What are the best alternatives to QuickBooks?

Xero ($15/mo) offers a cleaner interface and better multi-currency support. Wave is completely free for basic accounting and invoicing. FreshBooks is more intuitive for service businesses. Zoho Books integrates well if you use other Zoho products. For very simple needs, spreadsheets plus a separate invoicing tool still work. Switch costs are low — most tools import QuickBooks data.