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What will bookkeeping software really cost you over 3 years?
Sticker price is rarely the real price. Tell us how you actually run your books and we'll work out the 3-year total for QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Xero, and Wave, payroll and add-ons included. Then we'll tell you which one wins for your situation.
Best for you
QuickBooks
How we work this out (and what's not included)
- Total cost is the cheapest plan that covers everything you toggled, multiplied by 36 months, plus any payroll add-on.
- Prices are US list prices as of June 2026. Vendors run heavy intro promos (often 50 to 90 percent off the first few months); we use full price so you see the real ongoing cost.
- Payroll for FreshBooks and Xero runs through Gusto, billed separately. We use Gusto's entry plan as the estimate.
- Wave has no native inventory or billable-time tracking, and FreshBooks has no native inventory. When you need one of those, we flag the tool as a poor fit rather than hiding it.
- We don't include payment-processing fees (card and ACH cuts), since those depend on how much you collect online and apply to every tool.