Ranking Small businesses
The 9 best small businesses tools (2026): Australia
The best small businesses tools in October 2026 are ZipBooks, Akaunting and Hubdoc. ZipBooks is the pick for small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place. We read the price of 8 of the 9 on their own sites.
9 ranked · 8 checked against their own site 26–28 October 2026
- Under $2555 of 8
- $25 to $9933 of 8
- $100 to $29900 of 8
- $300 or more00 of 8
- 9
- ranked
- $18
- median first paid plan
- 5
- of the 9 have a free plan
tickmarkbooks.com · First paid plan from each tool's own pricing page, read 26–28 October 2026.
The short answer
ZipBooks ranks first. It has a free plan, and paid plans start at $15 a month.
Akaunting ranks second with a free plan, then $12 a month, and Hubdoc third from $12 a month.
Half of the 8 tools with a monthly paid plan charge $18 a month or less.
5 tools here have a free plan to try before you pay. The highest ranked are ZipBooks, Akaunting and QuickBooks Online.
Pick by what you need
A free plan before you payZipBooksFree, then $15 a month
Freelancers and small businessesAkauntingFree, then $12 a month
Lowest monthly price in the top fiveHubdocFrom $12 a month
Small businesses and firms feeding receiptsDextFrom $31.50 a month
Small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the booksXeroFrom $27 a month
All 9 picks at a glance
| # | Tool | Best for | Starts at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ZipBooks | Small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place | Free, then $15 a monthits pricing page |
| 2 | Akaunting | Freelancers and small businesses that want open-source books they can host themselves | Free, then $12 a monthits pricing page |
| 3 | Hubdoc | Small businesses and their bookkeepers who need bills and receipts in Xero or QuickBooks | From $12 a monthits pricing page |
| 4 | Dext | Small businesses and firms feeding receipts and supplier bills into QuickBooks or Xero | From $31.50 a monthits pricing page |
| 5 | Xero | Small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books, no per-user fees | From $27 a monthits pricing page |
| 6 |  QuickBooks Online | Small businesses that want one ledger plus payroll, payments and an accountant login | Free, then $38 a monthits pricing page |
| 7 |  Expensify | Small finance teams that want receipts, cards and reimbursements feeding one ledger | Free, then $5 a seat a monthits pricing page |
| 8 |  Zoho Books | Small businesses and startups that want one ledger plus the wider Zoho app suite | Free, then $20 a monthits pricing page |
| 9 |  Booke AI | A business or bookkeeping firm already on QuickBooks Online or Xero | Price not established |
Checked between 26 October 2026 and 28 October 2026.
9 tools, ranked. How we rank
About this list
9 of 27 small businesses tools match “Australia”. Of the rest: 2 on some plans only, 12 no, 4 unknown.
How the small businesses tools matching “Australia” differ: 8 of 9 also match “Canada”, against 1 of 18 in the rest of the category.
The ranking
A free plan before you pay
Best forsmall businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place
Australia: Yes — While we do support many international bank connections (including UK, Australia, and Canada), some providers may not sync directly.“While we do support many international bank connections (including UK, Australia, and Canada), some providers may not sync directly.”Help article: Does ZipBooks work outside of the United States?, third paragraph · checked 2026-10-28
- Price
- Free, then $15 a month · source
Freelancers and small businesses
Best forfreelancers and small businesses that want open-source books they can host themselves
Australia: Yes — Sold worldwide and translated into fifty-plus languages, with bank connections in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the EU, plus US 1099, UK MTD and Australian GST apps.“Bank Feeds are available in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the EU.”Help Center, Bank Feeds, Connecting a Bank Account · checked 2026-10-28
- Price
- Free, then $12 a month · source
Lowest monthly price in the top five
Best forsmall businesses and their bookkeepers who need bills and receipts in Xero or QuickBooks
Australia: Yes — The Terms name contracting Xero entities for the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and the site switches locale between them, but no page addresses local bank coverage or any country's tax rules.“Xero Australia Pty Limited | Victoria, Australia | Xero (UK) Limited | England | Xero, Inc. | California, USA | Xero (NZ) Limited | New Zealand | Hubdoc Inc. | Ontario, Canada”Terms of Use, section 12.1 Governing Law, entity and jurisdiction table · checked 2026-10-27
- Price
- From $12 a month · source
Small businesses and firms feeding receipts
Best forsmall businesses and firms feeding receipts and supplier bills into QuickBooks or Xero
Australia: Yes — Dext also runs Canada, UK and APAC sites, launched AI Assist in Canada and Australia and Payments in Canada.“$31.50 Per Month USD, Excludes Tax”Business plan calculator, Monthly tab, price cell and currency line · checked 2026-10-27
- Price
- From $31.50 a month · source
Small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books
Best forsmall businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books, no per-user fees
Australia: Yes — Sold well beyond the US: Xero runs country editions with local pricing and tax, including UK plans that file VAT returns to HMRC, Australian plans that lodge BAS for GST, and Canadian plans priced in Canadian dollars.“Prices are in Canadian dollars and exclude applicable taxes”Pricing plan details and offer terms, Canadian site · checked 2026-10-28
- Price
- From $27 a month · source
Side by side
Every field, side by side
Scroll sideways to see them all.
| Feature | ZipBooks | Akaunting | Hubdoc | Dext | Xero | QuickBooks Online | Expensify | Zoho Books | Booke AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Free-forever double-entry books whose machine learning categorizes transactions and learns from your corrections. | Open-source small-business books you host free yourself or run on its cloud, extended by 50+ paid apps. | Document capture that extracts data from bills and receipts and publishes them into Xero or QuickBooks Online. | Captures receipts, invoices and statements, codes them and publishes to QuickBooks, Xero or Sage. | Small-business ledger with a JAX assistant that answers questions in plain language; unlimited users on every plan. | Intuit's cloud ledger, now with Intuit Intelligence agents that categorize, reconcile and flag errors. | Receipt scanning, company cards, bill pay and reimbursements that feed QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite. | Cloud accounting ledger with Zia AI, bank feeds, sales tax and 1099 e-filing, from $20 a month. | An AI bookkeeper that works inside QuickBooks Online and Xero to categorize transactions and match documents. |
| Category | Free accounting software, Accounting software, Small businesses, Freelancers and the self-employed, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms | Free accounting software, Accounting software, Small businesses, Freelancers and the self-employed, Cheapest accounting software, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Bookkeepers and accounting firms | Receipts and expenses, Works with QuickBooks Online, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Small businesses | Receipts and expenses, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Small businesses, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Free accounting software, Small businesses | Receipts and expenses, Free accounting software, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Free accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses, Startups | AI bookkeeping for QuickBooks and Xero, Cheapest accounting software, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Small businesses |
| Tags |
Questions buyers ask
How much do small businesses tools cost?
The median first paid plan is $18 a month, across the 8 of the 9 that publish a monthly price. They run from $5 to $38.
Which small businesses tools have a free plan?
5 of the 9 have a free plan.
How current are these figures?
The prices were read 26–28 October 2026.
Sources and method
Every price was read on the maker's own pricing page.
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