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Akaunting vs QuickBooks Online: $12 with paid apps against $38 with the basics built in
Updated Oct 15, 2026
Akaunting's Standard Cloud costs $12 a month, or $8 a month billed yearly, for 1 user plus an accountant and up to 1,000 invoices. Bank feeds and the balance sheet start at Premium Cloud ($36). QuickBooks Online Simple Start costs $38 a month, billed monthly only, for 1 billable user, with bank connections, receipt capture, reconciliation and a balance sheet. QuickBooks also has a free plan capped at 2 invoices a month unless you enable QuickBooks Payments.
At a glance, by our score
- Lowest price
#6 QuickBooks Online
Businesses that want all five basics we check, receipt capture included, on the entry plan
7.0/10GoodOur scoreVisit QuickBooks OnlineOn quickbooks.intuit.com #9 Akaunting
One-person businesses that want open-source books at $8 a month billed yearly, adding paid apps as needed
5.8/10PoorOur scoreVisit AkauntingOn akaunting.com
QuickBooks Online's lowest monthly price is lower than Akaunting's, checked Sep 25, 2026 and Sep 27, 2026.
Side by side
| Criterion | Akaunting | QuickBooks Online |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 5.8/10PoorOur score #9 of 10 | 7.0/10GoodOur score #6 of 10 |
| Included on the entry plan (30%) | 2.0 / 10 | 10.0 / 10 |
| Regular price (30%) | 8.7 / 10 | 3.7 / 10 |
| Leaving (10%) | 6.0 / 10 | 10.0 / 10 |
| Free plan or trial (10%) | 6.0 / 10 | 10.0 / 10 |
| Price after the introductory offer (10%) | 10.0 / 10 | 5.0 / 10 |
| Users (10%) | 4.0 / 10 | 4.0 / 10 |
| Price from | $12 / month | $0 / month |
| Best for | One-person businesses that want open-source books at $8 a month billed yearly, adding paid apps as needed | Businesses that want all five basics we check, receipt capture included, on the entry plan |
| Visit | Visit AkauntingOn akaunting.com | Visit QuickBooks OnlineOn quickbooks.intuit.com |
Who should pick which
- Akaunting: One-person businesses that want open-source books at $8 a month billed yearly, adding paid apps as needed
- QuickBooks Online: Businesses that want all five basics we check, receipt capture included, on the entry plan
At a glance
| Akaunting | QuickBooks Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Standard Cloud | Simple Start |
| Regular price | $12 a month, or $8 a month billed yearly | $38 a month |
| Billing | Monthly or yearly | Monthly only |
| Introductory offer | None; yearly billing is a standing "4 months free" | 50% off for 3 months ($19) or a 30-day trial, not both |
| Unlimited invoices | No: 1,000 invoices | No cap published (the Free plan's is 2 a month) |
| Bank feeds | No (Premium Cloud and up) | Yes |
| Receipt capture | No (Receipts app, included from Elite Cloud) | Yes (phone photos) |
| Bank reconciliation | Yes | Yes |
| Reports | Income and expense; balance sheet needs Premium Cloud | Profit and loss and balance sheet |
| Users | 1 user + 1 accountant | 1 billable user + 2 accounting firms |
| Leaving | Cancel any time; data lost unless you download it first | Cancel any time; read-only for one year |
| Free plan or trial | Trial (length not stated); no free cloud plan on the plans page | Free plan and a 30-day trial |
Prices from Akaunting's pricing page, read Sep 27, 2026, and QuickBooks' Simple Start page, read Sep 25, 2026.
Price
Akaunting Standard Cloud is $12 a month, or $96 a year billed yearly ($8 a month). QuickBooks Online Simple Start is $38 a month, and QuickBooks publishes monthly prices only. For one user paying monthly, Simple Start costs $26 a month more. Over a year, Simple Start comes to $456, against $96 for Akaunting billed yearly.
QuickBooks offers new customers 50% off for 3 months ($19 a month) on the monthly plan, or a 30-day free trial; the two can't be combined. After the offer you pay the then-current price, $38 today. Akaunting shows no introductory offer.
For five users the gap widens. Akaunting's Premium Cloud has 10 users at $36 a month ($24 billed yearly). QuickBooks' plan with 5 users is Plus, at $140 a month on its pricing page, $104 a month more.
Where they differ
- Bank feeds. Akaunting's plans article says Standard can buy every app except Double-Entry, Bank Feeds, Expense Claims and Roles & Permissions, which need Premium and up. Every plan can import bank transactions from a file. QuickBooks Simple Start connects bank and credit card accounts.
- Balance sheet. On Akaunting the balance sheet comes with the Double-Entry app, so Premium and up; income and expense reports are on every plan. QuickBooks' reports article marks the balance sheet and profit and loss for Simple Start.
- Receipts, estimates, mileage. Akaunting includes Receipts (scan documents) and Estimates from Elite Cloud ($84 a month), or sells them as separate apps. Simple Start includes phone receipt capture, estimates and GPS mileage tracking.
- Getting paid online. Akaunting Standard needs a payment app, such as PayPal Express at $6 a month ($4 billed yearly). QuickBooks invoices carry a pay-now button, but that needs a separate QuickBooks Payments account.
- Leaving. Akaunting's help centre says to back up or download your data before cancelling, or lose all business data; its plans FAQ only says you can use it to the end of the subscription. We use the stricter help-centre reading. QuickBooks gives read-only access for one year after you cancel, with export to Excel or QuickBooks Desktop.
Who should pick which
Pick Akaunting if you are a one-person business that can import bank statements from a file, doesn't need a balance sheet yet, and wants to add paid apps only as needed. Akaunting's self-hosted Standard On-Premise edition is free to download if you run your own server.
Pick QuickBooks Online if you want bank feeds, receipt capture, reconciliation and a balance sheet on the entry plan and can pay $38 a month for one user. If you send 2 invoices a month or fewer, its free plan may be enough.
Both appear in our accounting software ranking and our list for freelancers. How we score is on the methodology page.