Quicken vs QuickBooks: What are the Differences?

Quicken vs QuickBooks: What are the Differences?

Those who are in the quest of business accounting software can go either with Quicken and QuickBooks. Both the software applications are part of Intuit. Some of the users must be confused between these two as both serve similar services. However, both of these platforms have a slight difference. Hence, we will discuss Quicken vs QuickBooks: What are the differences and what purpose both of the software serve?

In this blog (Quicken vs QuickBooks), we will highlight the differences in several aspects such as features, versions/plans, price, phone apps, and other benefits.

Basic Difference Between Quicken and QuickBooks

QuickBooks is an accounting software that has a focal point on the small business accounting process. On the other hand, Quicken majorly focuses on the finance processes. QuickBooks users can use this service online or in the form of a desktop version whereas Quicken provides only local software.

There are other differences between these two software applications. Furthermore, there are different plans that Quicken and QuickBooks offer.

Therefore, in this article, we will demonstrate the comparison between QuickBooks and Quicken in terms of features, pricing, benefits, and more. Let’s get started with Quicken Home and Business vs QuickBooks Pro!

QuickBooks Online vs Quicken Home and Business

Since Quicken Home and Business is a software that is hosted locally so this should be downloaded and installed on your machine. Although the new version allows you to use this service online or on a mobile phone, you need to choose these features to sync your data throughout the locations.

Furthermore, Quicken Home & Business software application is compatible only with Windows computers not for iOS versions.

On the other hand, QuickBooks Online is a web-based program. This allows you to use your QuickBooks account from any through internet access.

Quicken vs QuickBooks Online: Features

Both the software have different types of features depending on the software plan you are purchasing. If you use Quicken, you can track account balance, personal budget, transactions, loans, and investments.

On contrary to this, QuickBooks is a full-fledged business accounting software, hence, provides more tools. Using QuickBooks, you can manage tax filing, payroll, invoicing bank accounts, budget, expense management, and more.  

What are the Features of Quicken Home & Business Software?

Quicken Home & Business software is one level up than the Quicken Premier. This way Quicken Home & Business consists of all the features of Quicken Premier. It includes bill pay, budgeting, transaction import & categorization, investment & tax, tools, and more.

This particular version of Quicken provides more functionalities which we are listing below:

  • Categories of Business, Personal, and Rental Property Transactions
  • Loss and Profit projections
  • Tools for creating tax-related reports
  • Tools to maximize business tax deductions
  • Create tax-related reports
  • Business reports and email rental
  • Make and customize invoices
  • A dashboard of single bills with reminders
  • Email custom rent reminders along with a PayPal link to make payments
  • Track rental income, rental rates, lease terms, and deposits
  • Customer help via chat or phone

Quicken’s features are specifically for rental properties. But if you are a sole proprietor, contractor, or freelancer, you will also get the simple tools within this software.

What are the Features of QuickBooks Online?

As stated earlier, QuickBooks is used particularly for accounting and business bookkeeping. QuickBooks Online has four plans such as Simple Start, Plus, Essentials, and Advanced. All these plans consist of different capabilities and features.

This is why the features of QuickBooks versions are unique. Depending on the task, you can use the version of QuickBooks and use its features. Below are the few capabilities that you can know about:

  • Help in tracking business expenses and income from multiple accounts.
  • Sort transactions automatically into tax categories
  • Capture receipt and organize them
  • Send and customize invoices
  • Online payment is acceptable
  • Track mileage
  • Run reports such as loss and profit statements and export them
  • Customize reports can be created
  • Helps in tracking the reporting and cash flow via a dashboard
  • Customize or send estimates
  • Helps in tracking sales
  • Calculates sales tax
  • Ability to manage various contractors
  • A business bank account can be connected
  • Print checks
  • Offers mobile app for QuickBooks
  • Can be integrated with other third-party tools or QuickBooks
  • Access to the business accountant
  • Customer help via chat or phone

As you go with the higher plan, you get more functionalities. For instance, the Essentials plan has multi-user access, time tracking, and bill management. Using the Plus plan, you can have access to the project profitability tracking and inventory. QuickBooks Online Advanced offers more capabilities with workflow management, batch invoicing, customizable by role, advanced reporting, and more.

Consequently, QuickBooks versions have more variety in terms of features and capabilities. This allows you to manage, streamline, and automate your financial processes.

This is the comparison of features between QuickBooks vs Quicken for rental property along with various versions of these software applications. Now, let’s talk about the pricing of both of them.

Quicken vs QuickBooks: Pricing

All the versions or plans of QuickBooks and Quicken are used for different purposes. Therefore, it is natural that users may find vast differences in prices.

For instance,  QuickBooks Online requires monthly charges whereas Quicken Home and Business offers annual subscriptions.

Now, we will show you the price comparison for Quicken vs QuickBooks for personal use or other versions.

What is the Price of Quicken Home & Business Software?

The Quicken Home & Business is the only desktop-based version. The pricing for this software is quite simple. Go through its pricing conditions:

  • Users have to only pay for an annual subscription at $99.99 in order to access its features.
  • You will receive the features for Quicken Home & Business along with the QuickBook companion accounting app.
  • Quicken offers a money-back guarantee after 30 days.

Other plans by Quickens:

  • Starer: $34 for a year
  • Deluxe: $49 for a year
  • Premier: $74 for a year

Those who opt for an annual subscription can take advantage of full features. This subscription can be used for software as well as the phone app. In case you change your mind, Quickens has the 30 days money-back guarantee as well.

What is the Price of QuickBooks Online?

As mentioned earlier, QuickBooks offers four plans such as Simple Start, Plus, Essentials, and Advanced. Also, users have to pay monthly based on the plan they have chosen. Here is the pricing for all of the QuickBooks plans:

  • Simple Start: $25 for a month
  • Plus: $70 for a month
  • Essentials: $40 for a month
  • Advanced: $150 for a month

Users can also select options if they want to integrate supplemental services offered by QuickBooks such as QuickBooks Payroll, point of sale, and more.

Talking about Quicken vs QuickBooks for rental property, QuickBooks’ monthly subscription is more expensive than the annual subscription of Quicken. However, QuickBooks provides more features in comparison to Quickens.

Intuit QuickBooks vs Quicken: Unique Benefits

From the above information, you must have understood all the features and prices of Quicken and QuickBooks versions. Let’s know more in detail about the benefits of using these software applications.

What Makes Quicken Stand Out Against QuickBooks Online?

There are two reasons that Quicken is more beneficial than QuickBooks Online; the first is the management of the rental property and secondly for the software price. Below we will understand what are the actual reasons that Quicken seems better than QuickBooks Online.

  • In case you prefer to use only one software to track business and personal finances then Quicken is best.
  • It can handle your investment account.
  • You are provided with business tools.
  • Quicken annual subscription is just at $99.99 (way cheaper than QuickBooks)

For those who handle rental property and wish to track small transactions, Quickens is a perfect software to track and manage transactions.

Although QuickBooks is the most popular business accounting software, you cannot manage personal and business accounts simultaneously.

However, it is said that one should not track both personal and business accounts as it can create issues with taxes and bookkeeping.

Apart from this, Quicken is way cheaper than Quickbooks. So if you want to track and manage small transactions, Quicken can be considered. But if you want business accounting tools, QuickBooks should be your choice.

What are the Benefits of QuickBooks Online?

QuickBooks is specifically designed for small business owners, hence, it offers more accounting tools. This helps users to streamline and automate their tasks. Even the different plans of QuickBooks offer smart features. Below we are listing some of them:

  • In QuickBooks Simple Start plan, users can manage day to day invoicing, bookkeeping, reporting, payments, and more.
  • QuickBooks Plus is scalable. As you grow in your business, the version can be upgraded to grab more functionality.
  • The interface is user-friendly whereas Quicken requires you to navigate through.
  • QuickBooks is a cloud-based software.
  • It offers a web app and mobile app to access your account.

All in all, QuickBooks Online includes more features than the business accounting software. It is flexible, easy to navigate, more functional than the Quicken Home and Business software.

Quicken Home and Business vs QuickBooks: Mobile Apps

QuickBooks and Quicken also provide mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. Using mobile apps, you can easily access the data of your account processes. Let’s know what are the features that can be seen in both the apps.

Quicken Phone App

  • View your bank account balance and transactions
  • Create customer invoice
  • Enter the unpaid bills
  • Attach receipts if required
  • View the budget that is created on your desktop

QuickBooks Phone App

  • Add new vendors or customers directly on the phone app.
  • Track your automobile mileage using the smartphone GPS
  • Enter the vendor bills
  • Make customer invoices
  • Quickly capture a picture and attach receipt directly to transactions

If we talk about comparisons, QuickBooks mobile app is more efficient than the Quicken mobile app. On the QuickBooks phone app, you can manage the whole business right from the app. Besides that, you can access other features.

On contrary to this, Quicken mobile app requires you to complete your task through the desktop version.

Quicken vs QuickBooks Online: Integrations

Quicken allows you to integrate to make online payments, receive payments online, and store documents. On the other hand, QuickBooks offers hundreds of integrations. Now, we will go through the Quicken vs QuickBooks for nonprofits in terms of integrations.

What all Apps You can Integrate with Quicken Software?

Quicken is restricted to integrating other platforms. Below are the following platforms that can be integrated with Quicken.

  • PayPal: For creating and receiving online payments.
  • Dropbox: For storing documents such as contracts and rental agreements.
  • Zillow Zestimate: It is a tool that can be used to calculate the value.

What all Apps You can Integrate into QuickBooks Software?

  • QuickBooks allows its users to integrate up to 600 apps.
  • QuickBooks Online has built-in integrations such as Intuit Online Payroll to manage your employees and pay them.
  • Users can also go for Merchant Services to grant credit card payments online and Bill.com to make bill payments online.
  • Add more apps in order to manage the e-commerce business such as Square and Shopify.

If we talk about app integrations for Quicken vs QuickBooks for farmers or other businesses, both the software have hardly any difference. Quicken integrates a handful of products whereas QuickBooks online allows more than 600 apps to integrate. Depending on your requirements, you can pick the software and integrate apps.

What are the Alternatives to QuickBooks and Quicken?

If you are new in the field of business, you may require a separate account for your personal or business finances. However, not every user would want to invest in QuickBooks Online. Taking care of this concern, we are suggesting two alternatives to QuickBooks and Quicken software.

1. Wave Accounting Software

For those who are searching for accounting software on a budget, Wave Accounting can be the best choice one can make.

Wave Accounting software is popular in the market. You can create your account on this platform for free and sync your bank account easily. The software offers a number of benefits that we are listing below:

  • You can make customizable invoices and send them
  • Track your expenses and income
  • Invite your guest collaborator
  • Scan receipts and manage them easily
  • Users can create accounting reports that are exportable such as sales tax and cash flow reports.
  • Connect your account with Etsy, PayPal, and Shoeboxed.
  • View your dashboard for invoice status and cash balances
  • Send bills
  • Send invoice reminders

These are the features and capabilities that can be used in a Wave account. Besides that, you can purchase add-ons to extend the functionality for online payments.

This software is a user-friendly solution. If you don’t prefer to purchase QuickBooks then Wave is the best alternative to QuickBooks and Quicken.

2. QuickBooks Self-Employed

In case you are just starting your business or in the field of a freelancer and contractor can go with QuickBooks Self-Employed. This software is a part of QuickBooks products. You can use it for the beginning.

The software is affordable than other QuickBooks plans as it costs only $15 for a month. In addition, the software provides a number of features for self-employed people. You can track the invoices, maximize the tax deduction, separate the personal and business expenses, and more.

If you require additional features then upgrading your QuickBooks to the higher plans is the choice. This costs more but offers you numerous tools to manage your accounting processes.

Bottom Line

We have discussed a comparison between two accounting software; Quicken Home and Business vs QuickBooks Pro. Both the services have their own advantages in terms of features, pricing, benefits, and more.

Quicken helps to track investment, account balance, budget, and other expenses. It costs less than QuickBooks. On contrary to this, QuickBooks offers more advanced features in each of its plans.

If you run a rental business where you have to track a few transactions then you can go with Quickens. Those who run a small business but require more accounting software can go with QuickBooks Online. This allows you to streamline and automate the task.

Depending on your business requirements such as tools and budget, you can pick the accounting software to use.

Hopefully, you found this Quicken vs QuickBooks guide useful!

If you already run QuickBooks or Quicken accounting software and encounter unwanted QuickBooks errors, go through the following blogs, and find out the effective solutions.