Quicken vs. QuickBooks: Pricing & Differences

Comparing Quicken and QuickBooks is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. Both are financial management tools and even share a few features and functions, but the two software programs are built for different uses.

QuickBooks Online is a full-fledged small-business accounting software product with advanced financial reporting and hundreds of app integrations. Quicken is built for managing personal or family finances but has a few business tools available. Whether you use Quicken or QuickBooks Online depends largely on what type of finances you need to manage.

When to use QuickBooks:

You want accounting software dedicated to managing just your small business.
Your business needs advanced financial reporting on sales, inventory and profitability.
You need to integrate with other business software products.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks Online

NerdWallet Rating

5.0

Starting At

$35

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235.

Read Review

Learn more

on QuickBooks' website

When to use Quicken:

You want software to manage your personal finances or your family’s finances.
You own a very small invoice-based business (e.g., as a freelancer or contractor) and want one tool to track personal and business finances.
You own a rental property and want to manage leases and collect rent online.

Quicken vs. QuickBooks comparison

Pricing

QuickBooks Online is more expensive than Quicken at every plan level. Here are each product’s plans and price points.

QuickBooks Online

$35 per month for the Simple Start plan.
$65 per month for the Essentials plan.
$99 per month for the Plus plan.
$235 per month for the Advanced plan.

» MORE: Explore all QuickBooks plans and pricing

Quicken

$5.99 per month for the Quicken Simplifi plan for personal finances (available on mobile and via app).
$5.99-$7.99 per month for the Classic plan for personal finances (available on Windows and Mac).
$7.99 per month for the Quicken Business and Personal plan (available on mobile and via app).
$10.99 per month for the Classic Business and Personal plan (available on Windows and Mac).

Looking for other options?

If you’re looking for a personal budgeting solution outside of Quicken, you might try exploring our list of the best budgeting apps, which includes picks like PocketGuard and You Need a Budget (YNAB). NerdWallet also has a free app that lets you keep tabs on your credit score, understand your cash flow and see your net worth.

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, should consider QuickBooks Online alternatives. The options listed below are tailored to small-business accounting needs as opposed to personal budgeting ones.

FreshBooks	Xero	Wave Accounting
NerdWallet rating 4.8 /5	NerdWallet rating 5.0 /5	NerdWallet rating 3.8 /5
Starting at $21/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $38, $65, custom.	Starting at $20/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80.	Starting at $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $16
Promotion 70% off for 4 months. 30-Day Money Back Guarantee.	Promotion 95% off for 6 months.	Promotion N/A
Shop Now	Shop Now	Shop Now

FreshBooks: Best for freelancers. With time tracking tools and a client portal included in all of its plans, FreshBooks is a solid choice for freelancers. Its plans are less expensive than QuickBooks Online’s options, though lower-tier ones limit the number of billable clients you can invoice. For more details, read our full FreshBooks review.

Xero: Best for user interface and in-depth accounting tools. In terms of its functionality, reporting capabilities and scalability, Xero is the closest alternative to QuickBooks Online. However, it may come with less of a learning curve, thanks to its simple layout and user interface. For more details, read our full Xero review.

Wave: Best for free accounting tools. Wave offers both free and paid accounting software plans to very small businesses, and is best for those that transact mostly via invoice. All plan tiers include unlimited invoicing, estimates and bookkeeping records. For more details, read our full Wave review.

Features

Click below for a rundown of where QuickBooks Online and Quicken stand when it comes to features and capabilities like reporting, invoicing, free trials and customer support.

Compare QuickBooks and Quicken by feature

Feature	QuickBooks Online	Quicken
Reporting	Audit log, balance sheet, profit and loss, sales, accounts receivable, sales tax, general ledger, cash flow, payroll, etc.	Cash flow, spending by category, investing, taxes, net worth, balance sheet, profit and loss, accounts payable and receivable and Schedule E and C.
Invoicing	Unlimited.	Unlimited in Business and Personal plan.
Expense tracking	Included.	Included.
Integrations	More than 750 apps including QuickBooks Time, QuickBooks Payroll and Gusto.	Limited, but bank connections are available.
Mobile app	Yes, for Android and iOS.	Yes, for Android and iOS.
Free trial	Yes. Choose between a 30-day free trial or 50% off for the first three months.	No, but it does have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Support	Simple, Essentials and Plus plans: Support via phone and online chat Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT and Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT. Advanced plan: 24/7 customer support.	Support via phone Monday-Friday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. Support via chat available from 5 a.m to 5 p.m PT, seven days a week.

Where QuickBooks stands out

Scalability

QuickBooks Online makes it easy to upgrade plans as your business grows. Simply change your subscription from Essentials to Plus, for example, and you instantly add inventory tracking and project profitability tools. QuickBooks also has add-ons and app integrations to level-up your business with payroll and point-of-sale systems.
By contrast, Quicken offers just two plan options for small-business owners, with no large selection of apps or add-ons. When you outgrow Quicken Business and Personal, you need to switch services, likely to QuickBooks.

Accounting tools

QuickBooks Online goes beyond basic accounting features with plans that offer inventory management, sales tax reporting and job-cost calculations. You can also manage payments to 1099 contractors and easily share your books with an accountant.
Quicken Business and Personal plans’ features and reports are much more limited.

Business software integrations

QuickBooks’ marketplace of more than 750 apps lets you connect the accounting software with industry-specific tools, payroll software, POS systems and e-commerce platforms, among other options. If you have a Squarespace website, for example, you can use Squarespace Connector to automatically share sales data and stock levels with QuickBooks. While some apps are free, others carry an additional monthly fee.
Quicken Business and Personal lets you accept payments via PayPal, but its integrations are limited.

Where Quicken stands out

Tools for tracking rental income

Quicken's Classic Business and Personal plan comes with tools made specifically for storing rental property documents and tracking rental property income. You can also accept online rent payments (via PayPal), track rental payments and keep tabs on security deposits. The Quicken Business and Personal plan still lets you track income and accept invoice payments online via Stripe, but it isn't as industry-specific.
QuickBooks Online can be used to manage rental properties, but it doesn’t have the same industry-specific tools, such as a dedicated Rent Center page, like Quicken's Classic Business and Personal plan does.

Managing personal finances

Few accounting software programs allow you to manage your personal budget and investments alongside business income. Quicken is, first and foremost, a personal finance tool, and Quicken Business and Personal gives you one view of all of your finances. You’ll need to tag business-related accounts and expenses to track profits and loss, tax deductions and cash flow projections.
QuickBooks is not set up to manage personal accounts, budgets and investments.

Cost

Quicken Business and Personal plan is less than half the cost of QuickBooks Online’s entry-level plan. The more affordable price tag is a draw for freelancers and those with side gigs, as well as for those who mainly just want to manage personal finances. You can still generate estimates, send invoices, accept payments and track profits and losses.
Quicken won’t grow with your business, though. You’ll need to switch to a full-fledged accounting software to gain deeper insights and access more sophisticated reporting as your books become more complex.

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Quicken vs. QuickBooks: 2025 Comparison