QuickBooks Desktop Pro vs. QuickBooks Online

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks Desktop Pro is accounting software from Intuit, Inc. It includes core accounting features, plus analytics and exportable reports. It is offered in on-premise and SaaS forms.N/A
QuickBooks Online
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
QuickBooks Online is a SaaS version of the QuickBooks product. It contains all of the features found in the local version. Higher-priced plans include greater automation, payment management, inventory and time tracking, and analytics features.
$38
per month
Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop ProQuickBooks Online
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Simple Start
$38
per month
Essentials
$75
per month
Plus
$115
per month
Advanced
$275
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks Desktop ProQuickBooks Online
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks Desktop ProQuickBooks Online
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Like it or not, QuickBooks Desktop Pro has kind of been the go-to software for ballpark business accounting for a lot of years now. At the end of the day, it's a good product - and it's all we've used for probably 25 years now.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
I selected QB Desktop Pro because of the client size, industry, and accounting staff.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
They are both great programs, QuickBooks Desktop Pro is definitely better for businesses that are solely AP and AR businesses because it's easier to keep track of. McLeod is great for the trucking world and keeping track of loads and payments that way.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
It was easy to learn.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
So many of our clients use it and recommended that we use it. We used to use Sage 50 and were hesitant to move over. The TurboTax integration is a great feature and was a factor in my decision to switch. I think QB and the others are all very capable of meeting our needs. …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks has way more functionality than Xero. The reporting of QuickBooks is leaps and bounds ahead of Xero
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Desktop Pro is top-notch accounting software. It allows for a good bit of customization and drilling down on the reports. I've not had to use their support as our accountant and his IT staff are certified with Intuit. A little over one year ago, I started cloud-based …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Of all of the accounting software I have used over the years, QuickBooks is easy to use, and very user friendly for people who are NOT computer savvy.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Desktop Pro is easy to use. I can learn it by myself by looking at the demo.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
We are hoping another product comes out soon or gets reinvented so as to become a threat to Intuit. Perhaps they will adjust pricing back to normal levels, and not force upgrades when everyone knows they're not really necessary except as a cash cow to the developer.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
We have never used any other type of financial software at our business.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
We tried switching from QuickBooks Desktop Pro to QuickBooks Online, but there were a lot of issues and bugs so we ultimately decided to stay with Desktop Pro. Unfortunately, we are losing a lot of Online Banking capabilities on 5/31 as we have an older version of QB, but we …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Zoho had great end-user support and it was almost as simple to learn and was as easy to use. But its reports were not as [customizable] as QuickBooks Desktop Pro, and its job cost and department accounting [were] more cumbersome than QuickBooks Desktop Pro was. In addition, …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
MIP Fund Accounting has better reporting but is lesser used than QuickBooks. The reporting is not as clear when using QuickBooks for example it does not have a drill-down that is available with MIP Fund Accounting from Sage. We purchased QuickBooks Desktop Pro because we have …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Quickbooks Desktop Pro is much easier and user-friendly to use compared to our previous software, Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It has better tracking tools as well as [accounting] once. It does not glitch and it stores everything in one place. It makes things easier and more …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Desktop Pro is by far the superior accounting software. Integrations are exceptional, with proper training the software is easy to use and handles all the business aspects you will need. Other software has difficulty keeping up with memory demands when your company …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
We have not evaluated anything else in any recent time frame as we're so embedded with QB now that it'd be a logistical nightmare to move our operational financing to another platform. They've got us by the hook line and sinker! We have used apps for receipt scanning and mile …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
The transparency of QuickBooks Desktop Pro is less complex. This really helps with larger projects/companies with one shared accounting office.
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Online is a great cloud-based accounting software that is easy to use and accessible from anywhere. QuickBooks Desktop Pro is a fantastic option for users who are stationary and rely on using the same computers on a weekly basis. For those on the go who may need to …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
MS Dynamics has the Microsoft name behind it and everything that entails. It is a modular software system that has amazing support, and many software experts who can tailor make software solutions for any company. Yet this has a cost, and many companies don't necessarily need …
QuickBooks Online
Chose QuickBooks Online
I think of the two products this has less hassle as it is pretty straight forward and streamlined. Unfortunately, as much as we use the payroll version I cannot give that product the same raving reviews as QuickBooks Online. I really wish Payroll was not as complicated as it …
Chose QuickBooks Online
We use QuickBooks Online since it is user friendly and it has the ability to accommodate small businesses with more complex accounting needs. Price is not that expensive although the users that you can add are limited, if we need to add a user we need to remove the other users.
Chose QuickBooks Online
QBO works much better for our needs and our business. Netsuite had a few too many layers for our business, it was a little harder to use. QBO makes everything simple you don't need to be an accountant to use it. We are happy with the product and will most likely continue to …
Chose QuickBooks Online
None. The only other accounting software I used was a proprietary MSDOS system 20 years ago; this is much better.
Chose QuickBooks Online
We did not look at any other products as QB online is typically considered best in class.
Chose QuickBooks Online
Desktop is way cheaper, but QuickBooks Online stays more upto date and is way better at integrating with other software.
Chose QuickBooks Online
We went with Quickbooks because it was recommended to us by our accountant, as they too use Quickbooks.
Chose QuickBooks Online
Melio was a little easier to use, but could be clunky while syncing to QB, and also got expensive as they added charges for every transaction as well as syncing.
Chose QuickBooks Online
As an accountant, QuickBooks Online uses the language I learned in school and throughout my career. Xero tries to simplify it, while actually making it more difficult to understand.
Chose QuickBooks Online
I truly hated Sage as a bookkeeper. I know that accountants don't have the same experience, but from a day to day perspective, it was not user friendly.
Chose QuickBooks Online
Easier to use and setup. More accountants are familiar with it so that also made the selection easier. Other software was also more expensive and had features that we weren't going to utilize at our current growth stage.
Chose QuickBooks Online
I have to use SAP for billing with some clients, and I think Ariba is much less intuitive, and the interface/GUI is much less modern and appealing. The fact that the client needs to send a PDF "user guide" says a lot to me about how counter-intuitive a lot of the features in …
Chose QuickBooks Online
Sage Timeslips and Avaza
Chose QuickBooks Online
Reporting is more diverse and ability to add multiple dimensions
Chose QuickBooks Online
I think QuickBooks Online is better than Xero. However I think is is lower then NetSuite and Sage Intacct. The system isself is great because it's cloud based so it can be accessed readily. However, in my opinion, it's not built for companies that are growing or expect to grow. …
Chose QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online has better options for sending invoices and receiving electronic payments.
Chose QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is by far the easiest and fastest accounting management platform that I have used, especially compared to any industry specific tools like Sage, Foundation, Northstar, etc. I like how user friendly it is, the visual is great, and it can fit for a wise array of …
Chose QuickBooks Online
They are expensive and always have freezing issues and duplicating entries and no one available to address issues. To change the way you use the sites it takes time to update and its too jumpy and makes annoying issues. These effect the whole company and can take a lot of time …
Chose QuickBooks Online
User friendly for smaller communities.
The cost seems to be reasonable for smaller communities.
Support is helpful, and trainings provided online are helpful.
Chose QuickBooks Online
Unfortunately, in my opinion, QuickBooks Online is not anywhere cloase to coupa or Blackline in terms of functionality. Both platforms are head and shoulders above where i understand QuickBooks Online to be currently. Specifically in relation to task automation and more …
Chose QuickBooks Online
As I've mentioned, there aren't a lot of similar products, and certainly not with all the capability of QuickBooks Online. In my opinion, they nickel and dime for everything but they also do work pretty well across the board. I think the reconciliation process is also by far …
Features
QuickBooks Desktop ProQuickBooks Online
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
9.3
Ratings
19% above category average
QuickBooks Online
8.4
Ratings
8% above category average
Pay calculation9.90 Ratings7.70 Ratings
Benefit plan administration9.80 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.90 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.90 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.30 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.9
Ratings
3% above category average
QuickBooks Online
8.3
Ratings
8% above category average
API for custom integration8.00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Plug-ins7.80 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
10.0
Ratings
18% above category average
QuickBooks Online
9.7
Ratings
15% above category average
Single sign-on capability10.00 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Role-based user permissions10.00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
10.0
Ratings
24% above category average
QuickBooks Online
8.1
Ratings
3% above category average
Dashboards10.00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Standard reports10.00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Custom reports10.00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
9.5
Ratings
20% above category average
QuickBooks Online
8.6
Ratings
10% above category average
Accounts payable10.00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Accounts receivable10.00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Cash management10.00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Bank reconciliation10.00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Expense management10.00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Time tracking8.70 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Fixed asset management10.00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Multi-currency support10.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Multi-division support10.00 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Regulations compliance7.20 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Electronic tax filing10.00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Self-service portal9.70 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Global Financial Support7.00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.80 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting10.00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Localizations8.50 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations10.00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting10.00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Configurable Accounting10.00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework10.00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Standardized Processes10.00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
6.7
Ratings
9% below category average
QuickBooks Online
7.5
Ratings
2% above category average
Inventory tracking6.40 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Automatic reordering6.10 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Location management6.20 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Manufacturing module8.20 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.3
Ratings
7% above category average
QuickBooks Online
8.4
Ratings
8% above category average
Pricing10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Order entry10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Credit card processing7.10 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Cost of goods sold10.00 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Order Orchestration9.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility9.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Order exception Resolution3.20 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop ProQuickBooks Online
Small Businesses
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 8.9 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.0 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Score 10.0 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop ProQuickBooks Online
Likelihood to Recommend
9.9
(0 ratings)
8.8
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
1.9
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
8.8
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.3
(0 ratings)
2.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
1.2
(0 ratings)
1.1
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
3.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
1.3
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(0 ratings)
1.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Desktop ProQuickBooks Online
Likelihood to Recommend
I am only going to recommend it because it is currently ubiquitous, and most accountants prefer it at the moment. I do not stand by the company, and will not use the product any longer than I have to. [I believe] the support is lousy, the product is overpriced, but it does the basics of what we need. I'm very happy for all those outside Intuit who make their living supporting QuickBooks Desktop Pro; third-party support is desperately needed. They also doubled their prices for software upgrades this year, and require those who don't pay double what the last upgrade cost, to subscribe every year for $200. If one does not subscribe beyond the first year, one will not be able to use the software beyond the first year. They are moving to a rental model even for those who refuse to use the LOUSY QuickBooks online. They were good company once. Now they just turn out bloatware that everyone uses, so the rest of us have to. I look forward to the day that an honest, better-priced competitor wipes the floor with Intuit.
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I appreciate the ability to auto-generate invoices for recurring transactions, which saves time, as well as the option to set up auto-generated transactions. The report option is super helpful when reviewing information, as you can click to view the details in the report without having to go back and forth.
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Pros
  • It is easy to manage and adjust inventory on hand.
  • It is easy to make reports and customize them to your needs.
  • We also use it to pay our employees directly.
  • It is easy to make year-to-year comparisons to see where we can make improvements and the current financial situation.
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  • It enables me to do a P&L for each specific program as requested by the county for the grant money that they give us.
  • It enables me to do [an] organizational budget as well as a budget for each specific program
  • It enables the accountant and the auditor access at any time for transparency
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Cons
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro has been around for a few years and after an update[,] they force you to look at the changes/updates before you can use [them] after updating.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro does not have 2FA.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro should offer a way to store backups to a personal cloud without having to map a local network drive.
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  • Purchase Orders cannot be linked to multiple bill payments which makes tracking purchase orders in QuickBooks Online obsolete. Without the function we have to track this within a different more manual spreadsheet.
  • Would be helpful if you could "split" bank transactions directly from the "review" downloads from the bank. Currently, to split transactions to multiple accounts we need to first categorize, then review after assigning to 1 account.
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Likelihood to Renew
We use it with all our clients and have several QuickBooks Pro Advisors and will renew and continue to use it with our client base. It is easy to use, helps with collecting annual data and makes compiling of information for filing annual tax returns much easier. It makes our job a lot easier, than using manual records.
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QBO needs better integration with non-Intuit products and developers need to use Intuit's open API to develop better add-ons. Clients are having a great deal of problems with their data importing from the bank and this takes time away from better revenue producing activities. Although the efficiencies are there, they are outweighted by the shortcomings of the product. When we ran a parallel of QBO versus other cloud accounting products, we had more issues with the QBO product than any other
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Usability
QuickBooks Desktop Pro can be daunting at first. It has the ability to do nearly everything you will ever need in accounting but that means there are a lot of features to learn. It's always best to have an experienced user to guide you with the initial setup as it can be a bit overwhelming.
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I had very little trouble setting up the program and migrating from our old accounting system. The daily usage is also very intuitive and easy. Anytime we run into minor trouble with the program, there are always tons of help available on YouTube, so we don't even look up the online manual anymore.
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Reliability and Availability
I haven't experienced a time when QuickBooks Pro was unavailable when I needed it in the entire 20 years of using the software
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We have rarely had outages in the last 10 years. I can only recall 2 times in the last 10 years where we were not able to access our client files.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
Everything process has its bugs lately with the new interface. Nothing has worked smoothly since this all began last month.
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Support Rating
I was a BIG fan of QuickBooks support for a very long time up until recently. The representatives were well trained and wanted to solve your problem for you, as a human, not as just a customer. In my recent experiences I feel as though that is no longer so. My last conversation was appalling. The representative only read the narrative provided over and over and would not send me on to a supervisor. Finally I hung up and called back. On this try, I was passed from department to department. I was not presented with a solution until I posted a rant on their Facebook page. It amazes me that I had to publicly complain to get results.
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In my experience, most representatives keep me on the phone for hours, literally, for a single issue and then usually cannot resolve it satisfactorily. I have 10 open cases that need resolution and, in my experience, there has been NO follow-up communication on any of them.
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In-Person Training
Best thing I ever did was to attend a two day training seminar on QuickBooks, I learned an immense amount in a short time with hands on training by experts. I strongly recommend such training for anyone using any part of the software. It will pay for itself in the first month.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
We implemented the software ourselves. The training we received on the software was done by taking a community course teaching us how to use QuickBooks. It allowed me to get started with some basics of how to use the program and have not needed much assistance since completing the course work.
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The person in charge of QB needs to be very accurate with record keeping and is recommended to stay on top of tasks. The biggest issue we have is reconciliation, and those issues occur only when too much time has occurred between reconciliations
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Alternatives Considered
Quickbooks Desktop Pro is much simple and easier to use, so it fits better to the ticket of our small non-profit organization needs. The other options are either, or both, more pricy and complicated. For example, the implementation for QuickBooks Desktop Pro was simple enough for me to do so in-house with training courses available and phone calls to a customer service representative or implementation expert accessible.
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QuickBooks Online is an accounting software package that allows companies to use a cost-effective and efficient software package. QuickBooks Online allows companies to prepare their balance sheets and income statements. It connects with a variety of other applications, which allows you to be efficient. We are very pleased with QuickBooks Online, and we would highly recommend it.
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
As we have grown along our professional path, we have also expanded our use of QB. The scalability is easy and features seem to be waiting for you until you need them. We have increased profits by over 10x from our first year in business to the current and have yet to find a reason to look elsewhere
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Return on Investment
  • Clean and accurate bookkeeping records [have] made reporting and sharing information with tax accountants a breeze.
  • Invoicing out of QB is a bit slow and time-consuming[,] unfortunately, so we were forced to choose another software to integrate.
  • A great way to have all accounting needs in one place - AP, AR, Reporting, etc.
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  • I think the help function is cumbersome and hard to use. When I go to refresh myself on a function, say quarterly, I feel like I have to cast about just looking for it.
  • The account reconciliation works, but in this place that could benefit from messaging, there are no easy helping functions flagging things like amounts that fit the discrepancy.
  • Even styling invoices and documents is more cumbersome than it should be.
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ScreenShots

QuickBooks Online Screenshots

Screenshot of the accounting and bank transactions interfaceScreenshot of an overview of the accounting inventoryScreenshot of book marksScreenshot of the business tax overviewScreenshot of the customer hubScreenshot of the dashboard