QuickBooks vs. Quicken: What’s the Difference?

QuickBooks and Quicken are two of the most widely used financial management tools in the world. As account management software (AMS), they help businesses and individuals with various financial processes. For businesses, this can include processes that apply both internally and to their relationships with their customers. For individuals and families, AMS can help keep track of every aspect of our financial lives. Read on to find out what these tools offer and what may be right for you.

Key Takeaways

• QuickBooks and Quicken are financial management tools owned by Intuit and H.I.G. Capital, respectively.
• QuickBooks is a full-featured business and management suite with all the tools that a small business would need.
• Quicken helps families and individuals track account balances, investments, budgeting, and other expenses. Though it is useful for small businesses, it’s more limited.
• Quicken costs less than QuickBooks.

Pros

• So many features—it can handle just about every conceivable business need

• Accessible from nearly anywhere (desktop or online via any device)

• Compatible with a multitude of additional software tools

Cons

• More expensive

• How to use certain features isn’t always obvious

• Some features require you to pay additional fees

Pros

• Wide array of affordable subscription options

• Great for individuals and families

• Keeps all of your financial information up to date

Cons

• Limited number of features

• No online version—it’s desktop only

• Does not transfer data to other software easily

What Is QuickBooks?

QuickBooks is a full-featured financial management suite complete with tools for accounting, inventory, payroll, tax filing, invoicing, bank account tracking and reconciliation, expense management, budgeting, payment processing, and accounts receivable and accounts payable management.

That feature set is not a complete list of what QuickBooks can do. It can also plug into many additional software tools for added features. Essentially, QuickBooks is the Swiss Army knife of business financial tools—it can do just about anything you might need for your business. But there are some features that many businesses will never need, and the high price tag for QuickBooks Professional may be a reason to look elsewhere.

If you run a small or medium-size business and want to ensure you can track all financial information and create reports summarizing any aspect of your business, QuickBooks will not disappoint. Just be aware that there is a learning curve when starting out, and not all features are intuitive when you get the program up and running for the first time.

QuickBooks offers both a desktop version for a fixed fee and an online version accessible through your web browser, tablet, or smartphone for a monthly or yearly subscription. Some features, such as payroll management and payment processing, incur an additional fee regardless of which version you choose.

What Is Quicken?

What QuickBooks offers for the small business, Quicken offers for individuals and families. Quicken tracks your account balances, transactions, investments, personal budgeting, loans, and more. The Home & Business version includes the ability to track rental properties and small businesses in addition to your personal information.

These features allow you to turn your computer into your financial command center with updated information from each bank, investment, and credit account downloaded right into Quicken. You can also track investments using cost basis to best understand the tax implications of buying and selling, which can help you build your portfolio.

The business tools are much more limited than those in QuickBooks but work just fine for a family with a few rental properties or an individual who owns a side hustle business or sole proprietorship.

Quicken is a desktop product. If you want an online version, look to Mint.com.

QuickBooks vs. Quicken: Features

If you just want to track your personal financial information, Quicken has all of the features you could want. You can track everything related to your family’s finances in one place without much hassle.

If you have a small business, you have a tougher decision to make. If you are an independent freelancer, for example, Quicken’s features may be enough for your business. But if you need something more robust, QuickBooks is the clear winner in terms of business features.

QuickBooks vs. Quicken: Cost

QuickBooks is available for purchase for a fixed fee, while Quicken’s pricing is available for a multitiered variety of monthly and yearly subscription plans. That said, overall, QuickBooks is still generally far more expensive than Quicken.

Important

Make a decision that you can stick with. Converting data from QuickBooks to Quicken is not possible. Converting from Quicken to QuickBooks is complex and difficult.

Final Verdict

The hardest part is finding the right balance between cost and features.

QuickBooks offers more (for businesses), but it costs more. In some cases, QuickBooks may be overkill (and Quicken would suffice), but in others, QuickBooks is exactly what’s needed.

There are many other online accounting options to choose from, as well.

What Are the Alternatives to Quicken?

Personal finance is a popular niche for software-as-a-service (SaaS), so Quicken has seen the rise of many competitors over the past decade or so. A true alternative to Quicken gives you the ability to manage finances in a single place by helping you manage your budget and control expenses. Some of the most popular Quicken alternatives include You Need a Budget (YNAB), Personal Capital, Mint, and Tiller. 

What Are the Alternatives to QuickBooks?

Accounting software and other financial software that focuses on the small business niche have also grown in recent years. True alternatives will provide the ability to manage a firm’s accounting books, send payments, create and send invoices, collect payments, and budget. Some of the most popular alternatives to QuickBooks include Xero, FreshBooks, Sage, Zoho, and Wave. 

How do QuickBooks and Quicken Work?

QuickBooks is a full-featured business and financial management suite complete with tools for accounting, inventory, payroll, tax filing, invoicing, bank account tracking and reconciliation, expense management, budgeting, payment processing, and accounts receivable and accounts payable management, while Quicken tracks personal account balances, transactions, investments, personal budgeting, loans, and any other part of your personal financial life.

The Bottom Line

When choosing an account management software that fits your needs, it’s essential to understand which offers the tools that are best for users who are running a business, and which offers those that are best for individuals. Depending on which category you fall into, there can be significant differences in how the various financial processes of each might serve you. Our in-depth review took these factors into account, as well as others, such as cost. 

QuickBooks is primarily for businesses, while Quicken is for individuals and families. Quicken may also be appropriate for certain businesses that don’t need the full set of features that QuickBooks offers.

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