FreshBooks offers easy-to-use accounting software, but it has some weaknesses. For instance, it requires a live bank connection to track and reconcile transactions. It also lacks features for managing inventory and COGS and monitoring income or expenses by class. Additionally, only one user is included in the base price, so the cost can quickly add up for businesses with multiple users. This is where you may need to explore alternative solutions that can fill these gaps.
That said, here are our top five best FreshBooks alternatives.
- QuickBooks Online: Best overall FreshBooks alternative
- Zoho Books: Best for freelancers and self-employed individuals
- Xero: Best for unlimited users or tracking fixed assets
- AccountEdge: Best desktop-based FreshBooks alternative
- Wave: Best free alternative
- Best FreshBooks Alternatives Compared
- QuickBooks Online: Best Overall FreshBooks Alternative for Inventory Tracking and Assisted Bookkeeping
- Zoho Books: Best for Freelancers & Self-employed Individuals
- Xero: Best for Unlimited Users or Fixed Asset Tracking
- AccountEdge: Best Desktop-based FreshBooks Alternative
- Wave: Best Free FreshBooks Alternative
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Bottom Line
Best FreshBooks Alternatives Compared
| Monthly Pricing | Number of Users Included | Free Trial | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | $23 to $70 or custom priced | 1Additional users can be added for $11 each monthly. | 30 days |
| Visit FreshBooks | |||
 | $38 to $275 | 1 to 25 | 30 days |
| Visit QuickBooks Online | |||
 | $0 to $275 | 1 to 15Additional users can be added for $3 each monthly. | 14 days |
| Visit Zoho Books | |||
 | $20 to $80 | Unlimited | 30 days |
| Visit Xero | |||
 | $20 to $50 | 1 or 2Cloud version allows multiple users for $50 each monthly. | 30 days |
| Visit AccountEdge | |||
 | $0 or $16 | 1 or unlimited | ✕ |
| Visit Wave | |||
QuickBooks Online: Best Overall FreshBooks Alternative for Inventory Tracking and Assisted Bookkeeping
Read our
comparison for more information on how the two programs differ.
Zoho Books: Best for Freelancers & Self-employed Individuals
We compare
to show you how they stack up against each other.
Xero: Best for Unlimited Users or Fixed Asset Tracking
Read our
comparison to see a detailed explanation of their differences.
AccountEdge: Best Desktop-based FreshBooks Alternative
Wave: Best Free FreshBooks Alternative
Read our comparison of
to see how they stack up against each other.
How I Evaluated FreshBooks Alternatives
I evaluated the best FreshBooks alternatives using our internal case study, as explained below.
In evaluating pricing, we considered the billing cycle (monthly or annual) and number of users.
This section focuses more on first-time setup and software settings. The software must be quick and easy to set up for new users. Even after initial setup, the software must also let users modify information like company name, address, entity type, fiscal year-end, and other company information.
The banking section of this case study focuses on cash management, bank reconciliation, and bank feed connections. The software must have bank integrations to automatically feed bank or card transactions. The bank reconciliation module must also let users reconcile accounts with or without bank feeds for optimal ease of use. Lastly, the software must generate useful reports related to cash.
The A/P section focuses on vendor management, bill management, bill payments, and other payable-related transactions. A/P features include creating vendors and bills, recording purchase orders and converting them to bills, creating service items, and recording full or partial bill payments.
This takes into account customer management, revenue recognition, invoice management, and collections. The software must have A/R features that make it easy for users to collect payments from customers, remind customers of upcoming or overdue invoices, and manage customer obligations through analytic dashboards or reports.
Businesses with inventory items should choose accounting software that can track inventory costs, manage cost of goods sold (COGS), and monitor inventory units.
Service or project-based businesses should choose accounting software that can track project costs, revenues, and profits. The software must have tools to track time, record billable hours or expenses, send invoices for progress billings, or monitor project progress and performance.
In this section, we’re looking at sales tax features. The software must have features that allow users to set sales tax rates, apply them to invoices, and enable users to pay sales tax liability.
Reports are important for managers, owners, and decision-makers. The software must have enough reports that can be generated with a few clicks. Moreover, we’d also like to see customization options to enable users to generate reports based on what they want to see.
Ease of use gets the highest weight in this case study because we want to give more credit to easy accounting software. For this section, we considered customer service, support network, and a subjective expert opinion score. Users must have easy access to customer service channels in case of problems, questions, or assistance. Support network refers to a community of software users that can extend professional help to businesses. Having an independent software expert perform the bookkeeping is good for overall ease of use. Lastly, our expert opinion score is our subjective rating based on our experience in trying the software.
The software must also have a mobile app to enable users to perform accounting tasks even when away from their laptops or desktops.
We went to user review websites to read first-hand reviews from actual software users. This user review score helps us give more credit to software products that deliver a consistent service to their customers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No, but you can try it for 30 days free with no credit card required.
The biggest drawbacks include the lack of inventory management features, the inability to track income and expenses by class and location, and additional fees for extra users. If you are reconsidering FreshBooks and want to reevaluate it, check out our detailed FreshBooks review.
FreshBooks is best for project- or service-based businesses. It is also perfect for those wanting to do bookkeeping themselves. However, if you need inventory features, I recommend checking out other accounting software like QuickBooks Online.
The best alternative to FreshBooks depends on your specific business needs. For instance, if you need easy access to local bookkeepers who can support you, QuickBooks Online is great. Xero is preferable if you need to set up unlimited users and need fixed asset and inventory features. For startups needing a free alternative, consider Wave Starter.
Bottom Line
FreshBooks offers a simple and easy accounting solution to businesses and those who want to handle their own bookkeeping. Its easy-to-use interface makes it intuitive for users without an accounting background. However, because of the simplicity of FreshBooks, it comes with certain trade-offs in features and functionality. If you think FreshBooks doesn’t meet your accounting needs, my best recommendation is QuickBooks Online.
