Link My Books vs QuickBooks Online (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, QuickBooks Online grades higher than Link My Books: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
QuickBooks Online grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Link My Books
Ecommerce payout and tax reconciliation for Xero and QuickBooks
QuickBooks Online
Cloud accounting from Intuit, from a free plan to 25-user Advanced
Which one is for you
Pick Link My Books if
- Fits if you sell on several marketplaces and keep books in Xero
- Works for small shops that want unlimited users
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you grow: the price follows your rolling average of monthly orders
- Tight on Lite: 1 channel and 3 months of history
- Watch out: extra channels on Premium cost $17 each, per the vendor's help center
- Watch out: Walmart is US only, TikTok Shop is UK and US, and QuickBooks means QuickBooks Online
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
How we grade them
| 2.2GPALink My BooksFair | 2.4GPAQuickBooks OnlineFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$20 a month for up to 15 orders and 1 channel, then $47 at 1,000 orders and $112 at 10,000. About the category's middle, and it rises with you. | CSimple Start is $38 a month for 1 user, above the dearer quarter of accounting tools at $31.10 but short of the dearest tenth at $49. Three users is $85, and inventory and budgets need Plus at $140. The 50% off lasts only 3 months. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day free trial with no card. There is no free plan. | CThere's a free plan, but it's 2 invoices a month, 3 reports and 1 bank account, with no accountant access or mobile app. You'll hit that fast. Paid plans have a 30-day trial instead of the discount. |
| Features | CSettlement posting, VAT, sales tax and GST, profit and loss by channel and many channels. It does one job fully, a smaller job than accounting, and Xero or QuickBooks does the books. | BBank feeds that learn your categories, invoices and payments, bill pay by ACH, reports, budgets, project profit, inventory, classes, AI that reconciles and flags oddities, and payroll as an add-on. That's the whole job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you connect each sales channel and your accounting system. | CNo store rating on record. Its bank feeds learn how you categorize and copy you, but there are accounts to connect and reports to learn before it runs itself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Xero, QuickBooks Online, Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Etsy, Walmart and Square. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with PayPal, Square, Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Gusto and QuickBooks Time. No desktop app is listed, and the free plan gets no mobile app or third-party apps. |
| Best for | online sellers who post settlements to Xero or QuickBooks | US businesses that share the books with an accountant |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Link My Books and QuickBooks Online. How we grade
Price against what you get
Link My Books starts at $20 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. QuickBooks Online starts at $38 a month and scores 2.7.
QuickBooks Online scores higher, and starts $18 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 18 score higher than Link My Books for less, and 6 score higher than QuickBooks Online for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Link My Books also covers workflow automation, online store and amazon selling.
- QuickBooks Online also covers invoicing, expense tracking and payroll.
At a glance
| Link My Books | QuickBooks Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $20 per month for up to 15 orders a month | $38 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | 1 user, income and expense tracking, 2 invoices a month, 3 reports and 1 connected bank. No accountant access, mobile app or third-party apps. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no card required | 30-day free trial on paid plans, taken instead of the 3-month discount |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Link My Books | Intuit Inc. |
| Price read from | help.linkmybooks.com | quickbooks.intuit.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Link My Books
- Price follows a rolling average of monthly orders across all channels, so it rises as a shop grows.
- Extra channels on Premium cost $17 each on top of the plan, according to the vendor's help center.
- Xero is supported on all plans except Cashbook, and QuickBooks only on QuickBooks Online.
- Walmart is supported for the US only, and TikTok Shop for the UK and US.
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.
Key features
Link My Books
- Settlement posting
- Imports payouts from each channel, summarizes them and posts them to Xero or QuickBooks Online so entries match bank deposits.
- VAT, sales tax and GST
- Applies VAT (UK), sales tax (US) and GST (AU) rules to transactions, with product groups for mixed tax rates.
- Profit and loss by channel
- Shows profit across channels in one place and tracks cost of goods sold to give a view of monthly profit.
- Many channels
- Connects Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Etsy, Walmart (US only), TikTok Shop (UK and US), WooCommerce and Square.
- Historical catch-up
- Imports 90 days of settlements during the trial; paid plans reach back 3 to 24 months, with older data sold as a one-off purchase.
- Unlimited users
- Invite an accountant, bookkeeper or teammates at no extra charge, with bookable 1-to-1 onboarding calls on all plans.
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.
Plans
Link My Books
Lite$20
per month for up to 15 orders, 1 channel, billed monthly
3 months of history. Price rises with orders: $47 at 1,000 and $112 at 10,000 orders a month.
Plus$27
per month for up to 15 orders, 2 channels, billed monthly
12 months of history. Price rises with orders: $55 at 1,000 and $124 at 10,000 orders a month.
Pro$39
per month for up to 15 orders, 5 channels, billed monthly
18 months of history. Price rises with orders: $68 at 1,000 and $137 at 10,000 orders a month.
Premium$45
per month for up to 15 orders, 10 channels, billed monthly
24 months of history. Price rises with orders: $104 at 1,000 and $174 at 10,000 orders a month.
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.
Ways to pay less
Link My Books
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Link My Books or QuickBooks Online?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Link My Books is cheaper to start with: $20 a month, against $38 a month for QuickBooks Online. Link My Books starts at $20 per month for up to 15 orders a month, and QuickBooks Online starts at $38 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Link My Books or QuickBooks Online?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only QuickBooks Online has a free plan. Link My Books does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Link My Books and QuickBooks Online run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only QuickBooks Online lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.