If you run your business on a tight budget, paying for bookkeeping can feel like one more bill you don’t need. QuickBooks, Wave and Zoho Books all offer free entry-level plans that can handle many basic bookkeeping needs, including tracking income and expenses, sending invoices, and running reports.

But each plan offers different features and limitations, so one may fit your business better than the others. Here’s how the three no-cost plans stack up and how to decide which one is right for you.

At a glance: QuickBooks Free vs. Wave Starter vs. Zoho Books Free

Here’s a quick look at what you can expect with each plan, including features, requirements, and limitations:

How these free bookkeeping plans compare on key features

As you can see, all three plans offer many of the same features on the surface, but the specifics are often slightly different. In some cases, one or two plans offer a feature the third doesn’t provide at all, which means that your decision will depend heavily on what you need. Here’s a deeper look at some of the more common elements.

Invoicing and estimates

QuickBooks Free lets you send just two invoices and one estimate per month. That could be enough if you bill just one or two retainer clients, but it becomes less helpful if you bill per project or take on more clients. (Note, businesses that qualify for and enable Quickbooks Payments get upgraded to unlimited invoices.)

With Wave Starter, there’s no limit to how many invoices and estimates you can send. The only downside is that you can’t use the platform’s automated process, including reminders, unless you accept online payments, which come with transaction fees.

Zoho Books Free provides up to 1,000 invoices annually—with automation, payment reminders, and recurring invoices—and no limit to the number of quotes you can send. For businesses generating less than $50,000 in revenue each year, this could be the most convenient option. 

Bank connections

QuickBooks Free is the only one that allows you to import bank transactions automatically, which is a significant advantage for business owners looking to save time. You can link one bank account, and QuickBooks will import transactions and categorize them. Your job is to just spend a few minutes every week reviewing its work. 

With Wave Starter, you can’t link a bank account, but you can upload bank and credit card statements as CSV and other eligible file types. Zoho Books Free doesn’t include automated bank fees, either. But like Wave, it allows you to import bank statements as CSV or other eligible file types.

Importing transactions manually may be better than entering each one manually, but that can still be a time suck. 

Receipts and mileage

These are two key things you’ll want to keep track of throughout the year, so you can properly deduct your eligible business and mileage expenses on your tax return every year.

With QuickBooks Free, you can upload two receipts and track five business trips per month, both of which are easy caps to hit. 

Meanwhile, Wave Starter doesn’t provide receipt capture at all, though you can add it as a standalone paid feature for $8 per month or $72 per year. Additionally, Wave integrates with a third-party app called Driversnote, which offers automatic tracking with its mobile app for up to 15 trips per month with its free plan—unlimited tracking starts at $11 per month.

Finally, Zoho Books offers 50 receipt autoscans monthly and also includes automatic mileage tracking with the Zoho Expense app.

Users and accountant access

All three plans allow just one user, so if you have a part-time bookkeeper or another person helping with billing, you may need a paid plan. Beyond that, Zoho Books Free is the only no-cost plan that also gives your accountant direct access to your books. 

That means that with both QuickBooks Free and Wave Starter, you’ll need to download the necessary reports yourself and send them to your accountant. 

QuickBooks and Wave make up for this a little by offering seamless integration with online tax preparation services—QuickBooks Live Tax and Block Advisors, respectively—making it easier for you to file your taxes every year. With Zoho Books, you can manage 1099s through integration with Tax Bandits, but that’s it. 

Financial reports

Some financial reports are necessary for filing your taxes, while others can give you key insights into how your business is faring. 

With QuickBooks Free, you’ll get just three reports: profit and loss, balance sheet, and account summary. In contrast, Wave Starter offers about 15 reports across seven categories, including financial statements, taxes, payroll, tags, customers, vendors, and detailed reporting.

Zoho Books Free goes even further, offering more than 50 different reports to give you a comprehensive picture of your business financials.

Sales tax

If you plan to collect and pay sales tax, QuickBooks Free requires you to add it to invoices manually. With Wave Starter, you can assign a tax rate, and it’ll track it for you. You can also get reports on sales tax collected and paid. 

Zoho Books Free, on the other hand, doesn’t include sales tax tracking at all, which could be a dealbreaker for many business owners.

Contractor management

If you hire a freelancer or part-time helper, QuickBooks Free makes it easy to track payments and handle tax compliance, including the W-9 invites and annual 1099 filing. The only caveat is that you’re limited to one contractor.

If you want more than that, Zoho Books doesn’t specify a limit to the number of contractor payments you can manage. It’ll also help you collect W-9 forms and generate 1099 forms for tax season.

Wave Starter is the only free plan that doesn’t include 1099 management at all. Instead, you’ll need to add a payroll subscription, which costs $40 per month plus $6 per contractor. The upside is that Wave will file your 1099 forms for you rather than simply generating them. 

Accepting online payments

All three no-cost plans allow you to accept payments, though you can expect transaction fees with each. All three accept credit and debit cards, as well as ACH payments, and Zoho Books only offers those options. 

QuickBooks also accepts PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Affirm. As of this writing, fees include 1% for ACH payments and 2.99% for cards and digital wallets.

With Wave, you can also accept Apple Pay. As of this writing, card fees range from 2.9% plus $0.60 to 3.4% plus $0.60, depending on the payment network. ACH payments come with a 1% fee ($1 minimum). 

Finally, Zoho Books fees include 2.9% plus $0.30 for domestic cards (tack on another 1.5% for international cards), and 0.80% for ACH payments, which are capped at $5.

Which free plan fits your business?

The right plan for you depends largely on how your business operates and the specific features you need. 

QuickBooks Free

QuickBooks Free makes the most sense if you send no more than two invoices a month, need minimal mileage tracking, and want automated expense tracking. It can also be helpful if you have a single contractor and want help tracking payments and tax compliance.

It might not be the right fit, though, if your business activity surpasses the plan’s invoice, estimate, mileage, or receipt capture limits. 

Wave Starter

Wave is probably a better fit if you send a lot of invoices and don’t mind sending them manually or uploading bank statements or entering transactions yourself. It can also be good if you want more reports than what QuickBooks Free has to offer.

However, you’ll need to buy add-ons if you want features like receipt capture and contractor management, and you have to use a completely separate app—and subscription—for mileage tracking. 

Zoho Books Free

Zoho Books is exclusively available to businesses with less than $50,000 in annual revenue, so if you’re already above that, it’s not an option. That can also be a deterrent if you’re close to that threshold or expect to be in the near future.

But if you’re not expecting to generate that kind of revenue for a while, it can be a great option if you want accountant access, generous limits for invoices and receipts, and robust reporting. Just remember that if you collect sales tax, you’re on your own to manage that.

The takeaway

QuickBooks Free, Wave Starter, and Zoho Books Free all offer compelling features, but none of them is necessarily the best fit for every business. Before you sign up, list the bookkeeping tasks you handle most often and check them against each plan’s caps. Moving your books to new software later takes time, so it’s worth choosing the plan you’re least likely to outgrow over the next year.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the best free accounting software for small businesses?

The best free accounting software for your small business depends on how you work. Take your time to research and evaluate several options to choose the best fit for you.

Is Zoho Books as good as QuickBooks?

It depends on the features your business needs and the plan you choose. Each company offers different plan tiers that are designed for specific businesses and needs, so it’s important to know what you’re looking for.

Is Wave as good as QuickBooks?

For freelancers, sole proprietors, and other small operations, both Wave and QuickBooks offer free and low-cost tiers that can offer everything you need. However, QuickBooks offers more plan tiers, giving larger businesses more features and support.