✧ Key takeaways
QuickBooks Online is 50% off for the first 3 months on all plans — Simple Start $19/mo instead of $38, no coupon needed, verified 14 Nov 2026.
QuickBooks rarely discounts this deeply, and it never hides the deal: every paid QuickBooks Online plan is 50% off for the first three months, listed plainly on the official pricing page. Simple Start drops from $38 to $19 a month, Essentials from $85 to $42.50, Plus from $140 to $70, and Advanced from $340 to $170. No coupon code, no seasonal sale to wait for — the discount applies at checkout.
The deal, in numbers
These are the prices listed on QuickBooks' official pricing page, checked 14 November 2026:
| Plan | List price | First 3 months | You save per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Start | $38/mo | $19/mo | $19 |
| Essentials | $85/mo | $42.50/mo | $42.50 |
| Plus | $140/mo | $70/mo | $70 |
| Advanced | $340/mo | $170/mo | $170 |
Over the three discounted months, the total saving is $57 on Simple Start, $127.50 on Essentials, $210 on Plus, and $510 on Advanced. That is real money — but only if you pick the right tier. A discount on the wrong plan is still the wrong plan.
How to get it
Go to QuickBooks' pricing page, pick a plan, and check out. The 50% discount applies automatically for the first three months — there is no code to enter and no special link to hunt down. Paid plans also come with a 30-day free trial, so you can test the software before the first discounted payment.
There is also a Free plan at $0 a month for the basics: track income and expenses, send two invoices a month, run a profit and loss report, and connect one bank account, with chat support included. If your books are that simple, the free plan costs nothing and the deal is irrelevant — start there.
What to check before you commit
The price after month three. The discount covers three months, then the plan renews at the full list price. Budget on $38, $85, $140, or $340 a month — not the intro rate. If the full price would hurt in month four, the deal is not saving you money, it is delaying the bill.
The right tier. Simple Start covers invoicing, expense tracking, and basic reporting for a small business. Essentials adds enhanced reports, employee time on invoices, and third-party data. Plus adds budgets, project profitability, inventory tracking, and classes and locations. Advanced adds 1099 e-filing, approval workflows, custom user permissions, and automated workflows. Payroll is an add-on on every plan, not included — check what your tier actually includes before assuming it is covered.
Your accountant. QuickBooks is the tool most accountants already know, which is a genuine advantage: if yours works in QuickBooks, using anything else means paying them to translate your books. Our full QuickBooks product page covers the trade-offs in detail, including when the lighter alternatives — FreshBooks for invoicing-first freelancers, or Wave for free basic bookkeeping — are the better call.
Verdict
If you have already decided QuickBooks is your accounting tool, the 50%-off intro is the obvious time to start — three months at half price, no code needed, with a 30-day trial on top. If you are still deciding between QuickBooks and a lighter tool, use the free plan or the trial first and let the workflow decide. The discount will still be there when you commit, and a cheaper first quarter never justifies the wrong software.
Deal details verified on QuickBooks' official pricing page on 14 November 2026. Prices change — confirm current terms before buying.