Best free accounting software for small businesses
«Free accounting software» is one of the most searched terms in this category, and also one of the most misleading. Plenty of platforms advertise a 14- or 30-day free trial and let it show up in «free software» roundups, even though the product is fully paid after that trial ends. This guide only covers tools with a genuinely permanent free tier — no credit card required, no expiration date — and it flags exactly where each one’s free plan stops being enough for a growing business.
It also covers something most comparison articles haven’t caught up to yet: Wave, long considered the gold standard of free accounting software, quietly restructured its free plan in June 2026, and the change affects one of the features small business owners relied on most.
Quick comparison
| Software | Free plan limits | Best for | Paid tier starts at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave (Starter) | Manual transaction entry only; no automatic bank feeds or collaborator access | Freelancers who don’t mind entering transactions by hand | ~$16-19/mo (Pro) |
| Zoho Books (Free) | Capped at $50,000 in annual revenue | Small businesses under the revenue cap that want full features | ~$15-20/mo |
| ZipBooks (Starter) | One connected bank account, limited invoicing | First-time business owners who want simplicity | ~$15/mo |
| Manager.io (Desktop) | Fully free, unlimited, but desktop-only (no cloud sync) | Owners comfortable with local, offline bookkeeping | Free (cloud version paid) |
| Akaunting / GnuCash | Fully free, open source, self-hosted or local | Technically comfortable owners who want full control and no vendor lock-in | Free |
Pricing and limits verified against each vendor’s current plan pages as of mid-2026. Free-tier terms change periodically — Wave’s most recent change took effect June 1, 2026 — so confirm current limits before committing your bookkeeping workflow to any one tool.
1. Wave — still free, but with an important recent change
Wave built its reputation on being genuinely free, and for years that reputation was well earned. That changed on June 1, 2026, when Wave restructured its plans into two tiers: Starter (free) and Pro (roughly $16-19/month). If you’d been using Wave’s older, unrestricted free plan, you were very likely migrated to Starter automatically, and you may have received an email about it in late April 2026.
What Starter still includes for free: unlimited invoices, estimates, and bills; manual income and expense entry; a chart of accounts; basic reports; and a customer and cash-flow dashboard.
What moved behind the Pro paywall: automatic bank feed imports (you now have to manually download and upload bank statements, or enter transactions by hand, on the free plan) and collaborator access — meaning a bookkeeper, business partner, or accountant can no longer be added to your account for free.
Price: Starter is free indefinitely. Pro runs approximately $16-19/month depending on billing terms and region.
Bottom line: Wave is still a legitimate free option, but it’s no longer the «set it and forget it» experience it once was. If you’re comfortable manually entering transactions and don’t need to share account access, Starter remains genuinely useful. If automatic bank sync matters to you — and for most growing businesses, it does — budget for Pro rather than assuming Wave will stay free forever.
2. Zoho Books — the most complete free plan, with a revenue cap
Zoho Books offers what is arguably the most feature-complete free accounting plan on the market in 2026 — as long as your business stays under a specific threshold.
What’s included for free: double-entry accounting, invoicing, expense tracking, bank reconciliation, financial reports, recurring invoices, and even a client portal that lets customers view their own invoices and estimates without you emailing them manually.
The catch: Zoho Books Free is capped at $50,000 in annual revenue for U.S. businesses. Once you cross that threshold, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan, which starts at roughly $15-20/month.
Price: Free up to $50,000/year in revenue; paid plans from approximately $15-20/month above that.
Bottom line: If your business genuinely earns under $50,000 a year, Zoho Books is very likely the strongest free option available, particularly if you already use other Zoho products or plan to. Just be aware that outgrowing the revenue cap is a «when,» not an «if,» for a business that’s actually growing.
3. ZipBooks — simple invoicing for first-time business owners
ZipBooks targets a specific user: someone with no accounting background who wants a straightforward way to invoice clients and track basic bookkeeping without a learning curve.
What’s included for free: unlimited invoicing, one connected bank account, and basic expense tracking and reporting.
Price: the Starter tier is free; paid plans begin around $15/month for additional bank connections and more advanced reporting.
Bottom line: ZipBooks is worth a look specifically for solo, first-time business owners who find Wave or Zoho Books’ feature set slightly overwhelming and want something simpler, even if it means fewer features overall.
4. Manager.io — fully free, but desktop-based
Manager.io takes a different approach entirely: instead of a cloud platform with a limited free tier, it offers a genuinely unlimited free desktop application, with a separate paid cloud-hosted version for businesses that want remote access.
What’s included for free: full double-entry accounting, invoicing, and reporting, with no revenue caps, no user limits, and no feature restrictions — as long as you’re running it locally on your computer.
Price: the desktop version is entirely free; the cloud-hosted version is a paid add-on.
Bottom line: Manager.io is a strong fit for an owner who does their own books, doesn’t need to collaborate remotely with a bookkeeper in real time, and wants a full-featured tool without a subscription. It’s a poor fit if you need cloud access from multiple devices or locations without paying extra.
5. Akaunting and GnuCash — open source, for the technically comfortable
For business owners who want complete control over their financial data — including where it’s stored — open-source tools like Akaunting (web-based, self-hosted) and GnuCash (desktop) remain fully free with no usage caps of any kind.
What’s included for free: everything. Since these are open-source projects rather than commercial products with tiered pricing, there’s no feature wall to hit.
The trade-off: you’re generally on your own for setup and support. Akaunting requires self-hosting (or a modest hosting fee if you don’t run your own server), and neither tool has the polish, mobile apps, or customer support infrastructure of a commercial platform like Wave or Zoho Books.
Bottom line: these are the right choice for a narrow but real audience: technically comfortable owners who prioritize data ownership and zero cost over convenience and support.
What «free» doesn’t include anywhere
A few features are worth checking for regardless of which free plan you choose, since they’re commonly gated even on otherwise generous free tiers:
- Payroll. No free plan on this list includes payroll; it’s a paid add-on everywhere, including on Wave and Zoho Books.
- Multi-user collaboration. As Wave’s June 2026 change illustrates, free collaborator access is increasingly rare — check this specifically if you plan to share your books with a bookkeeper or business partner.
- Automatic bank feeds. Several free tiers, including Wave Starter, now require manual transaction entry or a paid upgrade for automatic bank syncing.
- Advanced reporting. Deeper reports (cash flow forecasting, project profitability, custom report builders) are typically reserved for paid tiers across the board.
How to choose
- If your revenue is under $50,000 a year and you want the most complete free feature set: choose Zoho Books.
- If you don’t mind entering transactions manually and want the simplest, most polished free invoicing experience: choose Wave Starter.
- If you want zero cost with no caps at all and are comfortable with a desktop-only or self-hosted tool: choose Manager.io or Akaunting/GnuCash.
- If you expect to need a bookkeeper or business partner to have login access soon: budget for a paid tier now rather than migrating later, since free collaborator access is becoming the exception rather than the rule.
Frequently asked questions
Is Wave still free in 2026? Yes, but with less than before. As of June 1, 2026, Wave’s free Starter plan covers manual bookkeeping, invoicing, and basic reports, but automatic bank feed imports and collaborator access now require the paid Pro plan (roughly $16-19/month).
What’s the best truly free accounting software with no revenue cap? Wave Starter and the open-source options (Manager.io desktop, Akaunting, GnuCash) have no revenue caps. Zoho Books’ free plan is capped at $50,000 in annual revenue.
Are QuickBooks Online, Xero, and FreshBooks ever free? No — all three offer free trials (typically 14-30 days), but the product becomes a paid subscription after that. They shouldn’t be counted as «free software» in the same category as Wave or Zoho Books.
Will I eventually need to pay for accounting software? Most growing businesses do, eventually — whether because they cross a revenue cap, need automatic bank feeds, need to add a bookkeeper, or need payroll. Free tiers are genuinely useful for getting started, but it’s worth budgeting for a paid plan as your transaction volume and team grow.
