The best FreshBooks alternatives vary in complexity but can all track invoices, income and expenses while remaining affordable and easy to use. While all accounting software options listed below can accommodate freelancers’ accounting needs, some are more scalable than FreshBooks and can be a great fit for larger small businesses, too.
Here are our top alternatives to FreshBooks and how they stand out among the competition.
Best FreshBooks Alternatives
Product | Promotion | Learn more | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Wave Accounting | 3.5/5 Best for Free, unlimited invoicing | $0 Free (Wave makes money via paid money management products). | N/A | |
QuickBooks Online Learn more on QuickBooks Online's secure website | 5.0/5 Best for Scalability | $30/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $60, $90, $200. | 50% off for first three months or free 30-day trial. | Learn more on QuickBooks Online's secure website |
Zoho Books Learn more on Zoho Books' secure website | 4.0/5 Best for Mobile-first features | $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275. | 14-day free trial of the Premium plan. | Learn more on Zoho Books' secure website |
Xero Learn more on Xero's secure website | 4.5/5 Best for Unlimited users, more integrations | $13/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $37, $70. | 30-day free trial or monthly discount (terms vary). | Learn more on Xero's secure website |
Sage Accounting Learn more on Sage Accounting's secure website | 3.5/5 Best for Budget accounting software | $10/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $25. | 70% off of the Sage Accounting plan for six months or free 30-day trial. | Learn more on Sage Accounting's secure website |
ZipBooks | Best for Free third-party payment integrations | $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $15, $35, custom. | 30-day free trial | |
Hiveage | Best for Invoicing-only solution | $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $19, $29, $49. | 14-day free trial of the Pro plan. |
Our pick for
Free, unlimited invoicing
Wave Accounting
Starting at
$0
Free (Wave makes money via paid money management products).
Promotion
N/A
Unlike FreshBooks, Wave’s accounting software is free to use. Features include income and expense tracking, automated invoice reminders, unlimited bank and credit card connections and a dashboard showing cash flow and invoice statuses. Wave also offers different invoice templates depending on the type of business you run: consulting, freelance, legal services, marketing or professional services.
Pros
- Free, plus no billable client limit.
- Unlimited partners, collaborators and accountants.
- Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
Cons
- No built-in time tracker, mileage tracking feature, audit trail or ability to accept in-person card payments.
- No third-party integrations or additional plans to increase functionality.
- Receive customer support with a human only if you subscribe to Wave’s paid services (payroll, payments, advisor, etc.).
Our pick for
Scalability
QuickBooks Online
Learn more
on QuickBooks Online's secure website
Starting at
$30/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $60, $90, $200.
Promotion
50% off
for first three months or free 30-day trial.
QuickBooks Online is good for businesses that are still growing or plan to grow, thanks to its reporting capabilities and granular transaction tracking tools that let you group transactions by department or location, among other categories. Reporting capabilities scale up with each plan, but even the least-expensive Simple Start plan includes more than 50 reports. It integrates with more point-of-sale systems and payroll software platforms than FreshBooks does and offers its own in-house bookkeeping support, in case you need additional assistance.
Pros
- Higher-tier plans include more advanced reporting and inventory tracking tools for growing businesses.
- Includes more than 750 third-party integrations.
- No billable client limit.
- Daily phone support and 24/7 chat support in all plans.
Cons
- Must pay separately for automatic time-tracking software.
- Least-expensive Simple Start and Essentials plans don’t support billable expenses.
Our pick for
Mobile-first features
Zoho Books
Learn more
on Zoho Books' secure website
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.
Promotion
14-day free trial
of the Premium plan.
If you appreciate the ease of use and functionality of FreshBooks’ mobile app, Zoho Books could be a great alternative. Its mobile app lets you send invoices via iMessage or add widgets to your phone’s home screen so that you can easily access timers and overdue invoices. You can track time, send payment reminders and review outstanding invoices from the Apple Watch app, too. Zoho Books can also be more affordable than FreshBooks — its free plan allows for up to 1,000 invoices per year.
Pros
- Less expensive than some competitors; free plan available for businesses with less than $50K in annual revenue.
- Add accounting widgets to your phone’s home screen; track time using your Apple Watch.
- Email support in free plan; 24/5 phone and chat support in paid plans.
- Set up workflow rules in the Professional plan and up.
Cons
- To scan receipts, you’ll need Zoho Expense, a separate app (Zoho Expense’s free plan includes this feature).
- Has fewer third-party integrations than FreshBooks does.
Our pick for
Unlimited users, more integrations
Xero
Learn more
on Xero's secure website
Starting at
$13/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $37, $70.
Promotion
30-day free trial
or monthly discount (terms vary).
If the software you need to sync with isn’t included in FreshBooks’ list of more than 130 integrations, you might find it in Xero’s app store. This accounting software integrates with more payroll and point-of-sale products than FreshBooks does and lets you add as many users as you want. FreshBooks charges $10 per additional user, per month, which can get expensive if you want to give employees access to the software. Xero is also known as a user-friendly platform that sidesteps the potentially confusing accounting jargon you may find with other providers.
Pros
- Unlimited users in all pricing plans.
- Use Hubdoc to store and organize documents.
- Includes more than 1,000 third-party app integrations.
- Simple layout and easy to use.
Cons
- Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
- Must subscribe to the most-expensive Established plan to access mileage and time tracking.
- No phone number for customer support listed.
Our pick for
Budget accounting software
Sage Accounting
Learn more
on Sage Accounting's secure website
Starting at
$10/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $25.
Promotion
70% off
of the Sage Accounting plan for six months or free 30-day trial.
Sage Accounting, also known as Sage Business Cloud Accounting, offers two affordably priced plans that cover the basics for small business with up to 10 employees. And unlike Wave Accounting, another budget software product, Sage includes audit trails and some third-party integrations. As an added bonus, the more expensive $25/month plan accommodates unlimited users and lets you forecast cash flow.
Pros
- No limit on billable clients or invoices.
- Plans are less expensive than those of some competitors.
- Strong inventory tracking features in higher-tier plan.
- Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
- Fewer third-party integrations than FreshBooks.
- Least-expensive plan doesn’t let you manage purchase invoices or send quotes or estimates.
- No time or mileage tracking features.
Our pick for
Free third-party payment integrations
ZipBooks
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $15, $35, custom.
Promotion
30-day free trial
ZipBooks’ free accounting plan stands out for its Square and PayPal payment integrations, a feature some companies provide only in paid plans or as an add-on. Aside from payments, free plan subscribers can also integrate with business apps like Gusto and Slack. The company offers a separate Growth plan for generating customer reviews and managing business listings, too. This could be a valuable feature for businesses that are just getting started and want to increase their brand awareness.
Pros
- Free, unlimited invoicing.
- Free, direct integration with Square and PayPal for payment processing.
- Simple to navigate.
- Offers separate plans for growing your business’s online presence.
Cons
- Free plan is limited to one user and one bank account connection.
- No live customer support in free plan.
- No inventory or mileage tracking features.
Our pick for
Invoicing-only solution
Hiveage
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $19, $29, $49.
Promotion
14-day free trial
of the Pro plan.
If you only need to send invoices and receive payments, Hiveage stands out for its simplicity. Creating one-time and recurring invoices is straightforward, the dashboard is easy to navigate, and it offers time and expense tracking even in the free version. You can accept online payments with any plan, but to accept offline payments through cash, check and bank transfer, you’ll have to subscribe to the most-expensive Plus plan. Hiveage can also integrate with accounting, customer relationship management and project management software via Zapier.
Pros
- Free plan supports unlimited invoicing for up to five clients.
- Integrates with a dozen payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square and more.
- Assign different billable rates to each type of task.
- Direct clients to your own custom domain with the Plus plan.
Cons
- No built-in, direct integrations with bookkeeping or accounting software.
- All plans have client limits (highest-tier Plus plan caps at 1,000).
Who is FreshBooks best for?
FreshBooks is a simple and affordable accounting solution for freelancers and small businesses that don’t require many users and prioritize being able to operate on the go via mobile app. It’s an especially inexpensive choice for those who can work within lower-tier plans’ billable client limits.
While it can be a great fit for freelancers and contractors who need to track time, keep tabs on mileage and send invoices, it’s not the best choice for growing businesses that require features like audit trails.
What are the pros and cons of FreshBooks?
Here are some of the reasons we rate FreshBooks as one of the best accounting software picks for freelancers and small businesses:
- Its intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
- Its mobile app stands out for its usability and features, like the ability to respond to clients’ questions from anywhere.
- It lets you automatically track mileage and label trips as business or personal.
- You can track time and add billable hours, plus other billable expenses, to invoices.
- All plans include weekday phone support.
These drawbacks, however, could be limiting for some entrepreneurs:
- The least-expensive Lite plan does not include double-entry accounting reports, accountant access or bank reconciliation.
- The Lite and Plus plans limit billable clients to five and 50, respectively.
- The highest-tier Select plan comes with only two users (additional users add $10 per month).
- There are no audit trails for accountants to review.
How FreshBooks compares
Last updated on March 20, 2023
Methodology
NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including scope of features and integrations, customer support and cost, among others. Learn more about how we rate small-business accounting software.
These ratings are meant to provide clarity in the decision-making process, but what’s best for your business will depend on its size and growth trajectory and which features you need most. Simplicity doesn't always translate into ease of use. Less scalable products are typically simpler, but diminished functionality can cause headaches down the road for growing businesses. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one.
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