# Alternatives to SimpleAI

> Source: https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai/alternatives/ (re-verified)
> Updated: 28 October 2026

## At a glance

| Name | Best for | Starts at | A month at 100 transactions | Better than SimpleAI at | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [SimpleAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai.md) | Accounting firms and finance teams processing high volumes of invoices and bank statements | From $79 a month | $106 | — | 27 October 2026 |
| [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 | $20 | Ledger included, Sends invoices | 26 October 2026 |
| [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 | About $25 | Promotion and regular price, Ledger included | 26 October 2026 |
| [Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle.md) | A US startup on Mercury, Brex, Ramp, Stripe and Gusto that wants to replace QuickBooks | Price not established | $30 | Ledger included, Sends invoices | 26 October 2026 |
| [Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai.md) | A business or bookkeeping firm already on QuickBooks Online or Xero | Price not established | $156 | Xero, Getting your books out | 26 October 2026 |
| [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 | $137 | People check the books, Xero | 26 October 2026 |
| [Expensify](https://tickmarkbooks.com/expensify.md) | Small finance teams that want receipts, cards and reimbursements feeding one ledger | Free, then $5 a seat a month | Does not apply | Pays your bills, Sends invoices | 26 October 2026 |
| [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 | $38 | Promotion and regular price, Ledger included | 28 October 2026 |
| [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 | $27 | Promotion and regular price, Ledger included | 28 October 2026 |
| [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 | $65 | Ledger included, Pays your bills | 27 October 2026 |

“About” figures are converted at the European Central Bank rate of 30 October 2026.

The ones people open most here come first, then the closest matches.

## Shortlist

### 1. Zoho Books

Cloud accounting ledger with Zia AI, bank feeds, sales tax and 1099 e-filing, from $20 a month.

**Where it improves on SimpleAI:**
- [Ledger included: yes — Zoho Books is the accounting ledger itself, so no QuickBooks or Xero subscription sits underneath it; the plan fee covers invoicing, banking, journals and the reports.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)
- [Sends invoices: yes — Invoices, recurring invoices, credit notes, payment reminders and a customer portal are on every plan, with online payment links and offline payments recorded against the invoice.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/pricing-comparison.html)
- [Accrual books and reports: yes — Profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow sit among 70+ built-in reports you can run at any time; the pages read do not state whether the books are kept on a cash or accrual basis.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/accounting-software/accounting-financial-reports/)

**Trade-offs against SimpleAI:**
- [Past your plan’s limits: partial — Each plan caps annual invoices and bills/expenses (5,000 a year on Standard) and the vendor's stated remedy is to email sales for a higher limit rather than a published overage rate.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)
- [Categorizes transactions: partial — Zia pre-fills the account and vendor against each imported bank line, so it suggests rather than posts by itself, and the page does not claim it learns from your corrections.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/accounting-software/ai-in-accounting/)
- [Your accountant can sign in: partial — The Free plan is quoted as one user plus one accountant, so an accountant seat is free there; the paid plans are quoted only as user counts, with extra users at $3 a month.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/pricing-comparison.html)

[View Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books)

### 2. FreeAgent

UK cloud accounting with HMRC filing, bank feeds and AI receipt capture, priced per business type.

**Where it improves on SimpleAI:**
- [Promotion and regular price: yes — promotion: every paid plan is advertised at 50% off for the first six months (or first year on annual billing), after which the regular published price applies.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)
- [Ledger included: yes — FreeAgent is the accounting ledger itself: it keeps the books, builds the accounting reports and files the returns, so no QuickBooks or Xero subscription sits underneath it.](https://www.freeagent.com/features/accounting-software/)
- [Sends invoices: yes — You create, send and automate invoices and reminders from web or mobile, and customers pay in one click through Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless or Tyl, which records the payment against the invoice.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)

**Trade-offs against SimpleAI:**
- [Past your plan’s limits: partial — No transaction cap is published, but Smart Capture is metered: ten receipts and bills a calendar month as standard, and more only via the £5 (about $6.70) unlimited add-on.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)
- [What the AI costs: partial — included in every plan for smart categorization and the first ten captures a month; processing more than ten receipts or bills needs the £5 (about $6.70)-a-month Smart Capture Unlimited add-on.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)
- [Several businesses: no — One account holds one business: the vendor's guidance for someone running two businesses assumes a separate FreeAgent account, and so a separate subscription, for each.](https://support.freeagent.com/hc/en-gb/articles/7996920939794-Record-inter-business-transactions)

[View FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent)

### 3. Puzzle

AI-native accounting software with optional bookkeeper services for startups and small businesses.

**Where it improves on SimpleAI:**
- [Ledger included: yes — It is the ledger; no QuickBooks or Xero needed. Puzzle is a double-entry general ledger of its own, sold as a QuickBooks replacement (Core card: 'Your QuickBooks replacement').](https://puzzle.io/legal/faq)
- [Sends invoices: yes — Sends branded invoices; you apply payments. Invoices are created in Puzzle (or imported by CSV, or synced from Stripe and Bill.com) and emailed with a PDF and your branding.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/9359018-faq-accounts-receivable)
- [People check the books: partial — Only with a paid service; software plans: you check. On the software plans (Starter, Core, Complete, Scale) you close the books yourself, and Puzzle support does not do bookkeeping.](https://puzzle.io/pricing)

**Trade-offs against SimpleAI:**
- [Past your plan’s limits: partial — Moved up a plan; only AI credits priced. Seats: Starter 1, Core 5, Complete and Scale unlimited; more users means a higher plan.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/17063329-puzzle-accounting-services-expert-reviewed-full-service-add-ons)
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — You reconcile on Starter; AI drafts it from Complete. Every plan has a reconciliation screen where you match the month's transactions to the statement until the difference is $0, then Puzzle runs an auto-validation check.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/6986882-how-to-reconcile-bank-and-credit-card-accounts-in-puzzle)
- [Reads receipts and bills: partial — Reads an uploaded receipt; no stated matching. You can attach documents to a transaction or bill.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/15138987-month-end-close-with-ai-close)

[View Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle)

### 4. Booke AI

An AI bookkeeper that works inside QuickBooks Online and Xero to categorize transactions and match documents.

**Where it improves on SimpleAI:**
- [Xero: yes — QuickBooks Online, Xero Zoho Books: Booke's document and collaboration features sync with it, but the AI Bookkeeper pages name only QuickBooks Online and Xero.](https://booke.ai/bookkeeping-ai)
- [Getting your books out: yes — Books stay in your ledger; 30 days to export the rest. The ledger never leaves QuickBooks Online or Xero, so the general ledger and reports stay with you.](https://booke.ai/data-handling)
- [Canada: yes — US, Canada, UK and Australia, in local currency.](https://booke.ai/)

**Trade-offs against SimpleAI:**
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — Prepares reconciliation; your team completes it. In QuickBooks Online it prepares work for reconciliation and does not promise a reconciled file; in Xero it can perform 'supported reconciliation actions for eligible configured cases' and leaves the rest open.](https://booke.ai/bookkeeping-automation-software)
- [Accuracy the vendor claims: no — No accuracy figure; claims up to 80% of feed work. No categorization accuracy figure is published.](https://booke.ai/bookkeeping-ai)
- [Free trial or free plan: no — No free plan or trial on the pricing page. The pricing page offers no free plan or trial; its sign-up button reads 'Start for $129/month'.](https://booke.ai/pricing)

[View Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai)

### 5. Pilot

A bookkeeping and tax service for startups that pairs software-driven dashboards with human financial advisors.

**Where it improves on SimpleAI:**
- [People check the books: partial — Bookkeeper reviews on Core; Essentials is AI only. Essentials is described as AI doing the work ('AI categorizes transactions, reconciles accounts, and closes books monthly'), with support by in-app message.](https://pilot.com/pricing)
- [Xero: yes — Can I use Pilot if I want to keep Xero?](https://pilot.com/blog/xero-vs-pilot-comparison-for-business-owners)
- [Moves your history in: partial — From Xero: monthly totals for this year only. Pilot moves Xero users onto QuickBooks Online during onboarding, as monthly summary journal entries for the current year only, not transaction history.](https://pilot.com/faq)

**Trade-offs against SimpleAI:**
- [Past your plan’s limits: partial — Moved up a band from your 3-month average. No per-unit overage price.](https://pilot.com/faq)
- [Setup or onboarding fee: yes — Onboarding charge equal to one month. A one-time onboarding charge equal to one month of bookkeeping on every plan (so $99 on Essentials and $399 to $1,199 on Core, by band, at monthly billing).](https://pilot.com/faq)
- [Accuracy the vendor claims: no — No accuracy figure published. No accuracy figure for the AI on any page read.](https://pilot.com/why-pilot)

[View Pilot](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot)

### 6. Expensify

Receipt scanning, company cards, bill pay and reimbursements that feed QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite.

**Where it improves on SimpleAI:**
- [Pays your bills: yes — Vendor bills forwarded to a workspace address are scanned, routed for approval and paid by ACH or card, then pushed to the accounting system as payables.](https://use.expensify.com/bill-pay-app)
- [Sends invoices: yes — You can send branded invoices, clients pay by card or bank transfer without an account, status is tracked live and the invoice exports to your accounting system as a receivable.](https://use.expensify.com/ai-disclosure)
- [Accuracy the vendor claims: yes — The vendor advertises 99% accuracy for its receipt scanning alongside duplicate and fraud detection, but publishes no method, sample or date behind that figure.](https://use.expensify.com/ai-expense-management)

**Trade-offs against SimpleAI:**
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — It reconciles company card feeds against the card statement for a period so admins can tie out card activity, but it is not the ledger and does not reconcile bank accounts inside your books.](https://help.expensify.com/articles/new-expensify/reports-and-expenses/Statement-Matching-and-Reconciliation)
- [Accrual books and reports: no — It produces spend reports, not financial statements: the vendor says outright that it is not an accounting ledger, so the profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow come from the ledger it feeds.](https://use.expensify.com/ai-disclosure)
- [Your accountant can sign in: partial — Accounting firms in the partner program get their own free account and a dashboard over client workspaces, but the vendor's pages do not say an outside accountant can be added to a single workspace without being billed as a member.](https://use.expensify.com/accountants-program)

[View Expensify](https://tickmarkbooks.com/expensify)

### 7. QuickBooks Online

Intuit's cloud ledger, now with Intuit Intelligence agents that categorize, reconcile and flag errors.

**Where it improves on SimpleAI:**
- [Promotion and regular price: yes — promotion: every paid plan card shows a half-price figure for three months beside the struck-through regular price, so Simple Start is $19 then $38, Plus $70 then $140.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [Ledger included: yes — This is the accounting ledger itself, not an add-on to someone else's books, so no separate QuickBooks or Xero subscription sits underneath the price.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/accounting/)
- [Pays your bills: yes — Bills can be tracked and paid from Simple Start upward, with five standard ACH payments a month included and fifty cents each beyond the allotment; approval workflows are an Advanced feature.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)

**Trade-offs against SimpleAI:**
- [Past your plan’s limits: partial — The only published ceilings sit on the Free plan, one connected bank and two invoices a month, and the pages read never say what happens when you reach them beyond upgrading.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — Automated reconciliation is a Plus-tier and above feature on the plan cards; the Simple Start and Essentials cards do not list it, so cheaper tiers leave the matching to you.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [Several businesses: partial — Intuit routes businesses with several entities to its separate Intuit Enterprise Suite rather than QuickBooks Online, so multiple entities mean a different, more expensive product.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)

[View QuickBooks Online](https://tickmarkbooks.com/quickbooks-online)

### 8. Xero

Small-business ledger with a JAX assistant that answers questions in plain language; unlimited users on every plan.

**Where it improves on SimpleAI:**
- [Promotion and regular price: yes — promotion: new US customers get 90% off for six months, the offer closes 2 November 2026, and the regular plan price then applies and renews monthly.](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)
- [Ledger included: yes — Xero is the double-entry ledger itself, so no QuickBooks or Xero subscription sits underneath it; the plan price is the whole accounting bill.](https://www.xero.com/us/)
- [Pays your bills: yes — Bills are captured and tracked with approval roles and duplicate spotting, and standard domestic ACH payments are included in every business plan, with fees on other methods.](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)

**Trade-offs against SimpleAI:**
- [Past your plan’s limits: partial — Only the Early plan is capped, at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month, and the footnote says approving counts too; the pages do not say what happens once you reach the cap.](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)
- [Categorizes transactions: partial — Bank rules categorize recurring transactions for you and Xero suggests matches, but hands-off auto-reconcile is a $5 a month add-on on Early and only included from Growing up; no page claims it learns from your corrections.](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)
- [Other currencies: partial — Invoicing and accounting in other currencies is reserved for the top plan: the comparison table marks multiple currencies excluded on Early and Growing and included on Established.](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/)

[View Xero](https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero)

### 9. Digits

AI-native general ledger that books and reconciles itself, replacing QuickBooks or Xero for US businesses.

**Where it improves on SimpleAI:**
- [Ledger included: yes — Digits is the general ledger itself, so no QuickBooks or Xero subscription sits underneath it; the vendor positions it as a replacement system of record.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)
- [Pays your bills: yes — Bill Pay reads the invoice, routes it for approval and pays by ACH inside the same ledger, and it is listed as Included on every public plan; payment processing costs are priced separately in the Help Center.](https://digits.com/pricing/)
- [Sends invoices: yes — Invoicing is included on all public plans, auto-fills customer details and terms, chases unpaid invoices and posts receivables straight into the same ledger.](https://digits.com/pricing/)

**Trade-offs against SimpleAI:**
- [Past your plan’s limits: partial — Digits publishes no transaction, account or spending cap on a business plan; the one stated threshold is for extra entities, which are free to 250 transactions a year and then billed from $35 a month.](https://digits.com/pricing/)
- [Xero: no — Digits does not run on top of QuickBooks Online, Xero, QuickBooks Desktop or NetSuite: it is the ledger, and those platforms are migration sources rather than integrations.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)
- [Platforms: partial — web, ios: Digits runs in the browser and ships native iPhone and iPad apps; the plan table names no Android, Windows or Mac application.](https://digits.com/pricing/)

[View Digits](https://tickmarkbooks.com/digits)