Software directory
Best Accounting Software: 7 tools compared for 2026
Accounting software records a company's income, expenses, invoices and bank transactions and produces the reports needed for taxes and decision making. Small business tools are mostly cloud based and add bank feeds, invoicing, bill pay and basic payroll or inventory add-ons.
- Tools compared
- 7
- Publish prices
- 5 of 7
- Free plan or trial
- 5 of 7
- Median G2 rating
- 4.3
Accounting Software at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Pricing model | Starting price | G2 rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oracle NetSuite | Multi-entity mid-market companies outgrowing QuickBooks. | base platform fee plus per user plus modules | Contact sales | 4.1 (4,400 reviews) |
 Sage Intacct | Mid-market and nonprofit finance teams that outgrew QuickBooks and need multi-entity consolidation. | custom (modules, business users and entities) | Contact sales | 4.3 (4,000 reviews) |
 QuickBooks Online | Small businesses that work with an outside accountant who already uses QuickBooks. | flat per plan with user cap | $38/month (Simple Start, 1 user) | 4.0 (3,866 reviews) |
 Xero | Teams that need unlimited users without per-seat cost. | flat per plan, no per-user license fee | $27/month (Early) | 4.4 (1,558 reviews) |
 FreshBooks | Freelancers and service businesses billing a limited number of clients. | per plan by billable client count plus per extra user | $23/month (Lite, 5 billable clients) | 4.5 (981 reviews) |
 Wave | Freelancers and micro businesses wanting free bookkeeping. | free tier plus flat Pro plan and payment fees | $0 (Starter); Pro $19/month | 4.3 (327 reviews) |
 Zoho Books | Small firms already on Zoho CRM or other Zoho apps. | flat per plan plus per extra user | $15/month billed annually ($20 monthly) for Standard; Free plan available | 4.4 (327 reviews) |
Prices as published by each vendor on October 24, 2026. "Contact sales" means no public price. G2 ratings read on the same day.
Security and contract checklist for accounting software
| Tool | SAML SSO | SCIM provisioning | Audit logs | Data residency | Contract | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle NetSuite | SAML 2.0 SSO feature; plan gating not stated in docs. | Not published | Not published | Regional data centers; locations not found. | Annual or multi-year, quote based. | G2 reviewers rate support 7.0 of 10. |
| QuickBooks Online | No SAML SSO with external identity providers per ThreatLocker and Intuit community answers (older, unverified in current docs) | Not published | Not published | Not published | Monthly; no annual contract; cancel anytime per pricing page. | Chat on Free; phone support free during trial; priority support and training on Advanced. |
| FreshBooks | Not published | Not published | Not published | Third-party review says personal data processed in Canada; not vendor-confirmed. | Not published | Dedicated phone support on Select. |
| Zoho Books | SAML 2.0 via Zoho Accounts; plan tier not found. | Stitchflow lists SCIM behind Enterprise (secondary, unverified) | Not published | Multiple Zoho data centers; locations not verified. | Zoho refund policy: full refund and downgrade to free within the first month for monthly plans. | Email on Free plan. |
Which plan includes SSO, SCIM and audit logs often decides the real price. "Not published" means the vendor's public pages do not say; ask before you sign.
How to compare accounting software
- Invoicing and billing. Recurring invoices, online payment links and reminders speed up cash collection.
- Bank feeds and reconciliation. Automatic bank imports and matching rules cut bookkeeping hours.
- Financial reporting. P&L, balance sheet and cash flow reports must be accurate and customizable.
- Expense and bill management. Receipt capture and bill pay matter once spend moves past a few vendors.
- Payroll and sales tax support. Native or add-on payroll and tax filing avoid a second system.
- Accountant access and integrations. Most small firms depend on an outside accountant and on connected apps.
- Pricing model. Per-plan tiers, user caps and per-add-on fees change real cost.
- Target company size. Freelancer tools do not scale to multi-entity or inventory businesses.
| Tool | Invoicing and billing | Bank feeds and reconciliation | Financial reporting | Expense and bill management | Payroll and sales tax support | Accountant access and integrations | Pricing model | Target company size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle NetSuite | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Quote-only: base fee + users + modules. | Mid-market. |
| Sage Intacct | Core AR and billing; advanced billing and revenue recognition are separate modules per Vendr guide. | Not verified | Dimension-based financial reporting and dashboards (vendor claims, not verified) | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Quote-based; core financials plus separately priced modules (inventory, project accounting, consolidation, revenue recognition per Vendr guide) | Mid-market; also nonprofits (G2 Spring 2026 report summary via PKF SCS) |
| QuickBooks Online | Invoicing with online payments from Simple Start; Free plan limited to 2 invoices per month; bulk invoice creation in beta on Essentials. | Automated bookkeeping from Simple Start; reconciliation tools listed from Plus; Free plan limited to 1 bank connection. | Top 3 reports on Free, general business reports on Simple Start, enhanced reports on Essentials, custom KPIs and dashboards on Advanced. | Expense categorization and free ACH bill pay from Simple Start; $0.50 per standard ACH over monthly allotment; Bill Pay Elite listed for Advanced. | Payroll sold as an optional add-on; pricing not on the pricing page. | 2 accountant seats on Simple Start to Plus, 3 on Advanced; integrations not available on Free. | Tiered flat price with user caps; no per-user price listed. | 1 to 25 users; Advanced aimed at the upper small business end. |
| Xero | Quotes and invoices; Early plan limited to 20 invoices and 5 bills per month. | Auto-reconcile $5/month add-on on Early, included on Growing and Established. | Cash flow forecast 30/60/180 days by plan. | Expense claims and project tracking only on Established. | Xero Payroll powered by Gusto, $36/month + $6 per employee. | No per-user fees; integrations count not verified. | Flat per plan; usage charges for payroll, projects and expenses billed monthly in arrears. | Small businesses; Established for larger teams. |
| FreshBooks | Recurring invoices and late payment reminders on all tiers. | Bank reconciliation from Plus. | Financial and double-entry accounting reports from Plus. | Expense tracking all tiers; bill scanning and accounts payable on Premium. | FreshBooks Payroll $40/month + $6 per user. | Accountant access from Plus. | Client-count tiers plus $11 per extra user. | Freelancers to small service firms. |
| Wave | Invoicing on both tiers; online payments are paid by transaction. | Automatic bank imports on Pro per Gappsy; not verified on vendor page. | Not verified | Receipt capture add-on $11 or $8/month. | Payroll add-on from $25 or $40/month. | Block Advisors tax pros can be added free on Starter. | Free Starter, $19 Pro, per-transaction payment fees. | Solo and micro businesses. |
| Zoho Books | Invoice volume caps per year by plan (1,000 to 100,000) | Not verified from pricing page. | Not verified. | Expense claim add-on $9/$7 per active user; BillPay add-on. | Not verified. | Free plan includes 1 accountant seat; Zoho app ecosystem. | Per organization tiers with $2.50 to $3 extra users. | Solo to mid-size small business. |
The 7 tools in detail
Oracle NetSuite
Oracle's quote-only cloud ERP that bundles financials, inventory and CRM for mid-market companies.
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- base platform fee plus per user plus modules
- G2 rating
- 4.1 (4,400 reviews)
- Pricing model
- Quote-only: base fee + users + modules.
- Target company size
- Mid-market.
Choose it if
- Multi-entity mid-market companies outgrowing QuickBooks.
- Distributors and product firms needing financials plus inventory.
Skip it if
- Small teams needing public pricing and quick setup.
- Budgets without room for implementation partners.
Worth knowing
- No public list prices; consultants quote about $999/month base plus per-user licenses.
- SAML 2.0 SSO is available per Oracle's help center and works with any SAML 2.0 identity provider.
- Oracle data security addendum commits to annual SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 audits.
Sage Intacct
Cloud financial management and accounting system from Sage for mid-market companies, sold through quotes and partners rather than public price lists.
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- custom (modules, business users and entities)
- G2 rating
- 4.3 (4,000 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Core AR and billing; advanced billing and revenue recognition are separate modules per Vendr guide.
- Financial reporting
- Dimension-based financial reporting and dashboards (vendor claims, not verified)
- Pricing model
- Quote-based; core financials plus separately priced modules (inventory, project accounting, consolidation, revenue recognition per Vendr guide)
- Target company size
- Mid-market; also nonprofits (G2 Spring 2026 report summary via PKF SCS)
Choose it if
- Mid-market and nonprofit finance teams that outgrew QuickBooks and need multi-entity consolidation.
- Companies that want a finance-first cloud system and will add modules as they grow.
Skip it if
- Very small businesses or freelancers (entry subscriptions reported around $10k per year plus implementation)
- Manufacturers needing deep production planning built in.
Worth knowing
- Sage publishes no list prices; the only anchors are reseller and Vendr data (about $10k to $30k per year for Intacct, per Vendr)
- Advanced modules (inventory, project accounting, consolidation, revenue recognition) are priced separately and may not carry the original discount if added mid-contract (Vendr guide)
- Vendr guide: cloud renewals without price protection may rise about 3 to 8% per year; recommends negotiating a 3 to 5% cap.
QuickBooks Online
Intuit's cloud bookkeeping suite with four paid tiers that scale by user cap (1, 3, 5, 25) rather than per seat.
- Starting price
- $38/month (Simple Start, 1 user)
- Pricing model
- flat per plan with user cap
- G2 rating
- 4.0 (3,866 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Invoicing with online payments from Simple Start; Free plan limited to 2 invoices per month; bulk invoice creation in beta on Essentials.
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Automated bookkeeping from Simple Start; reconciliation tools listed from Plus; Free plan limited to 1 bank connection.
- Financial reporting
- Top 3 reports on Free, general business reports on Simple Start, enhanced reports on Essentials, custom KPIs and dashboards on Advanced.
- Expense and bill management
- Expense categorization and free ACH bill pay from Simple Start; $0.50 per standard ACH over monthly allotment; Bill Pay Elite listed for Advanced.
Choose it if
- Small businesses that work with an outside accountant who already uses QuickBooks.
- Teams that want a wide third-party app ecosystem.
- Businesses needing inventory, projects and budgeting on the Plus tier.
Skip it if
- Companies needing SAML SSO with an external identity provider.
- Very small freelancers watching cost, since list prices rose in 2025.
Worth knowing
- Users are capped by plan (1/3/5/25), so a 20-person team has to buy Advanced at $340/month on the vendor pricing page.
- Third-party sources and Intuit's own notice documented a list increase effective July 1, 2025 (Simple Start $35 to $38, Essentials $65 to $75, Plus $99 to $115, Advanced $235 to $275)
- Community answers and a ThreatLocker post state QuickBooks Online does not support SAML SSO with external identity providers; Google sign-in is the alternative.
Full QuickBooks Online review · QuickBooks Online alternatives
Xero
New Zealand-built cloud accounting with three flat-priced plans and no per-user license fees.
- Starting price
- $27/month (Early)
- Pricing model
- flat per plan, no per-user license fee
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (1,558 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Quotes and invoices; Early plan limited to 20 invoices and 5 bills per month.
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Auto-reconcile $5/month add-on on Early, included on Growing and Established.
- Financial reporting
- Cash flow forecast 30/60/180 days by plan.
- Expense and bill management
- Expense claims and project tracking only on Established.
Choose it if
- Teams that need unlimited users without per-seat cost.
- Businesses with multi-currency needs.
- Firms working with accountants who use Xero practice tools.
Skip it if
- Buyers needing annual billing discounts (none on the US page)
- Teams needing SAML SSO, which we could not confirm.
Worth knowing
- No per-user license fees, so seats do not affect price.
- Prices step up on October 1, 2026 to $27/$59/$97 from $25/$55/$90 (insightfulaccountant.com and vendor page)
- Pricing page says Xero may change pricing at any time and subscriptions auto-renew monthly.
FreshBooks
Invoicing-first accounting for freelancers and service firms, priced by billable client count.
- Starting price
- $23/month (Lite, 5 billable clients)
- Pricing model
- per plan by billable client count plus per extra user
- G2 rating
- 4.5 (981 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Recurring invoices and late payment reminders on all tiers.
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Bank reconciliation from Plus.
- Financial reporting
- Financial and double-entry accounting reports from Plus.
- Expense and bill management
- Expense tracking all tiers; bill scanning and accounts payable on Premium.
Choose it if
- Freelancers and service businesses billing a limited number of clients.
- Teams wanting time tracking and invoicing in one tool.
- Buyers who want simple, guided accounting.
Skip it if
- Teams that need many staff seats cheaply ($11 per extra user)
- Businesses needing inventory or deep ledger control.
Worth knowing
- Plans are capped by billable clients (5/50/unlimited), not by users, so Lite stops working once you bill a sixth client.
- Every extra team member costs $11/month on all tiers; only Select includes 2.
- Only SOC 2 Type 1 found (Feb 2023), report available under NDA.
Wave
Free-to-start bookkeeping and invoicing for tiny businesses that makes money on payments and a $19 Pro tier.
- Starting price
- $0 (Starter); Pro $19/month
- Pricing model
- free tier plus flat Pro plan and payment fees
- G2 rating
- 4.3 (327 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Invoicing on both tiers; online payments are paid by transaction.
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Automatic bank imports on Pro per Gappsy; not verified on vendor page.
- Expense and bill management
- Receipt capture add-on $11 or $8/month.
- Payroll and sales tax support
- Payroll add-on from $25 or $40/month.
Choose it if
- Freelancers and micro businesses wanting free bookkeeping.
- Service businesses collecting card payments through invoices.
Skip it if
- Teams wanting a wide app ecosystem or inventory.
- Buyers needing fast support (slow support is the main G2 complaint)
Worth knowing
- Owned by H&R Block, which reports Wave Pro tier momentum in fiscal 2026.
- Starter is free but card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction.
- Pro roles (admin, editor, viewer) imply multi-user, but the page gives no numeric user limit.
Zoho Books
Zoho's accounting product with a revenue-capped free plan and six paid tiers priced per organization plus cheap extra users.
- Starting price
- $15/month billed annually ($20 monthly) for Standard; Free plan available
- Pricing model
- flat per plan plus per extra user
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (327 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Invoice volume caps per year by plan (1,000 to 100,000)
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Not verified from pricing page.
- Financial reporting
- Not verified.
- Expense and bill management
- Expense claim add-on $9/$7 per active user; BillPay add-on.
Choose it if
- Small firms already on Zoho CRM or other Zoho apps.
- Cost-sensitive teams that need several users.
- Microbusinesses under the free plan's revenue limit.
Skip it if
- Buyers needing a large US accountant ecosystem.
- Teams requiring offline use (reviewer complaint)
Worth knowing
- Annual billing is 25% cheaper than monthly on Standard ($15 vs $20)
- Extra users cost only $2.50 to $3 per month, the cheapest in this batch.
- Free plan is tied to revenue under $50K per financial year.
Frequently asked questions
What is accounting software?
Accounting software records a company's income, expenses, invoices and bank transactions and produces the reports needed for taxes and decision making. Small business tools are mostly cloud based and add bank feeds, invoicing, bill pay and basic payroll or inventory add-ons.
Which accounting software publish their pricing?
5 of the 7 tools we compared publish prices: QuickBooks Online ($38/month (Simple Start, 1 user)); Xero ($27/month (Early)); FreshBooks ($23/month (Lite, 5 billable clients)); Wave ($0 (Starter); Pro $19/month); Zoho Books ($15/month billed annually ($20 monthly) for Standard; Free plan available). The others quote on request, so ask for a written quote that names the seat or spend basis, the term and the renewal uplift.
Which accounting software have a free plan or free trial?
QuickBooks Online (free plan, free trial), Xero (free trial), FreshBooks (free trial), Wave (free plan) and Zoho Books (free plan, free trial), according to the vendors' sites on October 24, 2026.
Which accounting software include SSO below the enterprise plan?
Oracle NetSuite (SAML 2.0 SSO feature; plan gating not stated in docs); QuickBooks Online (No SAML SSO with external identity providers per ThreatLocker and Intuit community answers (older, unverified in current docs)); Zoho Books (SAML 2.0 via Zoho Accounts; plan tier not found). The other tools either reserve SAML SSO for their enterprise tier or do not say on their public pages.
Which accounting software are rated highest on G2?
Among tools with at least 20 G2 reviews: FreshBooks 4.5 from 981 reviews, Xero 4.4 from 1558 reviews, Zoho Books 4.4 from 327 reviews. Ratings were read on October 24, 2026; small review counts move quickly, so read recent reviews from companies your size.