Patriot
Low cost, plain spoken US accounting that pairs with some of the cheapest payroll around, built for very small businesses watching every dollar.
Patriot Software is built for the price sensitive end of the US small business market. The accounting app covers the essentials cleanly: invoicing, expense tracking, bank imports and basic financial reports, with unlimited users on every plan, which is rare at this price. Its real edge is the bundle. Patriot also sells some of the cheapest payroll in the country, so a tiny business can run books and pay staff from one low cost vendor. The limits are the flip side. There is no real inventory, reporting is shallow, the integration list is short, and Patriot is US only, so it suits simple domestic businesses rather than anyone with stock, projects or overseas customers.
Honest books for very little, with cheap payroll bolted alongside.
In its favour
Held against it
Price and simplicity lead, depth is thin.
Patriot scores at the top on value and high on ease of use, with a books plus payroll bundle few rivals undercut. Features and integrations are the ceiling: it is built to stay cheap and simple, so growing or product based firms will outgrow it.
Scored against the same five weighted criteria we use across accounting. See the rubric →
a very small US business that wants low cost books and cheap payroll from one vendor, with no need for inventory.
a product business that needs inventory, or anyone who wants deep reporting, many integrations or overseas support.
What it costs
Per month, plus per employee for payrollPricing as of June 2026. Accounting is Basic $20 and Premium $30 a month; payroll is a separate product, Basic Payroll $17 plus $4 per worker and Full Service $37 plus $5 per worker. New customers get 50 percent off for three months. Check the vendor for current pricing.