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The competition vs EmLedger

Other accounting software charges per entity. We charge per tier. See how much you could save with EmLedger's entity-based pricing.

Short answer

QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and Wave all charge per company. Each entity requires its own subscription — typically $30–$115/month — and consolidating across them requires exporting to Excel and combining manually. EmLedger charges one tier price ($49/$129/custom per month) covering unlimited entities with built-in one-click consolidated reporting and automatic inter-company eliminations. For 10 entities, EmLedger costs roughly 88% less than QuickBooks Plus and 85% less than Xero Established.

Pricing

The hidden cost of per-entity pricing

Traditional accounting software multiplies your costs as you grow. EmLedger doesn't.

# of entities 15102550
QuickBooks $115/mo $575/mo $1,150/mo $2,875/mo $5,750/mo
Xero $90/mo $450/mo $900/mo $2,250/mo $4,500/mo
FreshBooks $65/mo $325/mo $650/mo $1,625/mo $3,250/mo
Wave $19/mo $95/mo $190/mo $475/mo $950/mo
EmLedger $49/mo
Solo
 $129/mo
Growth
 $129/mo
Growth
 $299/mo
Enterprise
 $299/mo
Enterprise

With 10 entities

$12,252/year

saved compared to QuickBooks (89% savings)

* Based on QuickBooks Plus, Xero Established, FreshBooks Premium, and Wave Pro pricing as of January 2026.

Features

Feature-by-feature comparison

EmLedger includes all the features you need, plus multi-entity capabilities others don't have.

Feature EmLedger QuickBooks Xero FreshBooks Wave
Multi-Entity Management

One subscription for unlimited entities
Entity Switching

Switch between entities in one click
Consolidated Reporting

View reports across all entities
Entity-Level Permissions

Control access per entity
Invoicing & AR
Bills & AP
Bank Reconciliation
Inventory Management
Fixed Asset Tracking
Budgeting & Forecasting
Multi-Currency
1099 Tracking

See all 140+ features included →

Detailed QuickBooks comparison → · Detailed Xero comparison → · Detailed FreshBooks comparison → · Detailed Wave comparison →
The field

How the platforms compare

QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and Wave are all capable accounting tools. Here's where each one fits — and where multi-entity operators hit a wall.

EmLedger vs QuickBooks

QuickBooks Online is the most established name here, with a deep feature set and a large ecosystem of apps and accountants. Its limitation for multi-entity operators is structural: each company is a separate subscription at about $115/month on Plus, and there's no native way to consolidate across files. If you run several companies, you'll pay per file and rebuild combined reports by hand.

See the full EmLedger vs QuickBooks comparison →

EmLedger vs Xero

Xero is a strong cloud accounting platform with excellent bank reconciliation and a clean interface, popular with accountants and small businesses. Like QuickBooks, it charges per organisation — about $90/month on Established — and its Xero HQ view lists organisations without combining their financials. Multi-entity teams still consolidate in spreadsheets.

See the full EmLedger vs Xero comparison →

EmLedger vs FreshBooks

FreshBooks is built around invoicing, time tracking, and client billing, which makes it a favorite with freelancers and service businesses. It's less of a fit for true double-entry, multi-entity accounting: there's no inventory, fixed assets, or consolidated reporting, and each business needs its own subscription at about $65/month on Premium.

See the full EmLedger vs FreshBooks comparison →

EmLedger vs Wave

Wave remains attractive for very small operators because its Starter plan is free, with Wave Pro at $19/month adding bank-feed automation and receipt capture. The trade-off is depth: Wave Pro skips inventory, fixed assets, budgeting, and consolidation, and Pro is billed per business. The math flips once you add a second or third entity.

See the full EmLedger vs Wave comparison →
Buyer's guide

How to choose multi-entity accounting software

If you manage more than one company, five questions separate software that scales from software that bills you for the privilege.

  1. Pricing model — per-entity or per-tier? Per-company pricing multiplies every time you add an entity; tier pricing stays flat (EmLedger covers up to 15 entities for $129/month). Map your two-to-three-year entity count before you commit.
  2. Consolidated reporting. Can the software produce a combined P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow across all entities without exporting to Excel? Native consolidation is the single biggest time-saver for multi-entity teams.
  3. Entity isolation & permissions. Each entity should keep fully separate books and its own chart of accounts, while letting you grant staff or clients access to only the entities they manage.
  4. Inter-company transactions. If you move money or allocate costs between entities, look for automatic inter-company tracking and eliminations so combined statements aren't double-counted.
  5. Migration effort. Check that the platform imports your chart of accounts, customers, vendors, and history — and that support can map several existing files into separate entities when you consolidate.

Running a specific business type? See our franchise accounting software comparison and guide to consolidating subsidiaries for industry-specific guidance.

Why switch

Built for multi-entity from day one

Predictable costs

Know exactly what you'll pay as you grow. No surprise fees when you add another entity.

View pricing plans →

Consolidated view

See all your entities in one dashboard. No more logging into multiple accounts.

Entity isolation

Keep books completely separate while managing everything from one place.

FAQ

Comparison questions

Why is EmLedger cheaper than QuickBooks and Xero?
QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, and Wave all charge per business/entity. If you have 10 entities, you pay for 10 subscriptions. EmLedger uses tier-based pricing - you pay one price based on how many entities you manage, not per entity. This can save you up to 92% compared to competitors.
Can I migrate from QuickBooks to EmLedger?
Yes. EmLedger provides migration tools and support for importing data from QuickBooks Online, Xero, and other accounting software. Our team can assist with complex migrations involving multiple entities.
Does EmLedger have all the features QuickBooks has?
EmLedger includes 140+ features covering invoicing, bills, bank reconciliation, inventory, reporting, budgeting, and more. The key difference is our built-in multi-entity management - features that competitors either lack or charge extra for.
What if I only have one entity - is EmLedger still worth it?
If you have just one entity and no plans to grow, a competitor might work fine. EmLedger shines when you manage multiple entities. However, our Solo plan at $49/month is competitively priced even for single-entity use.
How does consolidated reporting compare to competitors?
QuickBooks and Xero require you to export data and manually combine it in Excel for consolidated views. EmLedger generates consolidated P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow statements across all your entities with one click, including proper inter-company eliminations.
Is there a learning curve switching from QuickBooks?
EmLedger uses familiar accounting concepts - chart of accounts, journals, reconciliation, etc. Most users familiar with QuickBooks or Xero find EmLedger intuitive. The main difference is the entity switcher, which is simpler than managing multiple separate accounts.
What is the cheapest QuickBooks alternative for multiple entities or businesses?
For multi-entity accounting, EmLedger is typically the cheapest QuickBooks Online alternative because it does not charge per company. A QuickBooks Plus subscription is roughly $115/month per entity; 10 entities is about $1,150/month. EmLedger Growth covers up to 15 entities for $129/month flat — about 89% cheaper at 10 entities. EmLedger also includes built-in consolidated reporting and inter-company eliminations that QuickBooks lacks natively (those require a third-party consolidation tool on top).
What is the best multi-entity accounting software?
The best multi-entity accounting software prices by tier rather than per company and handles consolidation natively. EmLedger is purpose-built for this: one login manages multiple entities with one-click switching, consolidated P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow, automatic inter-company eliminations, and entity-level permissions — for $49/month (up to 3 entities) or $129/month (up to 15). QuickBooks and Xero are capable single-entity tools but charge per company and lack native consolidation.
Can QuickBooks or Xero handle multiple companies?
Both can hold multiple companies, but each company is a separate file with its own subscription — about $115/month per company on QuickBooks Plus and $90/month per organisation on Xero Established. Neither combines those files into consolidated financials on its own; you export and merge in a spreadsheet or add a third-party tool. EmLedger manages every entity under one account and consolidates them with one click.
How do I consolidate financials across multiple companies?
Consolidation combines the financial statements of several entities into one set of group numbers, removing inter-company transactions so nothing is double-counted. In QuickBooks or Xero this usually means exporting each company and reconciling them in Excel. EmLedger does it automatically — pick the entities and it produces a consolidated P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow with inter-company eliminations applied, so the group view is one click instead of a monthly spreadsheet.
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