STEL Order vs Zoho Books (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
Zoho Books is our pick, scoring 7/10 against 6.1/10 for STEL Order on our Finance Software criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Security score (7/10 vs 4/10). For 10 users, STEL Order costs about $40/mo, against $70/mo for Zoho Books; both STEL Order and Zoho Books have a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
STEL Order
6.1/10
Cloud invoicing and ERP software from Spain's STEL Solutions. It covers quoting, invoicing, stock, field service jobs and bank reconciliation for contractors and small businesses.
Zoho Books
7/10
Cloud accounting software from Zoho for small and growing businesses, covering invoicing, bank reconciliation, bills, inventory and financial reporting.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.1/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Compliance | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Customization | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $40/mo Lite | $20/mo Standard |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $40/mo Lite | $70/mo Premium |
| Features | ||
| Accountant Access | ||
| Bank Reconciliation | ||
| Expense Management | ||
| Financial Reporting | ||
| General Ledger | ||
| Invoicing | ||
| Multi-currency | ||
| Online Payments | ||
| Tax Compliance | ||
| Accounts Payable | Not listed | |
| Audit Trail | Not listed | |
| Budgeting and Forecasting | Not listed | |
| Inventory Accounting | Not listed | |
STEL Order vs Zoho Books cost by team size
STEL Order and Zoho Books cost the same at 1 user; STEL Order costs less from 5 to 10 users; Zoho Books costs less from 25 users.
| Team size | STEL Order | Zoho Books |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree | FreeFree |
| 5 users | $40/moLite | $50/moProfessional |
| 10 users | $40/moLite | $70/moPremium |
| 25 users | $40/moLite | FreeFree |
| 50 users | $40/moLite | FreeFree |
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.
Who STEL Order and Zoho Books suit
| Audience | STEL Order | Zoho Books |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | 2/10There is no evidence of multi-entity consolidation, security certifications or enterprise controls. | 3/10It has a 15-user cap, transaction limits, and no native multi-entity consolidation. |
| Freelancers | 7/10The free and Lite plans cover quotes, invoices and expenses, and STEL Accounting has a self-employed tier. | 8/10The free plan covers invoicing, expenses and online payments for a single user. |
| Small Business | 8/10Low entry prices, a free plan and Spanish tax compliance suit small firms and sole traders. | 9/10The plans are priced per organization and limits scale from a free tier, which makes it well suited to small companies. |
| Accountants and Bookkeepers | Not rated | 7/10Every plan, including the free one, lets you invite an accountant, and an accountant on PeerSpot ranked it among their favorite systems. |
| Construction | 8/10The vendor targets contractors and trades such as electricians, HVAC and plumbing, combining work notes, quotes and invoicing. | Not rated |
| Consultancies | Not rated | 7/10It includes timesheet billing, retainers and project profitability tracking. |
| E-commerce | Not rated | 7/10The Elite plan adds warehouses and connections to Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Shopify. |
| Field Teams | 9/10Business and Pro add job dispatch, maintenance contracts, customer assets, GPS and offline mobile apps for technicians. | Not rated |
| Maintenance Teams | 8/10It includes maintenance agreements, incident management and equipment tracking per customer. | Not rated |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose STEL Order
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: $40/mo vs $70/mo
- Higher Support score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose Zoho Books
- Higher Security score (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
STEL Order
Pros
- The Business plan bundles field service features (job dispatch, maintenance contracts, customer equipment, signatures, GPS) with invoicing in one app, so trades firms do not need a separate FSM tool.
- Native iOS and Android apps work offline and sync later, which helps technicians invoice on site.
- Bank feeds from more than 250 banks auto-match transactions to invoices, and you confirm each match with one click.
- For Spain it offers Verifactu support with a choice of Verifactu or non-Verifactu mode, and it presents itself as TicketBAI guarantor software.
- The free plan and free accountant access lower the cost of trying it, and paid plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Invoices can be issued in a client's currency, with exchange rates calculated automatically.
Cons
- The full general ledger, tax returns and annual accounts sit in STEL Accounting, which is still in early-access beta.
- Ready-made integrations are few. Third-party reviewers note limited connectors, and WooCommerce sync is still in beta.
- API access is only on the top Pro plan.
- Annual and two-year plans renew automatically for the same term with no pro-rata refund, according to a 2026 third-party review.
- Each plan includes one user and extra seats are charged per user, so costs climb for larger teams.
- The vendor publishes no security certifications or hosting details, and its pricing pages show inconsistent figures across regions.
Zoho Books
Pros
- The free plan includes online payments, bank reconciliation, recurring invoices and 1099 tracking for one user plus an accountant.
- Pricing is per organization, not per user, so small teams avoid per-seat costs.
- It connects natively with Zoho CRM, Zoho Payroll, Zoho Inventory and Zoho Analytics.
- Professional and higher plans include custom workflows, custom roles and approvals, and Premium adds custom modules and functions.
- On the Elite plan, inventory features cover warehouses, serial and batch tracking, and marketplace sync.
Cons
- Budgets, multi-currency and advanced inventory are only available on higher-priced tiers.
- Reviewers on Capterra and in NerdWallet's write-up describe slow or unhelpful customer support.
- It has fewer third-party integrations than its main competitors, according to NerdWallet.
- A PeerSpot reviewer found it awkward to invoice the same customer in different currencies.
- Even the top plan has a hard cap of 15 users, plus annual transaction limits.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Zoho Books scores higher on our Finance Software criteria: 7/10 against 6.1/10 for STEL Order. The largest gap is in Security: 4/10 for STEL Order and 7/10 for Zoho Books.
STEL Order costs less for 10 users: about $40/mo on its Lite plan, against about $70/mo on its Premium plan for Zoho Books, billed monthly.
Yes, both STEL Order and Zoho Books have a free plan.
