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Accounting & Finance · head to head

Plaid vs QuickBooks

Plaid logo

Plaid

Accounting & Finance

The safer way to connect financial accounts

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuickBooks logo

QuickBooks

All industries

Smart, simple online accounting software for small business

From
$30/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Plaid no dollar amount is published for any product, and the pricing page states no per request rate or minimum commitment; QuickBooks chart of Accounts is capped on every QuickBooks Online tier except Advanced; Simple Start, Essentials and Plus all have a limited entry count
  • They diverge on capability: Plaid covers Bank account linking, QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Plaid and QuickBooks actually diverge.

Attributes where Plaid and QuickBooks differ
AttributePlaidQuickBooks
Starting price$29/month$30/month
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
PlatformsApi, Web, Ios, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryAccounting & FinanceAll industries
Founded20131983

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Plaid

  • Bank account linking
  • Transaction data
  • Identity verification
  • Income verification
  • Asset reports
  • Venmo
  • Robinhood
  • Coinbase

Only in QuickBooks

  • Income & expense tracking
  • Invoicing
  • Payment processing
  • Financial reporting
  • Tax preparation
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Bill management
  • Mobile apps

Both cover

  • Bank-level encryption

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Plaid

  • Connecting bank accounts to an application for balances and transactionsnot QuickBooks
  • Verifying account ownership and income for payments or lendingnot QuickBooks

QuickBooks

  • Bookkeepingnot Plaid
  • Invoicingnot Plaid
  • Expense trackingnot Plaid
  • Financial reportingnot Plaid
  • Tax preparationnot Plaid

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Plaid

  • No dollar amount is published for any product, and the pricing page states no per request rate or minimum commitment
  • Three different billing models apply depending on the product, being one time per connected account, monthly per connected account, and per successful API call
  • That mix means total cost depends on which products are combined rather than on a single unit
  • Discounted rates require the Growth plan, which is a 12 month commitment

QuickBooks

  • Chart of Accounts is capped on every QuickBooks Online tier except Advanced; Simple Start, Essentials and Plus all have a limited entry count
  • Even the top Advanced tier caps bulk invoice uploads at 1,000 transaction lines per batch
  • Payroll is a separate paid add-on billed per employee per month (USD 6 to 10 depending on plan) on top of the base subscription

Pricing, plan by plan

Plaid

$29/month
  • Pay-as-you-goFree
    • Bank connections
    • Transaction data
    • Account verification

QuickBooks

$30/month
  • Simple Start$30/month
    • Income & expense tracking
    • Invoice & payments
    • Tax deductions
  • Essentials$60/month
    • Everything in Simple Start
    • Bill management
    • Time tracking
  • Plus$90/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Inventory tracking
    • Project profitability
  • Advanced$200/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • Dedicated account team
    • 25 users

Which should you pick?

Choose Plaid if

  • You need bank account linking.
  • You work on Api, Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want transaction data.
Plaid review

Choose QuickBooks if

  • You need income & expense tracking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want invoicing.
QuickBooks review

Questions people ask

Is Plaid or QuickBooks better?
Neither clearly leads. Plaid starts at $29/month and QuickBooks at $30/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Plaid or QuickBooks?
Plaid starts at $29/month and QuickBooks at $30/month.
Does Plaid or QuickBooks run on more platforms?
Plaid runs on Api, Web, Ios, Android. QuickBooks runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
What is Plaid best used for?
Plaid is most often used for connecting bank accounts to an application for balances and transactions, verifying account ownership and income for payments or lending. Of those, connecting bank accounts to an application for balances and transactions and verifying account ownership and income for payments or lending are not what QuickBooks is typically brought in for.
What can Plaid do that QuickBooks cannot?
Plaid covers Bank account linking, Transaction data, Identity verification, Income verification. QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, Invoicing, Payment processing, Financial reporting. Both handle Bank-level encryption.
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