Small businesses in America and worldwide have to choose from a wide variety of accounting software solutions, and this range of choices can be overwhelming.
Research shows that 64% of small businesses use accounting software and the market for accounting software solutions is projected to be worth $4.3billion by 2023. It’s safe to say if you are not using an accounting software solution for your business right now, you will be getting one soon.
There are many good products in the market that provide you with all of the features you need, but we will only focus on Quicken software and Intuit’s QuickBooks Online. We will compare both software solutions by outlining their key features so that you can decide which is best for your small business.
Comparison of both platforms will use the following criteria:
- Features
- Ease of use
- Integrations
- Mobile app
- Customer support
- Pricing
- User reviews
- Scalability
- Security
What is The Major Difference Between Quicken and QuickBooks?
The main difference between Quicken and QuickBooks is that Quicken is primarily a personal finance management software while QuickBooks is a full-featured small business accounting software.
The two platforms are aimed at different audiences. Quicken includes features that let users view the complete picture of their personal finances on a single dashboard. Users can view banking information, track monthly bills, track investments, manage credit card accounts, and much more.
Quicken Inc. has five different product packages for its software, but only Quicken Home & Business (also known as Quicken Classic Business & Personal) includes business accounting features. You should note that the only version of Quicken we will discuss is Quicken Home & Business in this article. (We will not be addressing Quicken Simplifi, Quicken Classic Starter, Quicken Classic Deluxe, Quicken Classic Premier, or Rocket Mortgage.)
On the other hand, QuickBooks is a double-entry accounting software that lacks the personal finance features of Quicken but comes with much more robust bookkeeping, accounting, and financial management features. This article will focus on QuickBooks Online, which is by far the most popular version of QuickBooks among small businesses. (If you’re very taken with the QuickBooks UI, its parent company, Intuit, does offer a number of personal finance software solutions like TurboTax.)
Let’s break down both accounting solutions to see how they compare.
Quicken vs QuickBooks: Features
Both platforms offer a core range of features that optimize each software to best serve their target customers. Quicken’s features are optimized for personal finance management, but there are also small business management features that will cater to the needs of most freelance and home-based businesses.
The Quicken platform also comes with a host of useful features for managing rental property.
QuickBooks is clearly the more small business-oriented platform with features for tracking business income, expenses, and for generating financial statements.
Quicken Features
Personal Finance Features
- Monitor and manage your personal finances on a single dashboard
- View your bank balances in real-time and track all your transactions
- Personal budgeting
- Identify common expenses and spending trends
- Track the performance of your investments
- Stay safe with the knowledge that your financial information is secure and encrypted with robust 256-bit encryption
- Guaranteed full access and ownership of your data
- Manage everything on the go with the Quicken mobile app
Features for Home, Freelance, and Consultancy Businesses
- Separate your personal finances from your business data
- Invoicing features that let you generate your own invoices with your custom logo and payment links
- Set up reminders for unpaid invoices
- Track business income and expenses
- Generate cash flow reports
- Generate profit/loss projections
- Monitor business health with profit and loss reports
- Simplify your taxes with custom tax reports
Managing Rental Property
- Manage rent payment with email reminders and receipts
- Track rental income
- Track lease terms, rental rates, and tenant deposits
- Send rent reminders that include PayPal links to ensure you get paid faster
- Generate reports on your property portfolio
QuickBooks Features
The following are some of QuickBooks’ most notable features:
- Send estimates
- Invoice and accept payments
- Batch invoices and expenses
- Capture and organize receipts
- Track sales and sales tax
- Manage cash flow
- Manage accounts payable and accounts receivable
- Inventory management
- Track income and expenses
- Manage and pay bills
- Track profitability
- Maximize tax deductions
- Run reports
- Business analytics and insights
- Manage 1099 contractors
- Mileage tracking
- Time tracking
- Automate workflows
- Customize access role
- Include up to 5 users (25 users in the Advanced version)
Takeaway
Quicken’s features let you manage your personal finances, run a small freelance business, and manage your property portfolio, while QuickBooks’ features give you all the tools you need to manage the financial aspect of your small business.
Quicken vs QuickBooks: Ease of Use
Both platforms offer excellent user experiences with dashboards that are composed of beautifully designed graphs, charts, widgets, and sidebars.
Quicken is more of a desktop platform, and you can’t get the full set of features on the mobile app. This means you need your laptop or desktop to fully utilize Quicken.
QuickBooks is different; it is a cloud-based solution and you can access all the features on the web across all your devices.
Quicken Ease of Use
Quicken is less intuitive than QuickBooks because it combines personal finance management, business accounting, and rental property management.
You may face a learning curve when setting up the platform and customizing it for your needs. However, the platform is very easy to use once you get acquainted with it.
QuickBooks Ease of Use
QuickBooks is more user-friendly than Quicken. It is easy to set up because it is a web-based platform, and it is easier to perform tasks and generate reports because tasks are grouped into workflows. The sidebar also includes links to all the workflows on the platform, which lets you navigate the platform easily.
However, the more advanced features do have a learning curve.
Takeaway
QuickBooks is easier to use because the onboarding process is smoother, and it’s organized around workflows which makes navigation easier. Quicken is not confusing to use, but there is a learning curve for new users.
Quicken vs QuickBooks: Integrations
QuickBooks supports an extensive list of integrations, while Quicken only offers a handful of integrations that simply let users receive and make online payments.
Quicken Integrations
Quicken supports the following integrations:
- MuniBilling (billing and property management)
- NeatBooks (scan receipts)
- Itemize (receipt data extraction)
- PayPal (online credit card payments)
- Dropbox (storage of documents like property contracts and rental agreements)
- Zillow Zestimate (property management)
- QuickBooks (accounting)
QuickBooks Integrations
- QuickBooks Online supports more than 400 integrations, and some of the popular apps available to QuickBooks users are:
- Bill.com
- LivePlan Business plan tool
- Veem
- PayPal
- Square
- Plooto
- Synder
- Shopify
- MailChimp
- Gusto
- Stax
As a small business owner, it is likely that you are already familiar with Stax. It is a subscription-based integrated payment platform that helps you process credit card payments.
Stax offers the lowest cost of accepting credit cards among all merchant account providers. It offers the true cost of interchange without any additional charges. The platform also integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks Online.
Takeaway
QuickBooks beats Quicken hands down in terms of the range of integrations the platform supports. If support for third-party software solutions is something you want from your accounting software, QuickBooks is the best option for you.
Quicken vs QuickBooks: Mobile App
Both Quicken and QuickBooks support mobile apps that are available on the iOS and Android app stores. However, since Quicken functions best on a desktop platform, the features available on its mobile app are quite limited.
Quicken Mobile App
Although it is limited compared to the desktop version, Quicken’s mobile app still lets you perform some useful tasks including:
- Viewing bank transactions
- Viewing account balances
- Tracking invoice payments
- Sending receipts
- Viewing your budget
However, you can’t perform time-sensitive tasks like creating invoices or generating reports on the mobile app.
QuickBooks Mobile App
QuickBooks is a web-based platform which means your data is synced across all your devices on the cloud. The mobile app lets you complete most but not all of the tasks you can do with your laptop including:
- Creating customer invoices
- Taking pictures of receipts and attaching them to invoices
- Generating vendor bills
- Adding new customers and vendors
- Tracking time and mileage
Takeaway
QuickBooks’ mobile app is much more robust and useful than Quicken’s mobile app. You can complete most tasks directly on your phone, which is impossible with Quicken’s mobile app.
Quicken vs QuickBooks: Customer Support
Both companies offer solid customer support options with an emphasis on live support and online resources. There is also a large community of users on online forums for both platforms to help you out anytime you are stuck.
Quicken Customer Support
Online Help Portal
Quicken’s online help portal answers popular FAQs including questions about installation, product updates, online banking, planning tools, integrations, and more. There is also a link to the online forum where you can reach out to other users.
Live Support
Quicken’s live support team is available from Monday to Friday between 5am to 5pm. You don’t need your login details to get in touch with the phone support team.
Live Chat
Quicken’s live chat will give you access to an expert every day between 5am to 5pm.
QuickBooks Customer Support
Online Help Portal
Business owners can access the QuickBooks online help portal to get articles and video tutorials that answer just about any question you may have. There are also free training courses and a QuickBooks blog.
Phone Support
Phone support is available Monday through Friday between 6am to 6pm.
Takeaway
Both companies offer excellent customer care services that will meet the needs of most business owners. You can take advantage of online chat, phone support, and online FAQ pages from both companies.
Quicken vs QuickBooks: Pricing
If Quicken has one major advantage over QuickBooks, it is that its pricing is less expensive than QuickBooks’ subscription plans. One thing to note is that Quicken only offers year subscription plans, while QuickBooks offers monthly plans.
Quicken Pricing
Quicken offers a 30-day free trial and you can change your subscription plan at any time. It offers four different packages, but the most advanced package, Quicken Home and Business, is not available on Mac.
It offers four pricing plans including:
- Starter: $35.99/yr
- Deluxe: $46.79/yr
- Premier: $70.19/yr
- Home & Business: $93.59/yr (only available on Windows)
The Quicken Home and Business package is the most relevant for small business owners and rental property owners since it is the only plan that offers features tailored to businesses.
QuickBooks Online Pricing
New users get 50% off for the first three months of the monthly subscription, and there are only three plans for QuickBooks Online. You should note that the range of features available in each plan is different and only the Advanced plan has the full set of features. However, the Plus plan is very popular among subscribers and it offers all the features most small businesses will need.
The QuickBooks Online pricing plans are:
- Simple Start: $25/mo (50% off for three months)
- Plus: $40/mo (50% off for three months)
- Advanced: $90/mo (50% off for three months)
Takeaway
Quicken is much cheaper than QuickBooks; however, it offers fewer features, fewer integrations, and less functionality overall when compared to QuickBooks. Quicken works for self-employed freelancers, rental property owners, and people who want to manage their personal finances as well as their business on a single dashboard.
If you need a full-featured accounting software solution that syncs seamlessly across all your devices, then QuickBooks is well worth the extra cost.
QuickBooks vs Quicken: Customer Ratings
Both platforms have excellent customer reviews. Freelancers, property owners, and people who use Quicken to manage their personal finances are happy with the platform.
Business owners that need a robust accounting software to track multiple transactions on a day-to-day basis and to generate detailed reports are happy with QuickBooks.
Quicken Customer Reviews
We analyzed both positive and negative reviews from Quicken users. Positive reviews praise its price point, ease of use, and range of personal finance management features.
Negative reviews complain about limited third-party integrations and that the platform can occasionally be glitchy.
QuickBooks User Reviews
Positive reviews praise the company’s excellent mobile app, the breadth of features that are standard on the software, and how seamlessly the platform integrates with third-party apps.
Negative reviews complain about less-than-stellar customer support and the fact that the advanced features can present a learning curve to new users.
Takeaway
Reviews for both platforms are quite positive, and how you interpret the feedback from users depends on the specific needs of your business.
Quicken vs QuickBooks: Scalability and Business Growth
Both Quicken and QuickBooks cater to different types of business needs, and it’s important to consider which platform aligns with your business growth plans.
Quicken Scalability
Quicken is best suited for individuals, freelancers, or very small businesses that don’t anticipate significant growth or complex accounting needs. If your business primarily revolves around personal finances, property management, or small-scale freelancing, Quicken might meet your requirements. However, as your business grows and you start needing more advanced features like inventory management, sales tracking, or multi-user access, Quicken may become limited.
QuickBooks Scalability
QuickBooks offers a more scalable solution designed to grow with your business. As your small business expands, QuickBooks allows you to upgrade plans, add more users, and access advanced accounting features like inventory management, accounts payable and receivable, and business analytics. It also integrates with numerous third-party applications, making it a flexible solution that can adapt as your needs change.
Takeaway
If you expect your business to grow and need software that can scale up accordingly, QuickBooks is the better choice. It’s built for evolving small businesses and offers more flexibility, advanced features, and integrations that can support growth and manage increasing complexity. Quicken is ideal for smaller-scale operations but may require a switch to a more robust solution like QuickBooks as your business expands.
Quicken vs QuickBooks: Security and Data Privacy
When it comes to accounting software, the security and privacy of your financial information are paramount. Both Quicken and QuickBooks offer a range of security measures, but there are key differences in how they manage and protect your data.
Quicken Security Features
Quicken uses 256-bit encryption to secure your data, ensuring your financial information is protected while using the software. However, Quicken is primarily a desktop-based application, which means your data is stored locally on your device. While this can be advantageous for those who prefer to keep their information off the cloud, it also means you are responsible for regularly backing up your data and protecting it from potential hardware failures or local security breaches.
QuickBooks Security Features
QuickBooks, being a cloud-based solution, offers several layers of security to protect your financial data. It uses advanced encryption protocols to ensure that all information transmitted between devices and the cloud is secure. QuickBooks also offers multi-factor authentication (MFA) for added protection. Since your data is stored on secure servers managed by Intuit, it is continuously backed up, reducing the risk of data loss due to hardware failures. Furthermore, as a cloud-based solution, QuickBooks stays up-to-date with the latest security patches, ensuring your data remains protected against emerging threats.
Takeaway
If your business prioritizes the highest level of security and automatic data backup, QuickBooks provides a more robust solution with cloud storage and advanced encryption. Quicken’s local storage model may appeal to those who prefer to keep data off the cloud, but it requires extra caution and responsibility for backups and updates.
Which Accounting Software Platform is Better?
The best software solution among the two is clearly QuickBooks. It provides all the features available on Quicken minus personal finance management and rental property management features.
It is also robust enough to scale with your business. You can start with the Simple Start plan and as your business grows, you can upgrade to another package. QuickBooks is simply a much better, flexible, and accessible accounting solution for small businesses than Quicken.
When to Use Quicken
If you need a tool that is predominantly a personal finance management software that also lets you manage a small freelance business and your property portfolio, go for Quicken.
When to Use QuickBooks
QuickBooks can do pretty much any accounting-related task, except that it is not optimized as a personal finance tool like Quicken. Use it if you need robust software that lets you track your business’ finances and leverage third-party business tools like Stax.
If you’re a QuickBooks user looking for a robust integration with your payment processor, get in touch with Stax. Our seamless integration with QuickBooks makes it easy to reconcile your accounts, view payment reports, and more.
FAQs about Quicken vs QuickBooks
Q: What are the primary differences between Quicken and QuickBooks?
The primary difference between Quicken and QuickBooks is that Quicken is primarily a personal finance management software, while QuickBooks is a full-featured small business accounting software.
Q: How is QuickBooks better than Quicken for small businesses?
QuickBooks offers more comprehensive accounting, bookkeeping, and financial management features tailored to the needs of small businesses. It provides complete income and expense tracking, inventory management, tax deductions, and much more that Quicken doesn’t offer.
Q: What are the key features of Quicken and QuickBooks?
Quicken provides personal finance features along with some business and rental property management features. QuickBooks, on the other hand, offers features like sales tracking, cash flow management, account payable and receivable management, and more.
Q: How do QuickBooks and Quicken integrate with other systems?
QuickBooks supports over 400 integrations, offering flexibility for businesses to link with other necessary tools. On the contrary, Quicken offers only a handful of integrations, primarily for payment processing and data extraction.
Q: Which mobile app is better – QuickBooks or Quicken?
QuickBooks offers a more comprehensive mobile solution as it is a cloud-based system. Users can perform most accounting tasks directly from the QuickBooks app. Quicken’s mobile app is quite limited compared to its desktop platform.
Q: How does the pricing for Quicken compare to that of QuickBooks?
Quicken’s pricing plans are less expensive compared to QuickBooks. Quicken only offers annual subscription plans, while QuickBooks provides monthly subscription models. However, QuickBooks gives more extensive functionality packed into its cost.
Q: How are QuickBooks and Quicken rated by users?
Both platforms are generally well-reviewed. QuickBooks receives praise for its multitude of features and seamless third-party app integrations, while Quicken is appreciated for its affordability, ease of use, and personal finance features.
Q: When should a user select Quicken over QuickBooks?
Quicken should be used primarily by entities needing personal finance management software or small freelancer businesses managing a property portfolio.
Q: When is QuickBooks recommended over Quicken?
QuickBooks is the go-to solution for full-scale small businesses needing detailed accounting tasks, including those desiring seamless third-party integrations like Stax.
Q: What are the potential challenges when using QuickBooks and Quicken?
Some users have reported limited customer support and a steep learning curve for advanced features in QuickBooks. On the other hand, Quicken users have reported dissatisfaction with limited third-party integrations and occasional software glitches.
