QuickBooks Self-Employed Alternatives in 2026: Prices and Features

At FreelanceAtlas, we help freelancers keep their books simple enough to stay current. This guide explains what happened to QuickBooks Self-Employed, what to do if you still use it, what Solopreneur costs now, and how it compares with FreshBooks, Wave, Xero and Simple Start on price and on the features a Schedule C filer needs, including invoicing, bank feeds, mileage tracking and estimated taxes. It ends with how to move your data and a decision guide. For the expense side of the job, see Best Expense Tracking Apps for Freelancers 2026, and for the tax payments these tools help you plan, Quarterly Estimated Taxes for Freelancers Explained (2026 Guide).

What Happened to QuickBooks Self-Employed

QuickBooks Self-Employed, often shortened to QBSE, was Intuit’s bookkeeping app for sole proprietors. Intuit replaced it for new customers with QuickBooks Solopreneur in 2024. Two sources cover the change:

• June 2024: Insightful Accountant reported on June 26, 2024 that Intuit “began offering QuickBooks Solopreneur earlier this spring” and “they have since discontinued sign-ups to QBSE.”
• Intuit’s own comparison: the QuickBooks article QuickBooks Solopreneur vs. QuickBooks Self-Employed says “New customers will be able to choose from our other products, including QuickBooks Solopreneur.” For existing subscribers, it says “you can still continue your subscription, or you can upgrade to QuickBooks Solopreneur.”

The same Intuit article lists the main differences. QuickBooks Self-Employed “enables the user to export data to TurboTax.” Solopreneur “adds the ability to create customized estimates, in addition to customized invoices,” sorts business and personal expenses automatically and connects to QuickBooks Checking. Intuit says it “can automatically migrate your subscription and much of your data” for subscribers who move.

So the short answer: QuickBooks Self-Employed is closed to new customers, and the product Intuit sells in its place is Solopreneur.

What to Do If You Still Use QuickBooks Self-Employed

If you still pay for QBSE, nothing forces a same-day move, but you should hold a full copy of your records outside the app. Intuit’s help article on QBSE subscriptions that came with TurboTax Self-Employed warns: “After it ends, you won’t be able to access or edit your QuickBooks Self-Employed data.” Do not wait for an end date to download your records.

Intuit’s article on how to export transactions and get reports in QuickBooks Self-Employed, updated in August 2026, gives the steps:

1. Reports: “go to the Reports menu,” choose the time period or tax year, then “Select View or Download.” Download your tax reports for every year you filed from QBSE.
2. Transactions: go to the Transactions menu, filter the list by type, account or time period, then select the Export icon to get a CSV file. Intuit notes: “Receipts aren’t exported.”
3. Receipts: download them from single transactions, or from the Reports menu “for specific tax years.”

Keep those files even after you switch. The IRS page on how long to keep records sets a general period of 3 years, and longer in some cases, such as 6 years “if you do not report income that you should report” and it is more than 25 percent of the gross income shown on your return.

What QuickBooks Solopreneur Costs and Includes in 2026

Intuit’s Solopreneur page describes the product as “designed for self-employed individuals running a one-person business.” It now shows three tiers, each for 1 user:

• Free, $0 a month: invoices limited to 2 a month, or unlimited “if you qualify for and enable QuickBooks Payments,” 2 receipt uploads a month, mileage for 5 trips a month, 1 contractor and the top 3 reports. The FAQ says it lets you “connect one bank account.”
• Lite, $20 a month: shown at $10 a month with “50% off for 3 months.” It adds unlimited invoices, “Unlimited receipts and mileage,” 3 contractors, the mobile app, bill pay and app integrations. It also includes Expert Assisted Tax, “Powered by TurboTax,” where you “Pay only when you file.” Lite has no accountant access.
• Simple Start, $38 a month: shown at $19 a month for 3 months. It includes everything in Lite plus accountant access, general reports, unlimited contractors and the option to “Attach payroll and other QuickBooks services.”

The page offers 10 percent off for annual billing and says “No annual contract” and “Cancel anytime.” On monthly billing, Lite costs $210 in the first year with the 3-month discount and $240 a year after that.

One gap matters for anyone coming from QBSE. The current Solopreneur page does not list a quarterly estimated tax feature on any tier. Its FAQ says the software helps you “maximize deductions for your Schedule C reporting,” which is a different job. If automatic estimates were the reason you used QBSE, check for them in the product before you pay.

QuickBooks Self-Employed Alternatives Compared on Price

These are the US prices on each company’s pricing page. Introductory offers are listed separately, because they end after a few months.

The sources are the QuickBooks pricing page, the FreshBooks pricing page, the Wave pricing page and the Xero US pricing page. Xero’s discount is for new US customers buying their first organization.

Here is the first-year cost on monthly billing with each intro offer, and the cost in a normal year after it ends:

• FreshBooks Lite: $202.40 in year one, then $276 a year.
• QuickBooks Solopreneur Lite: $210 in year one, then $240 a year.
• Wave Pro: $199.50 in year one on monthly billing, or $190 a year on annual billing.
• Xero Early: $259.20 in year one, then $324 a year.
• QuickBooks Simple Start: $399 in year one, then $456 a year.

Budget for the regular price, not the intro price. You will pay it for every year after the first, and moving your books again costs time.

Feature by Feature for a Schedule C Freelancer

The IRS says sole proprietors use Schedule C to “report income or loss from a business you operated or a profession you practiced as a sole proprietor.” The software’s job is to get every business dollar in and out onto that form with records behind it. Here is how the entry-level paid plans compare on the features that matter for that.

Invoicing and Getting Paid

The invoice limits are the first thing to check. FreshBooks Lite lets you invoice 5 clients, Plus raises that to 50 and Premium to unlimited. Xero Early allows 20 invoices, and its footnote says the limit covers “both approving and sending invoices.” QuickBooks Lite and Wave have no invoice cap, and Wave’s free Starter plan includes “unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records.”

All of them take card payments on invoices, and each processor charges its own fees. Wave lists 2.9 percent plus $0.60 per card payment on Starter, and 2.9 percent plus $0 on Pro “for first 10 transactions/mo.” FreshBooks accepts cards, ACH bank transfers and buy now, pay later on every plan, and adds e-signatures from Plus. QuickBooks says clients can pay by card, ACH, Apple Pay, PayPal and Venmo. If your clients pay through PayPal, PayPal Fees for Freelancers shows what each method costs.

Bank Feeds, Receipts and Mileage

A bank feed pulls transactions in so you only categorize them. Wave Starter does not include automatic bank import, so you enter transactions yourself until you move to Pro. QuickBooks Free connects one bank account. Xero Early reconciles bank transactions, and auto-reconcile is an optional $5.00 a month add-on on that plan. FreshBooks lists automated bank import on every plan.

Receipt capture is unlimited on QuickBooks Lite and Wave Pro, and Xero lists Smart Document Capture on all plans. FreshBooks adds automatic receipt data capture from Plus. For mileage, QuickBooks Lite includes unlimited trips and FreshBooks lists mobile mileage tracking on every plan. Xero includes “Employee expense and mileage claims” only on Established, at $97 a month, and Wave’s pricing page does not list mileage tracking. If you drive to clients, that alone can rule out two options.

Quarterly Estimated Taxes

The IRS page on estimated taxes says individuals, including sole proprietors, “generally have to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more” when they file, using Form 1040-ES. Intuit’s help article on quarterly and annual tax info in QBSE says the app “calculates your federal estimated quarterly taxes so you know how much to pay each quarter.”

Among the plans in this guide, only QuickBooks Online lists the feature on its pricing page, as “Estimates quarterly payments” on the Essentials plan at $85 a month. The Solopreneur page and the FreshBooks, Wave and Xero pricing pages do not list automatic estimates. Plan to work the numbers yourself with the 1040-ES worksheet or with a tax professional, and use the software for clean profit figures to start from.

Contractors and Payroll

If you pay subcontractors or plan to hire, compare these costs before you commit:

• QuickBooks: Free manages 1 contractor, Lite 3 and Simple Start unlimited. Only Simple Start can attach QuickBooks payroll.
• FreshBooks: Payroll costs “$40/mo plus $6/mo per user,” and extra team members cost $11 a month each.
• Wave: its payroll page lists a “$40 USD base fee + $6 per active employee + $6 per independent contractor paid.”
• Xero: W-9 and 1099 management is included on every plan, and Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto, costs “$36 a month + $6 per employee/contractor.”

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks

FreshBooks is built around invoicing clients. Every plan includes unlimited time tracking, recurring invoices, scheduled late fees and a client portal, and Plus adds proposals and client retainers. That suits freelancers who bill by the hour or by project and want the bookkeeping to follow from the invoices.

The catch is the client cap. FreshBooks Lite at $23 a month lets you invoice only 5 clients, and it leaves out double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation, accountant access and automatic receipt data capture, which all start on Plus at $43 a month. QuickBooks Solopreneur Lite at $20 has no invoice limit and includes unlimited receipts and mileage, but no accountant access either.

• Pick FreshBooks if you have a few steady clients, track billable time and want polished invoices and proposals.
• Pick QuickBooks Solopreneur if you invoice many small clients, want mileage tracking and receipt capture in one app, or file with TurboTax.

FreshBooks offers a 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, which gives you time to test the invoice flow with a real client.

Wave vs QuickBooks

Wave is the cheapest route. Its Starter plan costs nothing and includes unlimited invoices and bookkeeping records, which the QuickBooks Free tier does not, since that tier stops at 2 invoices a month unless you turn on QuickBooks Payments. The trade-off is manual work: Starter has no automatic bank import, receipt capture is a paid add-on and live chat and email support come only with an add-on.

Wave Pro at $19 a month, or $190 a year, adds automatic bank import with categorization, unlimited receipt capture and lower card fees for the first 10 card payments each month. That makes it the lowest-priced paid plan in this guide with bank feeds and receipts included. Wave’s support runs “Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 4:45 PM Eastern.”

Compared with QuickBooks Solopreneur Lite at $20 a month, Wave Pro costs about the same but does not list mileage tracking or a tax filing service. Choose Wave if you do not drive for work and want the lowest cost. Choose QuickBooks if you want mileage logs and the TurboTax link in one place.

Where Xero and QuickBooks Online Simple Start Fit

Both are small business accounting packages rather than apps made for sole proprietors, and both cost more. They make sense in two situations.

• You work with an accountant or bookkeeper. Simple Start includes accountant access for $38 a month. Many accountants already work in QuickBooks Online or Xero, so ask yours which one they support before you buy.
• You expect to grow past one person. Simple Start can attach payroll and handles unlimited contractors. Xero includes W-9 and 1099 management on every plan and a 30 day cash flow forecast on Early.

Xero’s limits sit in its lower plans. Early at $27 a month allows 20 invoices and 5 bills, Growing at $59 removes those caps, and multi-currency support and mileage claims start on Established at $97. If you invoice foreign clients in their currency, that pushes Xero’s real price to $97 a month, so compare it carefully with the alternatives.

For QuickBooks Online, the step above Simple Start is Essentials at $85 a month, with 3 users and quarterly estimate support. Most solo freelancers do not need it.

How to Move Your Data Between Tools

Switching is easiest at a clean break, such as January 1 or the start of a quarter, so one tool holds each period. Work through it in this order:

1. Export everything from the old tool. Download the profit and loss and tax reports for each year, the transaction CSV, receipts by tax year, mileage logs and your client and invoice lists.
2. Store the files outside both apps. Keep them for at least the IRS’s general 3-year period, in a folder named by tax year.
3. Set up the new tool from the switch date. Connect your business bank account, add your categories and enter open invoices by hand.
4. Check categories on anything you import. Even when a QBSE CSV goes back into QBSE, Intuit warns that “some info, like categories, won’t show up correctly,” and says “You need to recategorize your transactions after you import.” Check every category after an import into a new tool too.
5. Reconcile the first month. Match the new tool’s balance to your bank statement before you rely on its reports.

Some vendors help with the move. FreshBooks includes its Easy Switch data migration on its Select plan, and Wave’s bookkeeping service includes “Onboarding when switching from other accounting software.” Subscribers moving from QBSE to Solopreneur can use Intuit’s own migration.

Which Accounting Software to Choose: A Decision Guide

Start from how you work, not from the feature lists:

• Few invoices and a tight budget: Wave Starter, free with unlimited invoices, if you can enter transactions yourself.
• Solo, many small clients, file with TurboTax: QuickBooks Solopreneur Lite at $20 a month, the closest match to QBSE.
• Bank feeds and receipts at the lowest price: Wave Pro at $190 a year on annual billing.
• Hourly billing for a few steady clients: FreshBooks Lite at $23 a month, or Plus at $43 once you pass 5 clients.
• Working with an accountant or planning to hire: QuickBooks Online Simple Start at $38 a month, or Xero if your accountant prefers it.

Whichever you choose, the software only works if you categorize every week and keep receipts as you go. The 2026 freelance tax deductions checklist shows which categories you will need.

Conclusion

QuickBooks Self-Employed has been closed to new customers since 2024, and Intuit’s replacement, QuickBooks Solopreneur, now comes as a Free tier, Lite at $20 a month and Simple Start at $38. The main alternatives cost $0 to $43 a month at entry level: Wave Starter is free, Wave Pro is $19, FreshBooks Lite is $23 for 5 clients, Plus is $43 and Xero Early is $27 for 20 invoices. None of the Solopreneur, FreshBooks, Wave or Xero pricing pages list automatic quarterly tax estimates, so plan to calculate those yourself.

If you still use QBSE, download your tax reports, transaction CSVs and receipts for every year this week. Then list what you actually need, such as invoice volume, mileage, bank feeds and accountant access, pick the cheapest plan that covers all of it at its regular price, and switch at the start of the next quarter.

Key Takeaways

• Intuit stopped offering QuickBooks Self-Employed to new customers in 2024 and points them to QuickBooks Solopreneur instead.
• QuickBooks Solopreneur Lite costs $20 a month after a 3-month offer of $10, with unlimited invoices, receipts and mileage but no accountant access.
• The free QuickBooks tier allows 2 invoices a month without QuickBooks Payments and one bank account, while Wave Starter is free with unlimited invoices but no automatic bank import.
• FreshBooks Lite costs $23 a month and limits invoicing to 5 clients, and Plus at $43 raises the limit to 50 and adds accountant access.
• Xero Early costs $27 a month for 20 invoices and 5 bills, and its mileage claims and multi-currency support start on the $97 Established plan.
• Before leaving QBSE, download your reports, transaction CSV and receipts, since Intuit says “Receipts aren’t exported” with the transaction file.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is QuickBooks Self-Employed being phased out?

For new customers, yes. Intuit stopped selling QuickBooks Self-Employed to new users in 2024 and offers QuickBooks Solopreneur instead. Intuit’s comparison article says existing subscribers can keep their subscription or upgrade, and that Intuit can migrate much of their data to Solopreneur. If you still use QBSE, download your reports, transactions and receipts now so you hold a full copy whatever you decide.

Is QuickBooks Self-Employed still available?

Not to new customers. Insightful Accountant reported in June 2024 that Intuit had “discontinued sign-ups to QBSE,” and Intuit’s own article says new customers can choose other products, including Solopreneur. Neither source gives an end date for existing subscribers. Intuit’s help center still has QBSE export instructions, updated in August 2026, which helps existing users who want to move their records out.

How much does QuickBooks Solopreneur cost?

Intuit’s Solopreneur page shows three tiers. Free costs $0 and allows 2 invoices a month, or unlimited if you qualify for and turn on QuickBooks Payments. Lite lists at $20 a month, with an offer of $10 a month for the first 3 months, and adds unlimited invoices, receipts and mileage. Simple Start lists at $38 a month, or $19 for 3 months, and adds accountant access and unlimited contractors. The page also offers 10 percent off for annual billing.

What is the best accounting software for freelancers?

It depends on how you work. Wave Starter is free with unlimited invoices if you can enter transactions yourself. QuickBooks Solopreneur Lite at $20 a month suits solo freelancers who want mileage tracking, receipt capture and TurboTax filing in one app. FreshBooks suits hourly billing for a few clients, and QuickBooks Online or Xero suit freelancers who work with an accountant. Compare regular prices, not intro offers.

Is Wave accounting really free?

The Starter plan costs nothing and includes unlimited invoices and estimates, plus bills and bookkeeping records. You still pay processing fees when clients pay online, listed at 2.9 percent plus $0.60 per card payment on Starter. Automatic bank import and unlimited receipt capture need Wave Pro, at $19 a month or $190 a year, and payroll is a separate add-on with its own monthly fee.