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

Pick ClearTax if

• Fits if you're an Indian taxpayer with salary or capital gains income who wants a CA to file
• Works for self-employed people in India who want expert-assisted returns

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you're outside India, as it's rupees and Indian tax rules only
• Skip it if you need bookkeeping or invoicing, because it's a tax-filing product
• Watch out: plan prices show only inside checkout, so the figures above are the FAQ's starting prices
• Watch out: audit fees, where an audit is needed, are paid to the auditor and aren't in the plan price

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

ClearTax

• It serves Indian taxpayers and Indian tax rules only, and prices are in rupees.
• The price of each plan is shown only inside the checkout flow; the pricing page's FAQ gives starting prices.
• Audit fees, where an audit is required, are not part of the plan price and are paid to the auditor separately.
• It is a tax-filing product, not general bookkeeping or accounting software.

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.

ClearTax

Self ITR filing

Upload Form 16 or other documents and the return is pre-filled, with old and new tax regimes compared.

CA-assisted filing

A tax expert files the return for salaried people, investors, traders, freelancers, NRIs and people with RSUs or ESOPs.

Capital gains import

Imports capital gains from more than 80 brokers, according to the homepage, for investors and traders.

Year-round tax support

An annual subscription to a personal tax expert is sold for people who want help beyond the filing.

Business tax products

Separate Clear products cover GST, e-invoicing, TDS compliance, vendor management and input tax credit for companies.

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.

ClearTax

• CA-assisted: salary and house rent₹1,299

  per return and up

  Expert-assisted filing for salary and house rent income; the pricing FAQ says plans start from this figure.

• CA-assisted: crypto traders₹2,999

  per return and up

  Expert-assisted plan for people with cryptocurrency income.

• CA-assisted: capital gains₹3,999

  per return and up

  Expert-assisted plan for people with capital gains income.

• CA-assisted: self-employed₹3,999

  per return and up

  Expert-assisted plan for self-employed people and professionals.

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.

ClearTax

No public discounts listed.

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.