Zoho Books: Best overall

Zoho Books combines comprehensive features alongside six pricing plans — including a forever free option — making it extremely scalable for businesses of many sizes. Cloud accounting features include recurring invoices, expense and mileage tracking, sales and purchase orders, budgeting, inventory control and many more features. Zoho Books also syncs seamlessly with other Zoho products, making it a great option for businesses looking for a full software stack.

Pricing

• Free: $0 for businesses with less than $50K USD per calendar year.
• Standard: $15 per organization per month billed annually, or $20 per organization per month billed monthly.
• Professional: $40 per organization per month billed annually, or $50 per organization per month billed monthly.
• Premium: $60 per organization per month billed annually, or $70 per organization per month billed monthly. A 14-day free trial is available for this plan.
• Elite: $120 per organization per month billed annually, or $150 per organization per month billed monthly.
• Ultimate: $240 per organization per month billed annually, or $275 per organization per month billed monthly.

Zoho Books also offers the following add-ons:

• Additional users: $3 per user per month.
• Advanced auto scans: $10 per month for 50 scans per month.
• Snail mails: $2 per credit.

Features

• Automatic transaction sync.
• Expense and mileage tracking.
• Invoicing and estimate tools.
• Inventory management available.

Pros

• Forever free plan available for small businesses.
• Free Zoho Books webinar every week.
• Six pricing plans offer excellent scalability.
• Integrates seamlessly with the entire Zoho software stack.

Cons

• Need an outside integration for automatic sales tax calculations.
• Must set up free invoicing and inventory add-ons to get full functionality in those areas.
• Charges a small fee for extra users.
• Email-only support for the free plan.

For more information, read the full Zoho Books review.

QuickBooks Online: Most comprehensive

QuickBooks Online is the industry standard in cloud accounting software, and it’s easy to see why: It comes with comprehensive accounting features even on the most basic entry-level plan. Pretty much every accountant is familiar with QuickBooks, speeding up your tax prep. However, QuickBooks’s advantages come at a price, since it’s one of the most expensive options on this list. Therefore, QuickBooks is the best choice for businesses that can justify the price.

Pricing

• QuickBooks Simple Start: $30 per month with access for one user.
• QuickBooks Essentials: $60 per month with access for up to three users.
• QuickBooks Plus: $90 per month with access for up to five users.
• QuickBooks Advanced: $200 per month with access for up to 25 users.

Features

• Create invoices, estimates and quotes.
• Automatic income and expense tracking.
• Free receipt capture offered for all plans.
• Payroll add-on available in all 50 states.

Pros

• Unlimited invoices, clients and bills on all plans.
• Familiar to accountants all over the world.
• Expense and mileage tracking on all plans.
• Sales tax is calculated automatically right in the tool.

Cons

• Customer service could be improved.
• Higher than average prices.
• Each plan limits the number of users.
• Must choose between a free trial and a discount on the first three months of service.

For more information, read the full QuickBooks Online review.

Xero: Most user friendly

Xero Accounting offers a user-friendly interface that is easy to learn, even if you’ve never used accounting software before. Its entry level plan is affordable, though it’s best suited to freelancers, solopreneurs and small businesses since it only allows 20 invoices and 5 bills per month. Other features include financial reporting, project and time tracking, documentation management, expense management and payroll acceptance.

Pricing

• Early: $15 per month.
• Growing: $42 per month.
• Established: $78 per month.

Features

• Inventory tracking and order creation.
• Accounting and financial reports.
• Manage customer and vendor contacts.
• Mobile app for expense management.

Pros

• Unlimited users on all plans.
• Guided setup process.
• Project and time tracking included on some plans.
• Optional to add Gusto payroll.

Cons

• Early plan limited to 20 invoices and 5 bills per month.
• Only one organization per account.
• Many features are confined to the most expensive Established plan.
• No telephone support available.

For more information, read the full Xero review.

Sage Intacct: Best for mid-size businesses

While Sage does offer some other cloud accounting software products that are suitable for freelancers and small businesses, Sage Intacct is meant for mid-size businesses. Sage Intacct enhances the general ledger with automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to make it easier to manage accounts receivable and payable. The Multi-Entity Insights reporting module provides analytics for growing businesses whose accounting needs are becoming more complex.

Pricing

Sage Intacct does not disclose pricing for this software product — interested customers must contact the sales team for a personalized pricing quote.

Features

• AI-enhanced general ledger.
• Multi-Entity Insights for growing businesses.
• Advanced accounting modules can be added on.
• Salesforce integration available.

Pros

• Meets the demands of specialized industries.
• Option to add fixed asset management.
• Advanced financial analytics available.
• Excellent customer support.

Cons

• Pricing is not transparent.
• Customers say that pricing tends to run high.
• Software interface is not very intuitive.
• Too advanced for small businesses.

FreshBooks: Best for invoicing and payment acceptance

If your business relies on sending invoices and accepting payments, then definitely check out FreshBooks. This cloud accounting software makes it very easy to create customized, professional invoices and send them to clients, then accept full or partial payments through credit cards and ACH payments. Users can send reminders, charge late fees and accept multiple currencies all within FreshBooks or you can connect to several major payment gateways.

Pricing

• Lite: $17 per month billed monthly or $204 billed yearly. Allows users to bill five clients per month.
• Plus: $30 per month billed monthly or $360 billed yearly. Allows users to bill 50 clients per month.
• Premium: $55 per month billed monthly or $660 billed yearly. Includes unlimited billable clients.
• Select: Custom quote pricing for enterprises.

Features

• Easy-to-use invoicing tools.
• Convert estimates and proposals to invoices.
• Accept payments directly in FreshBooks.
• Native expense and time tracking.

Pros

• Transparent, affordable pricing plans.
• Well-reviewed mobile apps.
• Payroll integration with Gusto and SurePayroll.
• Built-in project tracking.

Cons

• Limited accounting features and only 5 users on the Lite plan.
• Charges $20 per month for Advanced Payments feature.
• Additional users cost $11 per person per month.
• Could use more third-party integrations.

For more information, read the full FreshBooks review.

Wave Accounting: Best budget option

Wave’s accounting and invoicing features are free forever — yes, you read that correctly! Instead of charging for those tools, Wave earns money through standard payment fees and optional add-ons like mobile receipts and payroll. Users get unlimited users, invoices, clients, bank accounts and credit connections with each Wave account, making it an excellent choice for businesses looking for cloud accounting software on a budget.

Pricing

• Accounting: Free forever.
• Invoicing: Free forever.
• Credit card payments: 2.9% (or 3.4% for AMEX) + $0.60 per transaction.
• Bank payments: 1% per transaction.
• Mobile receipts: $8 a month or $72 a year.
• Payroll: $40 a month in tax service states and $20 a month in self service states, plus $6 per active employee or independent contractor paid each month.
• Advisors: $149 a month for ongoing bookkeeping support, or $379 for a one-time accounting and payroll coaching package.

Features

• Sales and sales tax tracking included.
• Customizable, automatable invoices.
• Detailed income and expense tracking.
• Simple finance and accounting reports.

Pros

• Free forever accounting and invoicing tools.
• Unlimited users, clients, invoices and bank accounts.
• Easy-to-navigate interface.
• Manage multiple businesses in one accounting software.

Cons

• Mobile receipt capture requires paid add-on.
• No built-in integrations available.
• Accounting features are not as comprehensive as some competitors.
• Customer support through email and chat only.

For more information, read the full Wave Accounting review.