5 Best FreshBooks Alternatives for 2023 (Free & Paid)
This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.
FreshBooks offers easy-to-use accounting software to users who prefer do-it-yourself (DIY) accounting. Because of its uncomplicated interface and processes, the simplicity of the accounting software comes with some trade-offs in functionality and features. If it isn’t the ideal fit for your small business, here are the five best FreshBooks alternatives and each’s use case:
- QuickBooks Online: Best overall FreshBooks alternative for inventory tracking and assisted bookkeeping
- Zoho Books: Best for freelancers and self-employed individuals
- Xero: Best for unlimited users or tracking fixed assets
- Wave: Best free alternative
- Sage Business Cloud Accounting: Best for businesses looking for a simple and affordable accounting software
FreshBooks Alternatives Compared
Provider | Monthly Pricing | Number of Users | Inventory & Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) Tracking | Check Printing & Recording | Manual Bank Reconciliation | Customer Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $15 to $55 or custom priced | 1 (plus $10 for additional) | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | Telephone, live chat, and chatbot |
 | $30 to $200 | 1 to 25 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Telephone, live chat, and chatbot |
 | $0 to $275 | 1 to 15 (plus $3 for additional) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Telephone, live chat, and email support |
 | $13 to $70 | Unlimited | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Email and chatbot |
 | Free | Unlimited | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | Live chat, email, and chatbot |
 | $10 or $25 | 1 or unlimited | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | Live chat and chatbot |
Read our FreshBooks review to learn more about the software.
QuickBooks Online: Best Overall FreshBooks Alternative for Inventory Tracking & Assisted Bookkeeping
Overall Score:
4.40 / 5
Pros
- Vast network of QuickBooks ProAdvisors in the United States
- Flexible enough to be modified for different industries and businesses
- Multiple integrations with third-party tools
- Excellent bank reconciliation module
Cons
- Huge gap in price and user limits between QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced
- Expensive compared to accounting software with almost the same features as QuickBooks Online
- Quite difficult to use for business owners without an accounting background and experience
Plans & Pricing
QuickBooks Online has four pricing plans. Our most recommended is Plus for tracking income and expense by location and class:
- Simple Start: $30 per month for one user
- Essentials: $60 per month for three users
- Plus: $90 per month for five users
- Advanced: $200 per month for 25 users
Read our QuickBooks vs FreshBooks comparison for more information.
Zoho Books: Best for Freelancers & Self-employed Individuals
Overall Score:
4.40 / 5
Pros
- Scalable software because of its six plans
- Includes a free plan for businesses with $50,000 or less in annual revenue
- Capable mobile app that can view reports and assign expenses on the go
- Excellent customer support
Cons
- Not very popular in the US
- Annual revenue limit of $50,000 to stay within the free plan
- Limited invoices (5,000 per year) for the Standard plan
Plans & Pricing
Zoho Books has one free plan and five paid plans. The free option has an annual revenue limit of $50,000:
- Free: Good for one user only
- Standard: $20 per month for three users
- Professional: $50 per month for five users
- Premium: $70 per month for 10 users
- Elite: $150 per month for 10 users
- Ultimate: $275 per month for 15 users
You can add more seats for an additional $3 per user monthly.
Xero: Best for Unlimited Users & Fixed Asset Tracking
Overall Score:
3.95 / 5
Pros
- Unlimited users for all plans
- Excellent inventory functions
- Dedicated fixed asset manager
Cons
- Not as popular in the US as QuickBooks
- Not flexible enough to be modified for different industries and businesses
- Limited invoices and bills in the Early plan
Plans & Pricing
Xero has three pricing plans that are good for unlimited users:
- Early: $13 per month for up to 20 invoices and bills
- Growing: $37 per month for unlimited invoices and bills
- Established: $70 per month for unlimited invoices and bills plus project accounting
Read our comparison of Xero vs FreshBooks to learn more.
Wave: Best Free FreshBooks Alternative
Overall Score:
2.60 / 5
Pros
- Free accounting and invoicing
- Easy and straightforward to set up
- Unlimited users
Cons
- Not scalable since Wave has no paid plans
- Not ideal for businesses with complex accounting needs like inventory tracking, project tracking, and tax tracking
Plans & Pricing
Wave is totally free for accounting and invoicing.
Read our comparison of Wave vs FreshBooks to see how they stack against each other.
Sage Business Cloud Accounting: Best for Businesses Looking for Simple & Affordable Accounting Software
Overall Score:
3.60 / 5
Pros
- Easy to use and set up
- Department, cost code, and project tracking
- Supports unlimited transactions
- Free trial available
Cons
- Not able to create recurring purchase invoices
- Doesn’t automatically calculate the COGS
- No built-in payroll
Plans & Pricing
Sage Business Cloud offers two subscription plans that differ in the available features and number of users that it can accommodate.
- Accounting Start: $10 per month for one user
- Accounting: $25 per month for unlimited users
How We Evaluated FreshBooks Alternatives
We evaluated FreshBooks alternatives using our internally-developed case study to objectively assess the products we recommend.
5%
Pricing
7%
General Features
7%
Banking
7%
A/P
7%
A/R
10%
Inventory
10%
Project Accounting
4%
Tax
4%
Reporting
30%
Ease of Use
5%
Mobile App
4%
User Reviews
5% of Overall Score
In evaluating pricing, we considered the billing cycle (monthly or annual) and number of users.
7% of Overall Score
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.
7% of Overall Score
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.
7% of Overall Score
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.
7% of Overall Score
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.
10% of Overall Score
Businesses with inventory items should choose accounting software that can track inventory costs, manage COGS, and monitor inventory units.
10% of Overall Score
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.
4% of Overall Score
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.
4% of Overall Score
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.
30% of Overall Score
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.
5% of Overall Score
The software must also have a mobile app to enable users to perform accounting tasks even when away from their laptops or desktops.
4% of Overall Score
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.
*Percentages of overall score
When To Use FreshBooks or An Alternative
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No, but you can try it for 30 days free with no credit card required.
FreshBooks is best for project- or service-based businesses. It is also perfect for those who want to do bookkeeping themselves. But if you need inventory features, we recommend checking out other accounting software like QuickBooks Online.
Bottom Line
FreshBooks offers a simple and easy accounting solution to businesses and those wanting to handle their own bookkeeping. Its easy-to-use interface makes it nonintimidating 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 can’t keep up with your accounting needs, our best recommendation is QuickBooks Online.
