QuickBooks Online is the most popular financial software on the market. This cloud-based accounting solution enables tracking of sales and expenses, generating estimates, customer management, and seamless collaboration with external accountants.

Best For:

QuickBooks Online is a good fit for a range of businesses, from small companies (10-50 employees) to larger organizations (500-5,000 employees). Popular sectors include accounting, information technology, and professional services industries.

Odoo is an open-source ERP software that integrates CRM, manufacturing, eCommerce, and more. Odoo’s accounting module offers functionality in accounts payables and receivables, bank synchronization, and reporting. You can extend the accounting app’s functionality with the tax report module.

Best For:

Odoo is best for small companies (1-10 employees) and mid-sized businesses (50-200 employees). It’s best for organizations that have outgrown their simple accounting and inventory software.

7.8

Our Rating

based on our expert editorial analysis

4.6

USER RATING

based on 56 user reviews

Our Verdict:

Many users are upset by Intuit’s forced move to subscription pricing. That said, we liked its intuitive user interface and custom invoicing. QuickBooks is the most widely-used financial software, allowing unlimited invoicing even at basic subscription levels, while offering bank reconciliation and scalability.

We dislike QuickBooks Online’s limit of 25 concurrent users, its absence of advanced inventory features, and the requirement for some accounting knowledge to use it effectively.

Pros:

Widely used by most accountants
Tons of integrations available
Customizable invoicing
Extensive pre-built and custom reports
Automatic exchange rates

Cons:

Comparatively expensive
Few industry-specific features
Limited users per plan

8.7

Our Rating

based on our expert editorial analysis

8.8

USER RATING

based on 21 user reviews

Our Verdict:

We like Odoo for its effectiveness as a light ERP, offering modularity, simple integration, and ease of use. As companies scale up, they can add modules piecemeal as needed. Odoo offers inventory management functionalities at a lower price point than many cloud-based ERPs.

On the other hand, you’ll need technical expertise or a dedicated support team to deploy the software, integrate third-party apps, or customize the source code to fit your company’s workflows.

Pros:

Community version is free
Heavy customization options
Double entry inventory system
Full suite of business applications
Traceability reports from customer to supplier

Cons:

May have to build specific modules yourself
No centralized support
Upgrades not free
Cluttered mobile app

Price Range
$ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $
Starting Price $30/month
Client OS Web

Price Range
$ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $
Starting Price $25/user/month
Client OS Web

After conducting hands-on reviews and thorough testing, our editorial team has come to some insightful conclusions about two major ERP systems: QuickBooks Online and Odoo.

Here, we’ll share our findings and help you determine which of these platforms may best suit your enterprise needs.

Who Should Use QuickBooks Online

Intuit’s QuickBooks Online is especially popular among small companies with fewer than 50 employees looking for simple accounting management. However the system can work well for some larger mid-level and enterprise companies as well.

QuickBooks Online enables tracking of sales and expenses, customer management, and collaboration with external accountants. However, for some, the switch to subscription-based pricing, limit of 25 concurrent users, and a need for some accounting knowledge to use it effectively may be less appealing.

Who Should Use Odoo

In contrast, Odoo works as a light ERP is suitable for small firms with 1-10 employees or medium-sized businesses with 50-200 employees. Odoo offers a range of applications that extend beyond accounting features, integrating CRM, manufacturing, eCommerce, and more.

Odoo’s noteworthy advantages lie in its modularity, simplicity, and ease-of-use. The product becomes exceptionally handy as a business scales up and can include additional modules as needed. Especially affordable compared to its counterparts, Odoo offers potent inventory management functionalities. That noted, deploying Odoo, or customizing it to your company’s workflow, may require technical expertise or a dedicated support team.

Which Is Better for Most Businesses?

While both QuickBooks Online and Odoo have innate strengths, we find that QuickBooks Online is generally more suitable for most businesses. QuickBooks Online’s user-friendly nature, the breadth of its features, and its wide adoption among accountants give it the edge. Plus, its simplified invoicing fit a broader range of businesses basic needs.

For those operations seeking a larger and modular ERP solution at a lower price point, especially if they have some in-house technical expertise, Odoo is a good option. Its strength particularly lies in helping businesses that have outgrown their simple accounting and inventory applications.

For a broader exploration, see our comprehensive roundup of the best ERP software.

QuickBooks Online

★★★★★

(56)

Price Range

$ $ $ $ $

Starting Price

$30/month

Client OS

Web

Deployment

Cloud Hosted

Odoo

★★★★★

(21)

Price Range

$ $ $ $ $

Starting Price

$25/user/month

Client OS

Web

Deployment

Cloud or On-Premises