AI Index / Accounting software for freelancers / History

Accounting software for freelancers — AI Recommendation History

What AI assistants recommended for accounting software for freelancers, date by date. Every ranking we publish is frozen the day it publishes, so this is a record of what was said — not a re-computation of what today's data would say about the past.

Record: 26 dated snapshots · Aug 14, 2026 – Sep 8, 2026

Answer archive Methodology Data studies JSON

What changed

Computed by comparing each dated snapshot with the one before it. Share moves smaller than 1pp are treated as noise and left out — the same threshold that suppresses trend arrows on the ranking.

Sep 8, 2026vs Sep 7, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 7, 2026vs Sep 6, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 6, 2026vs Sep 5, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 5-7 → 7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▼Wave Payroll moved #8 → #10
▲Bonsai moved #9 → #8
▲ZipBooks moved #10 → #9
▲FreshBooks +6.7pp (70.8% → 77.5%)
▲Wave +4.6pp (72.9% → 77.5%)
▲Zoho +4.6pp (47.9% → 52.5%)
▲QuickBooks +3.7pp (68.8% → 72.5%)
▲Bonsai +3.3pp (16.7% → 20%)
▲ZipBooks +2.9pp (14.6% → 17.5%)
▲TurboTax +2.5pp (25% → 27.5%)
▲Hurdlr +2.1pp (22.9% → 25%)
▼Wave Payroll -1.7pp (16.7% → 15%)

Sep 5, 2026vs Sep 4, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 4-7 → 5-7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲FreshBooks moved #3 → #2
▼QuickBooks moved #2 → #3
▼Wave Payroll -2.9pp (19.6% → 16.7%)
▼QuickBooks -2.6pp (71.4% → 68.8%)
▼Wave -2.1pp (75% → 72.9%)
▲ZipBooks +2.1pp (12.5% → 14.6%)
▼Bonsai -1.2pp (17.9% → 16.7%)

Sep 4, 2026vs Sep 3, 2026

▲Wave Payroll moved #10 → #8
▼Bonsai moved #8 → #9
▼ZipBooks moved #9 → #10
▲Wave Payroll +4.3pp (15.3% → 19.6%)
▼ZipBooks -4.2pp (16.7% → 12.5%)
▼Bonsai -2.9pp (20.8% → 17.9%)
▲Wave +1.4pp (73.6% → 75%)
▲TurboTax +1.4pp (23.6% → 25%)
▲Hurdlr +1pp (22.2% → 23.2%)

Sep 3, 2026vs Sep 2, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 2, 2026vs Sep 1, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 1, 2026vs Aug 31, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 31, 2026vs Aug 30, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 30, 2026vs Aug 29, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 29, 2026vs Aug 28, 2026

▲Hurdlr moved #8 → #7
▼Bonsai moved #7 → #8
▲ZipBooks moved #10 → #9
▼Wave Payroll moved #9 → #10
▲FreshBooks +1.9pp (70.3% → 72.2%)
▼Wave Payroll -1.9pp (17.2% → 15.3%)
▲Wave +1.7pp (71.9% → 73.6%)
▼TurboTax -1.4pp (25% → 23.6%)
▲Xero +1.2pp (26.6% → 27.8%)
▼Bonsai -1.1pp (21.9% → 20.8%)
▲ZipBooks +1.1pp (15.6% → 16.7%)

Aug 28, 2026vs Aug 27, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 4-5 → 4-7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲TurboTax moved #8 → #6
▲Wave moved #2 → #1
▼QuickBooks moved #1 → #2
▼Bonsai moved #6 → #7
▼Hurdlr moved #7 → #8
▲TurboTax +6.2pp (18.8% → 25%)
▲FreshBooks +4.7pp (65.6% → 70.3%)
▲Zoho +4.6pp (43.8% → 48.4%)
▲Wave +3.1pp (68.8% → 71.9%)
▲Hurdlr +3.1pp (18.8% → 21.9%)
▲Xero +1.6pp (25% → 26.6%)
▲Wave Payroll +1.6pp (15.6% → 17.2%)

Aug 27, 2026vs Aug 26, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 26, 2026vs Aug 25, 2026

▲ INWave Payroll entered the top 10 (#13 → #9)
▼ OUTAkaunting left the top 10 (#10 → #12)
▲Wave Payroll moved #13 → #9
▼ZipBooks moved #6 → #10
▼Akaunting moved #10 → #12
▲QuickBooks moved #2 → #1
▼Wave moved #1 → #2
▲Bonsai moved #7 → #6
▲Hurdlr moved #8 → #7
▲TurboTax moved #9 → #8
▼ZipBooks -9.4pp (25% → 15.6%)
▼Xero -6.3pp (31.3% → 25%)
▼Zoho -6.2pp (50% → 43.8%)
▲Wave Payroll +5.2pp (10.4% → 15.6%)
▼Wave -4.1pp (72.9% → 68.8%)
▲QuickBooks +3.1pp (68.8% → 71.9%)
▲Bonsai +3.1pp (18.8% → 21.9%)
▲Hurdlr +2.1pp (16.7% → 18.8%)
▲TurboTax +2.1pp (16.7% → 18.8%)
▼FreshBooks -1.1pp (66.7% → 65.6%)

Aug 25, 2026vs Aug 24, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 24, 2026vs Aug 23, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 23, 2026vs Aug 22, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 22, 2026vs Aug 21, 2026

▲Xero +4.5pp (26.8% → 31.3%)
▲ZipBooks +3.6pp (21.4% → 25%)
▼Zoho -1.8pp (51.8% → 50%)
▲Akaunting +1.8pp (10.7% → 12.5%)
▲Wave +1.5pp (71.4% → 72.9%)
▼FreshBooks -1.2pp (67.9% → 66.7%)

Aug 21, 2026vs Aug 20, 2026

▲Xero moved #6 → #5
▼ZipBooks moved #5 → #6
▲Hurdlr moved #9 → #8
▼TurboTax moved #8 → #9
▲Xero +6pp (20.8% → 26.8%)
▼ZipBooks -3.6pp (25% → 21.4%)
▼Bonsai -2.9pp (20.8% → 17.9%)
▲Hurdlr +2.2pp (13.9% → 16.1%)
▼QuickBooks -1.2pp (70.8% → 69.6%)

Aug 20, 2026vs Aug 19, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 19, 2026vs Aug 18, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 18, 2026vs Aug 17, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 17, 2026vs Aug 16, 2026

▲ INAkaunting entered the top 10 (#11 → #10)
▼ OUTBench left the top 10 (#10 → #11)
▲Xero moved #8 → #6
▼TurboTax moved #6 → #8
▲Akaunting moved #11 → #10
▼Bench moved #10 → #11
▼TurboTax -8.7pp (24% → 15.3%)
▼QuickBooks -6.3pp (77.1% → 70.8%)
▼ZipBooks -6.3pp (31.3% → 25%)
▼Zoho -5.9pp (57.3% → 51.4%)
▼Wave -4.9pp (77.1% → 72.2%)
▼FreshBooks -4.8pp (72.9% → 68.1%)
▲Xero +4.1pp (16.7% → 20.8%)
▼Bench -3.5pp (14.6% → 11.1%)
▼Akaunting -2.4pp (13.5% → 11.1%)
▼Bonsai -2.1pp (22.9% → 20.8%)
▼Hurdlr -1.7pp (15.6% → 13.9%)

Aug 16, 2026vs Aug 15, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 15, 2026vs Aug 14, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

The ranking, date by date

Top 10 on each archived date, exactly as published. Cite a date and it stays true: snapshots are append-only, and a correction appends a new revision rather than overwriting the original.

Sep 8, 202640 sampled answers · window 2026-08-11 – 2026-09-08 · rules v7

#1Wave77.5%
#2FreshBooks77.5%
#3QuickBooks72.5%
#4Zoho52.5%
#5Xero30%
#6TurboTax27.5%
#7Hurdlr25%
#8Bonsai20%
#9ZipBooks17.5%
#10Wave Payroll15%

Sep 7, 202640 sampled answers · window 2026-08-10 – 2026-09-07 · rules v7

#1Wave77.5%
#2FreshBooks77.5%
#3QuickBooks72.5%
#4Zoho52.5%
#5Xero30%
#6TurboTax27.5%
#7Hurdlr25%
#8Bonsai20%
#9ZipBooks17.5%
#10Wave Payroll15%

Sep 6, 202640 sampled answers · window 2026-08-09 – 2026-09-06 · rules v7

#1Wave77.5%
#2FreshBooks77.5%
#3QuickBooks72.5%
#4Zoho52.5%
#5Xero30%
#6TurboTax27.5%
#7Hurdlr25%
#8Bonsai20%
#9ZipBooks17.5%
#10Wave Payroll15%

Sep 5, 202648 sampled answers · window 2026-08-08 – 2026-09-05 · rules v5-7

#1Wave72.9%
#2FreshBooks70.8%
#3QuickBooks68.8%
#4Zoho47.9%
#5Xero29.2%
#6TurboTax25%
#7Hurdlr22.9%
#8Wave Payroll16.7%
#9Bonsai16.7%
#10ZipBooks14.6%

Sep 4, 202656 sampled answers · window 2026-08-07 – 2026-09-04 · rules v4-7

#1Wave75%
#2QuickBooks71.4%
#3FreshBooks71.4%
#4Zoho48.2%
#5Xero28.6%
#6TurboTax25%
#7Hurdlr23.2%
#8Wave Payroll19.6%
#9Bonsai17.9%
#10ZipBooks12.5%

Sep 3, 202672 sampled answers · window 2026-08-06 – 2026-09-03 · rules v4-7

#1Wave73.6%
#2QuickBooks72.2%
#3FreshBooks72.2%
#4Zoho48.6%
#5Xero27.8%
#6TurboTax23.6%
#7Hurdlr22.2%
#8Bonsai20.8%
#9ZipBooks16.7%
#10Wave Payroll15.3%

Sep 2, 202672 sampled answers · window 2026-08-05 – 2026-09-02 · rules v4-7

#1Wave73.6%
#2QuickBooks72.2%
#3FreshBooks72.2%
#4Zoho48.6%
#5Xero27.8%
#6TurboTax23.6%
#7Hurdlr22.2%
#8Bonsai20.8%
#9ZipBooks16.7%
#10Wave Payroll15.3%

Sep 1, 202672 sampled answers · window 2026-08-04 – 2026-09-01 · rules v4-7

#1Wave73.6%
#2QuickBooks72.2%
#3FreshBooks72.2%
#4Zoho48.6%
#5Xero27.8%
#6TurboTax23.6%
#7Hurdlr22.2%
#8Bonsai20.8%
#9ZipBooks16.7%
#10Wave Payroll15.3%

Aug 31, 202672 sampled answers · window 2026-08-03 – 2026-08-31 · rules v4-7

#1Wave73.6%
#2QuickBooks72.2%
#3FreshBooks72.2%
#4Zoho48.6%
#5Xero27.8%
#6TurboTax23.6%
#7Hurdlr22.2%
#8Bonsai20.8%
#9ZipBooks16.7%
#10Wave Payroll15.3%

Aug 30, 202672 sampled answers · window 2026-08-02 – 2026-08-30 · rules v4-7

#1Wave73.6%
#2QuickBooks72.2%
#3FreshBooks72.2%
#4Zoho48.6%
#5Xero27.8%
#6TurboTax23.6%
#7Hurdlr22.2%
#8Bonsai20.8%
#9ZipBooks16.7%
#10Wave Payroll15.3%

Aug 29, 202672 sampled answers · window 2026-08-01 – 2026-08-29 · rules v4-7

#1Wave73.6%
#2QuickBooks72.2%
#3FreshBooks72.2%
#4Zoho48.6%
#5Xero27.8%
#6TurboTax23.6%
#7Hurdlr22.2%
#8Bonsai20.8%
#9ZipBooks16.7%
#10Wave Payroll15.3%

Aug 28, 202664 sampled answers · window 2026-07-31 – 2026-08-28 · rules v4-7

#1Wave71.9%
#2QuickBooks71.9%
#3FreshBooks70.3%
#4Zoho48.4%
#5Xero26.6%
#6TurboTax25%
#7Bonsai21.9%
#8Hurdlr21.9%
#9Wave Payroll17.2%
#10ZipBooks15.6%

Aug 27, 202632 sampled answers · window 2026-07-30 – 2026-08-27 · rules v4-5

#1QuickBooks71.9%
#2Wave68.8%
#3FreshBooks65.6%
#4Zoho43.8%
#5Xero25%
#6Bonsai21.9%
#7Hurdlr18.8%
#8TurboTax18.8%
#9Wave Payroll15.6%
#10ZipBooks15.6%

Aug 26, 202632 sampled answers · window 2026-07-29 – 2026-08-26 · rules v4-5

#1QuickBooks71.9%
#2Wave68.8%
#3FreshBooks65.6%
#4Zoho43.8%
#5Xero25%
#6Bonsai21.9%
#7Hurdlr18.8%
#8TurboTax18.8%
#9Wave Payroll15.6%
#10ZipBooks15.6%

Aug 25, 202648 sampled answers · window 2026-07-28 – 2026-08-25 · rules v4-5

#1Wave72.9%
#2QuickBooks68.8%
#3FreshBooks66.7%
#4Zoho50%
#5Xero31.3%
#6ZipBooks25%
#7Bonsai18.8%
#8Hurdlr16.7%
#9TurboTax16.7%
#10Akaunting12.5%

Aug 24, 202648 sampled answers · window 2026-07-27 – 2026-08-24 · rules v4-5

#1Wave72.9%
#2QuickBooks68.8%
#3FreshBooks66.7%
#4Zoho50%
#5Xero31.3%
#6ZipBooks25%
#7Bonsai18.8%
#8Hurdlr16.7%
#9TurboTax16.7%
#10Akaunting12.5%

Aug 23, 202648 sampled answers · window 2026-07-26 – 2026-08-23 · rules v4-5

#1Wave72.9%
#2QuickBooks68.8%
#3FreshBooks66.7%
#4Zoho50%
#5Xero31.3%
#6ZipBooks25%
#7Bonsai18.8%
#8Hurdlr16.7%
#9TurboTax16.7%
#10Akaunting12.5%

Aug 22, 202648 sampled answers · window 2026-07-25 – 2026-08-22 · rules v4-5

#1Wave72.9%
#2QuickBooks68.8%
#3FreshBooks66.7%
#4Zoho50%
#5Xero31.3%
#6ZipBooks25%
#7Bonsai18.8%
#8Hurdlr16.7%
#9TurboTax16.7%
#10Akaunting12.5%

Aug 21, 202656 sampled answers · window 2026-07-24 – 2026-08-21 · rules v4-5

#1Wave71.4%
#2QuickBooks69.6%
#3FreshBooks67.9%
#4Zoho51.8%
#5Xero26.8%
#6ZipBooks21.4%
#7Bonsai17.9%
#8Hurdlr16.1%
#9TurboTax16.1%
#10Akaunting10.7%

Aug 20, 202672 sampled answers · window 2026-07-23 – 2026-08-20 · rules v4-5

#1Wave72.2%
#2QuickBooks70.8%
#3FreshBooks68.1%
#4Zoho51.4%
#5ZipBooks25%
#6Xero20.8%
#7Bonsai20.8%
#8TurboTax15.3%
#9Hurdlr13.9%
#10Akaunting11.1%

Aug 19, 202672 sampled answers · window 2026-07-22 – 2026-08-19 · rules v4-5

#1Wave72.2%
#2QuickBooks70.8%
#3FreshBooks68.1%
#4Zoho51.4%
#5ZipBooks25%
#6Xero20.8%
#7Bonsai20.8%
#8TurboTax15.3%
#9Hurdlr13.9%
#10Akaunting11.1%

Aug 18, 202672 sampled answers · window 2026-07-21 – 2026-08-18 · rules v4-5

#1Wave72.2%
#2QuickBooks70.8%
#3FreshBooks68.1%
#4Zoho51.4%
#5ZipBooks25%
#6Xero20.8%
#7Bonsai20.8%
#8TurboTax15.3%
#9Hurdlr13.9%
#10Akaunting11.1%

Aug 17, 202672 sampled answers · window 2026-07-20 – 2026-08-17 · rules v4-5

#1Wave72.2%
#2QuickBooks70.8%
#3FreshBooks68.1%
#4Zoho51.4%
#5ZipBooks25%
#6Xero20.8%
#7Bonsai20.8%
#8TurboTax15.3%
#9Hurdlr13.9%
#10Akaunting11.1%

Aug 16, 202696 sampled answers · window 2026-07-19 – 2026-08-16 · rules v4-5

#1Wave77.1%
#2QuickBooks77.1%
#3FreshBooks72.9%
#4Zoho57.3%
#5ZipBooks31.3%
#6TurboTax24%
#7Bonsai22.9%
#8Xero16.7%
#9Hurdlr15.6%
#10Bench14.6%

Aug 15, 202696 sampled answers · window 2026-07-18 – 2026-08-15 · rules v4-5

#1Wave77.1%
#2QuickBooks77.1%
#3FreshBooks72.9%
#4Zoho57.3%
#5ZipBooks31.3%
#6TurboTax24%
#7Bonsai22.9%
#8Xero16.7%
#9Hurdlr15.6%
#10Bench14.6%

Aug 14, 202696 sampled answers · window 2026-07-17 – 2026-08-14 · rules v4-5

#1Wave77.1%
#2QuickBooks77.1%
#3FreshBooks72.9%
#4Zoho57.3%
#5ZipBooks31.3%
#6TurboTax24%
#7Bonsai22.9%
#8Xero16.7%
#9Hurdlr15.6%
#10Bench14.6%

Read any date directly

Every archived date is machine-readable at /api/index/accounting-software-for-freelancers/as-of/<YYYY-MM-DD>, which returns the ranking as it stood, with the extraction version and revision it was published under. Dates before the record begins return no_record rather than a recomputation — we do not reconstruct history on demand and present it as what we said. See what the engines actually said.

[ORBATOR]