We’ve done the homework for you and compiled a list of our favorite free accounting software in 2022. If you’re interested in how we choose our picks, you can find out more about our review methodology by clicking on the link below. There is also a section where you can directly compare features between all of the software on our list. First, let’s take a brief look at the key features and perks of each one.
Trusted by more than 500,000 small businesses and freelancers, Bonsai offers an all-in-one accounting package at a relatively affordable price. With Bonsai, you’ll get international coverage, a simple and intuitive interface, and fully-automated accounting, with tracking features, invoicing, and CRM. Read Review
- ⦿Intuitive and simple interface
- ⦿14-day free trial
- ⦿Global payment options
Zoho Books is a paid, cloud-based accounting solution whose numerous integrations and enjoyable UI are the talk of the town. It was made by tech experts - not by a financial company - meaning that the software is top-notch. Its huge number of integrations, automated workflow support for accounts payable and receivable, and multi-channel support make it a terrific option for small business accounting. Read Review
- ⦿Affordable
- ⦿Supports both accounts payable and receivable
- ⦿Great UI
Sage Business Cloud (formerly Sage One) recently underwent a significant rework, leading to a beautiful new interface and a variety of new features. Sage only has paid accounting plans, with the cheaper option aimed at entry-level accounting. Its pricier package allows for unlimited users, accounts payable/receivable capabilities, automation, and more. Read Review
- ⦿65+ integrations
- ⦿Unlimited users with Accounting plan
- ⦿Shiny new UI
Limited time ofer: Try Sage free for 3 months! SEE OFFER
Wave accounting software is one of the world’s largest online accounting services with more than 2 million users. It offers free accounting, invoicing, and receipts, but you have to pay for payroll and personalized technical support. Read Review
- ⦿Great range of free feature
- ⦿Easy to install and use
- ⦿Unlimited bank and user accounts
Gnucash is a fully featured double-entry personal and small business bookkeeping app with robust accounts payable and accounts receivable features and excellent reporting functionalities. It’s let down slightly by its archaic user interface and lack of credit card or bank accounting syncing options. Read Review
- ⦿Fantastic accounts payable functionality
- ⦿Very customizable if you know some programming
- ⦿Great and helpful community
ZipBooks is more than just very good free invoice software - it also provides excellent accounting features, such as tracking accounts receivable and reporting on key financial statements. It’s also a well-designed and snappy program that feels good to use. Its main disadvantage is that bank and user accounts are limited to one in the free version. Read Review
- ⦿Great features in the free plan
- ⦿Excellent customer support
- ⦿Slick, snappy interface
Akaunting is free personal accounting software that is also well suited to small businesses and freelancers. It provides basic accounting features for keeping track of your income and expenses, but is missing double-entry accounting functionality and the ability to automatically connect bank and credit card accounts. Read Review
- ⦿Unlimited users and invoices
- ⦿Fantastic selection of custom-made apps
- ⦿Great UI that works well on all platforms
CloudBooks is an online accounting program with both free and paid options. The free version features unlimited staff logins and bank/credit card account support, but is limited to one client and five invoices a month. Paid plans start from as little as $10 per month. By paying, you’ll remove those limits, receive live chat and phone support, and get more payment processing options. Read Review
- ⦿Great set of free features
- ⦿Cheap paid upgrade options
- ⦿Free 30-day trial with no credit card needed
Related Product Categories
Our Methodology
Accounting is by its very nature a field concerned with finding ways to improve your finance management and save money. One of the best ways to do that is to reduce operational costs. Using free bookkeeping software for small business is one of the easiest ways to reduce the number of Benjamins unwillingly departing the safety and comfort of your pocket.
Traditionally, “free” software used to be a synonym for unoptimized, feature-poor solutions that were mostly used as a last resort, no matter what the industry. This all changed in the late 1990s with the advent of Linux and open-source projects. Having software tested and improved on a daily basis by hundreds of thousands of programmers and enthusiasts instead of 15 or so staff meant that bugs could be squashed earlier, new features rolled out more regularly, and feedback responded to in record time.
Some of the best free bookkeeping software on our list is open-source, but even those that aren’t are well worth your time. Whether you’re looking for free accounting software like QuickBooks , free accounting software for nonprofits, or even free church accounting software, the picks on our list have you covered. Before digging deeper into our individual reviews, let’s take a look at how and why we picked these companies and which criteria we used.
Features
Finding fully featured free accounting software online is not an easy task. There are usually two types of offers: completely free software that relies on using third-party software for certain tasks or free versions of a software as starter editions with limited features. Tax and payroll support, inventory and order tracking, forecasting, and more-detailed reports are usually what’s missing when it comes to free versions of accounting software. This category looks at what functionalities are included in the software without needing to pay a dime. That includes essential accounting features, invoicing, and simple reports.
Ease of Use
It goes without saying that all good software should be well-optimized, quick, and easy to use. This is especially important for accounting software free or otherwise, as its main purpose is to make accounting less of a chore. In this category, we rate the software on everything that’s relevant to the user experience. This includes the ease of installing and using it, the user interface design, as well as the help and FAQ sections and how well they explain how to use the software.
Free Software Limitations
Some of the best things in life are free. However, lots of free things also come with a catch. Common limits imposed on free online accounting software include the number of bank and credit card accounts, users, or invoices that the free version of the software supports. In this category, we consider how limited the software’s free functionality is.
Software Integration
A lot of free software relies on third-party apps for advanced features such as payroll, inventory tracking, and forecasting. Furthermore, many companies are already used to industry-leading accounting software such as QuickBooks and Nero, or spreadsheets and email solutions by Google and Microsoft. This category measures how well each program integrates with third-party software and whether you have to pay extra to make use of external software for certain tasks.
Mobile Access
Mobile phones have been an integral part of our personal and professional lives for well over a decade now. Being able to do your accounting on the go is a highly requested feature, so the best free accounting software has started supporting mobile platforms. This category examines whether the software has mobile app support and, if so, how good the mobile accounting experience is.
Customer Support
Accounting software should be easy to use even for people without formal accountant training. Having said that, bugs and software or compatibility issues can and do happen. You might not know how a certain feature works, or perhaps you want to find out more about a certain software solution before committing to it. This is where customer support comes in.
Here we evaluate the available support options (phone, email, live chat, FAQ) as well as the overall quality of the software’s customer support platform.
List of the 5 Best Free Accounting Software Providers
- Bonsai
- Zoho Books
- Sage Business Cloud
- Wave
- GnuCash

Free Accounting Software Reviews
Bonsai Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
GOOD
FAIR
GOOD
- ⦿ Includes client management system
- ⦿ Multiple integrations
- ⦿ Time tracker available
Wave Review
EXCELLENT
VERY GOOD
FAIR
FAIR
FAIR
- ⦿ Unlimited bank and user accounts
- ⦿ Separate invoicing and receipts apps
- ⦿ Free financial statements
GnuCash Review
EXCELLENT
FAIR
FAIR
FAIR
VERY GOOD
- ⦿ Excellent accounts payable functionality
- ⦿ Android app available
- ⦿ Great report features
ZipBooks Review
VERY GOOD
EXCELLENT
GOOD
FAIR
EXCELLENT
- ⦿ Excellent integration with payment software
- ⦿ Profit, loss, and balance sheet reports available
- ⦿ Third-party software supported
Akaunting Review
FAIR
EXCELLENT
GOOD
NONE
FAIR
- ⦿ Custom add-on store
- ⦿ Support for third-party add-ons
- ⦿ Profit and loss statements
CloudBooks Review
VERY GOOD
VERY GOOD
GOOD BUT ONLY IN PAID PLANS
NONE
EXCELLENT
- ⦿ Handy tax-calculating and time-tracking features
- ⦿ Time-tracking tool
- ⦿ Tax calculator
Zoho Books
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
VERY GOOD
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- ⦿ Document management
- ⦿ Automated workflows
- ⦿ Several payment gateways
Sage Business Cloud Review
VERY GOOD
EXCELLENT
VERY GOOD
EXCELLENT
VERY GOOD
- ⦿ Automation
- ⦿ Estimates and quotes
- ⦿ 30+ currencies supported with pricier plan
Yes, of course. Some programs like GnuCash and Wave offer only the one free plan, while others have free alternatives to their more feature-rich paid plans. Check out our reviews for more information.
In our opinion, Wave is the best free accounting software to download in 2022. Of course, there are a lot of factors to consider, such as the size of your company, whether you need double-entry accounting, what sort of customer support you’re expecting, and what accounting features you need to have. Either way, you won’t go wrong with any of the options on our list; GnuCash and ZipBooks all provide a fairly comparable service.
Wave accounting software is completely free to use for all basic accounting features. However, accepting online payments and processing payroll are considered extra features that have to be enabled and paid for separately.
No, but there are a lot of small business and personal accounting software for free on the Google App Store. If you’re looking for something lightweight and easy to integrate with Google Apps, check out Rhino Accounting.
QuickBooks does not have a free version. It does, however, offer a 30-day free trial and various discounts throughout the year. With this discount, the Simple Start plan is only $7.50 a month, which isn’t free, but is more affordable than most other paid options on the market. Alternatively, you can take a look at our list of free accounting software and pick your favorite.
Sage. A lot of the software on our list is very easy and intuitive to use, but our vote goes to Sage for its mix of a streamlined, well-organized interface and excellent automation features.