What is QuickBooks Online?
By Riley Park · Last verified: October 2026
QuickBooks Online is Intuit's cloud accounting software for small businesses: bookkeeping, invoicing, expenses, bank connections, and reports in a browser or the mobile app. It is the online version of QuickBooks; QuickBooks Desktop is Intuit's separate installed product. Plans are Simple Start ($38/mo), Essentials ($85/mo), Plus ($140/mo), and Advanced ($340/mo), and a limited QuickBooks Free plan costs $0. Verified on quickbooks.intuit.com, October 8, 2026.
What does QuickBooks Online do? It connects to your bank accounts, learns how you categorize income and expenses, and then matches and records transactions automatically. On top of that it handles invoicing and payments, bills, expense and receipt tracking, and financial reports. Inventory and job costing come with higher plans, and payroll, payments, and lending are separate Intuit products that connect to it. Intuit brands its AI features "Intuit Intelligence."
What is the difference between QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online? QuickBooks is Intuit's family of accounting products. QuickBooks Online is the cloud version, sold as a monthly subscription. QuickBooks Desktop is installed software; Intuit now sells it mainly as QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise and offers Desktop Pro and Premier users a path to QuickBooks Online or Intuit Enterprise Suite.
How much does QuickBooks Online cost? At US list price: Simple Start $38 a month (1 user), Essentials $85 (3 users), Plus $140 (5 users), and Advanced $340 (25 users), each with 2 or 3 accountant seats. New customers are currently offered 50% off for 3 months. See How much does QuickBooks Online cost? for every plan and the August 2026 price change.
What is QuickBooks Simple Start? The entry plan: $38 a month for one user plus two accountant seats. It covers the core bookkeeping, invoicing, and reporting; adding a second user means moving up to Essentials.
Is QuickBooks free? There is a QuickBooks Free plan, but it is a starter option: 1 user with no accountant access, 2 invoices a month, and 1 connected bank account, with no mobile app or third-party integrations. See Is QuickBooks free?.
What are the disadvantages of QuickBooks Online? In DDR's review, support is the consistent weak point given the price, the newer AI features add a learning curve, and users are capped by plan, so adding people past your plan's limit means a full upgrade.
Who makes QuickBooks? Intuit Inc., which also makes TurboTax, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp. Intuit reported 18,200 employees and $18.83 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2025.
How does DDR rate QuickBooks Online? DDR Score 8.85, Leader tier, the top score among the five SMB accounting products DDR reviews, led by its core features and the widest integration library. Read the full QuickBooks Online review.