Why Our Members Switched
Amadae vs H&R Block
Amadae is best for
- Creators and solo businesses that need the whole year managed, not just filed
- Owners who want the same accountant every time, reachable by text
- People who want books, payroll, estimates, and returns from one team
H&R Block is best for
- W-2 filers who want a human preparer for one seasonal visit
- People who value walking into a physical office
The verdict
H&R Block is built for tax season: walk in with your documents, walk out with a filed return. For a W-2 household that wants a human without hiring a CPA, that model works. But a business owner's tax bill is decided between Aprils, in the books, the payroll, the S corp election, and the quarterly payments that a seasonal storefront never sees. Amadae is the year-round version of the job: the same accountant keeps your books monthly, plans your taxes quarterly, and files a return built from numbers they maintained. Choose H&R Block for a one-time seasonal return. Choose Amadae if your income comes from a business that deserves attention all year.
Retail tax preparation · Updated 2026-09-29
H&R Block pricing vs Amadae
Amadae
All plans 100% deductible
- LLC plan from $249/month: monthly bookkeeping, quarterly estimates, business and personal returns, real accountants
- S corp plan from $349/month: adds payroll, reasonable salary and the S corp return
- A free financial review comes first, so you know what you would save before paying
H&R Block
- In-office preparation is priced per return and rises with complexity
- DIY online tiers run cheaper; Block Advisors small-business services are priced separately
H&R Block pricing varies by office, forms, and season, so confirm current rates locally or on hrblock.com. Amadae Accounting is quoted after a free review.
Feature comparison
| Amadae | H&R Block | |
|---|---|---|
| Automated bookkeeping on its own ledger | Block Advisors offers bookkeeping as a separate paid service | |
| Business and personal tax filing | Included with Amadae Accounting | Returns prepared in-office or online, priced per return |
| Quarterly estimated taxes | Calculated and scheduled for you | Vouchers if you ask; usually reactive, payment on you |
| S-corp formation and election | Not a core service | |
| Business banking and cards | ||
| Invoicing and payments | ||
| Intelligent Assistant (Mozart) | Included in every module | AI assist in the DIY product |
| Personal finance and forecasting |
Not sure if H&R Block or Amadae fits better? A 30-minute call tells you exactly where you stand.
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Pros and cons
Amadae
Pros
- Year-round: books close monthly and strategy runs quarterly, not one visit in spring
- The person who files your return is the one who kept your books all year
- S corp election, reasonable salary, payroll, and estimates handled for you
- Flat monthly pricing instead of per-form surprises
Cons
- No physical offices to walk into
- More than a simple W-2 return needs
H&R Block
Pros
- A human preparer without hiring a CPA, at retail prices
- Thousands of offices and decades of brand trust
- DIY software as a cheaper self-serve path
Cons
- Seasonal by design: nobody is watching your taxes in July
- Your preparer can change every year and starts from scratch
- Bookkeeping, payroll, and strategy are separate services or absent
What H&R Block does well
H&R Block solved a real problem: most people want a human to prepare their taxes without the cost or formality of a CPA engagement. The retail model, an office in every town, per-return pricing, decades of brand familiarity, does that job at scale, and the DIY software covers people who would rather self-serve.
A storefront sees one week of your year
The retail model has a structural limit for business owners: the preparer meets your business through a stack of documents, once, in the spring. Whatever happened during the year, missed quarterly payments, an S corp election nobody modeled, deductions that were never recorded, is already baked in. A seasonal preparer can only file the year you had.
Amadae's model is the opposite shape. Your accountant keeps the books every month, runs payroll at a defensible salary, schedules quarterly payments with safe-harbor logic, and reviews strategy quarterly. Filing season becomes the easy part, because the return summarizes a year that was managed while it was happening.
How to choose
For a W-2 household that wants a human once a year, H&R Block is a reasonable, familiar choice. For business income, compare what a per-return fee buys, one seasonal transaction, against books, payroll, estimates, strategy, and filings from one year-round team. Amadae's free financial review prices your actual situation and shows the tax strategy a seasonal visit cannot.
What you get with Amadae
One flat monthly price. Real accountants who know how creators get paid.
- Automated bookkeeping on its own ledger
- Business and personal tax filing
- Quarterly estimated taxes, calculated and scheduled
- S-corp formation and election
- Business banking and cards, built in
- Intelligent Assistant (Mozart) included in every module
Free 30-minute review. Transparent pricing.
Plans from
$249/mo
If you make $40K - $69K. Flat, no hourly bills.
- Monthly profit and loss reports
- Tax set-aside management
- Expense categorization
- Real-time financial dashboard
- Business bank account connections
- Individual tax return included*
Common questions
H&R Block vs Amadae FAQ
Is H&R Block good for self-employed people?+
For filing, yes: preparers handle Schedule C and small-business returns every season. The gap is everything before filing, bookkeeping, payroll, quarterly estimates, and S corp strategy, which are separate services at Block Advisors or simply not part of the retail visit. Amadae includes all of it in one monthly service.
How much does H&R Block cost compared to Amadae?+
H&R Block charges per return, with the price rising as forms stack up, and small-business services priced separately. Amadae is a flat monthly plan, from $249 for the LLC plan, that covers books, estimates, and both business and personal filings. The free review quotes your exact situation.
Will I get the same accountant every year with Amadae?+
Yes. You have a named accountant in a text thread who keeps your books all year and prepares your return. Retail prep offices commonly reassign preparers season to season.
Can Amadae handle my quarterly taxes, not just the annual return?+
Yes. Quarterly estimates are calculated with safe-harbor logic, scheduled, and adjusted as your income moves during the year, which is exactly the work a seasonal storefront model is not set up to do.
See how Amadae compares to H&R Block
Free 30-minute review. We tell you exactly what you would save.