File No. 126
QuickBooks Online pricing, checked October 2026
QuickBooks Online is Intuit's accounting software for small businesses. It bills a flat monthly price per plan, and each plan comes with a fixed number of user seats instead of a per-user rate.
The short answer. QuickBooks Online pricing starts at a list price of $38 a month for Simple Start with 1 user, billed monthly. Essentials is $85, Plus $140 and Advanced $340 a month. New customers can take 50% off for 3 months or a 30 day free trial. No free plan was priced on the page. Read off quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing on 10 Oct 2026.
What each plan costs
| Plan | Price | Billed | Checked | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Start | $38/mo | billed monthly, list price | Vendor page | |
| 1 user, with access for 2 accountants. Lists general business reports, automated bookkeeping, invoicing and payments, and bill pay with free ACH. On 10 Oct 2026 the discount option showed $19/mo for the first 3 months for new customers. | ||||
| Essentials | $85/mo | billed monthly, list price | Vendor page | |
| 3 users, with access for 2 accountants. Adds enhanced reports, employee time on invoices and an annual books check-in. On 10 Oct 2026 the discount option showed $42.50/mo for the first 3 months for new customers. | ||||
| Plus | $140/mo | billed monthly, list price | Vendor page | |
| 5 users, with access for 2 accountants. Adds budgets, project profitability, inventory tracking and up to 40 classes and locations. On 10 Oct 2026 the discount option showed $70/mo for the first 3 months for new customers. | ||||
| Advanced | $340/mo | billed monthly, list price | Vendor page | |
| 25 users, with access for 3 accountants. Adds custom user permissions, workflow automation, batch invoices and expenses, data sync with Excel and priority support. On 10 Oct 2026 the discount option showed $170/mo for the first 3 months for new customers. | ||||
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What the free tier actually allows
- No free plan was priced on the page on 10 Oct 2026. The four plans shown are all paid.
- The page refers to a product named QuickBooks Free (the Simple Start card reads Everything in Free, and a footnote says mobile app access and third-party integrations are not currently available with QuickBooks Free), without a price or limits for it.
- Paid plans have a free trial for 30 days, open to new customers as an alternative to the 3-month discount.
What the pricing page does not say
- The large figures the page loads with ($19, $42.50, $70 and $170) are the 50% discount, which lasts 3 months. The struck-through figures ($38, $85, $140 and $340) are the list prices filed here, and the terms say billing continues at the then-current price.
- The discount and the free trial are a choice, not a stack. The page puts them on one switch, and the terms say offers for the same product cannot be combined. Both are for new customers only.
- Plans are capped by user seats: 1 on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus and 25 on Advanced. A fourth user means moving from $85 to $140 a month, and a sixth from $140 to $340.
- The free trial converts by itself: the terms say the plan is charged automatically at the end of the 30 days and monthly after that until cancellation.
- Payroll is a separate, optional step after choosing a plan, and its price is not on this page. The terms say neither offer applies to per-employee fees, per-contractor fees or other add-on fees.
- Inventory tracking, budgets and project profitability are listed from Plus up, not on Simple Start or Essentials.
QuickBooks Online pricing by team size
QuickBooks Online does not charge per user. Each plan is a flat monthly price with a fixed number of user seats, so the team size decides the plan. The figures below are arithmetic on the list prices read on 10 Oct 2026.
| Team | Smallest plan that fits | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Simple Start (1 user) | $38 | $38 x 12 = $456 |
| 5 users | Plus (5 users) | $140 | $140 x 12 = $1,680 |
| 20 users | Advanced (25 users) | $340 | $340 x 12 = $4,080 |
A team of 5 does not fit Essentials, which stops at 3 users and costs $85 x 12 = $1,020 a year.
Price per user on a full plan
Dividing each list price by its seat count gives the QuickBooks Online price per user when every seat is used: Simple Start $38 / 1 = $38.00, Essentials $85 / 3 = $28.33, Plus $140 / 5 = $28.00, Advanced $340 / 25 = $13.60.
What the introductory discount changes
The page offers new customers a choice: 50% off for 3 months, or a free trial for 30 days. The offer terms say offers for the same product cannot be combined. With the discount, the first three months are charged at half price, and the terms say billing then continues monthly at the then-current price.
| Plan | First 3 months | First year at the prices on the page |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Start | 3 x $19 = $57 | $57 + 9 x $38 = $399 |
| Essentials | 3 x $42.50 = $127.50 | $127.50 + 9 x $85 = $892.50 |
| Plus | 3 x $70 = $210 | $210 + 9 x $140 = $1,470 |
| Advanced | 3 x $170 = $510 | $510 + 9 x $340 = $3,570 |
Billing details
Every price on the page is a monthly figure, and both offers are tied to a monthly plan. No annual price was shown. The plan step is followed by an optional payroll step, and the terms say neither offer covers per-employee fees, per-contractor fees or other add-ons. Payroll prices are not on this page. The page also has a Mid-size business tab, which was not read.
The free plan question
The page names a product called QuickBooks Free in two places: the Simple Start card reads "Everything in Free, and:", and a footnote says mobile app access and third-party integrations are not currently available with QuickBooks Free. On 10 Oct 2026 the page showed no card, price or limits for it, so no free plan is filed here.
Other tools of this kind are filed in the invoicing and billing drawer. For comparison, see FreshBooks' price file, Zoho Books' price file and Wave's price file.
If this one does not fit
- FreshBooks From $23/mo
- Invoicing and accounting software billed as a flat monthly amount per plan, with no free plan, as recorded in its Tooldossier file.
- Zoho Books Free, or from $15/org/mo
- Accounting software with a free plan and paid plans priced per organization, as recorded in its Tooldossier file.
- Wave Free, or $190/yr
- Invoicing and accounting software with a free plan, as recorded in its Tooldossier file.
Questions
- Is QuickBooks Online free?
- On 10 Oct 2026 the pricing page showed four paid plans and no free one. The cheapest, Simple Start, has a list price of $38 a month. New customers can pick a free trial for 30 days instead of the 3-month discount.
- Is there a QuickBooks Online free plan?
- The page mentions QuickBooks Free by name: Simple Start is described as everything in Free plus more, and a footnote says mobile app access and third-party integrations are not currently available with it. No price, card or limits for a QuickBooks Online free plan were on the page on 10 Oct 2026, so its terms are not confirmed.
- What does QuickBooks Online cost?
- QuickBooks Online cost at list price is $38 a month for Simple Start, $85 for Essentials, $140 for Plus and $340 for Advanced, billed monthly. New customers can take 50% off for the first 3 months, which makes those months $19, $42.50, $70 and $170.
- What are the QuickBooks Online plans?
- The page shows four QuickBooks Online plans for small businesses: Simple Start (1 user), Essentials (3 users), Plus (5 users) and Advanced (25 users). A Mid-size business tab is also on the page and was not read.
- What is the QuickBooks Online price per user?
- There is no per-user rate. Each plan is a flat monthly price with a set number of seats: $38 for 1 user, $85 for 3, $140 for 5 and $340 for 25. With every seat used, that is $38.00, $28.33, $28.00 and $13.60 per user per month.
- Does QuickBooks Online have a free trial?
- Yes. The page offers a free trial for 30 days to new customers who pick it instead of the 3-month discount. The terms say the trial covers the monthly base price and that the plan is charged automatically at the end of the trial, then monthly until cancelled.
- Does QuickBooks Online have extra fees?
- Payroll is a separate, optional step priced elsewhere, and the offer terms say neither offer applies to per-employee fees, per-contractor fees or other add-on fees. The pricing page names no setup fee.
- Is QuickBooks Online billed monthly or annually?
- Monthly. The page shows monthly prices only: Simple Start lists at $38 a month and loads with the 50% discount ($19) for 3 months, after which billing continues at the then-current price.
- How many users does QuickBooks Online Simple Start include?
- 1 user, with access for 2 accountants. Essentials includes 3 users, Plus 5 and Advanced 25, so a fourth user means moving from $85 to $140 a month.
What this check confirmed
Read off https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/ on 10 Oct 2026 from a US connection, on the Small business tab, with the offer switch captured in both positions (50% off for 3 months, and Free trial for 30 days) and the section Important pricing details and product information expanded. Confirmed: monthly list prices in USD of $38 for Simple Start, $85 for Essentials, $140 for Plus and $340 for Advanced, shown as the full price in the free trial position and as struck-through figures beside $19, $42.50, $70 and $170 in the discount position; user seats of 1, 3, 5 and 25; accountant access for 2, 2, 2 and 3; the offer terms for the discount and the trial. Not confirmed: a free plan. The page refers to QuickBooks Free by name (Everything in Free on the Simple Start card, and a footnote on mobile app access), but on this date it showed no card, price or limits for it, so none is filed. Also not confirmed: the Mid-size business tab; payroll and other add-on prices, which are not on this page; the answers to the page's frequently asked questions, which stayed collapsed; whether an annual billing option exists; taxes. The screenshot shows the free trial position of the switch, with the four list prices.
Figures on this file were read off the vendor's own pricing page on the dates shown. Prices change without notice; check before buying.
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Also in this drawer
- Wave Free, or $190/yr
- Zoho Books Free, or from $15/org/mo
- FreshBooks From $23/mo
- Xero From $27/mo
- Zoho Invoice Free