Accounting Software Cost Calculator
Estimate the true monthly, annual, and three-year cost of accounting software in the US.
Estimates are illustrative and based on typical 2026 US pricing. Actual costs and results vary by vendor, contract terms, and how your business uses the software.
How the Accounting Software Cost Calculator works
US small business accounting software in 2026 spans free plans (Wave, Zoho Books Free) up to several hundred dollars per month. QuickBooks Online, the market leader, runs 38 dollars per month for Simple Start, 75 dollars for Essentials, 115 dollars for Plus, and 275 dollars for Advanced, while Xero starts at 25 dollars and FreshBooks at 23 dollars per month.
Payroll is almost always a separate add-on (QuickBooks Payroll starts around 50 dollars per month plus 6.50 dollars per employee), and per-user charges, payment processing, and app subscriptions push real-world totals above the advertised plan price. This calculator combines the plan tier, recurring add-ons, and one-time setup or migration into monthly, annual, and three-year totals.
Assumptions used in this calculator
- Tier prices reflect published 2026 QuickBooks Online rates as a market benchmark; Xero, FreshBooks, and Zoho Books run cheaper at entry level.
- Payroll, payments, and premium support are modeled through the add-on field rather than the plan tier.
- The three-year total includes setup once and assumes flat pricing, though annual price rises are common.