Best Free Accounting Software for 2023

Lendio is the best free accounting software, with a beautiful interface and solid feature selection. Other options may be right for your business, however, such as Wave, which supports unlimited users and invoices, and ZipBooks, for its wealth of features.

We'll be covering the best free accounting software choices throughout this article, with an easy-to-follow breakdown of each. But, before we start, don't rule out making a small budget to get the very best accounting software for you.

Be sure to check the latest accounting software deals and discounts in our deals table, below, so you can save:

In this guide:

• Best Free Accounting Software
• Accounting Software Free Trials
• Is It Worth Paying for Accounting Software?
• Accounting Software FAQs

Dealing with the numbers, double-checking your expenses, and making sure your taxes are in order are all essential for any business – but can you do it at zero cost? Free accounting software can be surprisingly dependable, so long as you pick the right brand.

If you're willing to pay a few dollars a month, we have a guide to the best accounting software worth paying for.

But if you're committed to a good free accounting software, we recommend prioritizing three factors: Ease of use, features, and ability to scale up to a paid plan when the business has grown large enough. For a comprehensive breakdown of the various software to choose between, read on.

The Best Free Accounting Software

We’ve researched accounting software, free and paid alike, looking at their features, ease of use, and the pricing of their advanced tiers. With this information in mind, we’ve determined the best free accounting software options for small businesses in 2023:

1. Lendio – Best overall
2. Wave – Best for unlimited resources
3. ZipBooks – Best for amount of features
4. CloudBooks – Cheap paid tiers
5. Akaunting – Best for language support
6. GnuCash – Best for simple, standard service
7. NCH Express – Best for amount of features

Every software we touch on will have its merits among different crowds, so they’re all worth consideration – read on to be sure you're choosing the best one for you.

1. Lendio

Best free accounting software overall

Here we have Lendio, one of the nicest-looking softwares on the market. But it’s not all surface level, let's see what they offer:

• Invoices, quotes, and estimates: Interaction with clients and customers can all be done via Lendio
• Financial reports: Get a comprehensive breakdown of where all your money is coming from, and where it’s going
• View unpaid invoices: See all your loose ends in one handy place, and follow them up with simple messages
• Discounts and refunds: Apply discounts and refunds to your website with a few easy clicks
• Tax functions: Add your accountant to your business via Lendio and they’ll be able to do all your taxes in one easy spot
• Security: High rate encryption ensures that your data and information is safe

Looking at reviews for Lendio, people love it! Including our research team. The consensus is that everyone loves the visual interface of the app, which makes it extremely easy to navigate and use, as well as the standard features being very well praised. In comparison to the other software systems on this list, Lendio was the most beginner-friendly and therefore could be easily introduced to most businesses.

Lendio also offers Plus, which used to be available for $19.99 per month, but is now also free. It adds cash flow insights and alerts, can automatically categorize your expenses, and supports payment integrations with Stripe, Square, and Paypal. Providers like FreshBooks will offer better ecommerce integrations, with stronger inventory management features for $7.50 per month (on offer), but Lendio is still a good bet.

2. Wave

Best for: Unlimited users, invoices, and bank connections

Our next accounting software is Wave. Wave is a comprehensive service, covering a lot of accounting bases. Here are some of their major features:

• Unlimited invoices: Don’t worry about any quotas or limits, you can send as many invoices as you like, with Wave sending automatic follow-ups
• Receipt scanning: Keep track of your expenses in one place, by keeping all your receipts logged by scanning them with your phone
• Unlimited bank/card connections: Sync up as many bank cards or accounts as you’d like
• Multiple businesses: You can connect multiple businesses to one Wave account, allowing for easy management
• Unlimited user accounts: Allow as many people as you’d like to view your books
• Comprehensive reports: See all kinds of numbers and figures on your business that allow you to know where your business stands financially

When looking at user reviews for Wave, we found that it was received well by freelancers and accountants alike. The only cited downsides were the lack of support (there’s no phone or chat support) and the fact that learning the software can take a bit of time.

If you love Wave’s free service, you might be looking to know what you could get on their paid tiers. If you decide to go all in on Wave, they’ll be able to manage your payroll as well. Depending on your state, you’ll have to pay either $20 or $35, plus an additional $6 for every employee or independant contractor on your payroll.

Our researchers found that the paid version of Wave stands out in two areas: Software attributes and accounts receivable features. For both categories, we rated it 10/10 stars, matching other top paid software including Quickbooks and Xero.

3. ZipBooks

Best for: Amount of features on offer

ZipBooks is one of the larger scale softwares on this list. There is a ton on offer when opening the ZipBooks platform for the first time. A free ZipBooks account can offer you:

• Unlimited invoices: Never worry about keeping track of how many invoices you’re allowed to send
• Management of unlimited vendors and customers: If you have a larger business, you’ll be able to keep track of them all in one spot
• Digital payments from PayPal and Square
• Estimates and quotes: Craft estimates and quotes specifically for each client you’re sending to
• Viewing basic reports, including their “business health score,” which looks at various aspects of your business and tabulates an estimated grade of how well it’s faring overall

In terms of user reviews, people loved the sheer amount of features on offer. Customers think it’s extremely easy to use, that the customer service on offer is all high standard. Overall, ZipBooks has a great reputation.

As far as optional payment goes, you can spend $15 per month for things like multiple bank accounts and time tracking, or go all out with their $35 per month option, and get your hands on unlimited users and book-locking capabilities.

4. CloudBooks

Best for: Cheap higher tiers

CloudBooks claims that their product pays for itself, but that’s not hard when the product itself is free. Even if it wasn’t free, they might still be right to make that claim, as CloudBooks offers loads of great accounting features. These features include:

• Online invoicing: A basic accounting feature, you can send, receive, and stay on top of outstanding invoices
• Project management and time tracking: Manage your staff and project progress, while keeping track of of billable hours and travel distance
• Expenses: Keep track of your expenditure and make sure no money is going missing or bills are going unpaid.
• Estimates: Make sure customers or clients are enticed by your quotes
• Payment integration options: Notify your customers when payment is due, and allow them to pay via PayPal or 2Checkout
• Comprehensive business reports: See everything on one page with reports on your company’s profits, losses, revenue, and many other important figures.
• Client reviews: A rarer feature in account software, CloudBooks lets you ask your client for feedback, allowing you to improve and grow your business

In our research, CloudBooks received generally positive feedback. However, a lot of users found that the interface was a bit difficult to navigate, with certain buttons being hard to select.

They do have paid tiers that you can advance up to if you’re so inclined. These tiers cost $10 per month and $20 per month, letting you upgrade your client/staff user amounts, or offering phone/chat support. However, no crucial features are locked behind paywalls when compared to systems like Zoho Books which offers more automation features for $15 per month.

6. Akaunting

Best for: Language support

Akaunting is one of the larger softwares, being available in 45 languages. One top of these languages, we have some other great features:

• App store/dashboard and widgets: Akaunting has its own app store, allowing you to download/buy add-ons or widgets that might suit your niche, like shipping trackers or inventory management
• Recurring everything: If you’ve got invoices, revenue, bills, or payments that need to happen repeatedly over time, you can set these up to happen automatically
• Multi-currency: Allow buyers to pay in whatever currency they prefer
• Client portals and summaries: Give your clients their own space to contact you and view their own records, and allow yourself to refresh on who’s who amongst your clients
• Tax rates: Keep track of which tax costs you what amount
• Email templates: Look nice and official when creating emails to your clients or customers
• Fine-grained permissions: Make sure you control who can see what by giving individual users specific permissions

User reviews for Akaunting are middling, and our research team didn't find it to be the most intuitive platform either. People don’t find it particularly user-friendly, and the customer support isn’t too helpful either. Still, it performs its primary functions well and offers good language capabilities, both of which still make it a fair pick.

Akaunting used to only offer the free plan, but has recently added a paid option with expanded capability: For $36 per month, you can get unlimited users, a general ledger, expense claims, two-factor authentication, a client portal, and more – but if you're interested in paid accounting software and still want to cut down on costs, Freshbook's 50% off deal from $7.50 per month may be your best bet.

7. GnuCash

Best for: Simple, middle-of-the-road service

GnuCash is one of the older accounting softwares on our list, but that doesn’t mean it’s outdated, at least when it comes to features. If you use GnuCash, you’ll be able to:

• Scheduled transactions: Arrange a time for money to clear while you’re away from the computer
• Double entry: A transaction can only clear once an account has been debited, meaning no money can get lost or stuck in limbo
• Comprehensive reports: See your business’s important figures in one easy to digest place
• Multi-currency: Allow transactions to clear in any currency worldwide
• Online stock and mutual funds: Update your investment portfolio automatically with quotes from recognized sites

As far as features go, GnuCash received generally favorable reviews. However, it’s probably the most antiquated-looking software on this list. In comparison to Lendido and Wave, GnuCash was one of least intuitive platforms tested – the mobile support isn’t great, and the interface was pretty hard to navigate.

There are also no paid add-ons for GnuCash. It’s all one free software, with nothing locked behind paywalls.

8. NCH Express

Best for: Rare free features

NCH makes many different kinds of software, one of which is their free accounting software, NCH Express. Here’s a look at the various things NCH Express can do for you:

• Generate quotes and estimates: Craft estimates and quotes specifically for each client you’re sending to
• Recurring orders and invoices: If you have clients who regularly buy from you, have these orders and invoices appear automatically
• Create an income statement: If you’re ever going to seek out investors, use an income statement to show off about your company’s revenue
• View a balance sheet: Get a dense rundown of what your company currently owns and how it’s faring on a larger scale
• Inventory management: A rare feature in free accounting software, this allows you to stay on top of your company’s stock

When looking at reviews, NCH Express fares pretty well. It lacks in the customer service field, and some find the interface to be a bit abrasive when compared to other systems like Wave, but overall, people enjoy the features and benefits.

If you’re looking to expand your NCH software, you can pay a one-time fee: $99 for a Basic account, or $129 for a Plus account. All this does is increase the amount of users or invoices you can attach to your account, so this steep price may not be worth it. If you’re willing to pay that much, a regular paid software, like FreshBooks or QuickBooks, would be a better option.

Accounting Software Free Trials – the Middle Ground

If you don’t love the look of any of the free accounting software we’ve listed, but you’re also not thrilled about the idea of paying for something without knowing what you’re committing to, a free trial might be just what you need.

A free trial can give you a good sense of what you’ll be getting out of accounting software, without you needing to commit to a full subscription or purchase. Here are some paid accounting software that offer free trials.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks offers a free trial for all three of their plans. These plans are the Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus plans, and you can sign up for any of them using their free 30-day trial. These plans offer the following:

While these plans are obviously tiered, you’re able to try any one of them for 30 days, so you can spring for Plus and see everything it has to offer. Keep in mind though, you’ll obviously need to pay the highest rates to keep any features you get used to, so if you know you’re only looking for lower end functionality, maybe try the Simple Start trial.

Compare QuickBooks vs FreshBooks

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is another paid accounting software. Like QuickBooks, they offer three tiers of service. These tiers are Lite, Plus, and Premium. There is a fourth option, the Select option, where you can customize your plan based on what you want and don’t want, but you aren’t able to get a free trial of a Select plan.

While none of their tiers are free beyond the trial, Freshbooks first tier is very cheap at only $15 a month (currently on offer for $5.50). In fact, even Plus, the second tier, is cheaper than a lot of the paid tiers found in free software, so if you’re looking to avoid spending a lot of money, both of these systems would offer you great features without breaking the bank.

There are a lot of features that are only available through a custom plan, like data migration services or secure card storage, but again, you won’t be able to try a free trial of a custom plan. We recommend doing a free trial, and seeing if you like the features offered by FreshBooks. Only then should you look into a Select plan.

Xero

Our final stop on our free trial quest is Xero. Like our other two options, Xero offers three tiers, all with an option for a free 30 day trial. These tiers are:

You can see that Xero offers a smaller array of features than QuickBooks and FreshBooks. However, one of their biggest benefits is the fact that even the simplest plan can allow you to add unlimited users to your account, meaning you won’t have to pick and choose who in your company has access to your books.

Keen to learn more? Compare QuickBooks vs Xero

Is It Worth Paying for Accounting Software?

Free services offer a great opportunity to test out new software or provide much-needed features for a small business in the short term, but ultimately, you get what you pay for.

If you're looking for a reliable, effective accounting software to help manage and grow your business you'll need to invest a few dollars each month. To save money in trying them out, you can always test them with a free trial, a service offered by many paid accounting software, like Zoho Books, FreshBooks or Xero.

If you’re looking for any of the following services, you might have to want to take advantage of paid accounting software. Here are some of the benefits of paying for accounting software

1. Payroll and Tax Capabilities

If you’re looking for software that can automatically take the money you owe out of your pot and give it to the correct recipients, you might have to pay for that. If you elect for a software like Quickbooks, that can handle payroll and taxes, your taxes and wages will be automatically distributed to the deserving parties, giving you one less thing to worry about.

2. Sophisticated Reports

“Sophisticated reports” is a bit of a broad term, but mainly refers to the nitty gritty details of your income and outcome. If you decide to fork out for a paid accounting software, they will be able to offer you more comprehensive information, like data visualization, customizable invoices, or a number of other details that can help you get a more accurate grip on your business.

3. Forecasting

If you want to know not just where your business has been, but where it’s going, forecasting can help you out. It will take the numbers and data of the past and use that to project possible trajectories, allowing you to prepare for drier sales periods, or get excited about an upcoming influx of customers.

4. Inventory and Order Tracking

If you’re selling physical products, you might want to have some software to stay on top of your inventory. Some paid accounting software can keep tabs on your stock, as well as tracking any orders as they’re sent, both of which are crucial if you’re hoping to run a smooth business.

5. User and Invoicing Count

It’s common among free accounting software that they can limit the amount of users per account (typically capped at five users). Some software will also cap the amount of customers you can invoice or the amount of invoices you can send per month. If your small business is growing fast, you might want to look at a paid service that allows you to handle higher numbers.

See our guide to the Best Invoicing Software for Small Business

The Best Free Accounting Software – the Verdict

So there you have it, Lendio comes in first, thanks to its ease of use and wide array of features, with Wave not far behind.

However, free software can only take you so far. If you’re looking for free software as a way to save money, keep in mind that FreshBooks’ cheapest plan, currently on offer for $7.50 per month is one of the cheapest. It offers many more options than standard free software, while also being a lot easier on the wallet than its contemporaries. They also offer a free trial, so you can try before you commit.

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