Freelancers and small service firms look past FreshBooks when the billable-client cap forces a tier jump, when each team member costs extra, or when they need fuller ledger features. Most go to Xero or QuickBooks Online for a fuller ledger, or to Wave and Zoho Books for a lower price.
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What each alternative does differently
1. Xero
Bank-feed-first cloud ledger with unlimited users · New Zealand
Ledger-first rather than invoice-first. On its US page, plans are Early at $27, Growing at $59 and Established at $97 a month with no per-user license fees, so extra staff cost nothing. Early caps invoices at 20 and bills at 5. Time tracking and project costs sit on Established.
Switch from FreshBooks if you add staff often and want a full ledger without paying per user.
Pricing: Published monthly tiers with no per-user license fees; the entry tier caps invoices and bills, and multi-currency sits on the top plan in the US and on the top two UK plans. (free trial)
Full review: #5 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Xero →
2. QuickBooks Online
The ledger most US accountants already know · United States
Bundles users into tiers instead of selling them as add-ons: Simple Start has 1 user plus 2 accountants, Essentials 3 users, Plus 5 users with project profitability and inventory. List prices run $38 to $340 a month, higher than FreshBooks Lite or Plus.
Switch from FreshBooks if you want a widely used ledger with inventory and projects, and can pay more.
Pricing: Published monthly tiers from a limited Free plan (one user, two invoices a month, one bank connection) through Simple Start to Advanced, each capping users; payroll, payments and some add-ons are billed separately. (free plan)
Full review: #4 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit QuickBooks Online →
3. Zoho Books
Automation-heavy ledger with country-specific tax editions · India
A free plan for one user plus an accountant covers invoices, quotes and bank reconciliation. Standard adds bank feeds and 3 users; Professional adds timesheets, project profitability and retainers for 5 users. Priced per organization with no client-count cap in the plan list.
Switch from FreshBooks if you want timesheets and projects without a client cap and at lower cost.
Pricing: Published per-organization tiers with a free plan for very small businesses; paid tiers sit well below QuickBooks and Xero equivalents. (free plan)
Full review: #3 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Zoho Books →
4. Wave
No-cost bookkeeping for very small US and Canadian firms · Canada
The Starter plan costs nothing and allows unlimited estimates, invoices and bills, so client counts do not matter. Card payments cost 2.9% plus $0.60 on Starter. Pro at $19 a month adds automatic bank imports and receipt capture. No time tracking appears on its plan list.
Switch from FreshBooks if your clients are many, your needs are basic and you accept payment fees.
Pricing: Starter plan is free; a paid Pro tier adds automatic bank imports and receipt features, with card and bank payment fees on invoices. (free plan)
Full review: #2 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Wave →
5. FreeAgent
Self-assessment-ready books for UK freelancers · United Kingdom
One plan at $22 a month on its US page, covering sales tax reporting and multi-currency invoicing, with a 30-day trial. Smart Capture receipt scanning is a $6 add-on. FreeAgent says you can download your data at any time and pay no setup fees.
Switch from FreshBooks if you want a single flat price and no client cap, with tax reporting built in.
Pricing: Published monthly price by business type; included at no extra cost with several UK business bank accounts. (free trial)
Full review: #10 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit FreeAgent →
6. Kashoo
Stripped-down bookkeeping for solo owners · Canada
Sold as a single plan with unlimited invoices and users, per its site, so neither client count nor headcount sets the price. It lists bank feeds, project and inventory tracking and multi-currency. The pricing page we read showed a $0 plan, so confirm what you would pay.
Switch from FreshBooks if you want no client cap and no per-user fees from a simple single plan.
Pricing: A single flat monthly or annual subscription with published pricing and no per-user tiers. (free trial)
Full review: #8 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Kashoo →
7. Clear Books
UK ledger organized around VAT and HMRC filing · United Kingdom
UK-oriented, in sterling. Free plans cover Making Tax Digital updates for sole traders and landlords, and the Small plan for limited companies, sole traders and partnerships is £16 a month billed monthly. Accountant tools such as journals and audit log come with paid plans.
Switch from FreshBooks if you are in the UK and need HMRC filing with accountant tools.
Pricing: Published monthly tiers in sterling for companies, with multi-currency on the top tier; payroll is a separate bolt-on, and free plans cover sole traders' and landlords' Making Tax Digital filings. (free plan)
Full review: #9 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Clear Books →
8. Odoo Accounting
Accounting app inside a modular open-core business suite · Belgium
A business suite where accounting is one app. The Standard and Custom plans include every app for a single per-user fee, with a Light User price of 7.90 euro for limited roles. Setup is heavier than FreshBooks, and implementation is sold separately.
Switch from FreshBooks if you also need inventory, sales and CRM in the same system.
Pricing: One app can be used free with unlimited users; the full suite is priced per user per month, with multi-company, Studio and self-hosting on the higher Custom plan, and implementation often done by partners. (free plan)
Full review: #12 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Odoo Accounting →
9. Akaunting
Open-source ledger you can host yourself · Turkey
Cloud plans cap companies, users and invoices rather than clients: Standard allows 1 company, 1 user plus an accountant and 1,000 invoices, Premium raises that to 10 each and adds double-entry and bank feeds. Extra apps are sold on top, unlike FreshBooks' bundled toolset.
Switch from FreshBooks if you want double-entry books and a path to self-hosting or modular apps.
Pricing: Free Standard edition to self-host, limited to one company, one user plus an accountant and 1,000 invoices; paid on-premise and cloud plans raise those limits and bundle marketplace apps. (open source)
Full review: #11 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Akaunting →
10. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Microsoft's partner-sold finance and operations system · United States
Far larger than FreshBooks. Microsoft lists Essentials at $80 and Premium at $110 per user per month paid yearly, with an $8 Team Members license, and sends buyers to a partner. It suits a company outgrowing invoicing software, not a freelancer.
Switch from FreshBooks if you have grown into a company needing ERP processes and a partner.
Pricing: Microsoft publishes per-user monthly license prices for Essentials and Premium, with cheaper licenses for occasional users; a reseller partner adds implementation and support fees on top. (free trial)
Full review: #14 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central →
11. Sage Intacct
Dimensional, multi-entity ledger for finance teams · United Kingdom
Finance software sold on a sales-led basis, not as a self-serve monthly plan. Its scope is multi-entity accounting for finance teams. We could not load Sage's pages this session, so scope and fees need confirming with Sage directly. Far removed from solo invoicing.
Switch from FreshBooks if you run a multi-entity business and want a finance-team system.
Pricing: Quote only through Sage or a partner; each application subscription, such as consolidation, inventory or order entry, adds a fee that depends mainly on user count, plus implementation fees. (none)
Full review: #6 of 14 in our ranking ·
Visit Sage Intacct →
Questions and answers
Can I export my data from FreshBooks?
Yes, in several pieces. Clients, invoices, expenses, items, services, vendors and the chart of accounts download as CSV, invoices and estimates as separate PDFs, and expense receipts as images. There is no single all-data file on the help page.
Can I get estimates and proposals out of FreshBooks as CSV?
Only through support. The help page says to contact the support team with a date range and any filters, and a CSV file is emailed to you. Estimates and proposals can also be downloaded as separate PDFs from Manage Estimates.
What does FreshBooks cost per extra user?
Team members are $11 a month per user on top of the plan on the pricing page, for Lite, Plus and Premium. Select, the quoted tier, includes two team member accounts. Payroll adds $40 a month plus $6 per user.
What are the FreshBooks plan prices?
On the US page Lite is $23, Plus $43 and Premium $70 a month, with Select quoted. Lite handles 5 clients, Plus 50 and Premium unlimited. Promotional offers lower the first months, so compare the full prices.
Does FreshBooks delete my data after I stop paying?
It may. The terms let FreshBooks deactivate an account inactive for two months and delete one that has been deactivated for 30 days, and charge a data storage fee for deactivated accounts. Export before you leave.
Where is FreshBooks based?
FreshBooks lists its head office at 225 King St W, Suite 1200, Toronto, Canada. It also lists offices in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and Amsterdam. The company says it was founded by Mike McDerment in 2003.
