Software · head to head
QuickBooks vs BambooHR
QuickBooks
Software
Smart, simple online accounting software for small business
- From
- $30/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: QuickBooks chart of Accounts is capped on every QuickBooks Online tier except Advanced; Simple Start, Essentials and Plus all have a limited entry count; BambooHR organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price
- They diverge on capability: QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, BambooHR covers Employee database.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which QuickBooks and BambooHR actually diverge.
| Attribute | QuickBooks | BambooHR |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $30/month | $10/month per employee |
| Founded | 1983 | 2008 |
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 QuickBooks
- Income & expense tracking
- Invoicing
- Payment processing
- Financial reporting
- Tax preparation
- Bank reconciliation
- Bill management
- Mobile apps
Only in BambooHR
- Employee database
- Time-off management
- Benefits tracking
- Performance reviews
- Onboarding
- Reporting & analytics
- Mobile access
- Document management
Both cover
- SOC2
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
QuickBooks
- Bookkeepingnot BambooHR
- Invoicingnot BambooHR
- Expense trackingnot BambooHR
- Financial reportingnot BambooHR
- Tax preparationnot BambooHR
BambooHR
- HR system of record with employee data and documentsnot QuickBooks
- Time off tracking and approvalsnot QuickBooks
- Applicant tracking and onboardingnot QuickBooks
- Performance reviews and 1:1s on the Pro tiernot QuickBooks
- Compensation planning and benchmarking on Elitenot QuickBooks
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
BambooHR
- Organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price
- Per-employee pricing starts at 26 employees, from $10 on Core
- Performance management, 360 reviews and recognition all require Pro at $17 per employee per month
- Compensation management, salary benchmarking and advanced analytics are Elite only at $25 per employee per month
- Compliance training is rationed by tier, at 1 course on Core against 300 on Elite
Pricing, plan by plan
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
BambooHR
$10/month per employeeNo published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.
Which should you pick?
Choose QuickBooks if
- You need income & expense tracking.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want invoicing.
Choose BambooHR if
- You need employee database.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want time-off management.
Questions people ask
- Is QuickBooks or BambooHR better?
- Neither clearly leads. QuickBooks starts at $30/month and BambooHR at $10/month per employee, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, QuickBooks or BambooHR?
- QuickBooks starts at $30/month and BambooHR at $10/month per employee.
- Does QuickBooks or BambooHR run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Ios, Android, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is QuickBooks best used for?
- QuickBooks is most often used for bookkeeping, invoicing, expense tracking, financial reporting. Of those, bookkeeping and invoicing are not what BambooHR is typically brought in for.
- What can QuickBooks do that BambooHR cannot?
- QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, Invoicing, Payment processing, Financial reporting. BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Both handle SOC2.