The short answer
- QuickBooks Online is accounting software first. In the US, Simple Start is $38 a month at its regular price, and the Free plan caps you at 2 invoices a month. Many sole traders only need part of what they pay for.
- If you want free invoicing in the US or Canada, Wave's Starter plan offers unlimited invoices and estimates. Anywhere else, Zoho Invoice is free up to 500 invoices a year.
- If you're a UK sole trader facing Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, check HMRC's software finder. On 25 September 2026 it listed QuickBooks, Xero, FreeAgent and Zoho; FreeAgent is free with a NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle business account.
- If you bill a handful of clients and want polished invoices, FreshBooks Lite is $23 a month at full price for up to 5 billable clients.
- If you just want to draft quotes and invoices from your phone in one sentence, Binome360 does that, but it isn't accounting software, isn't MTD software and doesn't connect to your bank.
Why people look for a QuickBooks alternative
QuickBooks Online is built to keep a full set of books: bank feeds, categorised expenses, reports, sales tax, bills and, on higher plans, payroll and inventory. For a limited company with an accountant, that's the point. For a freelancer who sends eight invoices a month, it can be more than they need.
Here is what Intuit's US pricing page showed on 25 September 2026:
| QuickBooks Online plan (US) | Regular price | Users | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 | 2 invoices a month, 1 bank connection |
| Simple Start | $38/month | 1 + 2 accountants | Adds automated bookkeeping and "invoice and get paid" |
| Essentials | $85/month | 3 + 2 accountants | |
| Plus | $140/month | 5 + 2 accountants | |
| Advanced | $340/month | 25 + 3 accountants |
Free
Regular price$0
Users1
Note2 invoices a month, 1 bank connection
Simple Start
Regular price$38/month
Users1 + 2 accountants
NoteAdds automated bookkeeping and "invoice and get paid"
Essentials
Regular price$85/month
Users3 + 2 accountants
Note
Plus
Regular price$140/month
Users5 + 2 accountants
Note
Advanced
Regular price$340/month
Users25 + 3 accountants
Note
Paid plans had a 30-day free trial and an introductory 50% discount for three months. The UK site offers a separate Sole Trader Plus plan and describes its products as "MTD for Income Tax ready"; UK prices load dynamically, so check them on Intuit's site for your situation.
So the usual reasons to look elsewhere are practical: the regular price once the discount ends, the 2-invoice cap on the Free plan, or simply wanting a tool that does invoicing and nothing more. In the UK there is one more: choosing the right software for Making Tax Digital before your start date.
What to check before you switch
Our guide to choosing invoicing software as a freelancer covers the full checklist. Here's the short version for someone leaving an accounting package.
| Check | The question | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| What you really use | Invoices only, or also bank feeds, expense categories, reports? | An invoicing app won't replace your books |
| UK: Making Tax Digital | Is the tool on HMRC's list, or does it export cleanly to software that is? | Sole traders over £50,000 qualifying income have been in MTD for Income Tax since 6 April 2026 |
| Invoice limits | Per month, per year, or per client? | Free plans usually cap one of the three |
| Numbering | Can you continue your current invoice sequence? | Restarting at 1 creates duplicates |
| Payments | Built-in card payments, and at what fee? | Fees vary by plan |
| Exit | What can you export, and for how long? | You'll need old invoices for years |
| Country | Is the tool supported where your business is? | Some products serve only certain countries |
What you really use
The questionInvoices only, or also bank feeds, expense categories, reports?
Why it mattersAn invoicing app won't replace your books
UK: Making Tax Digital
The questionIs the tool on HMRC's list, or does it export cleanly to software that is?
Why it mattersSole traders over £50,000 qualifying income have been in MTD for Income Tax since 6 April 2026
Invoice limits
The questionPer month, per year, or per client?
Why it mattersFree plans usually cap one of the three
Numbering
The questionCan you continue your current invoice sequence?
Why it mattersRestarting at 1 creates duplicates
Payments
The questionBuilt-in card payments, and at what fee?
Why it mattersFees vary by plan
Exit
The questionWhat can you export, and for how long?
Why it mattersYou'll need old invoices for years
Country
The questionIs the tool supported where your business is?
Why it mattersSome products serve only certain countries
Making Tax Digital: what HMRC's list says
HMRC publishes two finders: one for Making Tax Digital for VAT and one for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Both say the same thing about recommendations: HMRC doesn't endorse any product, but everything listed has passed its recognition process. We checked both on 25 September 2026. The Income Tax finder returned 144 products for a sole trader.
| Product | MTD for Income Tax finder | MTD for VAT list |
|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks (Intuit) | Listed: paid, quarterly updates and tax return | Listed |
| Xero | Listed: paid, quarterly updates and tax return | Listed |
| FreeAgent | Listed, including "FreeAgent for free with Mettle, NatWest & RBS" | Listed |
| Zoho | Listed: free version, quarterly updates and tax return | Listed |
| FreshBooks | Not found in the Income Tax finder | Listed |
| Wave | Not found | Not found |
| Binome360 | Not listed | Not listed |
QuickBooks (Intuit)
MTD for Income Tax finderListed: paid, quarterly updates and tax return
MTD for VAT listListed
Xero
MTD for Income Tax finderListed: paid, quarterly updates and tax return
MTD for VAT listListed
FreeAgent
MTD for Income Tax finderListed, including "FreeAgent for free with Mettle, NatWest & RBS"
MTD for VAT listListed
Zoho
MTD for Income Tax finderListed: free version, quarterly updates and tax return
MTD for VAT listListed
FreshBooks
MTD for Income Tax finderNot found in the Income Tax finder
MTD for VAT listListed
Wave
MTD for Income Tax finderNot found
MTD for VAT listNot found
Binome360
MTD for Income Tax finderNot listed
MTD for VAT listNot listed
The Income Tax dates, for reference: qualifying income over £50,000 from 6 April 2026, over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028. The invoicing software guide explains how bridging software lets you keep a spreadsheet or a separate invoicing app and still file digitally.
The options, grouped by what you need
No ranking: each tool fits a different need. Prices are the regular prices shown on each company's site at the time of writing (25 September 2026), before promotions.
If you want free invoicing and basic books (US and Canada)
Wave. Wave's Starter plan is free and lets you "create unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records", with a mobile app for invoicing and expenses. Card payments on Starter cost 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction. The Pro plan ($19 a month or $190 a year in the US; C$25 a month in Canada) adds automatic bank imports, receipt capture and late-payment reminders. Wave is priced in US and Canadian dollars and built for businesses in those two countries; its help centre has a page on changes for users outside the US and Canada, so check it before signing up from another country.
If you want free invoicing anywhere
Zoho Invoice. Zoho describes it as a "forever-free invoicing solution". The free plan covers up to 500 invoices a year and 2 users, with apps for iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac, and regional sites for the US, UK, India, Canada and other countries. It's an invoicing tool; for more advanced billing, Zoho points you to Zoho Billing. In the UK, a Zoho product with a free version appears on HMRC's Income Tax finder.
If you're a UK sole trader and want MTD handled
FreeAgent. Accounting software aimed at UK sole traders and small businesses. For sole traders it costs £19 a month (excluding VAT) at the regular price after a 30-day trial. It's free if you keep a business current account with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank, or a Mettle account with at least one transaction a month. FreeAgent says it can send MTD VAT returns and, for Income Tax, quarterly updates and your final declaration.
Xero. Full accounting software with no per-user fees. UK plans start with Ignite at £18 a month (excluding VAT), which lets you send 20 invoices; Grow, at £39, removes the invoice cap. Xero appears on both HMRC lists.
If you want polished invoices for a few clients
FreshBooks. Invoicing-led software for service businesses, with iPhone and Android apps and a 30-day free trial without a card. Lite is $23 a month at its regular price for up to 5 billable clients; Plus ($43) raises that to 50 and adds proposals and retainers; Premium ($70) has no client limit. FreshBooks is on HMRC's VAT list but did not appear in the Income Tax finder when we checked.
If you want to draft quotes and invoices in one sentence
Binome360. This is our app, and it's a different kind of tool. Binome360 is an assistant you type or talk to: say "Invoice Priya Shah, logo design, 12 hours at £45" and it drafts the invoice, which you confirm before anything is saved. Numbering is automatic per document type, your business details and legal notes sit in the footer, you set the tax rate and pick one of four templates in your colours. You share a link by WhatsApp or email; the client reads it, downloads a PDF and can accept or decline a quote online, and an accepted quote becomes an invoice in one tap. Late invoices are flagged and a polite reminder is drafted for you.
Its limits, plainly: Binome360 is not accounting software, not MTD software and not a certified e-invoicing platform. It has no bank connection or import and takes no payments. It works in English and French. It has a free 7-day trial, then costs $3.99 a month, $8.99 for 3 months or $23.99 a year on the web. If you're in MTD for Income Tax, you'd pair it with software from HMRC's list.
Invoice Priya Shah, logo design, 12 hours at £45, due in 14 days
Here's the draft: invoice INV-2026-0018 for Priya Shah, 12 × £45 = £540.00, due 9 October 2026. Save it?
Your assistant drafts the invoice; nothing is saved until you confirm.
Try Binome360 for freeHow to leave QuickBooks without losing anything
Intuit's help centre says that when you cancel a paid QuickBooks Online subscription you keep read-only access for one year, and you can export data to Excel during that year. If you only ever used a trial, the window is 90 days. Intuit recommends exporting before you cancel, and so do we.
- 1Export firstExport your customer list, invoice list, and the reports your accountant uses (profit and loss, general ledger) to Excel. Save a PDF of every invoice you've sent.
- 2Note your last numbersWrite down the last invoice and estimate numbers. Your new tool should continue the sequence.
- 3Pick a switch dateFinish open invoices in QuickBooks, then send every new invoice from the new tool from a set date.
- 4Import customers and itemsMost tools import a CSV of customers and products or services.
- 5Cancel lastCancel only once exports are saved somewhere you control. Keep them as long as your tax authority requires.
For numbering rules when you change tools, see our guide to invoice numbering. And if you're setting up new invoice templates, check them against the required details for a self-employed invoice.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free version of QuickBooks?
Yes, in the US. Intuit's pricing page lists a Free plan at $0 with 1 user, 2 invoices a month, 1 bank connection and a profit and loss report. Paid plans start with Simple Start at $38 a month at its regular price.
What's the best QuickBooks alternative for a UK sole trader?
It depends on your income and bank. If you're in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, pick from HMRC's software finder: QuickBooks, Xero, FreeAgent and Zoho were all listed when we checked, and FreeAgent is free with some business bank accounts. If you're not in MTD yet, a free invoicing app plus a spreadsheet may be enough for now.
Can I use an invoicing app and still comply with Making Tax Digital?
Yes. MTD requires your income and expense records to be digital and submitted through compatible software. Your invoices can come from any app, as long as the records end up in MTD software, directly or through bridging software.
Is Wave available in the UK?
Wave prices its plans in US and Canadian dollars and is built for businesses in those two countries; its help centre has a page on changes for users elsewhere. UK sole traders usually look at tools on HMRC's list instead.
In short
QuickBooks is worth it if you need full books; if you mostly send invoices, lighter tools cost less. In the US and Canada, Wave and Zoho Invoice cover free invoicing; in the UK, pick from HMRC's list if you're in Making Tax Digital; FreshBooks suits a few clients; Binome360 suits drafting quotes and invoices from your phone. First step: export your QuickBooks customer and invoice lists to Excel today, before you change anything.
Sources
- Intuit, "QuickBooks Online pricing" (US plans, regular and promotional prices, Free plan limits, 30-day trial), checked 25 September 2026: quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing.
- Intuit, "QuickBooks UK pricing" (Sole Trader Plus plan, MTD for Income Tax), checked 25 September 2026: quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/pricing.
- Intuit, "What happens to my QuickBooks Online data after I cancel?" (one year read-only, export to Excel, 90 days for trials), checked 25 September 2026: quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support.
- HMRC, "Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" (software finder, 144 results for a sole trader), checked 25 September 2026: tax.service.gov.uk/find-making-tax-digital-income-tax-software.
- HMRC, "Find software for Making Tax Digital for VAT", checked 25 September 2026: tax.service.gov.uk/making-tax-digital-software.
- GOV.UK, "Find software that's compatible with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax", last updated 13 July 2026: gov.uk.
- GOV.UK, "Check if you're eligible for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" (qualifying income thresholds and dates): gov.uk.
- Wave, "Pricing" (Starter and Pro plans, card fees, USD and CAD), checked 25 September 2026: waveapps.com/pricing; Wave Help Center, "Changes for Wave users outside the United States and Canada": support.waveapps.com.
- Zoho, "Zoho Invoice pricing" (free plan, 500 invoices a year, 2 users, apps), checked 25 September 2026: zoho.com/us/invoice/pricing.
- FreeAgent, "Pricing" (sole trader price, 30-day trial, free with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle, MTD features), checked 25 September 2026: freeagent.com/pricing.
- Xero, "Pricing plans" UK (Ignite, Grow, invoice limits), checked 25 September 2026: xero.com/uk/pricing-plans.
- FreshBooks, "Pricing" (Lite, Plus, Premium, client limits, 30-day trial), checked 25 September 2026: freshbooks.com/pricing.
- GOV.UK, "Business records if you're self-employed: how long to keep your records": gov.uk.
- IRS, "How long should I keep records?": irs.gov.
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