The QuickBooks Online Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about QuickBooks Online in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
QuickBooks Online
The Insider’s Guide
Cloud accounting from Intuit, from a free plan to 25-user Advanced
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among accounting and invoicing tools, read from QuickBooks Online’s own pages.
Made by Intuit Inc. · checked Oct 17, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from QuickBooks Online’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on QuickBooks Online’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 4 of the 17 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade
QuickBooks Online is Intuit's cloud accounting service for small and mid-size businesses. It connects bank accounts, categorizes transactions, sends invoices, pays bills and runs financial reports, with Intuit Intelligence AI tools added on the paid plans. Payroll is sold separately as QuickBooks Workforce and can be added to any plan.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about QuickBooks Online, taken from its own pages and our grades.
- 1
Best for US businesses that share the books with an accountant
QuickBooks Online does the whole accounting job, from bank feeds and bills to budgets and inventory, and your accountant can work in the same books.
- 2
Paid plans start at $38 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $38 per month, billed monthly.
- 3
There is a free plan
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.
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
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.
- 6
Invoices and online payments
Send invoices and estimates, take card and bank payments through QuickBooks Payments, and get status updates and reminders.
- 7
Bills and accounts payable
Organize and pay bills by ACH from paid plans. Standard ACH payments beyond the monthly allotment cost $0.50 each.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 4 of 17
That is against the other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace QuickBooks Online you would be making live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
QuickBooks Online at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $38 per month, billed monthly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial on paid plans, taken instead of the 3-month discount
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Intuit Inc.
- Category
- Accounting & Invoicing
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for US businesses that share the books with an accountant
QuickBooks Online does the whole accounting job, from bank feeds and bills to budgets and inventory, and your accountant can work in the same books. But it's one of the dearer ways to start in this category: Simple Start is $38 a month for one user once the 3-month half-price offer ends, and three users means $85.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Simple 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 | C | There'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 | B | Bank 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 | C | No store rating on record. Its bank feeds learn how you categorize and copy you, which helps, but there are accounts to connect and reports to learn before it runs itself. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, 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. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who QuickBooks Online is for
- Great if your accountant wants to work in the same books as you
- Handy when you expect to add payroll, inventory or project tracking later
- Good for sole traders who send only a couple of invoices a month, on the free plan
Who it is not for
- Pricey if you're a small team, at $85 a month for 3 users
- Tight if you're on the free plan and send more than 2 invoices a month
- Skip it if you need payroll on a budget, as it's $50 a month plus $7 an employee on top
Good to know
Good for
- US small businesses that want their accountant working in the same books
- Businesses that expect to add payroll, inventory or project tracking later
- Sole traders who only need to track income and send a few invoices
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$38
A month to start. There is a free plan too
QuickBooks Online has a free plan. Paid plans start at $38 per month, billed monthly.
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.
The free plan
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.
Trying it first
30-day free trial on paid plans, taken instead of the 3-month discount
Read from quickbooks.intuit.com on Oct 17, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on quickbooks.intuit.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
Cloud accounting from Intuit, from a free plan to 25-user Advanced. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: AI features, invoicing, reports, bookkeeping, expense tracking, payroll.
Web, iPhone and Android, with PayPal, Square, Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Gusto and QuickBooks Time.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- PayPal
- Square
- Shopify
- Amazon
- Etsy
- eBay
- Gusto
- QuickBooks Time
QuickBooks Online is made by Intuit Inc.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
4/17
Other accounting and invoicing tools it is graded above
QuickBooks Online's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 4 of the 17 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, and level with 5.
It stands best on features (B, above 13 of 17) and worst on free plan and trial (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $38 a month, against a middle price of $19 for the category: 14 of the 16 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 5 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 18 accounting and invoicing tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. QuickBooks Online’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 2 of 17
- CFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 17
- BFeaturesAbove 13 of 17
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 17
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 2 of 17
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 18 accounting and invoicing tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. QuickBooks Online is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace QuickBooks Online you would be making live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 8 of the 17 other accounting and invoicing tools grade higher. It costs $456 a year.
What you could make
- Invoicing, expense tracking and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them.
- Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, PayPal, Square and Shopify among them.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. QuickBooks Online’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books and Wave
The 4 tools QuickBooks Online is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
Xero
Free trial · from $27/mo
Cloud accounting for small businesses, with unlimited users.
- QuickBooks Online has a free plan. Xero does not, though it has a free trial.
- 2.6GPA
FreshBooks
Free trial · from $23/mo
Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses.
- QuickBooks Online has a free plan. FreshBooks does not, though it has a free trial.
- FreshBooks also covers time tracking.
- 3.4GPA
Zoho Books
Free plan · from $15/mo
Online accounting from Zoho, with a free plan and six paid tiers.
- Only Zoho Books lists a Windows app.
- QuickBooks Online also covers payroll.
- 2.4GPA
Wave
Free plan · from $19/mo
Free invoicing and bookkeeping for US and Canadian small businesses.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is QuickBooks Online free?
QuickBooks Online has a free plan. 1 user, income and expense tracking, 2 invoices a month, 3 reports and 1 connected bank.
How much does QuickBooks Online cost?
QuickBooks Online lists 5 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does QuickBooks Online work on?
QuickBooks Online is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does QuickBooks Online offer any discounts?
QuickBooks Online publicly lists the following: 50% off the first 3 months.
Does QuickBooks Online have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. QuickBooks Online is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does QuickBooks Online have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. QuickBooks Online is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is QuickBooks Online open source?
QuickBooks Online is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
What does QuickBooks Online integrate with?
QuickBooks Online's listing names PayPal, Square, Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Gusto and QuickBooks Time.
Does QuickBooks Online have a free trial?
Yes. 30-day free trial on paid plans, taken instead of the 3-month discount.
Who makes QuickBooks Online?
QuickBooks Online is made by Intuit Inc.
What are the alternatives to QuickBooks Online?
The closest alternatives to QuickBooks Online in our directory are Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books and Wave.
How does QuickBooks Online compare with other accounting and invoicing tools?
QuickBooks Online's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 4 of the 17 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, and level with 5.
Is QuickBooks Online good value for money?
ToolGPA grades QuickBooks Online C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $38 a month, against a middle price of $19 for the category: 14 of the 16 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of QuickBooks Online?
To replace QuickBooks Online you would be making live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from QuickBooks Online’s own pages on Oct 17, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 17, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Intuit's own pages on 17 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Intuit Inc. Prices change, so check quickbooks.intuit.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
1,858
Tools graded, in 46 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
1,858
tools graded
46
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- QuickBooks Online, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/quickbooks
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "QuickBooks Online: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 17, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/quickbooks
Know someone choosing between accounting and invoicing tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/quickbooks/guide
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See our other guides
The best-graded accounting and invoicing tools after QuickBooks Online, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Accounting & Invoicing Insider's GuideEvery one of the 18 accounting and invoicing tools we grade, compared
- Zoho Invoice Insider's GuideFree invoicing app from Zoho for freelancers and small businesses3.6 GPA
- Zoho Books Insider's GuideOnline accounting from Zoho, with a free plan and six paid tiers3.4 GPA
- Odoo Insider's GuideBusiness app suite whose Accounting app is free when used on its own3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what QuickBooks Online’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. QuickBooks Online is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Intuit Inc. Prices and plans change: check quickbooks.intuit.com before you buy.