How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Drake Tax is the standout for new preparers: top user ratings, a $299 first-user cloud option, and 93% of users would recommend it for a new practice.
- TaxSlayer Pro and CrossLink keep entry costs lower than the enterprise suites, with free demos so you can trial before tax season.
- Intuit's trio (ProConnect Tax Online, ProSeries, Lacerte) scales from pay-per-return to full enterprise, but only makes sense once your volume justifies it.
- UltraTax CS and ATX are proven workhorses; beginners should weigh their higher learning curves against long-term depth.
- For year one, prioritize pay-per-return or low-seat pricing over unlimited bundles you will not fill.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Drake Tax | new preparers who want top-rated support | $299 for the first user (Drake Tax Online) | Free trial |
 TaxSlayer Pro | beginners wanting desktop plus cloud options | $1,495 one-time | Free trial |
 CrossLink | small firms that want a guided free demo | See website | Free trial |
 ProConnect Tax Online | cloud-first preparers in the Intuit ecosystem | See website | No |
 ProSeries | growing firms needing Intuit depth | $539 per year | No |
 ATX | small firms filing simple to complex returns | $597 | No |
 Lacerte | high-volume firms planning to scale fast | See website | No |
 UltraTax CS | firms that want the deepest feature set | See website | No |
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We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best tax preparer software for beginners
Pick the wrong tax software in your first year and the damage compounds. You overpay for capacity you will not use, you relearn a whole new interface next January, and your clients feel the chaos in slower turnarounds. The eight tools below all prepare and e-file professional returns, but they differ sharply in price, learning curve and who they are built for. For a beginner, the right choice is the one you can learn before April, not the one with the longest feature list.
Starting price$299 for the first user (Drake Tax Online)
Free planFree trial
Drake Tax is the rare product that beginners and veterans agree on. In the 2026 Journal of Accountancy tax software survey it led the field with a 4.4 overall rating, stood out for handling on-the-fly IRS updates, and 93.4% of its users said it suits a new practice. The new Drake Tax Online cloud version starts at $299 for the first user, which is the most beginner-friendly entry price among the serious pro tools.
The trade-off is polish. Drake's interface prioritizes speed over beauty, and while support is famously good, you still need real tax knowledge; no software teaches you the tax code. For a first-year preparer who wants the safest bet in the industry, this is where most advisors point you.
What we like- Highest user ratings in the 2026 Journal of Accountancy survey
- 93% of users would recommend it for a new practice
- Legendary customer support
Watch out for- The interface is functional rather than modern
- Advanced firm management tools cost extra
- Training resources assume some tax knowledge
Starting price$1,495 one-time
Free planFree trial
TaxSlayer Pro courts new preparers directly, with step-by-step startup resources and a free demo that is the full working software, not a crippled teaser. You get both a traditional desktop install and ProWeb for cloud access, plus the TaxesToGo mobile app so clients can send you documents from their phones.
The $1,495 one-time price is steeper than Drake's entry, and the Windows-only desktop can annoy Mac-based preparers. But the guided onboarding and the interview-style workflow make it one of the gentlest ramps into professional preparation, especially if you like learning by doing rather than by manual.
What we like- Free full working demo to trial
- Both desktop and cloud (ProWeb) versions
- Mobile app for client document collection
Watch out for- Higher upfront cost than Drake
- Desktop version is Windows-only
- Support hours are narrower than Drake's
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
CrossLink has served professional preparers since 1974 and leans into hand-holding: a genuinely free demo, 24/7 support through tax season, and training aimed at new firms. For a beginner nervous about going it alone in January, that safety net has real value.
The catch is transparency. Pricing is quote-based, so you cannot budget it from the website, and the interface shows its age next to Drake Tax Online or ProConnect. The user community is smaller, which means fewer peer answers on forums. Try the demo and judge the support yourself; if the price they quote fits, the service is solid.
What we like- Free demo with no pressure
- 24/7 support during tax season
- Long track record since 1974
Watch out for- Pricing is quote-based and opaque
- Interface feels dated
- Smaller user community than Drake or Intuit
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
ProConnect Tax Online is Intuit's cloud answer for professionals, and its pay-per-return model is tailor-made for beginners: buy a bank of returns instead of an unlimited license you will not fill. The QuickBooks Online integration pulls client data straight into the return, which saves real hours for bookkeeping clients.
The downside is cost opacity; Intuit does not publish entry pricing, and per-return fees that look cheap at twenty returns look different at two hundred. It also shines brightest alongside QuickBooks, so non-Intuit shops get less of the magic. For a new cloud-native practice with modest volume, though, the model fits.
What we like- Fully cloud-based, work from anywhere
- Pay-per-return banks suit low volume
- Tight QuickBooks Online integration
Watch out for- No published starting price
- Per-return costs add up as you grow
- Best value requires the Intuit ecosystem
Starting price$539 per year
Free planNo
ProSeries sits in the middle of Intuit's lineup: more depth than ProConnect's pay-per-return tier, less enterprise weight than Lacerte. Recent pricing starts around $539 a year, and the 2026 survey put it alongside Drake and Lacerte at 4.4 for ease of use. It handles a wide range of individual and business returns without the enterprise price tag.
For a true beginner it can be more than you need in year one, and the total climbs with states and add-ons. But if you plan to grow into a multi-preparer firm inside the Intuit world, starting on ProSeries avoids a painful migration later.
What we like- Deep form coverage for a mid-market price
- Strong Intuit integrations
- Well-regarded ease of use in surveys
Watch out for- $539 entry is more than Drake
- Learning curve is steeper than TaxSlayer Pro
- Renewals and add-ons raise the total
Starting price$597
Free planNo
ATX is the quiet recommendation of the 2026 survey: 90.4% of its users said it suits a new practice, second only to Drake. Wolters Kluwer sells it in tiers from pay-per-return up through the MAX and Total Tax Office packages, so a beginner can start small, and the built-in tax research integration is genuinely useful when you hit an unfamiliar situation.
The survey also flagged its weak spots: data import and third-party integration scored below average, and there is no trial to test-drive. At around $597 to start it is affordable, but go in knowing the workflow feels more traditional than Drake Tax Online or ProConnect.
What we like- 90% of users would recommend it for a new practice
- Tiered packages from pay-per-return to full office
- Integrated tax research
Watch out for- No free trial for evaluation
- On-premise roots show in the workflow
- Integration with other apps rated below average
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Lacerte is Intuit's flagship for serious firms, and the 2026 survey rated it 4.4 overall, tied with Drake at the top. It is engineered for throughput: preparers handling hundreds of complex returns get diagnostic tools, batch processing and integrations that cheaper tools cannot match.
None of that helps a beginner filing forty returns. Pricing is unpublished and historically runs into the thousands for unlimited federal, and the interface assumes you know what you are doing. Consider Lacerte when your volume outgrows ProSeries, not when you are hanging your shingle.
What we like- Top-tier ratings alongside Drake
- Built for speed on complex returns
- Deep Intuit and QuickBooks integration
Watch out for- Priced for volume, overkill for under 100 returns
- No published entry price
- Steep learning curve for beginners
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
UltraTax CS is the power user's choice: the 2026 roundups scored it highest overall, with unmatched form coverage, multi-state support and integration across Thomson Reuters' CS Suite, from document management to practice management. The survey gave it the best marks for importing client data.
It is also the least beginner-friendly tool in this list. Pricing is entirely quote-based at the enterprise level, and the depth that experts love becomes a maze for a first-year preparer. File it under "grow into," and start with Drake, TaxSlayer Pro or CrossLink instead.
What we like- The most complete form and state coverage
- Integrates with the full CS Professional Suite
- Top scores for data import
Watch out for- Enterprise pricing with no public entry point
- The heaviest learning curve here
- Overkill for a solo beginner
How we chose
We anchored this roundup in the Journal of Accountancy 2026 tax software survey, the industry's most systematic practitioner poll, using its overall ratings, ease-of-use scores and the "suitable for a new practice" question as the primary beginner signal. We then checked current pricing and plan structures on each vendor's own site and recent 2026 comparisons, weighting entry-level cost, pay-per-return options, learning curve, e-filing support and the quality of onboarding resources. We did not run hands-on trials; these rankings reflect published plans, survey data and reviewer consensus, not lab testing.
What a first-year preparer should actually pay for
In year one, buy returns, not seats. Pay-per-return pricing from ProConnect, ATX or Drake's lower tiers lets your software cost track your revenue, which is exactly what a new practice needs. An unlimited license only makes sense once you can forecast volume, usually somewhere past 75 to 100 returns.
Second, budget for states separately. Federal list prices rarely include the states you need, and multi-state clients can quietly double the bill. Before you commit, price your actual mix: federal plus the two or three states where your clients live.
Third, do not skip the trial period. Drake, TaxSlayer Pro and CrossLink all let you work in the real software before tax season. Spend ten hours in January preparing practice returns in two finalists; the one that feels natural at hour ten is the one that will not break you in April.
Desktop vs. cloud tax software: what beginners should know
Cloud tax software like Drake Tax Online, ProConnect Tax Online and TaxSlayer ProWeb lets you work from anywhere with automatic updates and no server to maintain, which suits new preparers working from home. The trade is dependence: if the vendor has an outage in April, so do you, and your client data lives on someone else's servers.
Desktop software like classic Drake Tax, TaxSlayer Pro desktop and ProSeries keeps data local and works offline, but you manage installation, backups and updates yourself. Many beginners start cloud for simplicity and revisit the question as the practice grows. Either way, confirm the vendor's data export policy before you sign; switching providers mid-career is painful enough without locked-in data.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest professional tax software for beginners?
Drake Tax Online starts at $299 for the first user, the lowest entry price among the top-rated pro tools. TaxSlayer Pro's free demo and CrossLink's free trial let you evaluate at no cost, and pay-per-return options from ProConnect and ATX keep first-year spending tied to actual volume.
Do I need an EFIN before buying tax software?
Yes, you need an IRS Electronic Filing Identification Number to e-file client returns, and the application process takes several weeks. Apply for your EFIN before tax season while you trial software, so the credential is ready when your first real return needs filing.
Can beginners really use Drake Tax?
Yes. Drake led the 2026 Journal of Accountancy survey with a 4.4 overall rating, and 93.4% of its users said it suits a new practice. The interface is utilitarian rather than flashy, but the support team is widely considered the best in the business, which matters more in your first April.
Should I buy unlimited returns in my first year?
Usually not. Until you can forecast volume, pay-per-return pricing costs less and removes the pressure to fill a quota. Most preparers switch to unlimited bundles once they consistently pass 75 to 100 returns a season.
Is cloud tax software safe for client data?
The major vendors use encryption, multi-factor authentication and SOC-audited data centers, and Drake Tax Online specifically advertises 128-bit encryption with MFA. No system is risk-free, so enable every security option, use strong unique passwords, and keep your own backup of critical client records.
What is the difference between ProConnect, ProSeries and Lacerte?
All three are Intuit products aimed at different firm sizes. ProConnect Tax Online is cloud-based with pay-per-return pricing for smaller or newer practices. ProSeries is the mid-market desktop workhorse starting around $539 a year. Lacerte is the enterprise flagship for high-volume firms, with unpublished pricing to match.
Sources we checked (11)
- https://www.drakesoftware.com
- https://www.taxslayerpro.com
- https://www.crosslinktax.com
- https://proconnect.intuit.com
- https://proconnect.intuit.com/proseries/
- https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/atx
- https://accountants.intuit.com/tax/lacerte
- https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/us/en/cs-professional-suite/ultratax-cs
- https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2026/sep/2026-tax-software-survey/
- https://www.itechguides.com/best/income-tax-software/
- https://slashdot.org/software/comparison/ATX-vs-TaxSlayer-Pro/
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 spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.