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Accounting · head to head

Pleo vs QuickBooks

Pleo logo

Pleo

Accounting

Smart company cards for forward-thinking teams

From
£9.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuickBooks logo

QuickBooks

Accounting

Cloud accounting from Intuit with country specific editions, seat caps by plan and payroll charged separately

From
$30/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Pleo card delays and transaction limits impact usability, with limited regional acceptance in some areas; QuickBooks plans cap the number of billed users, so an approver who signs off bills and a manager who only reads reports each consume a seat and can force an upgrade to a higher tier for reasons that have nothing to do with accounting complexity.
  • They diverge on capability: Pleo covers Company cards, QuickBooks covers General ledger.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pleo and QuickBooks actually diverge.

Attributes where Pleo and QuickBooks differ
AttributePleoQuickBooks
Starting price£9.5/month$30/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, Ios, Android, Api
Founded20151983

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

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 Pleo

  • Company cards
  • Expense categorization
  • Spend limits
  • Accounting sync
  • Xero
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • NetSuite

Only in QuickBooks

  • General ledger
  • Bank feeds
  • Reconciliation
  • Sales invoicing
  • Bills and expenses
  • Sales tax and value added tax
  • Multi currency
  • Inventory

Both cover

  • Receipt capture

What people use each for

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

Pleo

  • Employee expensesnot QuickBooks
  • Spending autonomynot QuickBooks
  • Expense automationnot QuickBooks

QuickBooks

  • A small business whose accountant works in QuickBooks and can take a free access seat rather than being sent exportsnot Pleo
  • An owner who wants to be able to replace their bookkeeper without also replacing the accounting systemnot Pleo
  • A service business needing project level profitability without buying a separate job costing toolnot Pleo
  • A company that wants a large third party app ecosystem to fill gaps rather than a system that must do everything itselfnot Pleo

Where each one falls short

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

Pleo

  • Card delays and transaction limits impact usability, with limited regional acceptance in some areas
  • Receipt capture OCR inaccuracies and upload lag/glitches complicate expense categorization
  • Limited expense categories and tags reduce flexibility for complex accounting structures
  • Transaction approval workflows have minimal customization options
  • Lacks in-built forecasting tools and reporting is basic, providing limited insights into trends

QuickBooks

  • Plans cap the number of billed users, so an approver who signs off bills and a manager who only reads reports each consume a seat and can force an upgrade to a higher tier for reasons that have nothing to do with accounting complexity.
  • Multi currency is confined to the higher tiers and, once enabled, cannot be turned off and the home currency cannot be changed, so a single foreign currency invoice permanently changes the shape of the file and the plan you must remain on.
  • Inventory is average cost only, with no first in first out or standard costing, so a business whose accounts or tax position depend on a different costing method has to track stock outside the ledger and post adjustments.
  • There is no multi entity consolidation, so a group runs a separate subscription and file per company and consolidates in a spreadsheet, and the cost and the manual consolidation both grow with each new entity.
  • The country edition is selected at setup and cannot be changed afterwards, and the editions differ in tax handling and features, so a business that redomiciles or discovers it chose the global edition rather than a localised one starts a new file rather than switching a setting.

Pricing, plan by plan

Pleo

£9.5/month
  • Starter$9.5/month
    • Company cards
    • Real-time expense tracking
    • Automated reports
  • Essential$39/month
    • Reimbursements
    • Mileage and per diem
    • Vendor cards
  • Advanced$89/month
    • Cashback
    • Budgets
    • Multi-entity management
  • Beyond$179/month
    • Spending insights
    • Sub-wallets
    • Dedicated success manager

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 Pleo if

  • You need company cards.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want expense categorization.
Pleo review

Choose QuickBooks if

  • You need general ledger.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want bank feeds.
QuickBooks review

Questions people ask

Is Pleo or QuickBooks better?
Neither clearly leads. Pleo starts at £9.5/month and QuickBooks at $30/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pleo or QuickBooks?
Pleo starts at £9.5/month and QuickBooks at $30/month.
Does Pleo or QuickBooks run on more platforms?
Pleo runs on iOS, Android, Web. QuickBooks runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
What is Pleo best used for?
Pleo is most often used for employee expenses, spending autonomy, expense automation. Of those, employee expenses and spending autonomy are not what QuickBooks is typically brought in for.
What can Pleo do that QuickBooks cannot?
Pleo covers Company cards, Expense categorization, Spend limits, Accounting sync. QuickBooks covers General ledger, Bank feeds, Reconciliation, Sales invoicing. Both handle Receipt capture.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Pleo: What are Pleo's pricing tiers?

Pleo offers four pricing tiers: Starter (GBP 9.50/month), Essential (GBP 39.00/month), Advanced (GBP 89.00/month), and Beyond (GBP 179.00/month). Annual billing provides equivalent of two free months.

Source
QuickBooks: Which country editions actually exist?

Intuit sells localised editions principally for the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, with a global edition for other markets that has lighter tax localisation. Check that your country has a genuine localised edition before assuming filing support, and note the edition cannot be changed after setup.

Pleo: Does Pleo have a free tier?

No, Pleo does not offer a free tier or permanent free plan. All plans require payment with a free trial available for evaluation.

Source
QuickBooks: Does the subscription include payroll?

No. Payroll is a separate subscription with a per employee charge in every market that offers it. Price it alongside the plan rather than after you have committed.

Pleo: What integrations does Pleo support for accounting?

Pleo integrates directly with Xero and QuickBooks, plus Sage 200, Sage 50, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Datev, and Visma e-conomic. Zapier integrations are also available.

Source
QuickBooks: How many users do I get?

It depends on the tier, and the limits are lower than most buyers expect. Accountant access seats are free and separate, but internal approvers and read only reviewers count against the billed limit, so count everyone who needs to sign in before choosing a plan.

Pleo: What platforms can access Pleo?

Pleo is accessible via iOS and Android mobile apps, and through a web interface. Physical and virtual cards are issued for spending.

Source
QuickBooks: Can my accountant work directly in my file?

Yes, that is one of its main advantages. Accountants use a separate practice console and take a free access seat in your company, which is also why so many practices standardise on it.

Pleo: Does Pleo support multiple currencies?

Yes, Pleo supports multi-currency spending and transactions. The platform is particularly strong for European teams with local payment methods.

Source
QuickBooks: Is QuickBooks Desktop still available?

The desktop line persists in the United States for larger installations, but Intuit stopped selling new subscriptions of the smaller desktop products to new customers and the investment is in the online product. Treat desktop as a legacy path rather than a choice for a new business.

QuickBooks: How hard is it to migrate to or from QuickBooks?

Getting in from another system is well trodden and there are tools and specialists for it, though transaction history usually arrives partially rather than completely. Getting out is the harder direction, because your accountant's working knowledge, your app integrations and years of coded history all have to be reproduced. Most businesses move at a year end for that reason.

QuickBooks: Can it consolidate multiple companies?

No. Each legal entity needs its own subscription and file, and the consolidation happens outside the system. Groups with several entities should price that reality in from the start.

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