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QuickBooks vs Zuora

QuickBooks logo

QuickBooks

All industries

Smart, simple online accounting software for small business

From
$30/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zuora logo

Zuora

Accounting & Finance

The subscription economy platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Zuora pricing is by quote only: the pricing page names no edition, no rate, no minimum and no cost driver, and offers only a link to sales
  • They diverge on capability: QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, Zuora covers Subscription billing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which QuickBooks and Zuora actually diverge.

Attributes where QuickBooks and Zuora differ
AttributeQuickBooksZuora
Starting price$30/month$29/month
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, Api
CategoryAll industriesAccounting & Finance
Founded19832007

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 QuickBooks

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

Only in Zuora

  • Subscription billing
  • Revenue recognition
  • Payment orchestration
  • Quote-to-cash
  • Analytics
  • Salesforce
  • NetSuite
  • SAP

What people use each for

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

QuickBooks

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

Zuora

  • Managing subscription billing and recurring invoicing at enterprise scalenot QuickBooks
  • Handling usage based and tiered pricing modelsnot QuickBooks
  • Revenue recognition and subscription reportingnot 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

Zuora

  • Pricing is by quote only: the pricing page names no edition, no rate, no minimum and no cost driver, and offers only a link to sales

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

Zuora

$29/month
  • LaunchFree
    • Up to $100K revenue
    • Core billing
    • Basic reporting
  • ScaleFree
    • Custom pricing
    • Advanced billing
    • Revenue automation

Which should you pick?

Choose QuickBooks if

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

Choose Zuora if

  • You need subscription billing.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want revenue recognition.
Zuora review

Questions people ask

Is QuickBooks or Zuora better?
Neither clearly leads. QuickBooks starts at $30/month and Zuora at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, QuickBooks or Zuora?
QuickBooks starts at $30/month and Zuora at $29/month.
Does QuickBooks or Zuora run on more platforms?
QuickBooks runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Zuora runs on Web, Api.
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 Zuora is typically brought in for.
What can QuickBooks do that Zuora cannot?
QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, Invoicing, Payment processing, Financial reporting. Zuora covers Subscription billing, Revenue recognition, Payment orchestration, Quote-to-cash.
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