Pilot vs Zoho Books Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Pilot | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $99/mo | $20/mo |
| Number of plans | 3 | 4 |
| Free plan | — | |
| Free trial | — | |
| Pricing model | flat-rate | flat-rate |
Essentials
- Cash-basis bookkeeping using data from your bank and credit cards
- Standard chart of accounts
- Year-end package for your tax preparer
- Instant AI answers about past transactions and current cash flow, plus run scenarios to plan ahead
- Support through in-app messaging
Core
Popular- US-based bookkeeper who handles, explains, and reviews your books
- Cash or accrual-basis bookkeeping that pulls from your bank, credit cards, payroll, AP, inventory, and payment platforms
- Bill management for up to 10 vendor bills per month
- Custom chart of accounts
- Reports on the 10th business day
- Support from your dedicated team in-app, email, and over the phone
Custom
- Keep your existing QuickBooks account and historical data
- Support for complex business structures
- Custom workflows and reporting
- Reports on the 6th business day
- Full accounts receivable
- Full accounts payable
- Payroll administration
- CFO advisory, financial planning, and fundraising support. Connect with your dedicated CFO in-app, by email, phone, or Slack
FREE
- Create invoices, quotes, expenses & journals
- Receipt autoscans (New)
- Sales receipts
- Manage vendors
- Mileage tracking
- Accept online payments
- Enable self-service customer portal
- Retention payments
- Automate payment reminders
- Bank reconciliation
- Setup recurring invoices
- W-9 management
- Track 1099 contractors
- Prepare and file 1099s
- P&L, Balance Sheet & 50+ Reports
STANDARD
- Progress invoicing
- Track sales tax and use tax
- E-File 1099-MISC & 1099-NEC
- Connect bank feeds
- Setup recurring expenses
- Enable transaction period locking
- Add custom fields
- Create custom reports
- Create journal templates
- API Access
PROFESSIONAL
Popular- Track sales and purchase orders
- Record multi-currency transactions
- Bill timesheets
- Project profitability
- Manage retainers
- Track inventory
- Create price lists
- Setup sales and purchase approvals
- Customize business workflows
- Collaborate with users (chat, voice, video and screen sharing)
- Create custom user roles
PREMIUM
- Revenue recognition - Basic
- Fixed asset management
- Profit Margin
- Manage budgets
- Cashflow forecasting
- Enable self-service vendor portal
- Set up custom domain
- Create business-specific custom modules
- Add custom button
- Create custom field validation rules
- Embed contextual web pages/apps
- Manage custom functions
Pilot vs Zoho Books FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Zoho Books is the cheaper option, starting at $20/mo vs $99/mo for Pilot.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Zoho Books has a free plan. Pilot doesn't — you'll need to pay from day one.
- How do they charge?
- Both use a flat-rate model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Pilot: With no free plan or trial, Pilot isn't competing on accessibility — they're positioning as a premium, done-for-you service aimed at funded startups who'd rather pay a human-backed team than DIY in QuickBooks. The pre-revenue startup discount on Core is a tell: they want high-potential companies locked in early, before they can shop around on price. Zoho Books: Sitting well under QuickBooks and Xero at every tier, Zoho Books is clearly playing the value card for cost-conscious small businesses and Zoho ecosystem users who want accounting bundled cheaply with CRM, inventory, and other Zoho apps.
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