Skip to content

Sage 50 Accounting vs Zoho Books

Verified ratings, feature by feature comparison and real pricing. Everything a North American business needs to pick between these two.

Sage 50 Accounting logo

Sage 50 Accounting

Desktop grade accounting depth with a cloud connection bolted on

3.8(264)
Visit Sage website
Zoho Books logo

Zoho Books

Serious accounting at a price that reads like a typo

4.2(248)
Visit Zoho website

Some links here are affiliate links, so we may earn a commission at no cost to you. It never affects a rating or a ranking. How this works.

Ratings

Every score, at a glance

Verified user ratings across every dimension. Sage 50 Accounting against Zoho Books, nothing weighted.

Dimensions won

05Sage 50 Accounting 0, Zoho Books 5

Sage 50 Accounting vs Zoho Books, across 5 rating dimensions

Widest rating gap

+1.4

Zoho Books leads on ease of use

Verified reviews

512

264 for Sage 50 Accounting, 248 for Zoho Books

Sage 50 Accounting logoSage 50 Accounting
3.8 out of 5

264 verified reviews

Zoho Books logoZoho Books
4.2 out of 5

248 verified reviews

Ratings by dimension

  • Sage 50 Accounting
  • Zoho Books
Overall
3.8
4.2
Ease of use
2.9
4.3
Value for money
3.4
4.7
Customer service
3.2
3.7
Functionality
4.2
4.4

Share of verified reviews

Which product reviewers actually write about.

512verified reviews
  • Sage 50 Accounting264
  • Zoho Books248

Cost to get started

Cheapest paid plan, shown per month.

Sage 50 Accounting$128.67/mo
Zoho Books$20/mo

Zoho Books is the cheaper way in. Lower is not automatically better, so weigh it against the ratings above.

Head to head

Where each one wins

Row by row, with the stronger score highlighted. Straight from verified reviews.

Sage 50 Accounting against Zoho Books, row by row
Sage 50 AccountingZoho Books
Overall rating3.84.2
Reviews264248
Ease of use2.94.3
Value for money3.44.7
Customer service3.23.7
Functionality4.24.4
Starting price$128.67/mo$20/mo
Free trialYesYes
Free versionNoYes

Features

Feature by feature, checked off

Everything each product ships, side by side. No marketing gloss.

Features Sage 50 Accounting and Zoho Books each ship
FeatureSage 50 AccountingZoho Books
True double entry general ledger
Automated bank reconciliation
Serialized inventory tracking
Advanced job costing
Multi company consolidation
Audit trails
Role based permissions
Sales tax tracking by jurisdiction
Payroll module available separately
Sage Security Shield fraud protection
True double entry accounting
Automated bank feeds and reconciliation rules
Client portal with online payment
Recurring invoices and payment reminders
Inventory tracking on Professional and above
Multi currency with automatic exchange rates
Custom workflow automation
Project time tracking and billing
Open API on affordable tiers
Deep integration with the wider Zoho suite

Pricing

Both price lists, side by side

Every plan from both vendors, side by side, priced in US dollars.

Sage 50 Accounting plans

Pro Accounting

One user. Essential cloud accounting for a small business.

$128.67/mo

per month

Start free trial
  • 1 user
  • Invoice and bill tracking
  • Purchase orders and approval
  • Automated bank reconciliation
  • Inventory management
  • Job management
  • Minimum one year commitment

Premium Accounting

1 to 5 users. Adds consolidation, advanced budgeting and audit trails.

$182.50/mo

per month

Start free trial
  • Everything in Pro
  • 1 to 5 users
  • Multiple companies
  • Advanced budgeting
  • Serialized inventory tracking
  • Advanced job costing
  • Audit trails

Quantum Accounting

Up to 40 users. Role based permissions and workflow management.

$271.17/mo

per month

Start free trial
  • Everything in Premium
  • 1 to 40 users
  • Role based user permissions
  • Faster processing
  • Order process workflow
  • Workflow management
  • Project management
Straight from the vendor

Get current pricing

These are list prices and vendors adjust them from time to time. Check with Sage for the figure you will actually pay.

Visit Sage

Zoho Books plans

Free

For businesses under 50,000 dollars of annual revenue.

Free

no card required

Start free trial
  • 1 user plus 1 accountant
  • Client portal
  • Automatic payment reminders
  • Up to 1,000 invoices a year
  • Bank feed connections

Standard

3 users. The plan most small businesses actually start on.

$20/mo

per month

Start free trial
  • 3 users
  • Recurring invoices and expenses
  • Bank reconciliation rules
  • Project time tracking
  • Sales tax tracking
  • 15 dollars a month billed annually

Professional

5 users. Adds purchase orders, inventory and multi currency.

$50/mo

per month

Start free trial
  • 5 users
  • Purchase orders and sales orders
  • Inventory tracking
  • Multi currency handling
  • Custom workflow rules
  • Vendor portal

Premium

10 users. Custom domain, budgeting and deeper automation.

$70/mo

per month

Start free trial
  • 10 users
  • Custom domain and branding
  • Budgeting
  • Custom buttons and functions
  • Twenty five custom modules
  • Validation rules
Straight from the vendor

Get current pricing

These are list prices and vendors adjust them from time to time. Check with Zoho for the figure you will actually pay.

Visit Zoho