply to new customers for a limited time.
| Vendor | Plan | Per month | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | Free | $0 | 1 user |
| QuickBooks Online | Simple Start | $38 | 1 user and 2 accountants |
| QuickBooks Online | Essentials | $85 | 3 users and 2 accountants |
| QuickBooks Online | Plus | $140 | 5 users and 2 accountants |
| QuickBooks Online | Advanced | $340 | 25 users and 3 accountants |
| Xero | Early | $27 | 20 invoices and 5 bills |
| Xero | Growing | $59 | |
| Xero | Established | $97 | |
| FreshBooks | Lite | $23 ($248.40 a year) | 5 billable clients |
| FreshBooks | Plus | $43 ($464.40 a year) | 50 billable clients |
| FreshBooks | Premium | $70 ($756.00 a year) | Unlimited billable clients |
| Wave | Starter | $0 | |
| Wave | Pro | $19 ($190 a year) | |
| Zoho Books | Free | $0 | Revenue up to $50,000 a year |
| Zoho Books | Standard | $20 ($15 billed annually) | 3 users |
| Zoho Books | Professional | $50 ($40 billed annually) | 5 users |
| Zoho Books | Premium | $70 ($60 billed annually) | 10 users |
| Zoho Books | Elite | $150 ($120 billed annually) | 10 users |
| Zoho Books | Ultimate | $275 ($240 billed annually) | 15 users |
Introductory offers on 2026-10-20: QuickBooks Online is 50% off for 3 months for new customers on a monthly plan; Xero is 90% off for the first 6 months with a code, until 11:59pm UTC on November 2, 2026, for US customers buying their first organization on xero.com; FreshBooks Lite, Plus and Premium are 80% off for 4 months.
Payment processing fees
| Vendor | Card payments | ACH bank payments |
|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Payments | 2.99% on invoices; 2.5% in person; 3.5% keyed in | 1% |
| Xero (Stripe) | 2.9% + 30¢ domestic cards | 1%, capped at $9 |
| FreshBooks Payments | 2.9% + $0.30; 3.5% + $0.30 for American Express and commercial, corporate or business cards | 1% |
| Wave | Starter 2.9% + $0.60 (American Express 3.4% + $0.60); Pro: the first 10 card payments a month without the $0.60 | 1%, minimum $1 |
| Zoho Payments | 2.90% + 30¢ domestic cards | 0.8%, capped at $5 |
A claim we checked
Some articles say QuickBooks doubled its ACH fees in 2026. Intuit's rates page shows ACH at 1% from January 2025 to October 2026.
Sources
- QuickBooks Online, read 2026-10-08: quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing (plans, Free plan); quickbooks.intuit.com/compare/quickbooks-free-vs-free-accounting-software (Free plan imports transactions from its one bank account); firmofthefuture.com/product-update/quickbooks-price-changes (2026 change); firmofthefuture.com/product-update/changes-to-quickbooks-pricing-faqs (2025 change); quickbooks.intuit.com/payments/payment-rates (fees); quickbooks.intuit.com/payments/payment-rates, archived 2025-01-14 (ACH 1% in January 2025)
- Xero, read 2026-10-08: xero.com/us/pricing-plans (plans); xero.com/us/pricing-plans/update, archived 2026-08-25 (2026 notice); xero.com/us/pricing-plans/update, archived 2025-08-19 (2025 notice); xero.com/us/pricing-plans/pricing-and-fees-for-stripe (fees)
- FreshBooks, read 2026-10-08: freshbooks.com/pricing (plans); freshbooks.com/2026-faq-price-change (2026 change); freshbooks.com/pricing, archived 2025-03-02 (2025 change); freshbooks.com/pricing, archived 2025-03-11 (2025 change); support.freshbooks.com/hc/en-us/articles/25362149006349-What-are-the-transaction-fees-for-FreshBooks-Payments-USD (fees)
- Wave, read 2026-10-08: waveapps.com/pricing (plans); support.waveapps.com/hc/en-us/articles/26449863006612-FAQ-Plans-for-legacy-businesses (2026-06-01 move to Starter); waveapps.com/pricing, archived 2025-08-02 (2025 change); waveapps.com/pricing, archived 2025-08-14 (2025 change); support.waveapps.com/hc/en-us/articles/218323823-Online-payments-processing-fees-and-timelines (fees)
- Zoho Books, read 2026-10-08: zoho.com/us/books/pricing (plans, Free plan, bank feeds on Standard); zoho.com/us/payments/pricing (fees)