How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
What is the best QuickBooks alternative for nonprofits in 2026?
Aplos is the best QuickBooks alternative for most small to mid-size nonprofits in 2026 because it offers true fund accounting, donor tracking, and Form 990-N and 990-EZ filing help from $79 per month. Sage Intacct is the stronger pick for larger nonprofits with several grants, multiple entities, and a formal audit.
This guide is scoped to nonprofit fund accounting, unlike the general small-business alternatives-to-quickbooks guide. The gap shows up when a grant has a restriction, a donor gives for one program only, or the board asks for a statement by fund. QuickBooks handles those jobs with Classes and Locations, which is a workaround, not a fund ledger.
Key takeaways
- Aplos is the best all-round pick for small to mid-size nonprofits, with true fund accounting from $79 per month.
- Sage Intacct and Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT suit larger nonprofits with grant compliance, multi-entity reporting, and audit needs, and both are quote based.
- Araize FastFund and Fund EZ give smaller teams real fund accounting at a lower entry price.
- Bloomerang is a donor CRM first, so pair it with an accounting tool if you need a full fund ledger.
- MoneyMinder is the simplest fit for a volunteer treasurer, at $299 per year.
How do you choose a QuickBooks alternative for a nonprofit?
Start with the audit question. If your nonprofit has restricted grants, a federal award, or an annual audit, you need a system that keeps each fund in its own ledger and can show the auditor where every restricted dollar went. Aplos, Sage Intacct, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, Araize FastFund, and Fund EZ meet that test in different sizes.
Next, list the jobs the new tool must do each week. Fund accounting means separate balances by fund, program, and grant. Donor management means gift records, thank-you letters, pledges, and giving statements. Grant tracking means budgets by grant and reports a funder can read without extra spreadsheet work. Form 990 reporting means the data is already grouped by program and function. Payroll is separate: some tools include it, some sell it as a module, and some leave it to an integration such as Gusto.
How much does a QuickBooks alternative for nonprofits cost in year one?
The subscription is only part of the year-one cost. Add implementation, data migration, training, payment processing, payroll, and any donor or fundraising module sold separately. A low monthly price can still cost more than a higher one if the cheap tool needs three add-ons.
A worked example shows the gap. Take a small nonprofit with $420,000 in annual revenue, two staff users, 900 donors, and three restricted grants. On Aplos Lite at $79 per month, the year-one subscription is $948. On Bloomerang CRM at $125 per month, donor management alone is $1,500 per year, and fundraising tools add $40 per month, or $480 per year. That is $1,980 per year before the ledger, which is why Bloomerang works best paired with a fund accounting tool, not as a replacement for one.
Now take the same nonprofit on Xero Early at $27 per month, third-party reported, which is $324 per year. That looks cheap until you add the time spent tracking funds in spreadsheets and preparing Form 990 data outside the system. If a part-time bookkeeper spends two extra hours a month on that work at $35 per hour, that is $840 per year, bringing the real cost to $1,164 per year, still below Aplos Lite, but with weaker fund controls.
Which QuickBooks alternative fits your nonprofit size?
| Tool |
Best for |
Starting price |
Fund accounting |
Free plan |
| Aplos |
Small to mid-size nonprofits that need true fund accounting |
$79/month |
Native |
No, 15-day free trial |
| Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT |
Larger nonprofits already using Blackbaud fundraising tools |
Quote |
Native |
No |
| Sage Intacct |
Mid-size to large nonprofits with grants and multiple entities |
Quote |
Native |
No |
| Bloomerang |
Donor retention for small to mid-size nonprofits |
$125/month, CRM, billed annually |
No, donor CRM first |
No |
| Araize FastFund |
Small to mid-size nonprofits that want fund accounting at a low price |
$50/month, third-party reported |
Native |
No, free trial |
| MoneyMinder |
Volunteer treasurers and very small nonprofits |
$299/year |
Basic, by fund and category |
No, 30-day free trial |
| Fund EZ |
Small to mid-size nonprofits that want straightforward fund accounting |
$140/month, third-party reported |
Native |
No |
| Xero |
Small nonprofits that want cheap general accounting |
$27/month, third-party reported |
No, use tracking categories |
No, free trial |
Plan the switch around a month end, not in the middle of a grant period. Export the QuickBooks chart of accounts, donor list, open pledges, unpaid bills, and trial balance. Clean the data before you import it, because a messy chart in QuickBooks becomes a messy chart in the new system. Decide which history to bring across in full and which to keep as a read-only archive.
Set up funds, programs, and grants first, then map each QuickBooks Class to a fund or program and test one restricted grant end to end. Keep the QuickBooks file for the audit trail.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Aplos | Small to mid-size nonprofits that need true fund accounting, donor tracking, and Form 990 help in one system | $79/month (Lite plan, checked on the vendor pricing page 11 Nov 2026) | No, 15-day free trial, no credit card required |
 Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT | Larger nonprofits and schools already using Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT for fundraising | quote (Blackbaud does not publish a price; third-party reported range about $8,000 to $80,000 per year, unverified) | No |
 Sage Intacct | Mid-size to large nonprofits with multiple grants, programs, and entities | quote (UK Essentials from £1,200/month on the Sage UK nonprofit page, checked 11 Nov 2026; US pricing is quote only) | No |
 Bloomerang | Small to mid-size nonprofits that want to keep donors and improve retention | $125/month (CRM plan, billed annually, checked on the vendor pricing page 11 Nov 2026) | No |
 Araize FastFund | Small to mid-size nonprofits that want true fund accounting at a low entry price | $50/month (third-party reported; the vendor pricing page checked 11 Nov 2026 lists no dollar figure in the version fetched) | No, free trial available |
 MoneyMinder | Volunteer treasurers and very small nonprofits that need simple, plain-language bookkeeping | $299/year (checked on the vendor site 11 Nov 2026) | No, 30-day free trial, no credit card required |
 Fund EZ | Small to mid-size nonprofits that want straightforward fund accounting on a budget | $140/month (third-party reported; Fund EZ does not publish a price on its own site) | No |
 Xero | Small nonprofits that want low-cost general accounting and can track funds with categories and spreadsheets | $27/month (Early plan, third-party reported from vendor page checks in Oct 2026; the vendor pricing page returned a 503 error when fetched 11 Nov 2026) | No, free trial available |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The 8 best alternatives to QuickBooks for nonprofits
#1Aplos
Best for: Small to mid-size nonprofits that need true fund accounting, donor tracking, and Form 990 help in one system4.7/5 on
G2 (97 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit aplos.com
Starting price$79/month (Lite plan, checked on the vendor pricing page 11 Nov 2026)
Free planNo, 15-day free trial, no credit card required
Aplos is the most direct replacement for QuickBooks for a small nonprofit because it was built for fund accounting from the start. You can track restricted and unrestricted funds side by side, run a balance sheet by fund, and prepare giving statements without exporting donor data elsewhere. Lite at $79 per month covers two users, bank reconciliation, custom reports, a board portal, and 1099 management. Core and Advanced add payables and budgeting by fund. The main limit is scale: a nonprofit with several entities or a federal audit may outgrow Aplos and need Sage Intacct or Blackbaud instead.
What we like- True fund accounting is built in, with balance sheet and income statement by fund
- Donor tracking, online giving, and giving statements are included
- Form 990-N and 990-EZ filing help is included
Watch out for- Payroll runs through a Gusto integration at extra cost
- Budgeting by fund or grant starts on the Advanced plan at $229 per month
#2Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
Best for: Larger nonprofits and schools already using Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT for fundraising4.1/5 on
G2 (132 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit blackbaud.com
Starting pricequote (Blackbaud does not publish a price; third-party reported range about $8,000 to $80,000 per year, unverified)
Free planNo
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT is the enterprise pick here, and it shows in the feature set and the sales process. Subfund tracking lets a finance team follow a grant, a project, and an endowment inside one fund, with automated workflows for restricted funds. The trade-off is cost and setup: no published price, no self-service trial, and no simple monthly tier. Ask for implementation, training, and the cost of each extra entity and user in writing.
What we like- Purpose-built fund accounting with subfund tracking for grants, projects, and endowments
- Strong audit trail with role-based access and document attachments
- Built-in nonprofit report templates and dashboards
Watch out for- Pricing is quote only, and implementation usually needs a partner or consultant, which adds time and cost
- Smaller nonprofits may pay for depth they never use
#3Sage Intacct
Best for: Mid-size to large nonprofits with multiple grants, programs, and entities4.3/5 on
G2 (4,521 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit sage.com
Starting pricequote (UK Essentials from £1,200/month on the Sage UK nonprofit page, checked 11 Nov 2026; US pricing is quote only)
Free planNo
Sage Intacct is the default choice for nonprofits that have outgrown QuickBooks because of grant volume rather than headcount. The dimensional ledger lets you tag a transaction by fund, grant, program, and location at entry, then report on any combination without rebuilding data in a spreadsheet. Grant tracking, automated allocations, and multi-entity consolidation support the reporting a funder or auditor will ask for. The UK page lists Essentials from £1,200 per month for up to four entities and five users. In the US, third-party partner reports put typical spend at $15,000 to $35,000 per year before implementation, which is unverified.
What we like- Dimensional general ledger with fund, grant, program, and location tracking
- Multi-entity consolidation and automated allocations
- Grant tracking and billing with revenue recognition
Watch out for- US pricing is quote only, and implementation is usually partner-led, so the first year costs far more than the subscription alone
- The learning curve is steep for a small team with no finance staff
#4Bloomerang
Best for: Small to mid-size nonprofits that want to keep donors and improve retention4.6/5 on
G2 (914 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit bloomerang.com
Starting price$125/month (CRM plan, billed annually, checked on the vendor pricing page 11 Nov 2026)
Free planNo
Bloomerang earns its place here because donor management is half the nonprofit finance job, and QuickBooks does a poor job of it. The CRM tracks donor history, household relationships, pledges, and giving patterns, then scores each donor on recency, frequency, and value so a team can focus on donors most likely to lapse. The limit is scope: Bloomerang does not keep a fund ledger, post journal entries, or produce a statement of financial position.
What we like- Donor engagement scoring and retention dashboard help a small team spot lapsed donors
- Unlimited users on the CRM plan
- Grant tracking and membership tools are included in the CRM
Watch out for- Bloomerang is a donor CRM first, not a fund accounting ledger, so you still need accounting software for the books
- Fundraising tools start at $40 per month extra and must be bought with the CRM
#5Araize FastFund
Best for: Small to mid-size nonprofits that want true fund accounting at a low entry price4.5/5 on
Capterra (69 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit araize.com
Starting price$50/month (third-party reported; the vendor pricing page checked 11 Nov 2026 lists no dollar figure in the version fetched)
Free planNo, free trial available
Araize FastFund has served nonprofits for more than 30 years, and the modular pricing is the reason to look at it. Accounting Standard is reported at $50 per month, Premium at $110 per month, with fundraising from $50 per month and payroll from $55 per month, all third-party reported. FastFund treats each fund as its own entity with separate trial balances and statements, the right model for restricted grants. If your auditor expects accrual accounting, plan for Premium from the start. Ask Araize to confirm current module prices in writing, since the vendor pricing page fetched for this guide did not show dollar figures.
What we like- Each fund has its own books and statements, with FASB-compliant reporting
- Accounting, payroll, and fundraising are sold as separate modules, so you buy only what you need
- Free support and onboarding with no setup fees, as stated on the vendor site
Watch out for- The Standard plan is cash based, so accrual accounting needs the Premium plan at $110 per month, third-party reported
- The interface is functional rather than modern
#6MoneyMinder
Best for: Volunteer treasurers and very small nonprofits that need simple, plain-language bookkeeping4.6/5 on
G2 (13 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit moneyminder.com
Starting price$299/year (checked on the vendor site 11 Nov 2026)
Free planNo, 30-day free trial, no credit card required
MoneyMinder replaces Nonprofit Treasurer in this guide because the Nonprofit Treasurer site at nptreasurer.com could not be opened during the checks for this guide, while MoneyMinder was verified on its own site on 11 Nov 2026. MoneyMinder is built for the treasurer role, not for a finance department. It records donations, grants, and expenses, reconciles the bank account, tracks funds and categories, and produces board reports in plain language. Bank sync covers more than 12,000 institutions, including PayPal, Square, and Stripe. Form 990-N and 990-EZ e-filing help is included. The limit is scope: it is cash based and lacks the dimensional ledger and audit controls of Aplos, Sage Intacct, or Blackbaud. For a PTA, booster club, or small charity with one treasurer, that trade is usually worth it.
What we like- One flat annual price with unlimited users and no per-user fees
- Built for volunteer treasurers with no accounting background
- Form 990-N and 990-EZ e-filing help plus 1099-NEC reporting
Watch out for- Cash-based bookkeeping only, so it does not suit a nonprofit that needs accrual accounting or a formal audit
- It is not a replacement for a full fund accounting system once grants and multiple entities grow
#7Fund EZ
Best for: Small to mid-size nonprofits that want straightforward fund accounting on a budget4.4/5 on
Capterra (25 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit fundez.com
Starting price$140/month (third-party reported; Fund EZ does not publish a price on its own site)
Free planNo
Fund EZ has served nonprofits since the early 1990s, and the pitch has stayed simple: a general ledger, budgeting, bank reconciliation, payables, receivables, and purchase orders, all organised around funds. The cloud plan is third-party reported at $140 per month, and a one-time server licence is reported at $2,495, but neither figure appears on the vendor homepage checked for this guide, so confirm both before you budget. The product suits a nonprofit that wants real fund accounting without an enterprise sales cycle and without the donor tools that raise the price of Aplos.
What we like- Purpose-built fund accounting with budgets and reports by fund, program, and grant
- Cloud and on-premise options, with a one-time server licence reported at $2,495
- Unlimited tech support is included in the cloud plan, as reported by third-party listings
Watch out for- Pricing is not published on the vendor site, so you must request a quote or demo to confirm the current figure
- The interface is dated, and integrations with donor platforms are thin
#8Xero
Best for: Small nonprofits that want low-cost general accounting and can track funds with categories and spreadsheets4.4/5 on
G2 (1,832 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit xero.com
Starting price$27/month (Early plan, third-party reported from vendor page checks in Oct 2026; the vendor pricing page returned a 503 error when fetched 11 Nov 2026)
Free planNo, free trial available
Xero is the cheapest ledger in this guide, and the most honest to use only when you understand what it does not do. Early at $27 per month, third-party reported, covers quotes, 20 invoices a month, and 5 bills a month, with unlimited users. Growing and Established add budgets, multi-currency, and projects. Payroll is a separate add-on in the US. For a nonprofit with restricted grants, a federal award, or an audit, Xero is a stopgap, not a fund accounting system. That gap matters most at audit time, when a funder asks for proof that restricted money was spent only on its stated purpose.
What we like- Low entry price with unlimited users on every plan
- Clean bank reconciliation and a large app marketplace
- Growing at $59 per month and Established at $97 per month add budgets, multi-currency, and projects, third-party reported
Watch out for- No native fund accounting, so restricted funds must be tracked with tracking categories or outside the system
- Early caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills per month, so most active nonprofits need Growing
Frequently asked questions
Is there a QuickBooks alternative for nonprofits with true fund accounting?
Yes. Aplos, Sage Intacct, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, Araize FastFund, and Fund EZ all offer native fund accounting, which means each fund keeps its own ledger and reports. Aplos is the best starting point for most small to mid-size nonprofits. Sage Intacct and Blackbaud suit larger teams with several grants, multiple entities, and a formal audit.
Can a nonprofit use Xero instead of QuickBooks?
Yes, if the nonprofit has mostly unrestricted income and a simple program structure. Xero Early is reported at $27 per month, with unlimited users and clean bank reconciliation. The gap is fund accounting: Xero has no native fund ledger, so restricted funds must be tracked with tracking categories or in a spreadsheet.
What is the cheapest QuickBooks alternative for a small nonprofit?
MoneyMinder at $299 per year is the cheapest full option for a volunteer-run group, at about $25 per month billed annually. Xero Early is reported at $27 per month, or $324 per year, for general accounting. Aplos Lite at $79 per month is the cheapest option in this guide with true fund accounting.
How does Form 990 reporting work in these tools?
Form 990 reporting works best when the ledger already groups income and expenses by program and function. Aplos includes Form 990-N and 990-EZ filing help, and MoneyMinder helps prepare and e-file Form 990-N and 990-EZ. Sage Intacct and Blackbaud produce the fund and program reports a preparer needs for a full Form 990.
Should a nonprofit pair Bloomerang with an accounting tool?
Yes, in most cases. Bloomerang is a donor CRM, not a fund ledger, so it tracks donors, gifts, pledges, and retention, while the accounting tool keeps the books and produces financial statements. A common pairing is Bloomerang CRM at $125 per month with Aplos Lite at $79 per month.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://www.aplos.com/nonprofit-software
- https://www.blackbaud.com/products/blackbaud-financial-edge-nxt
- https://www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/intacct/industries/non-profit/
- https://bloomerang.com/pricing/
- https://araize.com/fastfund-pricing/
- https://moneyminder.com/nonprofits/
- https://fundez.com/
- https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.