ZipBooks vs Zoho Books
We give ZipBooks a 2.4 GPA and Zoho Books a 3.4, out of 4.0. Zoho Books grades higher on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ZipBooks
Browser-based invoicing and bookkeeping with a free starter plan
Zoho Books
Online accounting from Zoho, with a free plan and six paid tiers
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAZipBooksFair | 3.4GPAZoho BooksVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CSmarter is $15 a month, right at the cheaper quarter of accounting tools, with recurring billing, several bank accounts and time tracking. But reconciling accounts and locking finished books need Sophisticated at $35, above the dearer quarter at $31.10. | BStandard is $15 a month billed yearly ($20 monthly) for the whole business with 3 users, right at the cheaper quarter of this category. It already has bank feeds, sales tax, 1099 e-filing and API access. |
| Free plan and trial | BStarter is free for good: unlimited invoices, customers and vendors, card payments through Square or PayPal, basic reports and 1 connected bank account. One person could live on that. Recurring invoices, reminders and time tracking need Smarter. | BFree for businesses under $50K revenue a year: 1 user plus an accountant, 1,000 invoices a year, bank reconciliation, 1099s and 50+ reports. One person could live on it, though automatic bank feeds need Standard. |
| Features | CInvoices and quotes in 100+ currencies, bank transactions sorted by learned rules, cash or accrual reports, 1099 tracking, time tracking and payroll through Gusto. The listing names the gaps: the phone app is gone, and some bank connections outside the US may not sync. | BInvoices, bills, bank feeds, sales tax, 1099s, projects, multiple currencies, inventory up to warehouses and batch tracking, budgets, custom modules and AI that answers questions about the books. That covers the whole job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, as there's no app. Rules that learn how you sort transactions save some clicking, but there's still a bank to connect and bookkeeping to learn. | A4.81 from 5,247 App Store ratings, the top band for accounting apps. Receipt autoscans work on every plan, the free one included, which saves typing. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, since ZipBooks discontinued its phone app and points you to the browser. What lifts it is the connections: Square, PayPal, Stripe, Gusto and Slack. | AWeb, Windows, iPhone and Android, with an API from Standard up and links to Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy and the rest of Zoho. That's the full spread. |
| Best for | free invoicing and simple books in a browser | a real free plan with room to grow |
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: ZipBooks and Zoho Books. How we grade
Price against what you get
ZipBooks starts at $15 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zoho Books starts at $15 a month and scores 3.7.
Zoho Books scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 3 score higher than ZipBooks for less, and none scores higher than Zoho Books 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
- ZipBooks starts at $15 per month, billed monthly. Zoho Books starts at $15 per organization / month, billed annually.
- Only Zoho Books lists Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- ZipBooks also covers time tracking.
At a glance
| ZipBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per month, billed monthly | $15 per organization / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | Starter plan: unlimited invoices, customers and vendors, card payments through Square or PayPal, basic reports and 1 connected bank account. Free with no time limit. | Free plan for businesses with under $50K revenue a year: 1 user plus 1 accountant, invoices, quotes, expenses, bank reconciliation, 1099s and 50+ reports, with email support. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the paid features, no credit card required | 14-day free trial of the paid plans |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | ZipBooks | Zoho |
| Price read from | zipbooks.com | zoho.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
ZipBooks
- Freelancers who want free invoicing with basic books
- Small service businesses that bill for time
- Bookkeepers who manage several client accounts from one dashboard
Zoho Books
- Very small businesses that want a free plan with real double-entry books
- Companies already using other Zoho apps
- Growing product businesses that will need inventory and warehouses later
Worth knowing
ZipBooks
- There is no mobile app: ZipBooks discontinued it and its help center points phone users to the browser.
- The free plan connects 1 bank account; team members need Smarter, which allows 5, and unlimited users need Sophisticated.
- The Accountant plan for bookkeeping firms is priced by number of clients on a separate page, with no figure in its page text.
- ZipBooks is in English only, and its help center says some bank connections outside the US may not sync.
Zoho Books
- The free plan stays free only while revenue is under $50K a financial year, and paid add-ons other than autoscans cannot be added to it.
- Each plan caps users at 3, 5, 10, 10 or 15; more cost $3 per user a month, or $2.50 billed annually.
- Every plan caps invoices and bills a year: 1,000 on Free, 5,000 on Standard, 10,000 on Professional and 25,000 on Premium.
- These are US prices; Zoho lists separate editions for 18 countries plus a global one, including the UK, Canada, India and Australia.
Key features
ZipBooks
- Invoices and quotes
- Custom invoices and quotes with taxes, discounts and over 100 currencies. Recurring invoices, auto-billing and payment reminders start on Smarter.
- Online payments
- Customers pay invoices by card through a connected Square, PayPal or Stripe account.
- Bookkeeping with auto-categorizing
- Bank transactions land in one list and are categorized by learned rules, with custom categories and 1099 tracking for vendors.
- Tags and reports
- Income statement and balance sheet on cash or accrual basis. Sophisticated adds tags by location or project and reports built on them.
- Time tracking and projects
- Track time live or by hand at fixed or hourly rates and pull the entries onto invoices, from the Smarter plan.
- Payroll through Gusto
- Payroll is handled by Gusto, which connects to ZipBooks as an integration.
Zoho Books
- Invoicing and online payments
- Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, retention payments and automatic reminders, with a customer portal for paying online.
- Banking and reconciliation
- Reconcile accounts on every plan. Automatic bank feeds start on Standard, along with recurring expenses and period locking.
- US tax and 1099s
- Track sales and use tax, manage W-9s and 1099 contractors, and e-file 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC forms from Standard up.
- Projects and inventory
- Professional adds timesheets, project profitability and basic inventory. Elite adds warehouses, serial and batch tracking and shipping labels.
- Automation and customization
- Workflows, approvals and custom roles from Professional; custom modules, buttons and functions from Premium; Blueprints on Elite.
- AI in accounting
- Ask questions about the books in plain English, spot anomalies and automate collections, plus receipt autoscans on every plan.
Plans
ZipBooks
Starter$0
Unlimited invoices, customers and vendors, Square or PayPal payments, basic reports and 1 bank account.
Smarter$15
per month, billed monthly
Adds recurring invoices with auto-bill, automatic reminders, saved line items, several bank accounts, time tracking and 5 team members.
Sophisticated$35
per month, billed monthly
Adds tagging by location, project or custom field, reconciliation, locked books, document sharing, tag-based reports and unlimited users.
Zoho Books
Free$0
Revenue under $50K a year. 1 user and 1 accountant, up to 1,000 invoices a year, recurring invoices, payment reminders and 1099 filing.
Standard$15
per organization / month, billed annually
$20 billed monthly. 3 users, bank feeds, sales and use tax, 1099 e-filing, custom reports, API access and 5,000 invoices a year.
Professional$40
per organization / month, billed annually
$50 billed monthly. 5 users, sales and purchase orders, multiple currencies, timesheets, project profitability, retainers and inventory.
Premium$60
per organization / month, billed annually
$70 billed monthly. 10 users, fixed assets, budgets, cash flow forecasting, a vendor portal and custom modules.
Elite$120
per organization / month, billed annually
$150 billed monthly. 10 users, advanced inventory with warehouses and batch tracking, Etsy, eBay and Amazon channels, and up to 2 Shopify stores.
Ultimate$240
per organization / month, billed annually
$275 billed monthly. 15 users and built-in business intelligence with 50+ prebuilt visualizations, KPI tracking and embeddable reports.
Ways to pay less
ZipBooks
No public discounts listed.
Zoho Books
- Annual discount
Save up to 25% with yearly billing
Yearly billing cuts Standard from $20 to $15 a month, Professional from $50 to $40, Premium from $70 to $60, Elite from $150 to $120 and Ultimate from $275 to $240.
