Find your accounting software
Answer eight quick questions about your business and get one top pick, two alternatives, and the reasons behind each.
Or read the comparisons first.
Sample result for a six-person agency with clients overseas
Xero
Established plan, $90 a month
- Unlimited users on every plan, so the whole team can work in the books
- Handles overseas customers and suppliers, with multi-currency on this plan
- Inside your $40–$150 monthly budget
Also worth a look: QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books
Sample result for a freelance consultant who bills by the hour
FreshBooks
Lite plan, $23 a month
- Made for freelancers and one-person businesses
- Built around billable hours and client invoicing
- Inside your budget of under $40 a month
Also worth a look: QuickBooks Online and Wave
Sample result for a 30-person construction company
QuickBooks Online
Plus plan, $140 a month
- Scales to about 25 users and 100 employees before you outgrow it
- Job costing on the Plus plan shows profit on each project
- Inside your $40–$150 monthly budget
Also worth a look: Xero and Patriot Software
US list prices, October 2026.
What the quiz asks
Most software lists rank the same products in the same order for every reader. The quiz starts from your business instead, then scores each product on value, size fit, industry fit, and international support.
- How many people work in the business
- What kind of work you do, from consulting to construction
- Whether you sell only in the US or overseas too
- Whether you bill in more than one currency
- Your monthly budget, including free
- Who keeps the books: you, a bookkeeper, or a finance team
- The features you need most, such as payroll or inventory
- The tools it has to connect to, like Shopify or Stripe
No email address required. Your answers stay in your browser.
As an auditor, I’ve worked inside the books of companies large and small. No single accounting system suits them all.
Greg Gould, Charlotte, North Carolina. Why I built this guide
Comparisons and guides
- Wave Review (2026): Is Free Accounting Software Good Enough?Wave offers free invoicing and bookkeeping for solo owners, with a $19 Pro plan that adds bank imports and receipts. Here’s what’s actually free, what it costs to get paid, and when you’ll outgrow it.
- Zoho Books Review (2026): Pricing, Plans and Who It’s Really ForZoho Books packs more features into each price tier than almost any rival, and it’s free under $50,000 in revenue. Here’s what each plan costs and where it falls short.
- FreshBooks Review (2026): Pricing, Plans and Who It’s Really ForFreshBooks is the easiest accounting tool for freelancers and service businesses that bill clients. Here’s what each plan costs, what the cheapest plan leaves out, and when you’ll outgrow it.
Still comparing? The quiz narrows it down in about two minutes.