Best Accounting Software for Solo Businesses in 2026 (5 Compared)
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For most one-person businesses, Wave is the best starting point — its free plan includes real double-entry accounting and unlimited invoicing. If you want quarterly tax estimates and mileage tracking built in, QuickBooks Solopreneur ($20/mo) is the safer pick.
How we picked
This is a research-based comparison. We reviewed each tool’s current pricing pages, feature documentation, and real user feedback, and verified pricing and fees against each vendor in June 2026. We compared on the same criteria every time: total real cost (subscription plus payment-processing fees), what the free plan actually includes, and how much manual work monthly bookkeeping takes. Full method on the how we review page.
Comparison at a glance
| Tool | Price | Free plan | Card payment fees | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Free (Pro $16/mo) | Yes — full accounting | 2.9% + 60¢ | Most solo businesses |
| QuickBooks Solopreneur | $20/mo | 30-day trial | Varies by plan | Tax-focused freelancers |
| Zoho Books | $20/mo ($15 annual) | Yes — under $50K revenue | Via gateway (e.g. Stripe) | Best paid value |
| FreshBooks Lite | $19/mo | 30-day trial | 2.9% + 30¢ | Invoicing-first users |
| Xero Early | $25/mo | 30-day trial | Via gateway | Businesses about to scale |
Wave — best overall for most solo businesses
The free Starter plan is the headline: unlimited invoicing, income and expense tracking, and real double-entry reports at $0/month. The main cost is time — without the Pro plan ($16/mo) there are no automatic bank feeds or receipt scanning, so you enter or import transactions manually. That’s fine at low volume and starts to feel slow as transaction count grows.
Pros: genuinely free core accounting; unlimited invoices on free; simple enough to learn in an afternoon Cons: bank feeds and receipt scanning are paid; card fees run higher than average (2.9% + 60¢, 1% ACH); no built-in time tracking
QuickBooks Solopreneur — best for tax season
At $20/mo (or $120/yr), Solopreneur is built around the thing freelancers dread: taxes. It estimates quarterly tax payments, separates business from personal transactions in a connected account, and tracks mileage by GPS. It’s deliberately simpler than full QuickBooks Online — which is the point for a one-person business, though it also means you’ll migrate up if you incorporate or hire.
Pros: quarterly tax estimates built in; mileage tracking; the brand every accountant already knows Cons: single-entity, single-user by design; you’ll outgrow it into pricier QuickBooks Online if your needs get complex
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Zoho Books — best value paid plan
Zoho’s free tier (for businesses under $50K annual revenue) is the most complete free plan after Wave’s — bank reconciliation, recurring invoices, and a client portal. The Standard plan at $15/mo billed annually adds users and time tracking for less than anyone else’s entry tier, and it scales through five higher plans without migrating data.
Pros: strongest feature set per dollar; real free tier; scales without migration Cons: interface is denser than Wave or FreshBooks; payment processing goes through third-party gateways you configure yourself
FreshBooks — best if invoicing is the main event
FreshBooks Lite ($19/mo) is closer to an invoicing tool with accounting attached — which is exactly right for some freelancers. Note the limits: Lite caps you at five billable clients, and each team member is $11/mo extra. If your client list is short and your billing is relationship-driven, the polish here is real.
Pros: best invoicing experience of the five; built-in time tracking and proposals; frequent steep promos for new accounts Cons: 5-client cap on Lite; weakest pure-accounting reports of this list; price climbs fast ($38 Plus, $65 Premium)
Xero — best if you’re about to outgrow “solo”
Xero Early ($25/mo) is the most “real” accounting platform here — unlimited users on every plan, a huge app ecosystem, and reports an accountant will love. The Early tier caps monthly invoices and bills, so it mainly makes sense if you expect to move up to Growing ($55/mo) as the business does.
Pros: unlimited users at every tier; best reporting and integrations; no per-user fees ever Cons: most expensive entry point; Early plan’s usage caps are tight; overkill for a steady-state one-person business
Which should you choose?
Start with the question of taxes. If quarterly estimates are your pain point, QuickBooks Solopreneur earns its $20/mo immediately. If you just need clean books and invoices at minimum cost, Wave free is the answer, with Zoho Books the upgrade path when manual entry gets old. Pick FreshBooks only if invoicing polish matters more than accounting depth, and Xero only if hiring or incorporation is on the visible horizon.
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Frequently asked questions
Is free accounting software good enough for a solo business?
Usually, yes. Wave's free plan and Zoho Books' free tier (for businesses under $50K revenue) both handle invoicing, expense tracking, and basic reports. You outgrow free when you need automatic bank feeds, receipt scanning, or multi-user access — not because of business size alone.
What's the difference between an invoicing app and accounting software?
Invoicing apps create and send invoices; accounting software also tracks every expense, reconciles your bank account, and produces the profit-and-loss and tax reports you or your accountant need at year end. Most solo businesses eventually need the latter.
Do I still need accounting software if I have an accountant?
Yes — it makes the accountant cheaper. Clean, categorized books mean your accountant spends billable hours on tax strategy instead of sorting receipts. Most of these tools have a free accountant seat for exactly this reason.