Best Alternatives to QuickBooks Desktop Pro & Premier 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.
QuickBooks Desktop is a leading desktop accounting software, but great alternatives have emerged. Depending on the needs of your business, the options are designed to streamline accounting processes and facilitate enhanced financial decision-making. In this article, we explore the pricing, features, and use cases for four alternatives to QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Premier in 2023:
- Sage 50cloud: Best overall desktop software as an alternative to QuickBooks Desktop
- QuickBooks Online desktop app: Best cloud-based alternative
- NCH Express Accounts: Best basic desktop software for businesses without inventory or project accounting
- GnuCash: Best free open-source desktop accounting software
Fit Small Business’ mission is to provide small business owners with the best answers to their small business questions. Whenever possible, we evaluate all the software we recommend by conducting our in-depth case study, where our experts determine the strengths and weaknesses of each software by recreating real-life bookkeeping scenarios.
We evaluate all software on the same set of criteria, regardless of whether they are a partner company. There are only two scenarios where we may recommend software that has not been subjected to our case study:
- It is not a complete bookkeeping system.
- When we don’t have access to evaluate it.
Comparison of the Best Alternatives to QuickBooks Desktop
Pricing | Number of Users | Ease of Use | Banking | Invoicing | Track/Pay Bills | Inventory | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $799 to $1,999 per year | 1 to 5 | ★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
 | $578 to $4,108 per year | 1 to 10 | ★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Free with a QuickBooks Online subscription ($30 to $200 per month) | 1 to 25 | ★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
 |
| 1 | ★ | ★★★ | ★★★ | ★★ | ★★★ |
 | Free | 1 | ★ | ★★★ | ★★ | ★★★ | ★★ |
Rating Explanation: ★★★★★: Excellent ★★★★: Very good ★★★: Good ★★: Fair ★: Poor N/A: Feature is unavailable | |||||||
Are you interested in evaluating other types of accounting software? Check out our guide to the best small business accounting software for more options.
Sage 50cloud: Best Overall Desktop Software as an Alternative to QuickBooks Desktop
Overall Score:
3.34 / 5
Pros
- Unlimited users
- Customer support is easily accessible via email or live chat
- All data is backed up to the cloud via Remote Data Access
- Powerful reporting and project accounting capabilities
Cons
- No built-in mileage or time tracking features
- Third-party integrations are limited
- Mobile app can only be used to capture receipts
- Only allows up to 10 users; must purchase additional licenses for more
Pricing
Sage 50cloud offers a choice of three subscription plans and the option to pay either monthly or annually. Prices are based on number of users and available features. The annual pricing for each plan is below:
- Pro Accounting: $578 (1 user)
- Premium Accounting: $970 to $2,222 (1 to 5 users)
- Quantum Accounting: $1,610 to $4,108 (1 to 10 users)
Despite its name, Sage 50cloud is locally installed desktop software—not cloud software. We selected it as the overall best QuickBooks Desktop alternative because of its robust set of accounting features that rival QuickBooks Desktop’s, like inventory management. It provides functionality for accounts receivable (A/R) and accounts payable (A/P) management and financial reporting, and it integrates with Microsoft 365—an integration that QuickBooks Desktop lacks.
Sage 50cloud lost points in the ease of use category, where it received an average score because it is difficult for business owners without accounting experience to use. However, similar to QuickBooks Desktop, its project accounting capabilities received a perfect score from us. If you’re seeking a comprehensive desktop software with cloud connectivity, Sage 50cloud is an excellent option.
QuickBooks Online Desktop App: Best Cloud-based QuickBooks Desktop Alternative
Overall Score:
4.12 / 5
Pros
- Access multiple companies and switch between them easily
- Navigation map view is similar to QuickBooks Desktop
- Stay signed into app for six months without having to log in every time
- Free with a subscription to QuickBooks Online
Cons
- Unavailable for Mac users
- Pricing can be high compared to similar products
- No industry-specific features
- Unable to track inventory assemblies
Pricing
QuickBooks Online offers a choice of four subscription plans, which range in price based on the number of users and available features. You can opt to use the QuickBooks Online desktop app with any of these plans.
- Simple Start: $30 per month for one user
- Essentials: $60 per month for up to three users
- Plus: $90 per month for up to five users
- Advanced: $200 per month for up to 25 users
The QuickBooks Online desktop app works in conjunction with QuickBooks Online to provide you with the same features as the web browser version but with the QuickBooks Desktop interface. It is an application that you can install on your desktop or laptop and provides many useful benefits, such as the ability to manage multiple companies simultaneously.
We selected it as the best cloud-based alternative to QuickBooks Desktop because it allows you to take advantage of the shortcuts you’re used to in QuickBooks Desktop—but with the benefit of being connected to the cloud. Another added advantage is the fact that QuickBooks Online gives you access to its mobile app, whereas QuickBooks Desktop Pro’s mobile app is very limited as its intended mostly for receipt capture. QuickBooks Online’s scores are similar to QuickBooks Desktop, especially high in the cash management and reporting categories.
NCH Express Accounts: Best Basic Desktop Software for Businesses With No Inventory or Project Accounting
Overall Score:
2.30 / 5
Pros
- Free forever if your business has five or fewer employees
- Multicurrency support
- Quick download and installation for both Mac and Windows
- Cost-effective compared to other accounting software options
- One-time fee—no subscription required
Cons
- Lacks a reliable mobile app
- No payroll integrations
- No project accounting features
- Not scalable; only suited for freelancers or very small businesses
Pricing
If your business has five or fewer employees, you are eligible for a free Basic license. Otherwise, select from two software licenses; each is valid for a single installation. You can also sign up for the Express Accounts Plus quarterly plan, which gives you unlimited ongoing use of all professional version features and all upgrades.
- Express Accounts Basic: $129
- Express Accounts Plus: $159
- Express Accounts Plus Quarterly Plan: $26.49 quarterly, or $105.96 per year
Add-ons, such Express Invoice Plus (an invoice management system), are available for $139.
If your business doesn’t have a need for project accounting or inventory features, then NCH Express Accounts is a great alternative to and is much less expensive than QuickBooks Desktop. It is cost-effective and easy to use, with an option of two views—Desktop or Standard—to ensure a seamless user experience.
Unlike QuickBooks Desktop, it supports multiple currencies. It also includes essential accounting features such as bank reconciliation, A/R and A/P, and financial reporting. However, it lacks project accounting features and many specialized accounting reports, so it scored low in those areas in our evaluation.
GnuCash: Best Free Open-source Desktop Accounting Software
Overall Score:
1.73 / 5
Pros
- Free open-source software
- Strong banking and cash management features
- Powerful customization options available for programmers
- Uses double-entry accounting
Cons
- Initial setup can be confusing
- Report customization options are limited
- No customer support via phone, email, and live chat—only self-help online
- Single-user system
Pricing
GnuCash is open-source software and is completely free to download for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS X devices. GnuCash has a donation page available for anyone who wants to donate to support its community.
GnuCash received a very low score of 1.73 out of 5 in our case study because it lacks inventory, project accounting, a mobile app, and customer service. However, if all you’re looking for is a simple way to track your income and expenses on desktop software, then you probably don’t need those features. In that case, give GnuCash a try.
Despite its shortcomings, we selected it as the best free open-source desktop accounting software because of its other useful features, including multicurrency accounting and customizable reports. It also allows you to easily bill expenses to customers, and it has strong cash management features.
It is free to download and can be customized by an experienced programmer to fit the needs of your business. Unlike QuickBooks Desktop, it can be installed on several operating systems, like Windows, Mac, and Linux.
How We Evaluated Best QuickBooks Desktop Alternatives
We evaluated the best alternatives to QuickBooks Desktop using our case study framework, and there are 13 categories in this case study:
5%
Pricing
7%
General Features
7%
Banking
7%
A/P
7%
A/R
10%
Inventory
10%
Project Accounting
4%
Tax
4%
Reporting
30%
Ease of Use
5%
Mobile App
4%
User Reviews
5% of Overall Score
In evaluating pricing, we considered the billing cycle (monthly or annual) and number of users.
7% of Overall Score
This section focuses more on first-time setup and software settings. The software must be quick and easy to set up for new users. Even after initial setup, the software must also let users modify information like company name, address, entity type, fiscal year-end, and other company information.
7% of Overall Score
The banking section of this case study focuses on cash management, bank reconciliation, and bank feed connections. The software must have bank integrations to automatically feed bank or card transactions. The bank reconciliation module must also let users reconcile accounts with or without bank feeds for optimal ease of use. Lastly, the software must generate useful reports related to cash.
7% of Overall Score
The A/P section focuses on vendor management, bill management, bill payments, and other payable-related transactions. A/P features include creating vendors and bills, recording purchase orders and converting them to bills, creating service items, and recording full or partial bill payments.
7% of Overall Score
This takes into account customer management, revenue recognition, invoice management, and collections. The software must have A/R features that make it easy for users to collect payments from customers, remind customers of upcoming or overdue invoices, and manage customer obligations through analytic dashboards or reports.
10% of Overall Score
Businesses with inventory items should choose accounting software that can track inventory costs, manage COGS, and monitor inventory units.
10% of Overall Score
Service or project-based businesses should choose accounting software that can track project costs, revenues, and profits. The software must have tools to track time, record billable hours or expenses, send invoices for progress billings, or monitor project progress and performance.
4% of Overall Score
In this section, we’re looking at sales tax features. The software must have features that allow users to set sales tax rates, apply them to invoices, and enable users to pay sales tax liability.
4% of Overall Score
Reports are important for managers, owners, and decision-makers. The software must have enough reports that can be generated with a few clicks. Moreover, we’d also like to see customization options to enable users to generate reports based on what they want to see.
30% of Overall Score
Ease of use gets the highest weight in this case study because we want to give more credit to easy accounting software. For this section, we considered customer service, support network, and a subjective expert opinion score. Users must have easy access to customer service channels in case of problems, questions, or assistance.
Support network refers to a community of software users that can extend professional help to businesses. Having an independent software expert perform the bookkeeping is good for overall ease of use. Lastly, our expert opinion score is our subjective rating based on our experience in trying the software.
5% of Overall Score
The software must also have a mobile app to enable users to perform accounting tasks even when away from their laptops or desktops.
4% of Overall Score
We went to user review websites to read first-hand reviews from actual software users. This user review score helps us give more credit to software products that deliver a consistent service to their customers.
*Percentages of overall score
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No, it is not, although Intuit has discontinued some versions of QuickBooks Desktop 2020 and will stop supporting them. These versions include QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020, QuickBooks Desktop Premier 2020, QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 20, QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition 2020, and QuickBooks Enterprise Accountant 20.0.
We recommend GnuCash as the best free QuickBooks Desktop alternative because it is open-source software that can be installed on a variety of platforms. It also offers a range of features, including double-entry accounting, invoicing, budgeting, and financial reports.
Yes, you can still purchase QuickBooks Desktop 2023, which is the latest version of the software.
Bottom Line
QuickBooks Desktop may be one of the most popular desktop software applications on the market, but there are many other desktop alternatives to QuickBooks. Whether you’re looking for cloud-based flexibility, advanced features, or budget-friendly options, the alternatives mentioned in this article offer robust solutions to meet your financial management needs.
