Accounting · alternatives
Alternatives to TurboTax
24 accounting tools sit alongside TurboTax in this directory. Below is what separates each from TurboTax on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 24
- With a free tier
- 5
- Cheaper to start
- 0
- TurboTax starts at
- Free
Why people look past TurboTax
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the TurboTax entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
Cost climbs steeply across the tiers
TurboTax publishes 4 tiers, from Free up to On request. Teams that outgrow the entry plan can find the next rung a large step, the TurboTax pricing page breaks each one down.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Cloud accounting from Intuit with country specific editions, seat caps by plan and payroll charged separately
- No free tier, where TurboTax has one.
- Starts $30 a month dearer, at $30/month.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than freemium.
The corporate card that helps you spend less
- Starts $15 a month dearer, at $15/month.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than freemium.
- 3 tiers to TurboTax's 4.
Spend management combining corporate cards, bill payment and expense claims, now part of Paylocity
- No free tier, where TurboTax has one.
- Starts $29 a month dearer, at $29/month.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than freemium.
- 3 tiers to TurboTax's 4.
Simple business payments
- Starts $25 a month dearer, at $25/month.
- 5 tiers to TurboTax's 4.
Expense reporting and travel management at three dollars per user per month
- Starts $3 a month dearer, at $3/month.
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than freemium.
- 3 tiers to TurboTax's 4.
Virtual card and spend management platform aimed at SaaS and travel spend
- Starts $13 a month dearer, at $13/month.
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than freemium.
- 3 tiers to TurboTax's 4.
Every TurboTax alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TurboTax (this page) | Free | Freemium | 4 | |
| QuickBooksSmart, simple online accounting software for small business | $30/month | Subscription | 4 | vs TurboTax |
| RampThe corporate card that helps you spend less | Free, then $15/month | Subscription | 3 | vs TurboTax |
| AirbaseThe first all-in-one spend management platform | $29/month | Subscription | 3 | vs TurboTax |
| MelioSimple business payments | Free, then $25/month | Freemium | 5 | vs TurboTax |
| Zoho Expense | Free, then $3/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs TurboTax |
| Mesh Payments | Free, then $13/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs TurboTax |
| Spendbase | Free | Free card tier, plus a share of savings on the managed plan | 2 | vs TurboTax |
| Rydoo | $10/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs TurboTax |
| Moss | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
| Medius Expense | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
| Happay | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
| Kodo | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
| Circula | €15/month | Per user per month | 4 | vs TurboTax |
| Soldo | £21/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs TurboTax |
| Ottimate | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
| Yooz | $199/month | Per month by invoice volume | 2 | vs TurboTax |
| Workiva | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
| Basware | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
| Vena Solutions | On request | Quote | 2 | vs TurboTax |
| Tropic | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
| DATEV | On request | Quote | 3 | vs TurboTax |
| insightsoftware | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
| Causal | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
| Medius | On request | Quote | 1 | vs TurboTax |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the TurboTax badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (5)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Ramp , Free, then $15/month
- Melio , Free, then $25/month
- Zoho Expense , Free, then $3/month
- Mesh Payments , Free, then $13/month
- Spendbase , Free
What you would be giving up
TurboTax is most often brought in for individual tax filing for us residents, complex tax scenarios requiring multiple schedules and forms, expert assistance or full tax preparation services. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If TurboTax is broadly right and the question is cost, the TurboTax pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Accounting category lists everything the directory holds, and best accounting tools ranks them.
TurboTax runs on not recorded. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about TurboTax alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to TurboTax?
- 24 other accounting tools are listed in this directory, led by QuickBooks, Ramp, Airbase, Melio. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to TurboTax?
- 5 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Ramp, Melio, Zoho Expense, Mesh Payments, Spendbase.
- Why do people look for an alternative to TurboTax?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: cost climbs steeply across the tiers. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from TurboTax?
- TurboTax is most often brought in for individual tax filing for us residents, complex tax scenarios requiring multiple schedules and forms, expert assistance or full tax preparation services. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to TurboTax?
- None of the accounting tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these TurboTax alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Accounting, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare TurboTax against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against TurboTax covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every accounting tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Accounting category, 24 tools beside TurboTax. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.