Intuit has confirmed significant price increases for QuickBooks Desktop products, effective February 1, 2026, or at each subscriber’s next renewal date. For finance leaders tracking software costs are already covering how these shifts affect budgeting decisions across small and mid-size businesses. At gotomyerp, we work with hundreds of companies navigating these exact changes every day. This guide breaks down what is happening, who is affected, and what your smartest next step may be.
Intuit’s 2026 pricing update was not subtle. Annual subscription pricing for QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus and Mac Plus rose from $999 to $1,149 for single-user licenses, with multi-user pricing climbing from $200 per seat to $230 per seat.
Those numbers add up fast for businesses running multiple users.
The changes apply to all subscribers with renewal dates on or after February 1, 2026, and cover Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus, Desktop Accountant, Enterprise Silver and White Gold, and most payroll add-on tiers.
For Enterprise specifically, the impact goes beyond a simple rate increase. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Gold and Platinum customers now face a per-employee fee billed monthly, based on the number of unique employees paid each month. Each company file in your QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise will incur these per-employee fees separately.
That structure can create unexpected cost spikes for payroll-heavy operations.
Not every Desktop user is in the same boat. Here is a breakdown of the key scenarios:
Affected groups:
Less immediately affected:
Already impacted:
If your team is still running a 2022 version, the risks are compounding quickly.
These price increases do not exist in a vacuum. Intuit stopped selling new subscriptions of QuickBooks Desktop Plus products in 2024. Intuit continues to support renewals of existing Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus, and Enhanced Payroll subscribers.
The message from Intuit is fairly clear. The company seems to be nudging new customers toward QuickBooks Online, with higher renewal costs and limited availability raising questions about the long-term direction of Desktop products.
Enterprise will continue to be sold and supported by Intuit for the foreseeable future, even as Pro and Premier are discontinued. However, Enterprise is significantly more expensive than Pro/Premier and is not a long-term escape from Intuit’s cloud push.
For many businesses, this is the moment to stop reacting to each pricing update and start building a more intentional infrastructure plan.
Disclaimer: The figures below reflect approximate market ranges based on publicly available information as of early 2026. These are illustrative scenarios only. Actual pricing varies by subscription tier, user count, payroll configuration, and renewal terms. Always request current pricing directly from Intuit or your QuickBooks Solution Provider before making budget decisions.
Option 1: Renew and Budget for Higher Costs
If Desktop features are central to your workflow, renewing makes sense in the short term. Just build the new pricing into your software budget now rather than absorbing it as a surprise.
Option 2: Upgrade to Enterprise
Enterprise is the only Desktop version still available for new customers, but the advanced features may not justify the premium if you do not genuinely need the expanded capacity. Review whether the feature set aligns with your actual operational requirements.
Option 3: Move to QuickBooks Hosting
This may be the most strategically sound move for businesses that want to keep Desktop functionality without being locked into Intuit’s pricing trajectory.
QuickBooks Hosting through gotomyerp puts your full Desktop experience in a secure cloud environment. Your team can access it from anywhere, on any device, while you retain all the advanced reporting, job costing, and inventory features that Desktop is known for.
Hosting can potentially reduce per-user costs compared to Enterprise-tier renewals, and it removes the on-premise infrastructure overhead entirely. gotomyerp has served clients including NASA, SoftBank, and Servpro with SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3 certified infrastructure.
Option 4: Evaluate QuickBooks Online or Alternative Platforms
For businesses with simpler accounting needs, Online may now make financial sense. But be aware of the feature trade-offs. As noted in our QuickBooks Hosting vs. Online: Key Differences 2026 guide, Online limits certain inventory methods and lacks several advanced Desktop features that many accounting teams rely on daily.
This is a planning moment, not a panic moment. Here is a practical checklist:
For a deeper look at how cloud hosting fits within your broader ERP strategy, our QuickBooks Hosting: Complete Beginner’s Guide and QuickBooks Hosting Data Backup: How It Works are good starting points.
Can I still use QuickBooks Desktop Pro after the pricing changes? Yes. Existing Pro Plus subscribers can renew at the new rate. You cannot purchase a new Pro Plus subscription as of September 30, 2024 — but renewals remain available.
Will my QuickBooks Desktop 2024 stop working soon? Not immediately. Desktop 2024 is supported through 2027 for existing subscribers. After that, support and updates will cease, which can create security and compliance risks.
Is QuickBooks Hosting more expensive than renewing my Desktop license? It depends on your user count and configuration. For teams of 3 or more users, hosted Desktop often competes favorably with per-seat renewal costs once IT overhead and infrastructure expenses are factored in. Request a custom quote to compare.
Does QuickBooks Hosting give me the same features as Desktop? Yes. Hosted Desktop runs the full QuickBooks Desktop software on remote servers. You keep every feature, every report type, and every integration — accessed securely through the cloud.
What happens if I keep using QuickBooks Desktop 2022? That version lost all official support, payroll updates, bank feeds, and security patches as of May 31, 2025. Continuing to use it carries material data security and compliance risk.
[1] Brady Martz & Associates. (December 2025). QuickBooks Desktop Pricing Update: What Businesses Should Expect in 2026. https://www.bradymartz.com/quickbooks-desktop-pricing-update-what-businesses-should-expect-in-2026/
[2] Kemper CPA Group. Upcoming Changes to QuickBooks Desktop Pricing — Effective February 2026. https://www.kempercpa.com/news/upcoming-changes-to-quickbooks-desktop-pricing-effective-february-2026
[3] Insightful Accountant. (December 2, 2025). Intuit Announces Pricing Changes for QuickBooks Desktop. https://blog.insightfulaccountant.com/intuit-announces-pricing-changes-for-quickbooks-desktop
[4] WizCommerce. (January 2026). QuickBooks Desktop Discontinued 2026 Guide: Your Next Steps. https://wizcommerce.com/blog/quickbooks-desktop-discontinued-everything-you-need-to-know/
[5] FlexPoint. (December 2025). QuickBooks Desktop Support Ending: What MSPs Should Do Next. https://www.getflexpoint.com/blog/quickbooks-for-msps/desktop-support-ending
[6] Witanworld. (November 2025). What Are the Pricing Plans for QuickBooks Desktop in 2026? https://witanworld.com/article/2025/11/19/what-are-the-pricing-plans-for-quickbooks-desktop-in-2026/
[7] gotomyerp. QuickBooks Hosting vs Online: Key Differences 2026. https://www.gotomyerp.com/quickbooks-hosting-vs-online-key-differences-2026/
The 2026 QuickBooks Desktop pricing changes may not be the last. Businesses that move proactively to a stable, hosted cloud environment can potentially lock in predictable costs and maintain full Desktop functionality without depending on Intuit’s pricing calendar.
Request a free, no-obligation quote from gotomyerp today and find out what a hosted QuickBooks environment could look like for your team. Our specialists typically respond within one business day.
This blog post is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or accounting advice. Pricing figures referenced are approximate and based on publicly available sources as of early 2026. Actual subscription costs vary based on your specific product tier, user count, renewal date, and any promotional rates or agreements in place. All pricing data should be independently verified with Intuit or your QuickBooks Solution Provider before making purchasing decisions. Gotomyerp is an independent cloud hosting provider and is not affiliated with Intuit Inc.
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