This guide summarizes Intuit’s own product, pricing and policy pages, reviewed on 26 October 2026. Prices, promotions and support dates change, so confirm on Intuit’s pricing page and its Desktop service discontinuation policy before you decide. Cloud Innovics is not affiliated with Intuit.
If you advise clients on QuickBooks, the Desktop versus Online question is no longer only about features. Intuit has changed what it sells, which Desktop versions it still supports, and who can buy what. This guide sets out what Intuit says today, then a short checklist for choosing. For a feature-level comparison, see our QuickBooks Desktop vs QuickBooks Online article.
What Intuit Has Changed
- New Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Mac Plus subscriptions stopped. Intuit says that after September 30, 2024 it no longer sells new subscriptions to U.S. customers for QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus and Enhanced Payroll.
- Existing subscribers are not cut off. Intuit says they can keep renewing, and that it will continue to provide security updates, product updates and support for them.
- Enterprise is the Desktop product still on sale. Intuit says Desktop Enterprise is not affected and that “QuickBooks Enterprise will be our Desktop accounting solution” for customers who want Desktop after the cutoff.
- The announcement is for the U.S. only.
Check Your Version: 2023 Products Are Discontinued
Intuit says QuickBooks Desktop 2023 products were discontinued after May 31, 2026. That covers Pro Plus 2023, Premier Plus 2023, Enterprise 23.0, the Accountant editions and Mac Plus 2023. After that date, Intuit lists these changes:
- No live technical support.
- No critical security updates.
- Payroll stops calculating payroll taxes and the subscription is deactivated.
- Credit card and check processing stops, and online banking downloads, online payments and transfers stop.
The policy page gives no end-of-service date for Desktop 2024 or 2025, and says existing Plus and Enterprise subscribers receive version 2024 at no extra cost. If a client is still on a 2023 product, that is the first thing to fix, whichever way you go afterward.
QuickBooks Online: Plans and User Limits
Intuit’s pricing page lists four paid plans. The prices below are the regular monthly prices; Intuit also showed a “50% off for 3 months” promotion at the time we looked, and the promotion terms are on its page.
- Simple Start: 1 user, $38 a month.
- Essentials: 3 users, $85 a month.
- Plus: 5 users, $140 a month.
- Advanced: 25 users, $340 a month.
Every plan includes access for your accountants: two accountant users on Simple Start, Essentials and Plus, and three on Advanced. Intuit offers a 30-day free trial. The user count matters: a ten-person bookkeeping team would need Advanced, so price the plan against your headcount, not the entry price.
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
If you need Desktop today, Enterprise is the product Intuit sells. Its product page says it scales up to 40 users (an Intuit help page says up to 30 can work in the same company file at once), has six times the list capacity of Desktop Pro or Premier, and supports up to 1 million customers, vendors and inventory items. It also lists multi-location inventory and more than 200 customizable reports. Intuit does not show a price on the page and directs buyers to its sales line.
A Short Checklist for Choosing
This part is our own view, not Intuit’s. Answer these in order:
- Which version is the client on? A 2023 product is already discontinued. Decide now between updating and moving.
- How many people need the file? Match the count to a plan: 1, 3, 5 or 25 users on Online, or Desktop Enterprise, which Intuit’s product page says scales up to 40 users (an Intuit help page says up to 30 can work in one company file at the same time).
- Is the company file heavily customized? Industry reports, job costing, inventory and third-party add-ons are the usual reasons a conversion is slow. Our guide to migration costs explains where the effort goes.
- Is this a new client or an existing one? A new client with no Desktop history usually has little reason to start on Desktop, and Intuit itself points new buyers to Online. An existing Pro or Premier subscriber can keep renewing, according to Intuit.
- Do you work in the client’s file, or do they? Check the accountant seat allowance against how many people in your firm need access.
When Hosting Fits and When It Does Not
If Online fits your client, you do not need hosting for QuickBooks. If the client stays on Desktop, several people need the same file, or your preparers need to reach it from different locations, a hosted desktop is another option: the Desktop software runs on a secure cloud server and users sign in from any device. Cloud Innovics hosts QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise, and you keep your own Intuit license.
Common Mistakes
- Comparing Desktop and Online on features alone. The version, the user count and Intuit’s support dates can decide it first.
- Ignoring the user limits. The cheapest Online plan is for one user.
- Assuming a 2023 version still works as before. Payroll, payments and bank downloads have stopped for discontinued versions.
- Treating a promotion as the price. Compare the regular monthly price.
- Migrating in the middle of busy season. Move files at a quiet time, with a clean backup first.
Sources: Intuit pages “QuickBooks Desktop to stop selling to new U.S. subscribers” and its stop-sell help article, “QuickBooks Desktop service discontinuation policy” (updated 5 Aug 2026), the QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise page and the QuickBooks pricing page, all reviewed 26 Oct 2026. Check Intuit’s pages for the latest details.