Accounting Software Pricing Guide: Expert Tips to Avoid Overpaying and Lower Costs

By Drew Robertson • Last updated on May 14, 2025

Accounting software prices can change based on your business size and requirements. But there are also several other factors. Find out how to get the best accounting software for the right price in my detailed guide.

There is no common accounting software pricing amount—but that doesn’t mean the average cost of accounting software needs to remain a mystery.

As a financial controller, I’ve seen first-hand how non-transparent pricing can impact a company’s financial health. Here’s just a few examples:

Budgeting gets messy and unexpected fees throw off your forecasts.
You waste time on bad-fit demos only to realize the software is too pricey or missing key features.
You spend too much or too little, often overpaying for extras or settling for a system that won’t grow with you.

But with the right knowledge, you can find a solution that works for you, while remaining on budget. In this guide, I’ll break down the average accounting software pricing, compare top options, and help you find the best fit to streamline your finances—no surprises, just clarity.

How Much Does Accounting Software Cost?

According to a report from The Business Research Company, the global accounting software market is expected to reach a valuation of $27.06 billion by the end of 2025.

Most businesses start out by trying their luck with free accounting software. Afterwards, they might be expected to pay anywhere between $10 to $2,000/month, depending on business size. But most SaaS startups opt for plans around the $150-$200 range.

That’s because although they aren’t massively overstaffed across multiple physical locations (read: Walmart), they still have to account for the industry-specific features they need to maintain proper tracking and compliance.

Company Size	Monthly Cost Range	Features & Considerations
Small Business	$15-$100	Basic accounting, single-user access, essential features
Medium Business	$100-$500	Multi-user access, advanced reporting, integrations
Large Enterprise	$500-$2,000+	Custom solutions, advanced compliance, multi-entity management

Small Business Owners

Small business owners typically invest between $15-$100 monthly in small business accounting software, with popular options like QuickBooks Online Simple Start ($17.50/month) and Zoho Books Standard ($15/month) leading the market.

These solutions provide essential features such as basic bookkeeping, invoicing, expense management, and fundamental tax management tools - perfect for freelancers, professionals, or startups looking for user-friendly accounting tools with single-user access requirements.

Mid-Sized Organizations

Mid-sized organizations generally spend between $100-$500 monthly on more advanced accounting solutions.

This tier, populated by plans like QuickBooks Online Advanced ($117.50/month) and Zoho Books Professional ($40/month), offers advanced reporting capabilities, multi-user permissions, additional bank transactions, and crucial integration features.

These solutions typically include automated workflows, payroll services, detailed financial analytics, and specialized features for growing companies managing multiple revenue streams.

Enterprise-Grade Organizations

Enterprise-grade accounting software starts at $500 monthly and can exceed $2,000 depending on specific requirements.

These advanced solutions include next-level features like ASC 606 compliance, sophisticated revenue recognition capabilities, multi-entity management, and custom reporting tools.

Enterprise solutions often integrate with artificial intelligence to better automate bank reconciliation, predict trends, track time, and detect fraud, all while offering extensive customization options and dedicated support services.

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Top 4 Factors Affecting Accounting Software Pricing

Accounting providers, much like any other form of business software, offer different tiers with prices that vary dramatically depending on your needs. But the issue is, most businesses don’t have a clear idea of what they need, so they usually end up with a plan with more features than they actually use.

To avoid this grievance, consider these different factors when choosing a solution, and how it’ll impact your accounting software pricing.

Number of Users

User count can significantly impact accounting software pricing—the more accounts you need, the more your plan will cost.

Generally, free or starter pricing plans include accounts for up to 1-4 users for approximately $13 per month. Pro or Premium plans, which are often designed for mid-sized businesses, are best suited for up to 5-9 users and can start at around $15-$20 per month.

From there, you’re looking at custom tiers, which can support 10+ users. These plans generally cost between $10,000-$30,000+ with other factors, such as project scope and features impacting the accounting software pricing.

Ways to Save:

Some plans from smaller vendors might allow unlimited users, letting you save on overall costs. Make sure to do your research—you might find a cheaper alternative with great value.

Customization and Added Features

Like with the number of users on a plan, feature complexity also directly correlates with accounting software pricing. This is because the more features and add-ons a software platform offers, the more it costs to develop and maintain them.

For example, basic features like general ledger, balance sheets, and accounts payable/receivable might cost $10,000-$30,000 to develop and implement while advanced features like end-to-end project management or additional bank account access can exceed $100,000.

The addition of specialized capabilities such as real-time asset tracking, multi-currency budgeting, mobile app access, templates, smart forecasting, and sales tax management significantly increases costs compared to basic transaction recording and account reconciliation functions.

Deployment Options

It’s not just features and users that can change your pricing—it’s also the type of software you choose.

Cloud-Based Accounting Solutions: Typically follow a subscription-based pricing model, offering lower initial costs but ongoing monthly fees.
On-Premises Deployments: Require significant upfront capital investment for software licenses, hardware, and infrastructure maintenance.
Hybrid Options: Might be more complex to implement and difficult to migrate away from, but are still a valuable option.

Integration Capabilities

Similar to features, your accounting software pricing also takes into consideration your integration requirements.

Developing simple integrations (such as connecting to a single payment gateway for ecommerce) costs as much as $5,000-$15,000, while complex integrations involving multiple systems (like connection to finance CRMs) can exceed $50,000.

Remember:

The ability to integrate with ERP systems, inventory management, and CRM platforms always commands premium pricing due to the added value and complexity.

Accounting Software Pricing Models + What’s Included

There are several types of accounting software pricing models available, and it’s not always clear what their average cost is, or what they include. Here’s a breakdown of different accounting software pricing models so that you can find the best fit:

Subscription Model	Payment Type	Cost	Includes	Example
Perpetual License	One-time payment	$100-$1,000+	Basic software ownership rights and often comes with limited-time support and updates.	Output Books
Subscription-Based	Recurring monthly or annual payments	$15-$200+ (based on tier)	Regular updates, ongoing support, cloud access, and automatic feature upgrades.	Dynamics 365
Usage-Based	Base fee + additional fees for more usage	$2-$20+	Varying transaction limits or user limits.	FreshBooks
Freemium	Free, no charge	$0	Essential bookkeeping, basic invoicing, and fundamental expense tracking.	Odoo Accounting

While most accounting systems today operate on a subscription basis, there are still plenty of companies willing to experiment with different pricing models. This is part of a larger trend with SaaS platforms reevaluating their pricing models in the last few years, leaning towards more usage and outcome based options compared to traditional tiers.

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How to Lower Accounting Software Costs

Companies today spend an average of $7,900 per employee annually on SaaS tools, including accounting software like Sage, QuickBooks, FreshBooks and Xero. Luckily, there are many proven strategies to reduce accounting software expenses while maintaining functionality and quality:

Right-Size Your Licenses

One of the most effective ways to generate immediate savings is through license optimization. By identifying and reclaiming unused seats, companies can significantly reduce costs during renewal negotiations. If only 30% of users are actively using a tool, you can cut license counts without impacting legitimate users.

Implement Usage-Based Analysis

As I mentioned before, most companies are overpaying for their accounting software as a direct result of forgotten features. To help you cut down on costs, consider using asset management tools to track and analyze actual software usage patterns, which can then be used to inform purchase decisions.

SaaS pricing models are evolving. Some, like Clay, are even experimenting with outcome-based pricing – charging only when the desired result is achieved.

Joe Rhew

Founder of The Workflow Company

By examining adoption metrics and utilization rates, you can identify which features are essential and which can be retired or consolidated. This approach helps optimize costs while ensuring you maintain the tools your team actually needs.

Leverage Long-Term Commitments

Consider opting for annual subscriptions or multi-year contracts instead of monthly subscriptions. Many vendors offer substantial discounts for longer commitment periods, which can lead to significant cost savings over time. But, be sure to read the fine print and analyze usage patterns before making long-term commitments.

Optimize Renewal Timing

Use price benchmarking during renewal negotiations to ensure you're getting competitive rates. Compare your pricing with similar-sized companies and use this data as leverage during vendor discussions. Also maintain a detailed inventory of your SaaS applications to identify opportunities for consolidation or elimination of redundant tools.

Consider Hybrid Pricing Models

Explore flexible pricing options that combine subscription and usage-based components. This model can often result in better cost alignment with actual business needs. That's because it allows organizations to pay for advanced features only when they're used, while still maintaining consistent access to essential modules.

But remember: usage-based pricing does not always equal outcome-based pricing. When experimenting with usage-based pricing, make sure you have proper guardrails in place to prevent overuse without impact by your team.

Tips for Finding the Right Accounting Software

Accounting software serves as the single source of truth for your entire financial operation. If it doesn’t enable you to analyze your cash flow, runway, and profits from the angles you need, or worse still supplies you with incorrect data, it could literally be your business’ ticket to an early grave.

Given the gravity of the choice, here are some tips to help you choose the right accounting software vendor to partner with:

Start with a 3-Month Growth Plan: Map out your expected financial complexity for the next quarter, including planned integrations, user count, and transaction volume. This helps prevent overpaying for features you won't need immediately while ensuring you don't outgrow the software too quickly.
Test Critical Workflows First: During trial periods, focus on testing your most frequent daily tasks rather than exploring all features. Pay special attention to how the software handles your specific revenue recognition needs and subscription billing patterns.
Evaluate Update Frequency: Look at the software's release notes from the past six months to assess how often they ship new features and bug fixes. A vendor that consistently releases updates and quickly addresses user feedback indicates both stability and commitment to improvement.
Check Integration Depth: Don't just verify that integrations exist - test how deeply they work. For example, some accounting tools may only sync basic invoice data with your CRM while others provide bi-directional updates for customer information, payment status, and revenue recognition.
Assess Support Response Times: Before committing, submit multiple customer support tickets at different times to evaluate response speed and quality. Pay particular attention to support coverage during your peak business hours and whether they offer implementation assistance for your specific industry.

Need specific vendor recommendations curated by top experts? Head over to our best business accounting software buying guide for the top picks of the year.

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What’s Next?

Software is just one part of the equation. To be really successful as a finance worker in the cutthroat world of SaaS economics, you need a support network that offers nuanced expert advice right when you need it most.

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