Keeper vs QuickBooks Solopreneur (October 2026): Plans, Prices and Which Fits

Disclosure: the Keeper links on this page are affiliate links. If you start a Keeper free trial through one, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. QuickBooks links here are plain links; we have no relationship with Intuit and earn nothing from them. The commission did not decide what is written below. See our affiliate disclosure. Editorial placement is decided on merit and is not for sale.

By Lennit Herrera, founder and editor  ·  Last updated October 7, 2026

The verdict: these two do different jobs, and the cheaper one depends on whether you need to file. Keeper is a tax product with bookkeeping attached: $199 a year (Standard) covers expense and deduction tracking plus a federal return and up to two state returns that a tax professional reviews and signs. QuickBooks Solopreneur is a bookkeeping product with tax help sold on top: a capped free plan, then Lite at $20 a month ($240 a year at list price), with tax filing bought separately when you file. If you want one price that ends with a filed return, Keeper is the simpler purchase. If you need invoices, mileage logging or a free starting point, QuickBooks is the one that actually has them today.

Every price, plan feature, trial term and cancellation term below was read on October 7, 2026 from Keeper’s own pricing page, homepage and Terms of Use (last modified July 29, 2026), and from Intuit’s own QuickBooks Solopreneur and QuickBooks pricing pages. Tax rules were read from IRS.gov the same day. Software pricing moves, and QuickBooks runs promotions; check the vendor’s page before you buy.

This article is information and education, not financial or tax advice. Keeper and QuickBooks are software products, not banks, brokers or advisers. Whether an expense is deductible for you is a question for a qualified tax professional or the IRS’s own guidance.

On this page

• The two at a glance
• Keeper: what the plans include
• QuickBooks Solopreneur: what the plans include
• What each costs over a year, filing included
• Feature by feature: where each one is ahead
• Tax filing, quarterly payments and mileage
• Watch out for, on each side
• Who should pick which
• What neither product does
• How we compared them
• FAQ
• Bottom line

The two at a glance

“QuickBooks Solopreneur” is the plan family Intuit built for a one-person business. It sits beside QuickBooks Online (Simple Start and up), which is the product most people picture when they hear “QuickBooks.” Keeper started life as an expense tracker for freelancers and now files returns too; our full Keeper review covers its history and fine print.

Keeper: what the plans include

Keeper’s pricing page on October 7, 2026 shows four options. Three are yearly and bundle tax filing with bookkeeping; one is monthly and does not file anything.

Two things changed since our September review was written, and both are worth knowing if you have read older coverage. Keeper’s pricing page and homepage now say you can link unlimited accounts, where September’s pages said up to 10. And the monthly Bookkeeping Only plan at $20 a month is on the page again. Keeper’s own FAQ makes the arithmetic point for us: Standard at $199 for the year is cheaper than $240 for twelve months of Bookkeeping Only, so the monthly plan only makes sense if you will not file through Keeper.

Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. Keeper’s FAQ says that if you cancel before the trial ends you will not be charged. Its Terms of Use are more specific: you must cancel by 11:59 pm Pacific Time on the day before the trial expires, or the card on file is billed on the first day of the first subscription term.

Start Keeper’s 14-day trial → (Standard is $199 a year after the trial)

QuickBooks Solopreneur: what the plans include

Intuit’s Solopreneur page on October 7, 2026 shows three cards, which together blur the line between Solopreneur and QuickBooks Online.

The page shows Lite at $10 and Simple Start at $19 under a “50% off for 3 months” banner, with the $20 and $38 struck through. Read that as a three-month promotion, not the price. The same page carries a “Save with annual” toggle, but the annual figures did not render in the copy we read, so we do not quote them. QuickBooks’ separate pricing page lists the rest of the QuickBooks Online line: Essentials $85, Plus $140 and Advanced $340 a month at list, which are the tiers a one-person business rarely needs. The pricing page also states “No annual contract” and “Cancel anytime.”

See QuickBooks Solopreneur plans →

What each costs over a year, filing included

This section is arithmetic on the list prices above, not a test, and it ignores promotions and taxes. The unknown is what QuickBooks’ assisted filing costs you, because Intuit’s pages do not show a single figure for a self-employed return with expenses.

On those numbers Keeper Standard is $41 cheaper than Lite before Lite’s filing fee is added, and any filing fee widens the gap. Keeper’s own comparison page, updated August 28, 2026, says Intuit’s assisted filing “starts at $169,” with separate fees for state returns. We could not find that figure on an Intuit page, so treat it as Keeper’s claim. TurboTax’s own live-help page, read the same day as the rest, shows “Expert Assist” starting at $59 with state returns extra, and a done-for-you “Full Service” price of $199 (standard) or $499 (complex) covering federal and state, but it asks you to select your situation before showing a price, and the page’s refund footnote still cites the 2024 filing season, so confirm the current figure before you rely on it.

The first-year picture flips if you do not need to file with the vendor. A freelancer with a simple return who files with a free service and only wants a free place to keep books pays $0 with QuickBooks Free and $240 for the same twelve months with Keeper’s Bookkeeping Only. The $199 bundle is a good price only if you value the signed return.

Feature by feature: where each one is ahead

The pattern is consistent. QuickBooks is ahead on running the business: invoices, payments, mileage, reports, contractors. Keeper is ahead on what happens at the end of the year: the return, the reviewer’s signature, and the quarterly-payment support on Premium. Neither covers the other’s half, which is why some freelancers end up paying for both.

Tax filing, quarterly payments and mileage

Filing. Keeper files federal plus up to two state returns inside the $199 price, and says a tax professional reviews and signs the return. Keeper’s Terms of Use say returns are prepared by independent third-party preparers it connects you to, and put “final responsibility for ensuring the completeness and accuracy” of the return on you. QuickBooks does not file a return; its Lite plan gives you access to Expert Assisted Tax from TurboTax, paid for when you file, and the plan card says 20% off the base price of federal filing. Intuit’s footnote says costs vary by entity type, and that C-corporations, nonprofits and trusts are not eligible.

Quarterly estimated tax. The IRS says individuals, including sole proprietors, generally must make estimated payments if they expect to owe $1,000 or more when the return is filed, using Form 1040-ES or the IRS’s online options (IRS estimated taxes page, last reviewed September 25, 2026). Keeper lists “Pay quarterly taxes” on Premium only. We found no quarterly-payment feature on QuickBooks’ Solopreneur cards, though Intuit’s pricing page lists “Estimates quarterly payments” as an AI feature on the Essentials tier of QuickBooks Online. If you are in that $1,000-owed category and want software to compute the payments, that points to Premium at $399 or a separate calculator, not to the $199 or $20 tiers.

Mileage. This is the biggest practical gap. The IRS business standard mileage rate for 2026 is 72.5 cents a mile from January 1 to June 30 and 76 cents a mile from July 1 to December 31 (IRS standard mileage rates, last updated July 28, 2026). A two-rate year makes a dated trip log matter, and today only QuickBooks has one; Keeper’s pricing page and navigation both label mileage tracking “Coming soon.” Rideshare and delivery drivers, who have the most to lose from a missing log, should weigh that heavily. Our roundup of tax deduction tracking apps compares dedicated mileage apps too.

Watch out for, on each side

Keeper

• The trial rolls into an annual charge. The terms say billing starts automatically after the 14 days, and the plan then renews yearly. Cancel in the app by 11:59 pm Pacific the day before the trial ends, and keep the confirmation.
• Refunds are discretionary. The terms say Keeper “may grant” a refund if you cancel within one month of the start of your first subscription term, and that subscription fees are otherwise non-refundable.
• Its own pages disagree about audit protection. On October 7, 2026 the homepage’s Standard card listed “Audit protection,” while the pricing page’s plan comparison lists it under Premium only. Keeper’s Terms of Use say it “does not provide assistance, representation, or protection in the event of an audit,” though it may, at its discretion, answer questions about IRS inquiries on returns filed through the service for up to seven years. If audit support matters, get the answer in writing before you pay, because the three sources do not match.
• Mileage, income tracking and LLC formation are “Coming soon.” You are buying what exists today.
• Keeper’s comparison page is stale in places. It still says you can link up to 10 accounts (the pricing page now says unlimited) and prints QuickBooks Online tier prices that differ from Intuit’s own, so use the vendors’ pages, not either side’s comparison.

QuickBooks Solopreneur

• The free plan’s caps are tight. Two invoices, two receipts and five mileage trips a month, one contractor and one bank connection.
• Filing is a second purchase. Lite’s $20 a month does not include the return. Add the filing fee, and state returns are extra.
• Promotional prices are temporary. The $10 and $19 prices are three-month offers shown against the $20 and $38 list prices. Budget from the list price.
• Accountant access starts at $38 a month. Neither Free nor Lite lets you invite your own bookkeeper or CPA, per the plan cards.
• Solopreneur and QuickBooks Online overlap. The Solopreneur page’s third card is Simple Start, a QuickBooks Online plan, and its feature list mentions attaching payroll and other QuickBooks services. A freelancer with no staff can pay for features they never open.

Who should pick which

Pick Keeper if your business and personal spending share accounts, you file a Schedule C, you want the return filed and signed off in one purchase, and you do not need invoices or a mileage log from the same app. The $199 price is the main argument, and it holds up best for a 1099 earner who would otherwise pay for tracking, filing and a reviewer separately. Read the trial terms first. Try Keeper free for 14 days →

Pick QuickBooks Solopreneur if you send invoices, want customers to pay online, drive for work and need a trip log, or want a free place to start. Begin on the free plan and move to Lite when a cap stops you. Budget for the filing fee, or file elsewhere. Start on QuickBooks Free →

Use both if you invoice clients and drive, but also want a signed return at a fixed price. QuickBooks Free costs nothing to run alongside Keeper, though keeping two systems in sync is a chore, and you would be paying Keeper for bookkeeping features you do not use.

Skip both if you have one W-2 and a little side income. A free filing option is probably enough, and nothing here beats $0. Our guide to budgeting apps covers tracking without a subscription.

What neither product does

• Neither replaces judgment about what is deductible. Both suggest; you sign. The IRS’s Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center and Publication 334 are the primary sources on Schedule C.
• Neither tells you how much tax to set aside. That is a savings problem. Money earmarked for quarterly payments can sit in a high-yield savings account until the due date, and our emergency fund guide covers keeping it separate from your cushion.
• Neither is a bank or adviser. Both are software products; neither is a place to keep your money.
• Neither guarantees a refund, a saving or an audit outcome. Keeper’s terms say it assumes no liability for additional tax, interest or penalties, and the return stays your responsibility.

How we compared them

We compared 2 products (4 Keeper plan options and 3 QuickBooks Solopreneur plans, plus QuickBooks Online’s published list prices) against 6 primary pages read on October 7, 2026: Keeper’s pricing page, homepage and Terms of Use; Intuit’s Solopreneur and pricing pages; and TurboTax’s live-help page. We also read two IRS pages and one comparison page written by Keeper, which we used only to identify claims to check. We do not test accounting or tax software ourselves and have not filed a return with either product; nothing here is a claim about how accurate their deduction suggestions are. Where a number is our own arithmetic, the text says so. Corrections are welcome through our contact page.

FAQ

Is Keeper cheaper than QuickBooks Solopreneur?

For the full cycle of tracking plus a filed return, usually yes: Keeper Standard is $199 a year, while QuickBooks Lite is $240 a year at list price before the filing fee. If you only want free bookkeeping, QuickBooks Free costs $0 and Keeper has no free plan.

Does QuickBooks Solopreneur file my taxes?

Not within the monthly price. Lite gives you access to Expert Assisted Tax powered by TurboTax, paid for when you file, with 20% off the base federal price per the plan card. Confirm the filing price at Intuit before you commit.

Does Keeper track mileage?

Not yet. Keeper’s pricing page and navigation both label mileage tracking “Coming soon” as of October 7, 2026. QuickBooks tracks mileage by phone GPS, with 5 trips a month on the free plan.

Can I use Keeper just for bookkeeping?

Yes, on the $20-a-month Bookkeeping Only plan, which does not include tax filing. Keeper’s own FAQ points out that Standard at $199 a year costs less than twelve months at $20.

Which handles quarterly estimated taxes?

Keeper lists quarterly tax payments on Premium ($399 a year). We found no equivalent on QuickBooks’ Solopreneur plans. The IRS says sole proprietors generally must pay estimates if they expect to owe $1,000 or more.

Can I cancel either one easily?

Keeper: yes, in the app, but before the day the trial or term ends, and refunds are discretionary. QuickBooks’ pricing page says “No annual contract” and “Cancel anytime”; check the checkout terms for the plan you pick.

Are the QuickBooks promotional prices permanent?

No. The $10 and $19 prices on the Solopreneur page are labelled “50% off for 3 months” against $20 and $38 list prices.

Bottom line

If your question is “which gets me a finished return for the least money,” Keeper’s $199 is the cleaner answer in October 2026, with the caveat that it renews yearly and its audit-protection wording is inconsistent. If your question is “which helps me run the business day to day,” QuickBooks is the one with invoices, mileage and a free tier, and you pay extra at filing time. Many self-employed people will end up on QuickBooks Free during the year and decide at tax time whether a bundled filing is worth $199.

Try Keeper free for 14 days → (then $199 a year for Standard unless you cancel)

Related reads

• Keeper review: pricing, the 14-day trial and who should skip it
• Best tax deduction tracking apps compared on price and free tiers
• Best zero-based budgeting apps
• Best high-yield savings accounts
• How to build an emergency fund