Best accounting software for small businesses in the US (2026)
Five apps compared on what they cost at your team size: subscription, extra logins, and the fee on every invoice a client pays online.
Quick answer
For a two-person business sending 15 invoices a month, Wave and Zoho Books cost least on subscription, at $0 and $20 a month. Wave adds a 60-cent fixed fee to every card payment, so small invoices cost more to collect. Xero charges no per-user fee, which helps larger teams. QuickBooks Online costs most per user.
Key points
- At our reference profile, Wave costs $0 a month, Zoho Books $20, Xero $27, FreshBooks $54 and QuickBooks Online $85.
- Card processing runs close to 3% wherever it is published, so on larger invoices the fees outweigh the subscription.
- Xero and Zoho Books do not publish card rates on their pricing pages, which is why the list ranks on subscription first.
- FreshBooks caps plans by billable clients, so a 12-client business needs Plus, not Lite.
- QuickBooks Online prices by user tier: one user on Simple Start, three on Essentials.
- Introductory discounts of 50% to 90% end after three to six months and are left out of the ranking.
What you would pay
Set your own numbers. The list below is ranked with this same calculator at our reference profile: two people with logins, 12 clients and 15 invoices a month averaging $800.
- Wave Starter$0.00+ $246.40 payment fees at published rates
- Zoho Books Standard$20.00Payment fees not published
- Xero Early$27.00Payment fees not published
- FreshBooks Plus$54.00+ $244.00 payment fees at published rates · includes $11 for extra logins
- QuickBooks Online Essentials$85.00+ $247.36 payment fees at published rates
Regular published prices only. Introductory offers and tax are left out. Figures are arithmetic on the provider’s own numbers, not a recommendation.
The list, in order
Order follows the published method on How we rank. Providers cannot pay for a position.
Wave
Free invoicing and bookkeeping on the Starter plan, with a $19 Pro plan that adds automation and cuts the fixed card fee on the first 10 card payments a month.
Suits: sole proprietors who want free invoicing. Watch for: a $0.60 fixed charge on each card payment on Starter, which is heavy on small invoices.
- From
- $0/mo
- Card fee
- 2.9% + $0.60
- ACH fee
- 1% (min $1)
- Logins
- No per-user fee
Zoho Books
A free plan for one user under $50,000 of yearly revenue, then paid tiers priced by users and invoices a year.
Suits: small teams that want a free tier under $50,000 revenue. Watch for: payment processing fees are not published on the pricing page.
- From
- $0/mo
- Paid from
- $20/mo (3 users)
- Card fee
- Not published
- Free plan cap
- $50K revenue
Xero
Three plans with no per-user fees. Early is capped at 20 invoices a month; Growing and Established remove the cap and add features.
Suits: teams that need many logins. Watch for: the Early plan caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month.
- From
- $27/mo
- Card fee
- Not published
- ACH fee
- Free (standard)
- Logins
- Unlimited
FreshBooks
Plans capped by how many clients you bill, from 5 on Lite to unlimited on Premium. Each extra team member costs $11 a month.
Suits: service businesses billing a handful of clients. Watch for: client caps per plan and $11 a month for each extra team member.
- From
- $23/mo
- Card fee
- 2.9% + $0.30
- ACH fee
- 1%
- Extra user
- $11/mo
QuickBooks Online
Four paid plans priced by the number of users, from one on Simple Start to 25 on Advanced. Widely used by US accountants.
Suits: firms whose accountant already works in it. Watch for: the price climbs steeply with each user tier.
- From
- $38/mo
- Card fee
- 2.99%
- ACH fee
- 1%
- Users
- 1 / 3 / 5 / 25
Figures read from each provider’s own page on 28 October 2026. Prices exclude sales tax. Reference profile: two people with logins, 12 clients and 15 invoices a month averaging $800. Unranked entries publish no price that fits it.
- Sage Accounting — its pricing page refused automated reads on 28 Oct 2026. To be confirmed by hand.
Accounting software has two prices: the subscription you see on the pricing page, and the processing fee you pay each time a client settles an invoice online. This comparison ranks five US apps on the first and shows the second next to it, because several vendors publish one but not the other.
How the ranking works
The list is ordered by the cheapest plan that fits a reference business: two people who need a login, 12 clients, 15 invoices a month averaging $800, half of them paid by card. Change any of those numbers in the calculator above and the order updates. Every figure comes from the vendor's own pricing page, read on 28 October 2026. The full method is on how we rank.
Ranking on subscription rather than total cost is deliberate. Xero's pricing page states that standard ACH is free but gives no card rate, and Zoho Books' pricing page gives neither. A total that included fees would make the vendors that disclose least look cheapest.
What the reference business pays
| App | Plan that fits | Subscription a month | Card fee published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Starter | $0 | 2.9% + $0.60 |
| Zoho Books | Standard | $20 | No |
| Xero | Early | $27 | No |
| FreshBooks | Plus + 1 extra user | $54 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| QuickBooks Online | Essentials | $85 | 2.99% |
Zoho's free plan is out because it allows one user. FreshBooks Lite is out because it covers five billable clients. QuickBooks Simple Start is out because it includes one user.
Where the fees change the picture
At 15 invoices of $800 with half paid by card, the published rates come to about $244 to $247 a month in processing at Wave, FreshBooks and QuickBooks: eight card payments at roughly 3% and seven bank payments at 1%. That is more than the subscription at every app in this list, including QuickBooks Essentials at $85. Wave's payments page lists 2.9% plus 60 cents per card payment and 1% for bank payments with a $1 minimum. QuickBooks' payment rates page lists 2.99% for cards and 1% for ACH.
The fixed part of a card fee matters most on small invoices. On a $100 invoice, Wave's 60 cents is an extra 0.6 percentage points. Wave Pro, at $19 a month, removes the fixed fee on the first 10 card payments each month.
Our guide on how invoice payment fees work walks through card, ACH and bank-transfer costs with worked examples.
Seats, clients and invoice caps
Each vendor limits its cheaper plans differently, and the limit decides the price more than features do:
- Users. QuickBooks Online sells plans by user count: 1, 3, 5 or 25. Xero and Wave charge no per-user fee. FreshBooks charges $11 a month for each team member beyond the owner.
- Clients. FreshBooks Lite covers 5 billable clients and Plus covers 50.
- Invoices. Xero's Early plan stops at 20 invoices a month. Zoho caps invoices a year, from 1,000 on Free.
- Revenue. Zoho's Free plan is only for businesses under $50,000 of yearly revenue.
Introductory offers
At the time of reading, Xero offered 90% off for six months (to 2 November 2026), FreshBooks 80% off for four months and QuickBooks 50% off for three months. These end, so the ranking ignores them.
Not yet included
Sage Accounting's pricing page refused automated reading, so it is left out until its prices can be confirmed by hand. There is a matching UK comparison in pounds, and the accounting cost calculator works it out in dollars.
Keep reading
Best accounting software for small businesses in the UK (2026)
Four apps compared on what they cost a UK sole trader, partnership or limited company, including extra users and Making Tax Digital support.
Guide · US & UKHow invoice payment fees work: card, ACH, bank transfer and direct debit
The fee on every invoice a client pays online, explained with worked examples for card, ACH, bank transfer and direct debit in the US and UK.
Calculator · US editionAccounting software cost calculator
The same calculator on its own page, in dollars.
Questions
Which accounting software is cheapest for a US sole proprietor?
On list prices read on 28 October 2026, Wave Starter and Zoho Books Free both cost nothing a month. Zoho Free is limited to one user and to businesses under $50,000 of yearly revenue. Wave has no revenue cap but charges 2.9% plus 60 cents on each card payment a client makes.
Do I pay extra to accept card payments on invoices?
Yes. Processing fees sit on top of the subscription. QuickBooks lists 2.99% per card payment, FreshBooks 2.9% plus 30 cents, and Wave 2.9% plus 60 cents. ACH bank payments cost about 1% at those three, while Xero lists standard ACH as free. Zoho does not publish its rates on the pricing page.
Why are introductory discounts left out of the ranking?
Introductory offers run for three to six months and then revert to the list price, so they say little about what the software costs over a year or longer. The calculator and the ranking use regular monthly prices. Each product card shows its current offer separately, with how long it lasts.
Do these prices include sales tax?
No. Every vendor in this comparison quotes US prices before tax. Sales tax on software varies by state, and the vendor adds it at checkout based on your billing address. That means two businesses on the same plan can pay slightly different amounts depending on where they are.
How often are these prices checked?
Each price was read from the vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Prices are re-read before every update. If a vendor changes a plan between checks and someone reports it, the fix is logged on our corrections page with the date it was made.