BooksTime vs Fortnox: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of BooksTime and Fortnox to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
BooksTime
5.9/10
Outsourced bookkeeping service that gives small businesses and nonprofits a dedicated bookkeeper who works in QuickBooks, Xero, or other accounting software.
Fortnox
6.5/10
Swedish cloud accounting platform covering bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll, supplier invoice approval and reporting for small and mid-sized Swedish businesses and accounting firms.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.9/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Compliance | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 4/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $320/mo Essentials | SEK 238/mo Mini |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $320/mo Essentials | SEK 238/mo Mini |
| Features | ||
| Accountant Access | ||
| Accounts Payable | ||
| Financial Reporting | ||
| General Ledger | ||
| Invoicing | ||
| Payroll | ||
| Bank Reconciliation | Not listed | |
| Budgeting and Forecasting | Not listed | |
| Corporate Cards | Not listed | |
| Expense Management | Not listed | |
| Inventory Accounting | Not listed | |
| Multi-currency | Not listed | |
| Multi-entity Consolidation | Not listed | |
| Tax Compliance | Not listed | |
BooksTime vs Fortnox cost by team size
| Team size | BooksTime | Fortnox |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $320/moEssentials | SEK 238/moMini |
| 5 users | $320/moEssentials | SEK 238/moMini |
| 10 users | $320/moEssentials | SEK 238/moMini |
| 25 users | $320/moEssentials | SEK 238/moMini |
| 50 users | $320/moEssentials | SEK 238/moMini |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose BooksTime
- Higher Customization score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Analytics score (6/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose Fortnox
- Higher Compliance score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Security score (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for accountants and bookkeepers (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for startups (8/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
BooksTime
Pros
- Bookkeepers work in the client's existing software, and BooksTime says it supports more than 25 options including QuickBooks and Xero, so clients are not locked in.
- Essentials pricing is public, and it does not cap transactions or connected accounts.
- Monthly contracts can be cancelled at any time with no cancellation fees.
- It offers nonprofit-specific services such as Form 990 preparation and restricted fund tracking.
- All nine Trustpilot reviews give 5 stars and praise its accuracy and on-time work, including for books with several entities.
Cons
- It is not a CPA firm, so tax returns are handed to referred CPAs and quoted separately.
- There is no public security or compliance documentation.
- Essentials pricing rises with monthly expenses, and the Complete plan has no public price.
- It has few independent reviews; Trustpilot shows only 9.
- The pricing page does not say which services come with Essentials and which need Complete.
Fortnox
Pros
- More than 500 integrations, and one 189 kr licence covers all of them.
- A single platform covers bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll, supplier invoice approval, payments and a company card, which suits Swedish SMEs.
- Accounting firms get a dedicated bureau package for working in their clients' books.
- New companies get six months free, and every new subscription has a 30-day open purchase period.
- Trustpilot and Shopify app reviewers frequently praise customer service and sync reliability.
Cons
- Usage fees for invoices, paid employees and interpretations, plus an Access fee that scales with activity, make total cost hard to predict.
- Three-month agreements cost 15 percent more than the 12-month list prices.
- The product is Swedish-focused, and users have asked for an English interface.
- Some users call the reporting tools dated and say neobank integrations such as Revolut are missing.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Fortnox scores higher on our Finance Software criteria: 6.5/10 against 5.9/10 for BooksTime. The largest gap is in Compliance: 5/10 for BooksTime and 7/10 for Fortnox.
No, neither BooksTime nor Fortnox lists a free plan.
Fortnox is the better fit for accountants and bookkeepers: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 6/10 for BooksTime.
