Are you struggling to manage your money, either for yourself or your business?
Many people feel lost when it comes to tracking income, expenses, and overall financial health.
This can lead to stress and missed opportunities.
Both are popular tools, but they’re built for different needs.
In 2025, it’s more important than ever to pick the right financial software.
We’ll break down Quicken vs QuickBooks in a simple way to help you decide.
Overview
We’ve used both Quicken and QuickBooks a lot.
We tested how easy they are to use and what they can do.
This helped us see their main differences.
Now, let’s compare them directly.
Join the 62% of Quicken users who achieve their goals faster.
Pricing: It has a free trial. paid plan starts at $5.59/month.
Key Features:
- Budgeting
- Bill Pay
- Investment Tracking
Used by over 7 million businesses, QuickBooks can save your time.
Pricing: It has a free trial. paid plan starts at $9.50/month.
Key Features:
- Expense Tracking
- Invoicing and Payments
- Comprehensive Reporting
What is Quicken?
So, you’re wondering about Quicken?
It’s like a tool that helps you see all your money stuff in one place.
Think of it as your digital money organizer.
It can help you track your bank accounts, bills, and even investments.
Pretty handy, right?
Also, explore our favorite Quicken alternatives…
See how Quicken simplifies your money! Users typically save 2 hours monthly on budgeting. Plus, 85% feel more in control within 3 months.
Key Benefits
Quicken has some really cool things it can do:
- It can connect to over 14,500 financial institutions. That’s a lot of banks!
- You can easily see where your money goes with its spending reports.
- It helps you plan for the future by letting you set budgets.
- You can even track your investments and see how they’re doing.
- It helps you manage your bills and avoid late fees.
Pricing
- Annually Subscription: $24
Pros
Cons
What is QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is like a helpful friend for your business money stuff.
It helps you keep track of what money comes in and what money goes out.
Lots of small businesses like using it.
Also, explore our favorite Quickbooks alternatives…
Ready to take control of your business money like a pro? QuickBooks helps millions track their income and expenses easily.
Key Benefits
QuickBooks really shines with its broad set of tools for everyday tasks. It offers:
- Manages over $1 trillion in invoices annually for its users.
- Connects to over 700 different apps for smoother workflows.
- Helps businesses save up to 42% of their time on bookkeeping tasks.
- Provides over 50 standard reports to understand your business better.
Pricing
- Simple Start: $9.50
- Essential: $14
- Plus: $20
- Advanced: $38
Pros
Cons
Feature Comparison
Let’s look at what each program offers.
We’ll compare their important features side-by-side.
This will help you see which one fits your needs better.
1. Purpose
- Quicken: This tool is great for managing your personal money. Think of it as your home financial planner. It helps you track your budget, bills, and investments.
- QuickBooks: This is made for businesses, big or small. It handles things like invoicing customers, paying bills, and keeping track of business income and costs.
2. Banking Connection
- Quicken: It links to your bank accounts. This lets you see all your personal transactions in one spot. You can easily categorize them.
- QuickBooks: It also connects to your bank. For businesses, this means automatic tracking of sales and expenses. It makes reconciling your business accounts simpler.
3. Invoicing & Payments
- Quicken: It’s not built for sending invoices. You can track payments you receive, but you can’t create and send bills to customers.
- QuickBooks: This is a core feature. You can create professional invoices, send them to clients, and track if they’ve paid. It’s essential for running a business.
4. Payroll
- Quicken: It doesn’t have payroll features. You can’t use it to pay employees or handle payroll taxes.
- QuickBooks: It offers payroll services. You can pay your team, file payroll taxes, and manage employee records. This is a big help for business owners.
5. Reporting
- Quicken: It gives you reports on your personal spending and net worth. You can see where your money goes and how your investments are doing.
- QuickBooks: It has many business reports. These include profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and sales reports. These are key for business decisions.
6. Investment Tracking
- Quicken: It’s strong for tracking investments. You can see your stocks, bonds, and other investments all in one place. It helps you understand your portfolio’s health.
- QuickBooks: It’s not designed for detailed investment tracking. Its focus is on business finances, not personal portfolios.
7. Cloud vs Desktop
- Quicken: Traditionally, it was desktop software. Now, there are online versions too. You can choose what works best for you.
- QuickBooks: It’s mostly cloud-based now (QuickBooks Online). This means you can access your business finances from anywhere with internet. There are also desktop versions available.
What to look for when choosing an Accounting Software?
Here are some extra things to think about:
- Scalability: Can the software grow with your business?
- Support: What kind of help is available if you have questions?
- Ease of Use: Is it something you and your team can learn quickly?
- Specific Needs: Does it handle the unique things your business does?
- Security: How safe is your financial data with this software?
Final Verdict (Our Pick)
So, which one wins the Quicken vs QuickBooks fight?
It depends on what you need.
If you handle your own money, like home budgets and investments, Quicken is best.
It’s made for personal finance.
But if you own a business, big or small, choose QuickBooks.
It manages invoices, payroll, and all business money tasks.
We showed you all the features.
You can trust our advice.
We looked closely at both tools. Pick the one that works for you!
More of Quicken
- Quicken vs Puzzle IO: Puzzle IO focuses on inventory and e-commerce, while Quicken is personal finance with some business tools.
- Quicken vs Dext: Dext automates receipt and invoice data capture; Quicken’s document handling is less specialized.
- Quicken vs Synder: Synder syncs multi-channel sales with accounting; Quicken lacks this e-commerce focus.
- Quicken vs Easy Month End: Easy Month End streamlines financial closing, while Quicken doesn’t target this specific process.
- Quicken vs Docyt: Docyt uses AI for financial data; Quicken’s data extraction is more manual.
- Quicken vs Wave: Wave offers free basic business accounting; Quicken’s business features are in paid tiers.
- Quicken vs Hubdoc: Hubdoc automates financial document collection; Quicken’s document handling is manual.
- Quicken vs Expensify: Expensify excels in expense management; Quicken’s expense tracking is less automated.
- Quicken vs AutoEntry: AutoEntry automates data entry from financial documents; Quicken lacks this automation.
- Quicken vs FreshBooks: FreshBooks targets service-based business invoicing; Quicken’s invoicing is basic.
- Quicken vs NetSuite: NetSuite is a comprehensive ERP for large businesses, while Quicken is for personal/small use.
More of QuickBooks
- QuickBooks vs Puzzle IO: Puzzle IO offers strong AI automation for bookkeeping and predictive analytics.
- QuickBooks vs Dext: Dext is excellent for automated receipt and document data extraction.
- QuickBooks vs Xero: Xero provides unlimited users and robust multi-currency support, great for global teams.
- QuickBooks vs Synder: Synder specializes in e-commerce transaction syncing, ideal for online sales.
- QuickBooks vs Docyt: Docyt uses AI for real-time insights and automated back-office bookkeeping.
- QuickBooks vs RefreshMe: RefreshMe helps with personal finance, budgeting, and identity protection.
- QuickBooks vs Wave: Wave offers free bookkeeping, invoicing, and receipt tracking for freelancers.
- QuickBooks vs Hubdoc: Hubdoc automates document collection and data extraction for easier bookkeeping.
- QuickBooks vs Expensify: Expensify focuses on streamlined expense reporting and receipt scanning.
- QuickBooks vs AutoEntry: AutoEntry automates data entry from various financial documents for efficiency.
- QuickBooks vs FreshBooks: FreshBooks excels in invoicing and time tracking, popular with service-based clients.
- QuickBooks vs NetSuite: NetSuite is a comprehensive ERP system for large enterprises needing broad functionalities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Quicken better for personal or business use?
Quicken is best for personal finance. It helps manage budgets, bills, and investments. For small business owners, it lacks key accounting features needed for operations.
Can I use Quicken for my small business?
While you can use Quicken for very basic tracking, it’s not ideal for full business use. It lacks features like invoicing, payroll, and robust expense tracking that most businesses need.
Does QuickBooks help manage cash flow?
Yes, QuickBooks is excellent for managing cash flow. It helps businesses track business income and expense, send invoices, and see where money is coming and going. This gives a clear financial picture.
What about tracking rental properties with Quicken or QuickBooks?
Quicken has specific features for rental properties, making it good for landlords. QuickBooks can track income and expenses for rentals too, but it’s more geared towards overall business needs.
Is there a free alternative like Quicken or QuickBooks?
There are some free tools, but they often have fewer features. For simpler personal tracking, consider Quicken Simplifi. For robust business accounting, a free tool won’t offer the same depth as QuickBooks.
