QuickBooks: Free plan added + Essentials price hike ($75→$85/mo)
What happened
Between the Aug 3, 2026 and Aug 10, 2026 captures of Quickbooks's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: New Free plan added at $0/mo; Essentials list price increased $75→$85/mo; promotional discount widened from 50% to 90% off for 3 months (Simple Start paid price $19→$3.80/mo). Pulse files it as a pricing change (price increase) with an upward direction. Pulse's latest capture (Oct 19, 2026) lists Simple Start at $38, Essentials at $85, Plus at $140 and Advanced at $340.
It lands the same day as Quickbooks's previous change, "QuickBooks Payroll: Summer promo jumps to 90% off (was 50%)" (Aug 10, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "QuickBooks Payroll: per-employee fee cut on all 3 plans" (Jul 27, 2026) and "Quickbooks Payroll hikes per-employee fees up to 30% across all plans" (Jul 6, 2026). Quickbooks has been tracked since 2023-11-14.
In the same window Sage, Zoho, Xero, Microsoft and Freshbooks also changed their Finance & Accounting pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Essentials, Simple Start · Price+80%50%90%
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials, Simple Start | Price | 50% | 90% | +80% |
Values as written on Quickbooks's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Quickbooks's pricing page (quickbooks.com) from Aug 3, 2026 and Aug 10, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where essentials, simple start price reads 50% and then 90%.
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The two full-page captures with this change marked up are free with an account.
Quickbooks, the last 90 days
Full history- Oct 19, 2026packagingQuickbooks: new $0/mo Free plan promo added during plan selection
- Sep 14, 2026increaseQuickBooks: Essentials, Plus & Advanced plan prices increased
- Sep 14, 2026increaseQuickBooks Payroll: Workforce bundle prices increase ($125→$135, $203→$228)
- Aug 10, 2026increaseQuickBooks: Free plan added + Essentials price hike ($75→$85/mo) · this change
- Aug 10, 2026packagingQuickBooks Payroll: Summer promo jumps to 90% off (was 50%)
- Jul 27, 2026decreaseQuickBooks Payroll: per-employee fee cut on all 3 plans
- Jul 6, 2026increaseQuickbooks Payroll hikes per-employee fees up to 30% across all plans
Across Finance & Accounting in the same window
All Finance & Accounting changes- SageAug 11Sage Payroll: free-trial promo cut from 2 months to 1 month
- ZohoAug 11Zoho Recruitstaffing Recruit: pricing table prices became visible ($0/$25/$50/$75)
- XeroAug 11Xero: Intro promo deepened to 90% off, extended to 6 months
- MicrosoftAug 10Microsoft Copilot 365 Copilot: 1-month free trial added to Business plans
- FreshbooksAug 3FreshBooks: 90% off promo shortened from 6 to 3 months
Questions about this change
Did Quickbooks raise prices in August 2026?
Yes. Pulse captured Quickbooks's pricing page on Aug 3, 2026 and again on Aug 10, 2026 and recorded 1 price increase: Essentials, Simple Start: 50% → 90% (+80%).
What changed on Quickbooks's pricing page between Aug 3, 2026 and Aug 10, 2026?
Essentials, Simple Start price: 50% → 90% (+80%). Pulse compared the captures it took on Aug 3, 2026 and Aug 10, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Quickbooks change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 3 other pricing-page changes for Quickbooks in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "QuickBooks Payroll: Summer promo jumps to 90% off (was 50%)" on Aug 10, 2026; Quickbooks has been tracked since 2023-11-14.