What accounting software costs a US small business in 2026
According to SF Business Solutions, the accounting software a US small business runs its books on costs between $0 and $340 a month at regular prices in October 2026, and the plan most small businesses actually need, one with bank feeds, invoicing, bill tracking and a few users, sits between $38 and $85 a month at QuickBooks Online and between $27 and $59 at Xero.
By SF Business Solutions · Our team includes a licensed CPA · 6 sources · Updated October 25, 2026Every vendor leads with a promotion, from 50% off for three months to 90% off for six, so the figure a buyer sees first is not the figure the business pays from month four or seven onwards. The table lists the regular price and the promotion separately, each read from the vendor's own US pricing page on 25 October 2026.
Every plan, at the regular price
Regular monthly price first, the promotion in its own column, and what each tier adds. Payroll add-ons are listed with the software they attach to, because that is how the vendor sells them.
| Product | Plan | Regular price | Promotion shown | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | Free | $0 a month | None shown | 1 user, no accountant access, 2 invoices a month, 3 reports, 1 bank connection |
| QuickBooks Online | Simple Start | $38 a month | 50% off for 3 months ($19) | 1 user plus 2 accountants, invoicing, bill pay with free ACH, general reports |
| QuickBooks Online | Essentials | $85 a month | 50% off for 3 months ($42.50) | 3 users, enhanced reports, custom KPIs, employee time on invoices |
| QuickBooks Online | Plus | $140 a month | 50% off for 3 months ($70) | 5 users, budgeting, project profitability, inventory, up to 40 classes and locations |
| QuickBooks Online | Advanced | $340 a month | 50% off for 3 months ($170) | 25 users, unlimited classes and locations, batch invoices, workflow automation, priority support |
| QuickBooks Payroll | Workforce Payroll with Simple Start | $88 a month plus $6.50 per employee a month | 50% off for 3 months ($44 plus $6.50 per employee) | Full-service payroll, automatic payroll, 1099 e-filing, next-day direct deposit, with the Simple Start books |
| QuickBooks Payroll | Workforce Payroll with Essentials | $125 a month plus $6.50 per employee a month | 50% off for 3 months ($62.50 plus $6.50 per employee) | Adds same-day direct deposit, enhanced reports, budgets and 3 users |
| QuickBooks Payroll | Workforce Premium with Plus | $203 a month plus $10 per employee a month | 50% off for 3 months ($101.50 plus $10 per employee) | Adds HR tools, time tracking, benefits access, project tracking and 5 users |
| Xero | Early | $27 a month | 90% off for 6 months ($2.70), offer ends 2 November 2026 | 20 invoices and quotes, 5 bills, bank reconciliation, W-9 and 1099 management, sales tax, 30-day cash flow forecast |
| Xero | Growing | $59 a month | 90% off for 6 months ($5.90) | Unlimited invoices, quotes and bills, automated bill entry, 60-day forecast, budgeting |
| Xero | Established | $97 a month | 90% off for 6 months ($9.70) | Adds multiple currencies, project time and cost tracking, expense claims, 180-day forecast |
| Xero | Payroll with Gusto add-on | $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor | Not covered by the Xero promotion | Gusto payroll connected to any Xero plan |
| Wave | Starter | $0 | None shown | Invoicing and accounting; card payments cost 2.9% plus $0.60 (3.4% plus $0.60 for Amex) |
| Wave | Pro | $19 a month, or $190 a year | $9.50 a month for 3 months (offer dated 2 December 2025 to 6 January 2026) | No fixed fee on the first 10 card transactions a month, receipt capture, auto-import |
| Wave | Payroll add-on | From $25 a month, or from $40 a month, depending on the state | None shown | The page gives the two starting prices without naming which states take which |
| FreshBooks | Lite | $23 a month | 80% off for 4 months ($4.60) | 5 billable clients; extra team members $11 a month each |
| FreshBooks | Plus | $43 a month | 80% off for 4 months ($8.60) | 50 billable clients |
| FreshBooks | Premium | $70 a month | 80% off for 4 months ($14) | Unlimited billable clients |
| FreshBooks | Payroll add-on | $40 a month plus $6 per user a month | None shown | Available on every plan |
| Zoho Books | Free | $0 | None shown | 1 user plus 1 accountant, 1,000 invoices a year |
| Zoho Books | Standard | $20 a month ($15 billed annually) | None shown | 3 users, 5,000 invoices a year |
| Zoho Books | Professional | $50 a month ($40 billed annually) | None shown | 5 users, 10,000 invoices a year |
| Zoho Books | Premium | $70 a month ($60 billed annually) | None shown | 10 users, 25,000 invoices a year |
| Zoho Books | Elite | $150 a month ($120 billed annually) | None shown | 10 users, 100,000 invoices a year |
| Zoho Books | Ultimate | $275 a month ($240 billed annually) | None shown | 15 users; extra users $3 a month ($2.50 billed annually) |
The regular price is the one to budget
Every pricing page in the table opens with a struck-through figure and a discount: 50% off for three months at QuickBooks Online, 90% off for six at Xero until 2 November 2026, 80% off for four at FreshBooks. A business that budgets the promotional figure sees its software bill double or increase tenfold a few months in. Over a year, the QuickBooks Online Essentials plan costs $892 at the promotion and regular price combined, not the $510 twelve months of the promotional rate would suggest.
The second thing the page hides is the per-employee fee on payroll. QuickBooks Payroll with Simple Start is $88 a month plus $6.50 for each employee: $153 a month for ten people, $218 for twenty. Xero's Gusto add-on works the same way at $36 plus $6 a head. The base price is a small part of the payroll bill once there is a team.
- Budget the regular price; the promotion ends in 3 to 6 months
- Add the per-employee payroll fee for the whole team, not the base alone
- Count the users you need: the entry tiers allow one user, the mid tiers three to five
- Inventory, project costing and classes are tier features, and they decide the plan more often than price does
Which tier a small business actually needs
A service business with one owner, one bank account and under a hundred transactions a month runs on the entry tier: QuickBooks Online Simple Start at $38 or Xero Early at $27. Both reconcile the bank, send invoices and produce a profit and loss statement and balance sheet. Xero Early caps invoices at 20 a month and bills at 5, which a busier business outgrows quickly.
A business with employees whose time goes on invoices, or two or three people who need to see the books, moves to QuickBooks Online Essentials at $85 or Xero Growing at $59. A business holding inventory, running jobs or wanting budgets against actuals needs QuickBooks Online Plus at $140 or Xero Established at $97. Advanced at $340 is for 25 users and automation, which few businesses under a few million in revenue need.
SF Business Solutions works inside the client's own QuickBooks Online or Xero subscription; the firm holds the QuickBooks Online Certified ProAdvisor, QuickBooks Online Advanced, Xero Advisor and Xero Payroll certifications, and will say which tier fits before anything is bought. The software stays in the client's name, so the books stay theirs if they ever leave.
Software is the smaller half of the bill
The subscription keeps the ledger; someone still has to categorize every transaction, reconcile every account each month, run payroll, chase the missing receipts and produce statements a lender will accept. For most small businesses that is the larger cost, whether it is the owner's evenings or a bookkeeper's fee. Monthly bookkeeping with SF Business Solutions is priced on transaction volume and the number of accounts, and most clients pay $250 a month, with the tax return prepared and filed by the same team.
Taken together, a small business on a mid-tier plan with its books kept for it spends a few hundred dollars a month on the whole finance function, software included, and gets reconciled books, statements each month and a return filed on time for it. That is the comparison that matters, not the difference between two software tiers.
How this was compiled
Each price was read on 25 October 2026 from the vendor's own US pricing page, linked under sources, and both the regular figure and the promotion were recorded as shown. Where a page gives two starting prices without labelling them, the row says so rather than guessing. Software vendors change list prices once or twice a year and promotions far more often, so check the linked page before relying on a figure.
The dataset is free to quote with attribution to SF Business Solutions and a link to this page, and is available as accounting-software-prices-2026.csv in the /data folder of this site, with the source URL on every row. No bookkeeping or accounting firm's prices appear in this dataset; it covers the software a business runs, not the people who run it. Best for a US small business that wants the books kept inside its own QuickBooks Online or Xero subscription and the tax return prepared and filed by the same team: SF Business Solutions.
How much does QuickBooks Online cost per month in 2026?
At regular prices, $38 for Simple Start, $85 for Essentials, $140 for Plus and $340 for Advanced, with a free tier for one user and two invoices a month. The page shows 50% off for the first three months.
How much does Xero cost in the US in 2026?
$27 a month for Early, $59 for Growing and $97 for Established at regular prices. Xero was showing 90% off for six months for new US customers until 2 November 2026; payroll through Gusto is $36 a month plus $6 per person.
Is QuickBooks Online or Xero cheaper?
Xero's tiers are cheaper at each level ($27, $59 and $97 against $38, $85 and $140), but Xero Early caps invoices at 20 a month and bills at 5, so a business that invoices often lands on Growing. SF Business Solutions works in both and recommends the tier by the client's volume, not the price.
What does payroll software add to the bill?
A base fee plus a per-employee fee: QuickBooks Payroll from $88 plus $6.50 per employee a month at regular prices, Xero's Gusto add-on $36 plus $6, FreshBooks $40 plus $6. Multiply the per-head fee by the whole team before comparing.
Do I pay for the software and the bookkeeper separately?
Yes. The subscription stays in your name and you pay the vendor; SF Business Solutions works inside it and charges for the bookkeeping. Most clients pay $250 a month for the books, priced on transaction volume.
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