Clear Books vs QuickBooks Online (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Clear Books if

• Fits if you're a UK sole trader who needs MTD filing and little else
• Works for small UK limited companies that want invoicing, VAT and bank feeds

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you need invoicing or bank feeds on the free plan: it has neither
• Not for you if you're outside the UK, because it's built for UK tax rules
• Watch out: payroll, Instant Bank Payments and Auto Bills are add-ons
• Watch out: prices exclude VAT, and MTD VAT reporting needs Sole Trader Plus at £15 a month
• Pricey if you need projects, multi-currency or fixed assets: that's the Large plan at £39.60 a month

Pick QuickBooks Online if

• Fits if your accountant wants to work in the same books as you
• Works for US businesses that expect to add payroll, inventory or project tracking later

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you're a small team or need inventory and budgets: $85 a month for 3 users, $140 for Plus with 5
• Watch out: the advertised prices are half off for 3 months only, then $38, $85, $140 or $340 a month
• Tight if you're on the free plan: 2 invoices a month, 1 bank, and no accountant access or mobile app
• Pricey if you need payroll, at $50 a month plus $7 an employee on top
• Skip it if you're outside the US, as these are US plans and prices and other countries have their own sites

Clear Books

• All prices are in pounds and exclude VAT, and the product is built for UK tax rules.
• Property and Foreign Property plans (free or £5 a month) are not shown in the plan list above.
• Payroll, Instant Bank Payments and Auto Bills (on Small, Medium and Large) are optional add-ons.
• Accountants use a separate partner programme, with unlimited MTD from £50 a month.

QuickBooks Online

• The advertised prices are a 50% discount for the first 3 months; the plan then renews at $38, $85, $140 or $340 a month.
• Each plan caps users: 1 on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus and 25 on Advanced.
• Payroll costs extra: Workforce Payroll alone is $50 a month plus $7 per employee, and Premium is $88 plus $13 per employee.
• These are US prices and plans; Intuit runs separate country sites for Canada, the UK, Australia, India and others.

Clear Books

Making Tax Digital

Free plans cover MTD Income Tax quarterly updates and year-end filing, and the vendor calls itself HMRC recognised software.

Invoicing and payments

Create and email invoices with pay buttons for Stripe and GoCardless; Instant Bank Payments is an optional add-on.

Bank feeds and reporting

Paid plans bring in bank feeds with automated matching and a full reporting suite including a balance sheet.

VAT and CIS

MTD VAT reporting starts on Sole Trader Plus and Medium, and CIS reporting for construction subcontractors on Medium.

Auto Bills and receipt capture

Forwarded supplier bills are read and posted automatically, and receipts can be snapped in the mobile apps.

Payroll add-on

Optional payroll with RTI submissions to HMRC, charged for the employees you run, with its own 30-day trial.

QuickBooks Online

Bank feeds and automatic categorizing

Connect bank and card accounts and QuickBooks learns how you categorize transactions, then matches and records new ones the same way.

Invoices and online payments

Send invoices and estimates, take card and bank payments through QuickBooks Payments, and get status updates and reminders.

Bills and accounts payable

Organize and pay bills by ACH from paid plans. Standard ACH payments beyond the monthly allotment cost $0.50 each.

Reports, budgets and projects

Profit and loss and sales reports on every paid plan. Budgets, project profitability, inventory and class tracking start on Plus.

Intuit Intelligence

AI tools that categorize expenses, reconcile books and flag anomalies, with more of them unlocked on Plus and Advanced.

Payroll through QuickBooks Workforce

A separate subscription that runs full-service payroll, files payroll taxes and e-files 1099s, added from the same checkout.

Clear Books

• Sole Trader Free£0

  Making Tax Digital for Income Tax filing and income and expense records, with no bank feeds or invoicing.

• Sole Trader£5

  per month, plus VAT, billed monthly

  For sole traders not registered for VAT: bank feeds, invoicing, receipt scanning, reporting and unlimited users.

• Sole Trader Plus£15

  per month, plus VAT, billed monthly

  Adds MTD VAT reporting, the flat-rate scheme and the VAT domestic reverse charge for VAT-registered sole traders.

• Small£14.40

  per month, plus VAT, billed yearly (£16 billed monthly)

  Limited companies, partnerships and charities: bank feed matching, invoicing, API, dividends tool; £12.80 billed every 2 years.

• Medium£30.60

  per month, plus VAT, billed yearly (£34 billed monthly)

  Adds MTD VAT submissions, purchase orders, CIS returns and unlimited budgets; £27.20 billed every 2 years.

• Large£39.60

  per month, plus VAT, billed yearly (£44 billed monthly)

  Adds project accounting, multi-currency, employee expense claims and fixed assets; £35.20 billed every 2 years.

QuickBooks Online

• Free$0

  1 user, 2 invoices a month, profit and loss, balance sheet and account quick report, and 1 connected bank account.

• Simple Start$38

  per month for 1 user, billed monthly

  Advertised at $19 a month for the first 3 months. Automated bookkeeping, invoicing with online payments, bill pay and access for 2 accountants.

• Essentials$85

  per month for up to 3 users, billed monthly

  Advertised at $42.50 a month for the first 3 months. Adds enhanced reports, employee time on invoices and web lead forms.

• Plus$140

  per month for up to 5 users, billed monthly

  Advertised at $70 a month for the first 3 months. Adds budgets, project profitability, inventory and up to 40 classes and locations.

• Advanced$340

  per month for up to 25 users, billed monthly

  Advertised at $170 a month for the first 3 months. Adds custom roles, workflow automation, Excel sync, batch invoices and priority support.

Clear Books

• Other savings

  50% off the first 3 months

  New monthly, yearly or two-year subscriptions are 50% off for 3 months when bought within 30 days of registration.

• Annual discount

  Save 10% yearly, 20% every two years

  Paying yearly saves 10% and paying every 2 years saves 20% on the Small, Medium and Large plans.

QuickBooks Online

• Other savings

  50% off the first 3 months

  New customers on a monthly plan pay half the base price for the first 3 months, then the regular price. It does not apply to per-employee fees.