Best accounting software for startups: what to pick at each stage, with prices

Pick accounting software by stage. A pre-revenue founder can run on a free plan: Accountable Free, Kick Free or Mercury Books, which is free through 2026. A funded startup with one company pays about $100 to $150 a month (Digits Core $100, Puzzle Complete $120, QuickBooks Plus $140, Accountable Pro $149). Founders with three companies pay $177 (Xero) to $420 (QuickBooks Plus), so price the third company first.

Updated September 30, 2026 · 5 min read · By the Accountable team

The short version

Free plans cover a pre-revenue startup: Accountable Free (one company, first 100 transactions a month categorized), Kick Free (250 transactions a year) and Mercury Books (free through 2026, then $35 a month).
A six-person startup pays $59 a month on Xero Growing (from October 1, 2026) with unlimited users, but $340 on QuickBooks Advanced, because QuickBooks Plus allows 5 users.
Three companies cost $177 on Xero, $198 on Accountable, $300 on Digits Core, $360 on Puzzle Complete and $420 on QuickBooks Plus.
QuickBooks Online raised Essentials, Plus and Advanced prices for renewals on or after August 1, 2026, so any roundup with Plus under $140 is out of date.
Whatever you pick, confirm you can export the full general ledger; Digits and QuickBooks both end or limit access after you cancel.

Start with four questions, not a feature list

Most startups pick on the demo and regret it in the first tax season. These four answers narrow the field faster than any feature table.

Who keeps the books: you, software, or a person? Software-only tools cost $0 to $150 a month; tools with a bookkeeper start near $300 to $500.
How many companies do you run or expect to run in 12 months? Per-company pricing turns a $100 tool into a $300 bill.
What does your CPA use, and what do investors ask for? Ask your CPA which ledger export they want, and whether your investors expect accrual statements (income recorded when earned, not when cash moves).
Do you need bill pay, payroll or tax filing in the same product? Digits and Zeni include bill pay, Xero and QuickBooks sell payroll, and Pilot files taxes.

What to pick at each stage

Accounting software by startup stage, list prices checked September 30, 2026
Stage	Good fits	Price per month	Why
Pre-revenue, one founder	Accountable Free, Kick Free, Mercury Books	$0 (Mercury Books is $35 from 2027)	Low volume; you need clean books for a future CPA, not a full close
Seed, one company, a CPA at tax time	Digits Core, Puzzle Complete, QuickBooks Plus, Accountable Pro	$100, $120, $140, $149	Books matched to the bank each month, statements investors can read, a CPA who can export the ledger
Seed, wants a bookkeeper	Pilot, Zeni, 1-800Accountant Business Complete	Pilot Essentials $99 (AI only); Zeni from $494 billed annually; 1-800Accountant $469 billed annually	A person answers for the books and, at Pilot and 1-800Accountant, files the return
Two or three companies	Accountable Pro, Kick Plus, Xero Growing	$198, $100 to $200, $177	One login, a bill that does not triple
A team of six or more needing logins	Xero Growing, Accountable Pro, Puzzle Complete	$59, $149, $120	Xero and Puzzle Complete and Accountable Pro do not cap users; QuickBooks Plus stops at 5

1-800Accountant's Business Complete plan includes full-service bookkeeping for 75 or more monthly transactions, payroll setup and quarterly estimated tax calculations, billed annually.

A six-person startup pays $59 on Xero and $340 on QuickBooks

User limits are where list prices diverge fastest. QuickBooks prices by the number of users; Xero says it charges no per-user license fees.

Six people need a login, one company, about 400 transactions a month

QuickBooks: Essentials allows 3 users and Plus allows 5, so six users need Advanced at $340 a month ($4,080 a year). Two accountant seats are included on Essentials and Plus, three on Advanced.

Xero Growing: $59 a month, unlimited users ($708 a year). Established is $97 and adds multiple currencies; Growing excludes them.

Accountable Pro: $149 a month with unlimited users ($1,788 a year, or $1,490 on the annual plan). Free would categorize only the first 100 of the 400 transactions.

Kick Basic: $40 a month for one entity with unlimited categorization ($480 a year).

Puzzle Complete: $120 a month with unlimited seats ($1,440 a year). Core is $72 but caps at 5 seats.

The cheapest line is not always the best fit. Kick Basic and Xero leave more of the bookkeeping to you; Pro and Complete do more of it for you.

The third company decides which tool is cheapest

Monthly price for 1 and 3 companies, list prices, September 30, 2026
Tool and plan	1 company	3 companies	How it bills
Xero Growing	$59	$177	Per organization; the 90% new-customer offer applies to the first organization only
Accountable Pro	$149	$198	One bill; 2 companies included, $49 for each extra
Kick Plus	$100	$100 to $200	Each extra entity is free for its first 250 transactions a year, then $50 a month
Digits Core	$100	$300	Each business needs its own subscription
Puzzle Complete	$120	About $360	Puzzle publishes no multi-company price
QuickBooks Plus	$140	$420	One subscription per company

Accountable Holding is $399 a month for 10 companies and $29 for each extra, which is cheaper than any per-company tool from the eighth company up.

Check what you can take with you before you buy

Every tool eventually gets replaced, so read the exit terms first. QuickBooks keeps your data read-only for one year after you cancel a paid plan, and deletes it after that. Digits says your access ends with your billing period. Neither is a problem if you export before you cancel.

Prices also move. The SWK Technologies report says Intuit raised Plus from $115 to $140 a month for renewals on or after August 1, 2026. A tool you pick for its price today may cost more at renewal, so keep a current export of your ledger.

Ask for the export steps before you sign. Digits publishes them in its help center, and QuickBooks exports a zip of reports and lists from Settings › Export data.
Keep a general ledger export for every month-end. It is the one file any new tool or CPA can read.

A person beats software when the books are complicated

If you have inventory, sales tax across states, or a messy year to clean up, a bookkeeper or CPA is worth the money. Pilot bundles bookkeeping with tax returns from $1,000 a year for a single-member LLC, $2,000 for partnerships and S corporations, and $2,450 for C corporations. Accountable does not file taxes: it prepares the year's package for your CPA at $499 per company per tax year.

Questions founders ask

What is the best accounting software for a startup with no revenue?

A free plan: Accountable Free, Kick Free or Mercury Books (free through 2026, then $35 a month). You mainly need clean, exportable books for your first tax return.

Do startups need QuickBooks?

Not by default. Needing it depends on your CPA and investors. Ask your CPA for the export format they accept; every tool in this guide exports a general ledger.

Is Xero or QuickBooks better for startups?

Xero costs less for teams because it has no per-user fees, and QuickBooks is the tool many US CPAs already use. See the QuickBooks vs Xero guide for the numbers.

How much does accounting software cost for a startup?

Free for one small company, about $100 to $150 a month for one funded company, and $177 to $420 a month for three companies.

Can I switch accounting software later?

Yes. Export the general ledger and chart of accounts, load them into the new tool, and check every month-end against the old one before you cancel.

Free for one company, $198 for three

Accountable Free covers one company, and Pro covers two for $149 a month with each extra at $49. Every transaction is categorized with its reason, and your accountant's seat is free. See the pricing.

Start free

Sources, checked September 30, 2026: