QuickBooks Free Plan (2026): What You Get

QuickBooks Online now publishes a $0 Free plan on its US pricing page. The plan is real, and the caps are real. I checked Intuit’s US pricing page, the Free product page, and Intuit’s August price-change note on November 3, 2026. Figures below are US list prices unless a regional page is named. UK VAT, Australian GST, and Canadian GST/HST are usually added at checkout on those countries’ own pages.

What does QuickBooks Online Free actually include?

On the US pricing card, Free is $0/month, no credit card required, 1 user, and no accountant access. Featured limits on that card and the Free product FAQ:

• Track income and expenses
• Send up to 2 invoices per month, or unlimited invoices if you qualify for and enable QuickBooks Payments
• Run profit & loss, balance sheet, and account quick report
• Connect 1 bank account
• Chat support

The same pricing FAQ says the mobile app and third-party app integrations are not currently available on Free. Phone support, on that FAQ, starts with Simple Start and above (free during the 30-day paid-plan trial and included while a paid subscription is current).

If you invoice weekly, two sends is the whole month before Payments. If your preparer needs a login, Free has no accountant seat — Intuit’s card says to upgrade for that.

How much are Simple Start and the paid QuickBooks plans now?

US list prices on quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing on November 3, 2026:

Comparison from vendor pricing pages cited in this guide.

Plan	List price (US)	Promo shown that day	Users (as listed)
Free	$0/mo	No card required	1 · no accountant access
Simple Start	$38/mo	$19/mo for 3 months (50% off)	1 · access for 2 accountants
Essentials	$85/mo	$42.50/mo for 3 months	3 · access for 2 accountants
Plus	$140/mo	$70/mo for 3 months	5 · access for 2 accountants
Advanced	$340/mo	$170/mo for 3 months	25 · access for 3 accountants

Treat the half-off rows as new-customer promotions that end. Plan around the list price. Intuit’s price-change article says Essentials, Plus, and Advanced subscription prices change for renewals on or after August 1, 2026, while Free, Lite, Ledger, and Simple Start remain unchanged. The numbers in the table are what the live pricing page showed when I checked (after that date). The note also says recent new subscribers keep their signup price for the first six months, with updated pricing from the seventh invoice — confirm that language on Intuit’s page for your account.

Simple Start is the usual solo paid step: accountant seats, broader bookkeeping automation, and invoicing that can take card or bank payment through QuickBooks Payments. Card rates are separate from the $38 — check Payments before you compare a large invoice with Wave or FreshBooks.

How does QuickBooks Free compare with Wave, FreshBooks, and Invoice Ninja?

Comparison from vendor pricing pages cited in this guide.

Product	$0 software path?	What the official page listed (Nov 3, 2026)
QuickBooks Online Free	Yes (US)	1 user, no accountant, 1 bank, 2 invoices/mo (or unlimited with Payments)
Wave Starter	Yes	Basic accounting + invoicing at $0; Pro $19/mo or $190/yr (US) for recurring invoices, bank import, receipts, extra users
FreshBooks	No free-forever plan	Lite $23, Plus $43, Premium $70 (US); 30-day trial; promo 80% off for 4 months was showing
Invoice Ninja Free	Yes	5 clients + unlimited invoicing to those clients; hosted free plan, no card to sign up

Wave’s Pro page still lists Starter-style accounting and invoicing as free, with Pro at $19 USD/month or $190 USD/year for new subscriptions (CAD prices also shown). Recurring invoices, bank import, receipt scanning, and extra users sit on Pro — not on the free basics description.

FreshBooks pricing still has no free-forever plan. Lite is 5 clients at $23/month list; Plus 50 clients at $43; Premium unlimited clients at $70. The page was also showing a deep intro discount — plan on the “was” price. FreshBooks Payments lists 2.9% + $0.30 for cards and 1% for ACH on that FAQ (read the asterisks).

Invoice Ninja lists a $0 free plan with 5 clients and unlimited invoicing to those clients, plus templates, online payments via connected gateways, recurring invoices, expenses, and time tracking. Gateway fees are separate. It is the only affiliate link in this guide; see the affiliate disclosure.

For a longer side-by-side of QuickBooks vs Wave vs FreshBooks (including Simple Start), use the updated comparison. For other $0 invoice senders, see best free invoicing software. After books and invoices, compare cheapest CRM options if the pipeline still lives in a spreadsheet. Accounting category guides live under /category/accounting.

When should you upgrade from QuickBooks Free?

Upgrade when any of these is true on Intuit’s own Free limits:

• You need a third invoice in the same month and you do not want to (or cannot) enable QuickBooks Payments
• Your accountant or bookkeeper needs a login
• You need a second user, the mobile app, or third-party apps called out as missing on Free
• You outgrow one bank connection for day-to-day books

Do not stretch Free into a weekly billing practice and then blame the software. Simple Start at $38 list is the clean solo upgrade when the preparer already works in QuickBooks. If the preparer will take an export and you want $0 software with fewer published invoice caps, open Wave Starter or Invoice Ninja Free and compare processing fees on a real invoice amount.

A practical upgrade checklist

1. Count last month’s sent invoices. If you already crossed two without Payments, Free is not your daily driver.
2. Ask your preparer whether they need a QuickBooks login. If yes, Free is out — Simple Start lists two accountant seats.
3. Decide whether bank categorization and recurring invoices matter more than the brand name. Those sit on paid QuickBooks plans or on Wave Pro, not on Free’s pricing card.
4. Price one real card payment on each processor you might use. Subscription gaps matter more than a few cents of rate difference on a $200 invoice; the reverse can be true on a $5,000 invoice.

Card and ACH rates for QuickBooks Payments are not printed as a single fixed number on the Free plan card I checked. I will not invent them. Open Payments terms inside QuickBooks (or Intuit’s Payments pages) before you assume “unlimited invoices via Payments” is free money movement.

Do UK, Australia, and Canada get the same Free plan?

US only for the Free card described above. The same day I checked:

• Canada pricing listed paid EasyStart / Plus / Advanced plans and a 30-day free trial, not the US Free $0 card. List prices on that page included EasyStart at CA$30/month before the promo row that was showing.
• UK pricing listed paid Sole Trader / Simple Start / Essentials / Plus / Advanced plans with trial language, not the US Free card. I am not quoting a GBP Free-plan price that was not on the page.
• Australia pricing listed paid Simple Start through Advanced with trial/offer language, not the US Free card. Confirm AUD list prices on that page when you subscribe — promo banners change.

Regional pages also layer VAT (UK), GST (AU), or GST/HST (CA) at checkout. A US $0 Free plan screenshot is not a UK or CA receipt. Open the regional pricing page for the currency and tax rules that apply to you.

Which vendor pages were checked for this Free-plan guide?

See also our methodology page. If you want help matching a stack to how you actually bill, book a consultation.

Checked November 3, 2026: QuickBooks US pricing, QuickBooks Free, price-change note, UK pricing, AU pricing, CA pricing, Wave Pro, FreshBooks pricing, Invoice Ninja.

How we score

Desk scores are editorial. They summarize how useful the vendor’s own pricing and help pages were for a solo small business (US, UK, AU, or CA) on the date in this guide. They are not customer star ratings, lab benchmarks, or paid placements. Read the full process on our methodology / how we check prices page.

See a price or feature that has changed? Send a correction. Guides are updated from the vendor’s page, not from memory. How we check prices.

FAQ

Is QuickBooks Online Free really $0 forever?

Intuit’s US pricing and Free product pages list Free at $0/month with no credit card required. The price-change disclaimer also says Free may be offered for a limited time and features can change. Confirm the live plan card before you rely on it.

When should I upgrade from QuickBooks Free?

Upgrade when you need more than two invoices a month without Payments, a second user, accountant access, the mobile app, or third-party app connections — limits called out on Intuit’s US pricing page for Free.

How does QuickBooks Free compare with Wave Starter?

Both list $0 software fees. Wave Starter is positioned for basic accounting and invoicing without a published two-invoice monthly cap on the Pro/help pages checked. QuickBooks Free publishes a two-invoice monthly cap unless Payments unlocks unlimited invoices.

Does the Free plan exist in the UK, Australia, and Canada?

The $0 Free plan described here was verified on Intuit’s US pages. Official UK, Australia, and Canada pricing pages checked the same day showed paid Online plans and free trials, not the same Free card. Open your country’s QuickBooks pricing page.

Sources

Official vendor pages used for prices and plan limits (checked November 3, 2026).

1. QuickBooks Online pricing (US)
2. QuickBooks Free product page
3. QuickBooks Online price-change note
4. Wave Pro
5. FreshBooks pricing
6. Invoice Ninja

About the editorial team

BizHacks Daily is written by Faizan Nawaz, a marketing manager and freelance marketer. Guides are desk-checked against each vendor’s own pricing or help page on the date stated in the article — not against other review sites.

There is no invented newsroom roster and no made-up survey results. Desk scores summarise how clear a vendor’s public pages were for a solo shop on check day. They are not customer star ratings, lab tests, or paid placements. Corrections come from the vendor page when a figure changes — send one if you spot a stale number. Full process: methodology / how we check prices.