# The 11 best small businesses tools (2026): PayPal

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

The best small businesses tools in November 2026 are **ZipBooks, Akaunting and Wave**. ZipBooks is the pick for small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place. We read the price of 10 of the 11 on their own sites.

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

11 ranked · 10 checked against their own site 26–31 October 2026

### 9 of the 10 tools that publish a monthly price start under $100 a month. The median first paid plan is $19.

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

- Under $25: 7
- $25 to $99: 2
- $100 to $299: 0
- $300 or more: 1

- **11** ranked
- **$19** median first paid plan
- **3** of the 11 have a free plan

First paid plan from each tool's own pricing page, read 26–31 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 **Wave** third with a free plan, then $19 a month.

Half of the 10 tools with a monthly paid plan charge $19 a month or less.

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

## Pick by what you need

- A free plan before you pay: [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
- Lowest monthly price in the top five: [FreshBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freshbooks.md), From $23 a month
- The lowest monthly price we found: [Pennylane](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pennylane.md), From about $7.82 a month

## All 11 picks at a glance

| # | Name | Best for | Starts at |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [ZipBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zipbooks.md) | small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place | Free, then $15 a month |
| 2 | [Akaunting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/akaunting.md) | freelancers and small businesses that want open-source books they can host themselves | Free, then $12 a month |
| 3 | [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 |
| 4 | [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 |
| 5 | [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 |
| 6 | [Zeni](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zeni.md) | U.S. startups that want AI bookkeeping and a dedicated finance team | From $549 a month |
| 7 | [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 |
| 8 | [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 |
| 9 | [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 |
| 10 | [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 |
| 11 | [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 31 October 2026. “About” figures are converted at the European Central Bank rate of 30 October 2026.

**11 tools, ranked.**

11 of 29 small businesses tools match “PayPal”. Of the rest: 2 on some plans only, 11 no, 5 unknown.

How the small businesses tools matching “PayPal” differ: 11 of 11 also match “Stripe”, against 4 of 18 in the rest of the category.

## The ranking

### 1. ZipBooks

**A free plan before you pay**

**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)

### 2. 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)

### 3. 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)

### 4. 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)

### 5. FreshBooks

**Lowest monthly price in the top five**

**Best for:** service businesses and freelancers who bill clients and want their books in the same place

- Price: From $23 a month ([source](https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freshbooks.md)

## Side by side

| Feature | ZipBooks | Akaunting | Wave | Xero | FreshBooks | Zeni | Bookkeeper360 | Pennylane | Sage Accounting | FreeAgent | Pilot |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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. | 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. | AI bookkeeping with a dedicated finance team, built on QuickBooks Online Plus. | US-based outsourced bookkeeping, tax and CFO team working in your QuickBooks Online or Xero. | AI-native invoicing, accounting and business banking for small businesses and their accounting firms. | Sage's cloud small-business ledger with built-in payroll and the Sage Copilot assistant; US edition retired. | UK cloud accounting with HMRC filing, bank feeds and AI receipt capture, priced per business type. | A bookkeeping and tax service for startups that pairs software-driven dashboards with human financial advisors. |
| 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 | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Free accounting software, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Online bookkeeping services, With a bookkeeper checking, Works with QuickBooks Online, Startups, Small businesses | Online bookkeeping services, Cheapest accounting software, With a bookkeeper checking, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Small businesses, Startups | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, 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 | Online bookkeeping services, Cheapest accounting software, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Small businesses, Startups |
| Tags | 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 | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Free accounting software, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Online bookkeeping services, With a bookkeeper checking, Works with QuickBooks Online, Startups, Small businesses | Online bookkeeping services, Cheapest accounting software, With a bookkeeper checking, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Small businesses, Startups | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, 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 | Online bookkeeping services, Cheapest accounting software, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Small businesses, Startups |

## Questions buyers ask

### How much do small businesses tools cost?

The median first paid plan is $19 a month, across the 10 of the 11 that publish a monthly price. They run from $7.82 to $549.

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

3 of the 11 have a free plan.

### How current are these figures?

The prices were read 26–31 October 2026.

## Sources and method

Every price was read on the maker's own pricing page.

### Pricing pages (10 read)

- [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
- [Zeni](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zeni.md): [zeni.ai/pricing](https://www.zeni.ai/pricing), checked 31 October 2026
- [Bookkeeper360](https://tickmarkbooks.com/bookkeeper360.md): [bookkeeper360.com/app](https://bookkeeper360.com/app/), checked 27 October 2026
- [Pennylane](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pennylane.md): [pennylane.com/fr/tarifs](https://www.pennylane.com/fr/tarifs), 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
- [FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent.md): [freeagent.com/pricing](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/), checked 26 October 2026