MYOB and QuickBooks Online are both capable Australian accounting platforms, but they appeal to different owners. MYOB has decades of local history, phone support and a powerful AccountRight tier for inventory heavy businesses. QuickBooks, from Intuit, is an affordable cloud platform known for strong reporting. The decision turns on price, inventory depth and how you like to get support.
Pricing and plans compared
MYOB has the lower headline price, its Solo app at $11 a month, but Solo is a single-user mobile app for sole traders with no payroll, so the fair comparison starts a rung higher. On full-ledger plans QuickBooks is the cheaper way in: its Simple Start plan ($33 a month) undercuts MYOB Business Lite ($35), and the gap widens up the range, with MYOB Business Pro ($70) sitting above QuickBooks Essentials. MYOB's AccountRight costs more than QuickBooks Plus, but it carries desktop grade inventory and job tracking that QuickBooks does not match, so at the top you are paying for capability rather than the same thing at a higher price. The comparison table on this page shows each plan's current price in Australian dollars.
Payroll differs too. MYOB charges $3 per employee a month on its Lite and Pro plans, while QuickBooks runs payroll as a paid add-on through Employment Hero. For a small headcount the difference is modest, but it is worth folding into the total. The calculator above does that for you across both invoice count and staff numbers.
Who each one is built for
MYOB suits two groups: businesses that want an established Australian all-rounder with local phone support, and inventory heavy businesses such as wholesalers and trades that need AccountRight's stock control and job costing. Its decades in the market also mean many local bookkeepers know it well.
QuickBooks suits cloud first businesses that want strong reporting, multi currency and project tracking, and like that those features arrive on its Plus plan for less than MYOB's top tier. It is a strong fit for service businesses that care more about reporting than deep inventory.
Australian compliance: BAS, GST, STP and awards
Both are built for Australian compliance and are evenly matched. Each prepares and lodges your BAS, tracks GST automatically, and reports Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 to the ATO, and both handle PAYG and superannuation. Compliance will not separate them, so let price, inventory and support guide the choice.
Switching and migration
Both support migration in either direction, bringing across your chart of accounts, contacts and history. Switch near the end of a BAS quarter so your reporting periods stay clean, and reconcile both files for one overlap month before you retire the old one. Moving a large inventory catalogue from AccountRight is the one area to plan carefully.
Integrations and support
MYOB's strengths are its inventory depth on AccountRight, receipt capture and Australian phone support. QuickBooks counters with strong reporting, project and multi currency tools on Plus, and a lower price at the top end. Both connect to the mainstream apps a small business uses.
For current plan pricing in Australian dollars, see the comparison table at the top of this page.
AI capabilities
Start from what you would actually want to ask. "Who owes me money, and how late are they?" is a question most owners answer by opening the software and running a report. Both of these platforms are working on letting you ask it in plain language instead, and as at August 2026 they have arrived from opposite directions.
| Platform | In-product AI | AI assistants and agents |
|---|---|---|
| MYOB | Native (AI BAS, Smart Reconciliation) | Native: Claude + ChatGPT apps (rollout from Aug 2026); MCP via 3rd-party (CData) |
| QuickBooks Online | Native (Intuit Assist) | Native MCP (Intuit, early preview) |
MYOB's announcement is the consumer-facing one. From August 2026, phased through the Claude and ChatGPT app directories, MYOB customers will be able to pull customer balances, overdue invoices and profit and loss into a chat with an assistant many of them already use. Alongside it sits AI BAS, which MYOB describes as Australia's first agentic BAS offering: it categorises transactions and flags GST rules progressively through the quarter and raises issues for review. It does not lodge the BAS for you.
Intuit's route is the developer-facing one. QuickBooks Online carries a native MCP integration at early-preview stage, so the plumbing is official and open but still early, and its in-product assistance comes through Intuit Assist.
The honest read is that this is a young field and both are moving. MYOB's is phased, so it will not be live in every account yet. Both vendors frame their output as something you review rather than something you accept. And in each case the benefit only lands if you are already working in the assistant, which is worth being realistic about before it sways your choice of accounting platform.
Pros and cons for this matchup
MYOB wins on its established local presence, phone support, AccountRight's inventory and job tracking depth, and unlimited users on every plan, but it starts slightly dearer than QuickBooks, its top tier is dearer still, and it charges $3 per employee a month for payroll (with Business Lite covering only 2 employees). QuickBooks wins on a lower priced top plan, strong reporting and project and multi currency tools, but it meters seats (1 on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus) and charges separately for payroll.
The verdict
Choose MYOB if you want an established local all-rounder, prefer Australian phone support, or need AccountRight's deeper inventory and job tracking. Choose QuickBooks Online if you are cloud first, want strong reporting and project tools, and like that it starts cheaper and its top plan costs less than MYOB's. Both clear the compliance bar comfortably, so put your invoice count and headcount into the calculator above and let the numbers, inventory needs and support style decide.