QuickBooks Desktop 2020 to 2024
QuickBooks Desktop 2021 without a subscription: what you can still do
Which versions were the last one-time purchases, when each one lost its services, and what still works on a copy you already own. Checked against Intuit's own pages, October 2026.
The short answer
2021 was the last one-time QuickBooks Desktop, and it is no longer sold or supported.
The 2021 versions were the last one-time licences.
Intuit sold Pro, Premier and Mac 2021 outright until Dec 10, 2021. From 2022, Desktop was subscription only.
2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 have all been discontinued.
Each lost payroll, online banking, support and security updates on May 31 of 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 in turn.
2024 is subscription only.
It has no sunset date, Intuit says, but only while you keep paying. Pro, Premier and Mac Plus are not sold to new US customers.
The desktop program you still buy once
If you liked buying QuickBooks once, AcboBooks works that way: $399.99 one time for a Windows desktop program with payroll, inventory and multi-user, your encrypted file on your PC, and an import from QuickBooks Desktop.
No card, no account for the trial. Windows 10 and 11.
Version by version
How each version was sold, and when it ended
Desktop 2020
One-time licence (Pro, Premier) or yearly Plus subscription
Discontinued after May 31, 2023
Desktop 2021
One-time licence or yearly Plus subscription. The last one-time versions; taken off sale Dec 10, 2021
Discontinued after May 31, 2024
Desktop 2022
Subscription only: Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus, Enterprise
Discontinued after May 31, 2025
Desktop 2023
Subscription only
Discontinued after May 31, 2026
Desktop 2024
Subscription only; closed to new US Pro, Premier and Mac customers after September 30, 2024
No sunset date, Intuit says, while your subscription is active
Sources: Intuit's Desktop service discontinuation policy (updated August 5, 2026), What's new in QuickBooks Desktop 2024 (updated September 18, 2026), QuickBooks Team answers in Intuit's community on the 2020 (February 2023) and 2021 (March 2024) discontinuations, Intuit's US pricing pages for the one-time prices, and Insightful Accountant (September 2021) on the move to subscription-only 2022 versions.
Why so many people look for 2021
QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2021 listed at $399.99 and Premier 2021 at $649.99, paid once. Intuit then announced that Pro, Premier and Mac 2022 would be sold only as yearly subscriptions. That made 2021 the last version many small businesses could own outright, and it is still the version people ask for by name.
The 2020 and 2021 versions worked the way QuickBooks Desktop always had: one payment, and that year's version was supported for about three years. Intuit has not sold a version that way since. The full price story is on our QuickBooks price history page.
What still works on a copy you already own
Discontinuation does not switch the program off. Intuit's community answers say a discontinued one-time version keeps working and opening your company file. What it loses, under Intuit's discontinuation policy, is every connected service:
- Live technical support
- Desktop Payroll: tax table updates, forms and e-filing
- Desktop Payments (card and cheque processing)
- Online banking downloads, bank feeds, payments and transfers
- Accountant's Copy file transfer
- Multi-currency exchange rate updates
- Emailing forms and reports from inside QuickBooks
- Critical security updates
Payroll is the first thing to break: without current tax tables, every paycheck is worked out with old rates. Then come bank feeds, and with no security updates the PC holding your bank and employee details gets no fixes. More in can you keep using an old version of QuickBooks Desktop.
A subscription version is different. If you are on Desktop Plus 2023 R3 or newer and stop renewing, Intuit says the file becomes view-only for 12 months, with export allowed. See what happens to your file when the subscription ends.
2024: no sunset, but no one-time option
Intuit says QuickBooks Desktop 2024 Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Enterprise will not be discontinued in May 2027, that the release has no sunset deadline, and that improvements now arrive as in-product updates rather than new yearly versions. There is no Desktop 2025 or 2026. That only helps while you subscribe, and new US customers cannot subscribe to Pro Plus, Premier Plus or Mac Plus. Details in Intuit says QuickBooks Desktop 2024 has no sunset date.
The AcboBooks route
If you are still on 2020 or 2021 because you did not want a subscription, AcboBooks keeps that arrangement: a Windows desktop program you buy once for $399.99, for one business on two computers. The version you buy never expires; it includes 12 months of updates, and renewing them is optional, though payroll users will want each year's new tax tables.
- Familiar layout: menus, registers, lists and reports in the desktop style you are used to.
- Payroll included for the US and Canada, with no per-employee charge.
- Your file on your PC, encrypted, with no online account.
- Imports from QuickBooks Desktop: lists from an IIF export from any edition and year; and from QuickBooks Desktop 2019 or later on the same PC, lists, account balances, open invoices, unpaid bills and credit memos.
Both paths work from a 2020 or 2021 copy. Then check the trial balance in both programs at the same date. See Move from QuickBooks, check your books after moving, and how to export everything from QuickBooks Desktop first.
The limits, plainly: AcboBooks runs on Windows 10 and 11 only, with no phone app, and it imports your bank's statement files rather than connecting live to most banks. Try it on your own data for 15 days before you decide.
Questions
Can you still buy QuickBooks Desktop 2021 without a subscription?
Not from Intuit. QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier and Mac 2021 were the last versions Intuit sold as one-time purchases, and it stopped selling them on Dec 10, 2021. The 2021 versions were then discontinued after May 31, 2024.
Is QuickBooks Desktop 2022 or 2023 available without a subscription?
No. Intuit sold Pro, Premier and Mac 2022 and every later version only as yearly subscriptions (Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus and Enterprise). There was never a one-time 2022, 2023 or 2024 Pro or Premier.
Does QuickBooks Desktop 2021 still work?
A 2021 copy you bought outright still opens your company file, according to Intuit's community answers, but since May 31, 2024 it has no live support, no Desktop Payroll tax updates, no Desktop Payments, no online banking or bank feeds and no security updates.
Was QuickBooks Desktop 2020 a one-time purchase?
Yes. Pro and Premier 2020 were sold as one-time licences as well as subscriptions. The 2020 versions were discontinued after May 31, 2023.
When does QuickBooks Desktop 2024 stop working?
Intuit says Desktop 2024 has no sunset date and will not be discontinued in May 2027, but it is a subscription: if it lapses, Intuit says the file becomes view-only for 12 months.
What can I use instead of an old one-time QuickBooks?
If you want the same kind of program, a Windows desktop application with a file on your PC that you buy once, AcboBooks is $399.99 one time, with payroll and inventory included, and it imports QuickBooks Desktop lists and open balances.
Related
- Can you buy QuickBooks Desktop without a subscription?
- QuickBooks Desktop without a subscription in Canada
- Is QuickBooks Desktop discontinued?
- Cost calculator: QuickBooks next to a one-time price
- AcboBooks compared with QuickBooks Pro
QuickBooks® and QuickBooks Desktop® are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc. AcboBooks is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Intuit. Dates and services are quoted from Intuit's published help pages and community answers as of October 27, 2026 and may change.
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