# The best small businesses tools (2026): cost at 100 transactions a month

> Source: https://tickmarkbooks.com/best/small-business/cost-100 (curated, re-verified)

The best small businesses tools in November 2026 are **Manager.io, ZipBooks and Akaunting**. Manager.io is the pick for small businesses and accountants keeping many client books in one flat-priced account. We read the price of 16 of the 19 on their own sites.

By [Tick Mark Books Research](https://tickmarkbooks.com/authors/research.md).

19 ranked · 16 checked against their own site 26–28 October 2026

### All 16 tools that publish a monthly price start under $100 a month. The median first paid plan is $20.

*Small businesses tools, first paid plan, November 2026*

- Under $25: 10
- $25 to $99: 6
- $100 to $299: 0
- $300 or more: 0

- **19** ranked
- **$20** median first paid plan
- **8** of the 19 have a free plan

First paid plan from each tool's own pricing page, read 26–28 October 2026.

## The short answer

**Manager.io** ranks first. It has a free plan, and paid plans start at $59 a month.

**ZipBooks** ranks second with a free plan, then $15 a month, and **Akaunting** third with a free plan, then $12 a month. **Wave** has a free plan too.

Half of the 16 tools with a monthly paid plan charge $20 a month or less.

8 tools here have a free plan to try before you pay. The highest ranked are Manager.io, ZipBooks and Akaunting.

## Pick by what you need

- A free plan before you pay: [Manager.io](https://tickmarkbooks.com/manager-io.md), Free, then $59 a month
- Small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing: [ZipBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zipbooks.md), Free, then $15 a month
- Freelancers and small businesses: [Akaunting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/akaunting.md), Free, then $12 a month
- Freelancers and solo owners: [Wave](https://tickmarkbooks.com/wave.md), Free, then $19 a month
- Small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books: [Xero](https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero.md), From $27 a month
- The lowest monthly price we found: [Pennylane](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pennylane.md), From about $7.82 a month

## All 19 picks at a glance

| # | Name | Best for | Starts at |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Manager.io](https://tickmarkbooks.com/manager-io.md) | small businesses and accountants keeping many client books in one flat-priced account | Free, then $59 a month |
| 2 | [ZipBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zipbooks.md) | small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place | Free, then $15 a month |
| 3 | [Akaunting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/akaunting.md) | freelancers and small businesses that want open-source books they can host themselves | Free, then $12 a month |
| 4 | [Wave](https://tickmarkbooks.com/wave.md) | freelancers and solo owners who want real double-entry books without paying for software | Free, then $19 a month |
| 5 | [Xero](https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero.md) | small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books, no per-user fees | From $27 a month |
| 6 | [FreshBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freshbooks.md) | service businesses and freelancers who bill clients and want their books in the same place | From $23 a month |
| 7 | [QuickBooks Online](https://tickmarkbooks.com/quickbooks-online.md) | small businesses that want one ledger plus payroll, payments and an accountant login | Free, then $38 a month |
| 8 | [Digits](https://tickmarkbooks.com/digits.md) | A US startup or small business that wants its own AI-kept ledger in place of QuickBooks | From $65 a month |
| 9 | [Bookkeeper360](https://tickmarkbooks.com/bookkeeper360.md) | startups and growing small businesses wanting books, tax and CFO help from one US team | From $19 a month |
| 10 | [fileLedger by fileAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/fileai.md) | small accounting firms drowning in client invoices and statements that already run on Xero | From $13 a month |
| 11 | [Pennylane](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pennylane.md) | small businesses in France and their accounting firm working in one shared file | From about $7.82 a month |
| 12 | [Inkle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/inkle.md) | US-incorporated startups and foreign founders needing books and US filings together | Free, then $30 a month |
| 13 | [Sage Accounting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/sage-accounting.md) | VAT-registered sole traders and small firms up to 49 employees wanting payroll built in | From about $27 a month |
| 14 | [QuickBooks Solopreneur](https://tickmarkbooks.com/quickbooks-solopreneur.md) | self-employed one-person businesses filing a Schedule C | Free, then $20 a month |
| 15 | [Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books.md) | small businesses and startups that want one ledger plus the wider Zoho app suite | Free, then $20 a month |
| 16 | [FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent.md) | UK sole traders and small limited companies filing their own VAT and Self Assessment | From about $13 a month |
| 17 | [Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai.md) | A business or bookkeeping firm already on QuickBooks Online or Xero | Price not established |
| 18 | [Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle.md) | A US startup on Mercury, Brex, Ramp, Stripe and Gusto that wants to replace QuickBooks | Price not established |
| 19 | [Pilot](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot.md) | A US startup or small business that wants its books done for it in QuickBooks Online | Price not established |

Checked between 26 October 2026 and 28 October 2026. “About” figures are converted at the European Central Bank rate of 30 October 2026.

**19 tools, ranked.**

19 of 29 small businesses tools match “Cost at 100 transactions a month”. Of the rest: 2 on some plans only, 0 no, 8 unknown.

How the small businesses tools matching “Cost at 100 transactions a month” differ: 19 of 19 also match “Cost at 500 transactions a month”, against 0 of 10 in the rest of the category.

## The ranking

### 1. Manager.io

**A free plan before you pay**

**Best for:** small businesses and accountants keeping many client books in one flat-priced account

- Price: Free, then $59 a month ([source](https://www.manager.cloud/))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/manager-io.md)

### 2. ZipBooks

**Small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing**

**Best for:** small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place

- Price: Free, then $15 a month ([source](https://zipbooks.com/pricing/))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zipbooks.md)

### 3. Akaunting

**Freelancers and small businesses**

**Best for:** freelancers and small businesses that want open-source books they can host themselves

- Price: Free, then $12 a month ([source](https://akaunting.com/plans))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/akaunting.md)

### 4. Wave

**Freelancers and solo owners**

**Best for:** freelancers and solo owners who want real double-entry books without paying for software

- Price: Free, then $19 a month ([source](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/wave.md)

### 5. Xero

**Small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books**

**Best for:** small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books, no per-user fees

- Price: From $27 a month ([source](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero.md)

## Side by side

| Feature | Manager.io | ZipBooks | Akaunting | Wave | Xero | FreshBooks | QuickBooks Online | Digits | Bookkeeper360 | fileLedger by fileAI | Pennylane | Inkle | Sage Accounting | QuickBooks Solopreneur | Zoho Books | FreeAgent | Booke AI | Puzzle | Pilot |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Description | Double-entry accounting that is free forever installed, or one flat cloud price for unlimited users and businesses. | 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. | Free double-entry books for solo owners, with bank imports, receipts and payroll kept behind the paid Pro Plan. | Small-business ledger with a JAX assistant that answers questions in plain language; unlimited users on every plan. | Double-entry small-business ledger built around invoicing, with a read-only Claude connector for questions. | Intuit's cloud ledger, now with Intuit Intelligence agents that categorize, reconcile and flag errors. | AI-native general ledger that books and reconciles itself, replacing QuickBooks or Xero for US businesses. | US-based outsourced bookkeeping, tax and CFO team working in your QuickBooks Online or Xero. | Agent plans that read invoices and bank statements and post them into your Xero or QuickBooks books. | AI-native invoicing, accounting and business banking for small businesses and their accounting firms. | US accounting software with AI categorization, plus bookkeepers, tax filing and compliance in one app. | Sage's cloud small-business ledger with built-in payroll and the Sage Copilot assistant; US edition retired. | Intuit's one-person-business ledger: bank feeds, receipts, mileage and Schedule C tax readiness. | Cloud accounting ledger with Zia AI, bank feeds, sales tax and 1099 e-filing, from $20 a month. | UK cloud accounting with HMRC filing, bank feeds and AI receipt capture, priced per business type. | An AI bookkeeper that works inside QuickBooks Online and Xero to categorize transactions and match documents. | AI-native accounting software with optional bookkeeper services for startups and small businesses. | A bookkeeping and tax service for startups that pairs software-driven dashboards with human financial advisors. |
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## Questions buyers ask

### How much do small businesses tools cost?

The median first paid plan is $20 a month, across the 16 of the 19 that publish a monthly price. They run from $7.82 to $65.

### Which small businesses tools have a free plan?

8 of the 19 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.

### Pricing pages (16 read)

- [Manager.io](https://tickmarkbooks.com/manager-io.md): [manager.cloud](https://www.manager.cloud/), checked 28 October 2026
- [ZipBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zipbooks.md): [zipbooks.com/pricing](https://zipbooks.com/pricing/), checked 28 October 2026
- [Akaunting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/akaunting.md): [akaunting.com/plans](https://akaunting.com/plans), checked 28 October 2026
- [Wave](https://tickmarkbooks.com/wave.md): [waveapps.com/pricing](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing), checked 28 October 2026
- [Xero](https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero.md): [xero.com/us/pricing-plans](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/), checked 28 October 2026
- [FreshBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freshbooks.md): [freshbooks.com/pricing](https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing), checked 28 October 2026
- [QuickBooks Online](https://tickmarkbooks.com/quickbooks-online.md): [quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/), checked 28 October 2026
- [Digits](https://tickmarkbooks.com/digits.md): [digits.com/pricing](https://digits.com/pricing/), checked 27 October 2026
- [Bookkeeper360](https://tickmarkbooks.com/bookkeeper360.md): [bookkeeper360.com/app](https://bookkeeper360.com/app/), checked 27 October 2026
- [fileLedger by fileAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/fileai.md): [file.ai/platform/fileledger](https://www.file.ai/platform/fileledger), checked 28 October 2026
- [Pennylane](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pennylane.md): [pennylane.com/fr/tarifs](https://www.pennylane.com/fr/tarifs), checked 27 October 2026
- [Inkle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/inkle.md): [inkle.ai/pricing](https://www.inkle.ai/pricing), checked 27 October 2026
- [Sage Accounting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/sage-accounting.md): [sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting](https://www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting/), checked 27 October 2026
- [QuickBooks Solopreneur](https://tickmarkbooks.com/quickbooks-solopreneur.md): [quickbooks.intuit.com/solopreneur](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/solopreneur/), checked 27 October 2026
- [Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books.md): [zoho.com/us/books/pricing](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/), checked 26 October 2026
- [FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent.md): [freeagent.com/pricing](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/), checked 26 October 2026