The ZipBooks Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about ZipBooks 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.
ZipBooks
The Insider’s Guide
Browser-based invoicing and bookkeeping with a free starter plan
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among accounting and invoicing tools, read from ZipBooks’s own pages.
Made by ZipBooks · 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 ZipBooks’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on ZipBooks’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
ZipBooks is web-based accounting software for small businesses and freelancers, made in Utah. The free Starter plan covers unlimited invoices and contacts with one connected bank account, and the paid plans add recurring billing, time tracking, tagging, reconciliation and more users. It also sells an Accountant plan for bookkeeping firms that manage client books.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about ZipBooks, taken from its own pages and our grades.
No store rating on record, as there's no app.
- 1
Best for free invoicing and simple books in a browser
It all runs in a browser now, since the phone app was dropped.
- 2
Paid plans start at $15 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $15 per month, billed monthly.
- 3
There is a 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.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Invoices and quotes
Custom invoices and quotes with taxes, discounts and over 100 currencies. Recurring invoices, auto-billing and payment reminders start on Smarter.
- 6
Online payments
Customers pay invoices by card through a connected Square, PayPal or Stripe account.
- 7
Bookkeeping with auto-categorizing
Bank transactions land in one list and are categorized by learned rules, with custom categories and 1099 tracking for vendors.
- 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 ZipBooks 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.
ZipBooks at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $15 per month, billed monthly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial of the paid features, no credit card required
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- ZipBooks
- Category
- Accounting & Invoicing
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for free invoicing and simple books in a browser
ZipBooks gives you unlimited invoices and one connected bank account for free, and Smarter at $15 a month adds recurring billing, reminders, time tracking and room for 5 people. It all runs in a browser now, since the phone app was dropped. And reconciling your accounts waits for Sophisticated at $35, which is where it stops being cheap.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Smarter 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. |
| Free plan and trial | B | Starter 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. |
| Features | C | Invoices 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. |
| Ease of use | C | No 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. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web 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. |
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 ZipBooks is for
- Great if you're a freelancer who wants free invoicing with basic books behind it
- Handy when you bill for time and want the hours pulled straight onto invoices
- Good for US sole traders with one business bank account, on the free plan
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want a phone app, as ZipBooks dropped it and points you to the browser
- Pricey if you need to reconcile your accounts, which waits for Sophisticated at $35 a month
- Not for you if you bank outside the US, since some of those connections may not sync
Good to know
Good for
- Freelancers who want free invoicing with basic books
- Small service businesses that bill for time
- Bookkeepers who manage several client accounts from one dashboard
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$15
A month to start. There is a free plan too
ZipBooks has a free plan. Paid plans start at $15 per month, billed monthly.
Recurring invoices, reminders and time tracking need Smarter.
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.
The 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.
Trying it first
30-day free trial of the paid features, no credit card required
Read from zipbooks.com on Oct 17, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Browser-based invoicing and bookkeeping with a free starter plan. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: time tracking, invoicing, reports, bookkeeping, expense tracking.
The listing names the gaps: the phone app is gone, and some bank connections outside the US may not sync.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Square
- PayPal
- Stripe
- Gusto
- Slack
ZipBooks is made by ZipBooks.
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
ZipBooks'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 free plan and trial (B, above 10 of 17) and worst on features (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $15 a month, against a middle price of $19 for the category: 5 of the 16 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 3 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. ZipBooks’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 2 of 17
- BFree plan and trialAbove 10 of 17
- CFeaturesAbove 0 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. ZipBooks 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 ZipBooks 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 $180 a year.
What you could make
- Invoicing, expense tracking, reports and time tracking: 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.
- It plugs into other products, Square, PayPal and Stripe among them.
What this rests on. ZipBooks’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
Wave, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books and Akaunting
The 5 tools ZipBooks is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Wave
Free plan · from $19/mo
Free invoicing and bookkeeping for US and Canadian small businesses.
- Only Wave lists iOS and Android apps.
- ZipBooks also covers time tracking.
- Wave also covers payroll.
- 2.6GPA
FreshBooks
Free trial · from $23/mo
Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses.
- ZipBooks has a free plan. FreshBooks does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only FreshBooks lists iOS and Android apps.
- FreshBooks also covers payroll.
- 2.4GPA
QuickBooks Online
Free plan · from $38/mo
Cloud accounting from Intuit, from a free plan to 25-user Advanced.
- Only QuickBooks Online lists iOS and Android apps.
- ZipBooks also covers time tracking.
- QuickBooks Online also covers payroll.
- 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 Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- ZipBooks also covers time tracking.
- 2.2GPA
Akaunting
Free plan · from $72/yr
Open-source accounting you can host yourself or use in the cloud.
- Akaunting is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- ZipBooks also covers time tracking.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
13
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 ZipBooks free?
ZipBooks has a free plan. Starter plan: unlimited invoices, customers and vendors, card payments through Square or PayPal, basic reports and 1 connected bank account.
How much does ZipBooks cost?
ZipBooks lists 3 plans. Starter: $0.
What platforms does ZipBooks work on?
ZipBooks is available on Web.
Does ZipBooks have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. ZipBooks is listed for Web.
Does ZipBooks have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. ZipBooks is listed for Web.
Is ZipBooks open source?
ZipBooks is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
What does ZipBooks integrate with?
ZipBooks's listing names Square, PayPal, Stripe, Gusto and Slack. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Does ZipBooks have a free trial?
Yes. 30-day free trial of the paid features, no credit card required.
Who makes ZipBooks?
ZipBooks is made by ZipBooks.
What are the alternatives to ZipBooks?
The closest alternatives to ZipBooks in our directory are Wave, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books and Akaunting.
How does ZipBooks compare with other accounting and invoicing tools?
ZipBooks's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 4 of the 17 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, and level with 5.
Is ZipBooks good value for money?
ToolGPA grades ZipBooks C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $15 a month, against a middle price of $19 for the category: 5 of the 16 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of ZipBooks?
To replace ZipBooks 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 ZipBooks’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 ZipBooks' 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 ZipBooks. Prices change, so check zipbooks.com before you buy.
- zipbooks.com/pricing
- zipbooks.com/
- zipbooks.com/wp-content/themes/wordpress-theme/css/main.css
- zipbooks.com/accountant/
- help.zipbooks.com/en/articles/2912762-how-do-i-upgrade-or-change-my-subscription
- help.zipbooks.com/en/articles/3069039-did-my-free-plan-expire
- help.zipbooks.com/en/articles/4820046-does-zipbooks-have-a-mobile-app
- help.zipbooks.com/en/articles/3020903-does-zipbooks-work-outside-of-the-united-states
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
- ZipBooks, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/zipbooks
- 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, "ZipBooks: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 17, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/zipbooks
Know someone choosing between accounting and invoicing tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/zipbooks/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded accounting and invoicing tools after ZipBooks, 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 ZipBooks’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. ZipBooks is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by ZipBooks. Prices and plans change: check zipbooks.com before you buy.