All industries · head to head
QuickBooks vs Zapier

QuickBooks
All industries
Smart, simple online accounting software for small business
- From
- $30/month
- Rated
- -
Zapier
All industries
Automate your work across 7,000+ app integrations
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Zapier has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- 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; Zapier the free plan allows 100 tasks per month and only two-step Zaps, one trigger and one action
- They diverge on capability: QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, Zapier covers App integrations.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which QuickBooks and Zapier actually diverge.
| Attribute | QuickBooks | Zapier |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $30/month | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | usage-based |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, Ios, Android, Api | Web, Api |
| Founded | 1983 | 2011 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (All industries).
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 Zapier
- App integrations
- Workflow automation
- Trigger-based actions
- Multi-step Zaps
- Data formatting
- Conditional logic
- Error handling
- Team collaboration
Both cover
- Shopify
- SOC2
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
QuickBooks
- Bookkeepingnot Zapier
- Invoicingnot Zapier
- Expense trackingnot Zapier
- Financial reportingnot Zapier
- Tax preparationnot Zapier
Zapier
- Lead managementnot QuickBooks
- Data synchronizationnot QuickBooks
- Email automationnot QuickBooks
- Social media postingnot QuickBooks
- Customer onboardingnot 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
Zapier
- The free plan allows 100 tasks per month and only two-step Zaps, one trigger and one action
- Multi-step Zaps, filters, paths, webhooks and the formatter all require a paid plan
- Premium app connectors are withheld from the free plan
- Free Zaps poll for new data every 15 minutes against 2 minutes on Professional and 1 minute on Team
- Paying monthly rather than annually costs 50 percent more, so the 2,000-task Professional plan is $73.50 a month instead of $49
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
Zapier
Free- FreeFree
- 100 tasks/month
- 5 Zaps
- Two-step Zaps
- Starter$19.99/month
- 750 tasks/month
- 20 Zaps
- Multi-step Zaps
- Professional$49/month
- 2,000 tasks/month
- Unlimited Zaps
- Custom logic
Which should you pick?
Choose QuickBooks if
- You need income & expense tracking.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want invoicing.
Choose Zapier if
- You need app integrations.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want workflow automation.
Questions people ask
- Is QuickBooks or Zapier better?
- Neither clearly leads. QuickBooks starts at $30/month and Zapier at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, QuickBooks or Zapier?
- Zapier has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $30/month for QuickBooks and Free for Zapier.
- Does QuickBooks or Zapier run on more platforms?
- QuickBooks runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Zapier runs on Web, Api.
- Can I use Zapier for free?
- Yes. Zapier has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. QuickBooks starts at $30/month.
- 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 Zapier is typically brought in for.
- What can QuickBooks do that Zapier cannot?
- QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, Invoicing, Payment processing, Financial reporting. Zapier covers App integrations, Workflow automation, Trigger-based actions, Multi-step Zaps. Both handle Shopify, SOC2.
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- Zapier vs Wise Business
- Zapier vs ADP
- Zapier vs Brex
- Zapier vs Expensify
- Zapier vs Fyle
- Zapier vs Payoneer
- Zapier vs Pleo
- Zapier vs Sage 50
- Zapier vs SAP Concur
- Zapier vs Spendesk
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- Zapier vs Tipalti
- Zapier vs Xero
- Zapier vs Zoho Books
- Zapier vs Adyen
- Zapier vs Microsoft Power Automate
- Zapier vs n8n
- Zapier vs MuleSoft
- Zapier vs Parabola
- Zapier vs Zapier Plus
- Zapier vs Jitterbit
- Zapier vs mParticle
- Zapier vs Paragon
- Zapier vs RudderStack
- Zapier vs Workato
- Zapier vs Airbyte
- Zapier vs Automate.io
- Zapier vs Boomi
- Zapier vs Browser Use
- Zapier vs Browserbase
- Zapier vs Celigo
- Zapier vs Census
- Zapier vs CrewAI
