If you're comparing accounting software by name recognition, QuickBooks wins by default. But its Simple Start plan costs $38 a month as of August 2026, and most solopreneurs don't need what that plan is built for (source: quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing, 2026). Meanwhile Xero's cheapest plan caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month, a limit that's easy to hit if you bill weekly, and Wave's core bookkeeping is still free with no invoice cap at all. The tool that fits depends less on the brand and more on how many invoices you actually send.
Why the surface-level comparison is misleading
Most accounting software roundups compare QuickBooks Online's plans without mentioning that Intuit now sells a separate, cheaper product built specifically for one-person businesses: QuickBooks Solopreneur, at $20 a month against Simple Start's $38 (source: quickbooks.intuit.com, 2026). Solopreneur handles income and expense tracking, mileage, and invoicing, and bundles in TurboTax-powered tax help. What it doesn't do is full double-entry bookkeeping or give an accountant direct access to your books, features Simple Start includes for a business that expects to hire. If you're the only person on the account and don't plan to change that, you're paying $216 a year more than necessary by defaulting to Simple Start.
The other thing that gets buried is invoice and bill caps on the cheapest plans. Xero's Early tier looks competitively priced at $25 a month (after a 6-month promo period at $2.50), but it restricts you to 20 invoices and quotes plus 5 bills a month (source: xero.com/us/pricing, 2026). FreshBooks' Lite plan is cheaper still on paper, but caps you at billing 5 clients, not 5 invoices, so if you work with a sixth client even once, you're forced to upgrade. Neither limit is disclosed prominently outside the fine print on the pricing table.
What each tool actually charges
QuickBooks (Solopreneur and Online). Solopreneur runs $20 a month and is built for one person with no employees, including automatic separation of business and personal transactions and TurboTax-assisted tax filing. Simple Start costs $38 a month, adds accountant access, deeper reporting, and support for adding users later, and is the better fit only if you expect to eventually bring someone else onto the account (source: quickbooks.intuit.com, 2026). Both currently run promotional pricing around 90% off for the first 3 months, so budget for the regular rate once that period ends.
Wave. The Starter plan is free with unlimited invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records, and you only pay standard card processing rates (2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction) when a client pays through it. The Pro plan costs $19 a month and lowers processing fees on your first 10 monthly transactions plus adds features like automatic bank reconciliation matching (source: waveapps.com/pricing, 2026). For pure invoicing and bookkeeping with no subscription cost, Wave is still the only one of the four with a genuinely unlimited free tier.
FreshBooks. Lite costs $23 a month regular price (heavily discounted to $2.30 for the first 3 months as a promo), but restricts you to invoicing 5 clients. Plus runs $43 a month and raises that to 50 clients, plus adds double-entry reporting and business health insights (source: freshbooks.com/pricing, 2026). FreshBooks is built around client-facing polish, proposals, and time tracking, so it earns its price if you're billing hourly across a rotating client list, less so if you have a handful of retainer clients and just need to invoice them.
Xero. Early costs $25 a month regular price and caps you at 20 invoices and quotes plus 5 bills monthly. Growing runs $55 a month and removes those caps, adding bulk reconciliation and multi-currency support (source: xero.com/us/pricing, 2026). Xero's reporting and bank reconciliation tools are genuinely strong, but the Early plan's invoice cap makes it a poor fit for anyone billing more than roughly one client a week.
Comparison
| Tool | Cheapest plan | Monthly cost (regular price) | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Starter | Free | No built-in tax filing help; upsells on payroll and bookkeeping services |
| QuickBooks Solopreneur | Solopreneur | $20/month | No accountant access or double-entry books |
| Xero | Early | $25/month | Capped at 20 invoices/quotes and 5 bills a month |
| FreshBooks | Lite | $23/month | Capped at billing 5 clients total |
The decision that actually matters
If you want to spend nothing and your bookkeeping needs are simple invoicing plus expense tracking, Wave's free Starter plan still does that job in 2026 with no invoice cap. The trade-off is a less guided tax experience and more upsells toward its paid bookkeeping and payroll add-ons.
If you want built-in tax help and you're the only person on the account, QuickBooks Solopreneur at $20 a month beats Simple Start on price without losing anything a true solo operator needs. Only step up to Simple Start once you're actually adding a second user or need an accountant to log in directly.
If most of your income comes from a rotating list of small clients rather than a few large ones, check FreshBooks' 5-client cap against your actual roster before committing. Going over it even once forces an upgrade to the $43-a-month Plus plan.
If you send more than 20 invoices in a typical month, skip Xero's Early plan entirely. The $25-a-month price looks attractive until the cap forces you into the $55-a-month Growing tier anyway, at which point Wave or QuickBooks Solopreneur are the better-priced alternatives for the same invoice volume.
FAQ
Is Wave accounting still free in 2026?
Yes. Wave's Starter plan remains free with unlimited invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records. You pay standard payment processing rates (2.9% plus $0.60 per card transaction) only when a client pays you through Wave. The paid Pro plan, at $19 a month, lowers those processing fees and adds features like automatic receipt matching.
What's the difference between QuickBooks Solopreneur and QuickBooks Simple Start?
Solopreneur is priced for one person with no employees, at $20 a month, and centers on separating personal and business spending plus built-in tax help. Simple Start costs $38 a month and adds features aimed at businesses that will eventually hire, like accountant access and more detailed reporting. If you have no plans to add staff or need double-entry books, Solopreneur is the cheaper fit.
How many invoices can you send on Xero's cheapest plan?
Xero's Early plan caps you at 20 invoices and quotes plus 5 bills a month. If you regularly send more than 20 invoices in a month, you'll need to upgrade to the Growing plan, which removes that cap.
Does FreshBooks limit how many clients you can bill?
Yes, on the cheapest tier. The Lite plan only allows you to send invoices to 5 clients. If you work with more than 5 clients in a given month, even occasionally, you'll need the Plus plan to keep billing all of them.
Which accounting software is cheapest for a solopreneur with no employees?
Wave, if you can live with a slightly less polished interface and don't need built-in tax filing help, since its core bookkeeping and invoicing stay free indefinitely. QuickBooks Solopreneur at $20 a month is the cheapest paid option if you want guided tax support built in.
Accounting software only tells you where the money went after the fact. If you haven't nailed down how you're actually invoicing clients or tracking expenses for tax season, start there first. Then plug whichever tool from this list into that setup rather than the other way around.
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