QuickBooks Online vs Xero vs FreshBooks vs Zoho Books

Written head to head: QuickBooks Online vs Xero · QuickBooks Online vs FreshBooks · Xero vs FreshBooks · Zoho Books vs QuickBooks Online, with when to choose each side.

Compared on	QuickBooks Online Free plan · from $38/mo VisitRemove	Xero From $27/mo VisitRemove	FreshBooks Free trial · from $20.70/mo VisitRemove	Zoho Books Free plan · from $15/mo VisitRemove
What it is	Intuit's cloud accounting for US small businesses, from a free tier to plans with AI bookkeeping	Cloud accounting with three US plans, no per-user fees, Gusto payroll and the JAX AI assistant	Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses, priced by number of billable clients	Accounting with a free plan under $50K revenue, six US plans priced per organization and the Zia AI assistant
Free plan	1 user, no accountant access, up to 2 invoices a month (unlimited if you qualify for and enable QuickBooks Payments), the top 3 reports (profit and loss, balance sheet, account quick report), 1 bank connection, chat support. No credit card required. Mobile app access and third-party integrations are not available on Free.	No	No	For businesses with financial-year revenue under $50K: 1 user plus 1 accountant, up to 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year, 50 receipt autoscans a month, 5 scheduled reports, email support. Bank feeds are not included; document autoscans are the only add-on allowed.
Cheapest paid plan	$38/mo (Simple Start)QuickBooks Online pricing	$27/mo (Early)Xero pricing	$20.70/mo billed annually (Lite)FreshBooks pricing	$15/mo billed annually (Standard)Zoho Books pricing
What it covers	1 user plus access for 2 accountants. Promotion: 50% off ($19/month) for the first 3 months. No annual contract; the pricing page shows no annual price.	Per organization, no per-user licence fees; send quotes and 20 invoices, enter 5 bills; auto-reconcile is a $5/month add-on. Promotion: 90% off ($2.70/month) for the first 6 months for new US customers, until 2 November 2026.	Invoice up to 5 billable clients; extra team members $11/month each; $248.40 billed yearly. Promotion: 80% off ($4.60/month) for the first 4 months.	Per organization; 3 users, up to 5,000 invoices and 5,000 bills/expenses a year, 200 receipt autoscans a month. Extra users $3/user/month ($2.50 billed yearly). Prices exclude local taxes.
Free trial	30-day free trial, shown alongside the 50%-off offer on the pricing page	One month free on any Xero plan	30-day free trial, no credit card required	14-day free trial
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android, Windows, API
Integrations (vendor's figure)	800+ integrations	Integrate with 1000+ apps	100+ apps in the FreshBooks AppStore	Not stated
Open source	No	No	No	No
Good for	US small businesses that want accounting, invoicing and payroll from one vendor Sole owners starting on a free plan with a few invoices a month Growing teams that need inventory, project profitability and up to 25 users	Small businesses that want several people in the books without per-user fees Businesses that work closely with an accountant or bookkeeper Companies that bill or pay in foreign currencies	Freelancers and consultants who bill a small number of clients Service businesses that invoice for tracked time and project work Owners who want their accountant working in the same books	Micro businesses under $50K revenue that want free double-entry accounting Product businesses that need inventory and purchase orders inside the accounting tool Teams that want custom workflows, approvals and custom modules
Watch out for	Free plan: 1 user, 2 invoices a month unless QuickBooks Payments is enabled, 1 bank connection, no mobile app or third-party integrations User caps: 1 on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus, 25 on Advanced Inventory, budgets and project profitability need Plus ($140/mo); workflow automation and custom permissions need Advanced ($340/mo)	Early caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills, and auto-reconcile costs $5 a month extra Multi-currency, projects and expense claims need Established ($97/mo) Payroll costs $36 a month plus $6 per person through Gusto	Lite invoices only 5 clients and Plus 50; unlimited clients need Premium ($70/mo) Each team member costs $11 a month on top of the plan Bank reconciliation, receipt scanning and accountant access are not on Lite	The Free plan applies only while annual revenue stays under $50K, with 1 user and no bank feeds Annual invoice and bill caps on every plan, from 5,000 on Standard to 100,000 on Elite and Ultimate Multi-currency, projects and inventory need Professional ($50/mo); budgets and cash flow forecasting need Premium
Made by	Intuit Inc.	Xero Limited	2NDSITE Inc.	Zoho Corporation Pvt. Ltd.

Entry prices are the cheapest paid plan, as each vendor publishes it; “What it covers” says what that price is per (a user, a channel, a brand, a number of contacts). The sources are listed on each tool's page.

Every tool in accounting and invoicing software is on its category page, with the written head-to-heads on Compare.