The best QuickBooks Self-Employed alternatives should have the ability to track mileage, let you choose from different invoice templates, transfer your income and expenses to Schedule C, and be somewhat scalable as your business expands. Our list includes easy-to-use software that isn’t cluttered with unnecessary features and is priced lower than most cloud-based bookkeeping solutions.
Check out our top six alternatives to QuickBooks Self-Employed:
- QuickBooks Online Simple Start: Best overall alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Wave: Best free alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Zoho Books Standard: Best for mobile app accounting
- Patriot Premium: Best for payroll integration
- ZipBooks Sophisticated: Best for assisted bookkeeping that comes with a free plan
- Quicken Home & Business: Best for personal finance and rental property management
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QuickBooks Self-Employed vs Alternatives Compared
Software & Plan | Pricing (Cost per Month) | Number of Users Included | Choose From Invoice Templates | Track Mileage | Manage & Track Unpaid Bills | Track Billable Hours | Track Project Profitability | Transfer Income & Expenses to Schedule C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Self-Employed | $25 | 1 | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Simple Start | $35 | 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
 | Free or $16 | 1 or Unlimited | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
 Standard | $20 | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | |
 Premium | $30 | Unlimited | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
 Sophisticated | $35 | Unlimited | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
 Home & Business | $9.99 | 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
QuickBooks Online Simple Start: Best Overall Alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed
Pros
- Calculates sales tax rates automatically based on where you sell products
- Lets you choose from different invoicing templates
- Features a huge network of QuickBooks ProAdvisors
Cons
- Is unable to compare estimated and actual project costs
- Is unable to calculate quarterly tax payments or transfer information to Schedule C
QuickBooks Online Simple Start costs $30 per month for one user. If you buy now, you can get 50% off for three months, plus access to QuickBooks Live’s assisted bookkeeping services for an additional $50 per month. Otherwise, you can try QuickBooks Online Simple Start free for 30 days.
QuickBooks Online is also more scalable than QuickBooks Self-Employed, which only allows for one user. It offers a choice of three additional subscriptions that range from $30 to $200 a month, depending on the number of users:
- 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
We selected QuickBooks Online Simple Start as the overall best alternative because QuickBooks Self-Employed cannot add sales tax rates to invoices automatically—and QuickBooks Online Simple Start is more suitable for tracking sales tax. It also lets you create estimates and invoices for your clients and customers, making it our best invoicing software.
Wave: Best Free Alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed
Pros
- Has a free plan that is sufficient for most freelancers with basic accounting needs
- Can manage multiple companies in a single account
- Has no limits on expense tracking and invoicing
- Lets you upload bank transactions from an Excel or CSV file
- Can set up automatic monthly e-payments
Cons
- Only accommodates a single user in the free plan
- Unable to connect your bank accounts in the free version
- Has fewer features than some paid software like QuickBooks Online
- Has a very limited mobile application
- Charges a separate fee for receipt scanning in the free plan
- Has limited customer support in the free plan
Wave has a free plan (Starter) and a paid version (Pro) that costs $16 per month when billed monthly or $170 per year when billed annually. Both plans include basic accounting tools, like income and expense tracking and invoicing, but you’ll get additional features in the paid plan, including bank feeds, unlimited users, and free unlimited receipt scanning.
Add-ons available in both plans:
- Wave Payroll: $40 for tax service states or $20 for self-service states, plus an additional $6 per month per active employee or independent contractor.
- Wave Advisor: $149 per month for bookkeeping support
- Accounting and payroll coaching: $379 per coaching session and email support
Wave Starter is the best free option for freelancers who are still new to accounting software. It has more features than QuickBooks Self-Employed, like creating and sending invoices without having to manually input all the information, uploading bank transactions from a CSV file, and processing payments. We recommend Wave for freelancers who don’t need complex features like creating custom tags and generating custom reports.
Zoho Books Standard: Best for Mobile App Accounting
Pros
- Offers more features than QuickBooks Self-Employed, such as time and project tracking
- Has a fully functional mobile app for sending invoices, receiving payments, tracking billable hours, and more
- Offers phone support in all paid plans
- Integrates with other Zoho products, including Zoho Inventory
Cons
- Is limited to 5,000 invoices per year
- Has no timesheet approval by customer in Standard plan
- Lacks recurring billing in Standard plan
The plan is only $20 per month for 5,000 invoices, and you can add up to three users plus one accountant. If you need more users, an additional $3 per user monthly will be added to your bill. You can try the platform for free for 14 days.
Zoho Books is scalable and offers a choice of four additional paid options:
- Professional: $50 per month, includes up to five users and unlimited invoices
- Premium: $70 per month, includes up to 10 users and unlimited invoices
- Elite: $150 per month, includes up to 10 users, unlimited invoices, advanced inventory, and cash flow forecasting
- Ultimate: $275 per month, includes up to 15 users, unlimited invoices, advanced inventory, cash flow forecasting, and advanced analytics
Zoho Books Standard is one of the best alternatives to QuickBooks Self-Employed because it offers more features, including a robust mobile app. Although it has an invoice limit of 5,000 per year, most freelancers wouldn’t mind this limit. Unlike QuickBooks Self-Employed, Zoho Books Standard allows for up to three users and also lets you choose from invoice templates and track both billable hours and project profitability.
Service-based freelancers can choose the Standard plan since it already has features like project expense tracking and project tasks. However, upgrading to the Professional tier for $50 a month is an option if you want timesheet approval by customer and multicurrency transactions.
Patriot Premium: Best for Payroll Integration
Pros
- Is easy to use, even for nonaccountants
- Lets you file 1099s within the app
- Is affordable for self-employed individuals
- Offers cheaper payroll services than QuickBooks Online
Cons
- Cannot track inventory
- Lacks a mobile app
- Has no project accounting features
ZipBooks Sophisticated: Best for Assisted Bookkeeping That Comes With a ZipBooks Plan
Pros
- Is easy to use for non-accountants
- Offers its highest plan at a very affordable price
- Lets users switch between accrual and cash-basis accounting
- Offers free access to ZipBooks if you sign up for an assisted bookkeeping plan
Cons
- Is not ideal for businesses with inventory
- Is not ideal for advanced project tracking
- Has limited integration
- Lacks payroll features
ZipBooks Sophisticated is $35 per month for unlimited users, and a 30-day free trial is available. It comes with all of ZipBooks’ features, such as recurring invoices, customizable chart of accounts, and time tracking.
You can get free access to the software if you subscribe to an assisted bookkeeping plan, such as Simple Bookkeeping ($125 per month) or Multi-classifications Bookkeeping ($145 a month) plan. The provider also offers vendor and 1099 preparation services starting at $175 monthly.
We chose ZipBooks Sophisticated as this highest plan is still priced affordably at $35 a month. If you want to outsource bookkeeping, ZipBooks offers monthly bookkeeping assistance that comes with a ZipBooks Plan. It means that you don’t have to pay for the software subscription if you decide to let ZipBooks handle your books.
But if you prefer to do do-it-yourself (DIY) bookkeeping, the monthly cost of ZipBooks Sophisticated is lower than QuickBooks Self-Employed but contains more useful features, like adding sales taxes and creating bills.
Quicken Home & Business: Best for Personal Finance & Rental Property Management
Pros
- Is very affordable compared to double-entry small business accounting software
- Can manage lease terms, maintenance, rental rates, and more
- Can report income and expenses on Schedule C
- Lets you track self-employed income, personal finances, and retirement accounts
Cons
- Is desktop-based; requires installation and setup
- Doesn’t allow for additional users
- Won’t let you use the mobile app without the desktop version
- Is not a double-entry accounting software, so it doesn’t track assets and liabilities for a balance sheet
Quicken Home & Business is $9.99 per month for one user. There is no free trial, but you can try it risk-free with the provider’s 30-day money-back guarantee.
We chose Quicken Home & Business for self-employed individuals managing rental properties because it has rental management features, such as custom tools for tracking rent and occupancy rates, sending reminders, and generating real-time reports for income, expenses, property values, and market projections.
Quicken can also be used for managing retirement 401(k) and tracking home value. We recommend Quicken as the best QuickBooks Self-Employed alternative for landlords because QuickBooks Self-Employed lacks basic rental management features.
How We Evaluated QuickBooks Self-Employed Alternatives
We evaluated the best QuickBooks Self-Employed alternatives based on features that are lacking in QuickBooks Self-Employed but present in other software:
- Cost: Some self-employed individuals might not have the budget to purchase costly software. The choices we presented in this buyer’s guide are specific plans from top accounting software that we deem suitable for self-employed users.
- Basic invoicing and billing: A QuickBooks Self-Employed alternative must have easy invoicing and billing functions because these features are absent in QuickBooks Self-Employed. As much as possible, we’d like to see invoicing and billing offered in lower plans.
- Project accounting: Since many self-employed individuals perform services for clients, project accounting is a useful feature for tracking project income, expenses, and tasks.
- Ease of use: We considered this factor because some users might not have the time and knowledge to learn complicated accounting software. An easy-to-use software is more appropriate for self-employed individuals.
Each software featured in this buyer’s guide has a different set of features. If you’re having a hard time choosing a solution, here are some points to consider:
- Price: Affordability is a major factor you need to consider. As much as possible, the accounting software must fit your freelancing budget—we made sure that the choices in this buyer’s guide are affordable.
- Scalability: In case your freelancing business grows, the platform of your choice must be scalable. A scalable software would mean past accounting data would remain intact since there’s no need to transfer to another software.
- Feature-set: The best QuickBooks Self-Employed alternative for your business must have the features that you need. First, you need to list down all the functions you want in a solution. Afterward, find the one that can tick off most of what’s on your list.
- Ease of use: The platform must be one that you’re comfortable using. Don’t choose one that you find difficult or too complicated to use, especially if you want to do the bookkeeping yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You should look for a QuickBooks Self-Employed alternative if you need more enhanced features, such as customizable invoices and the ability to monitor unpaid bills and track time and project profitability.
Accounting software can help you track finances, outstanding invoices, and bills. Having the right platform can also generate reports that you’ll use for tax filing purposes.
Yes, QuickBooks Self-Employed can be used for sole proprietorships. However, we recommend using a double-entry accounting system like QuickBooks Online or those featured in our guide to the best small business accounting software to track assets and liabilities as well as income and expense.
Yes, you can consider Wave, which is completely free, or Zoho Books Free if you are making less than $50,000 per year.
Bottom Line
QuickBooks Self-Employed might be enough for freelancers needing to stay on top of their income, expenses, and tax obligations, but those who have specialized needs should consider alternatives. For instance, if your priority is mobile accounting, you may prefer Zoho Books. If you collect sales tax from customers, you may wish to upgrade to QuickBooks Online. If you’re starting a freelance business and don’t have that much money to spend on paid software, then you may do well with Wave.
