FreshBooks
Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses, priced by number of billable clients
What is FreshBooks?
FreshBooks is invoicing and accounting software for freelancers, solopreneurs and small service businesses. It creates invoices and estimates, accepts online payments with reminders, tracks expenses and mileage, imports bank transactions and produces tax-time reports. Plans are priced by billable clients: Lite covers 5, Plus 50 and Premium unlimited, billed monthly or yearly with 10% off. Plus adds proposals, receipt scanning, bank reconciliation, double-entry reports and accountant access; Premium adds bills, project profitability and automated client emails. Team members cost $11 a month each, and payroll is an add-on.
Good for
- Freelancers and consultants who bill a small number of clients
- Service businesses that invoice for tracked time and project work
- Owners who want their accountant working in the same books
Key features
- Invoices that pull in tracked time and expenses, calculate taxes and send payment reminders
- Online payments, with Advanced Payments for card acceptance and recurring billing
- Estimates, proposals and client retainers (proposals and retainers from Plus)
- Expense tracking with bank imports, automatic categorisation and receipt data capture (Plus and above)
- Accounts payable with bill receipt scanning and line items (Premium)
- Double-entry accounting with profit and loss, balance sheet and trial balance reports
- Mobile app for iPhone and Android with mileage tracking
- Claude connector through Anthropic's MCP for asking about invoices and cash flow, announced September 2026
Limitations to know about
- Lite invoices only 5 clients and Plus 50; unlimited clients need Premium ($70/mo)
- Each team member costs $11 a month on top of the plan
- Bank reconciliation, receipt scanning and accountant access are not on Lite
- Its pricing and product pages do not describe built-in AI features
FreshBooks pricing
FreshBooks has no free plan. It offers a 30-day free trial, no credit card required. Lite, Plus and Premium cost $20.70 to $63 a month billed annually, or $23 to $70 billed monthly. Select is priced on request.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | $23/mo, or $248.40/yr ($20.70/mo); $4.60/mo for the first 4 months | Invoices for up to 5 clients, estimates, expense tracking, online payments, tax-time reports |
| Plus | $43/mo, or $464.40/yr ($38.70/mo); $8.60/mo for the first 4 months | Up to 50 clients; proposals, client retainers, expense receipt scanning, bank reconciliation, double-entry accounting reports, accountant access |
| Premium | $70/mo, or $756/yr ($63/mo); $14/mo for the first 4 months | Unlimited clients; accounts payable with bill receipt scanning and line items, project profitability, custom email templates, automated client emails with dynamic fields |
| Select | Custom | Unlimited clients, 2 team members included, lower card and ACH fees, multi-line bill capture, Advanced Payments included, phone support, custom onboarding, no FreshBooks branding on client emails |
Costs on top of a plan
- Team members: $11/mo per person (Available on all plans)
- Advanced Payments: $20/mo (On Lite, Plus and Premium; included in Select)
- FreshBooks Payroll: $40/mo + $6/mo per user (Available on all plans)
FreshBooks alternatives
QuickBooks Online
Intuit's cloud accounting for US small businesses, from a free tier to plans with AI bookkeeping
Wave
Free invoicing and double-entry bookkeeping for small businesses, with a $19 Pro plan for bank sync
Xero
Cloud accounting with three US plans, no per-user fees, Gusto payroll and the JAX AI assistant
Zoho Books
Accounting with a free plan under $50K revenue, six US plans priced per organization and the Zia AI assistant
Invoice Ninja
Source-available invoicing, payments, expenses and time tracking, hosted from free or self-hosted
Sage Accounting
UK cloud accounting with payroll and the Sage Copilot AI assistant included in all three plans
Compare FreshBooks with these side by side
Head to head: FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online · FreshBooks vs Xero
Frequently asked questions
Is FreshBooks free?
No, FreshBooks does not have a free plan. It offers a 30-day free trial, no credit card required. Paid plans start at $20.70/mo billed annually.
How much does FreshBooks cost?
Lite, Plus and Premium cost $20.70 to $63 a month billed annually, or $23 to $70 billed monthly. Select is priced on request. On Lite: invoice up to 5 billable clients; extra team members $11/month each; $248.40 billed yearly. Promotion: 80% off ($4.60/month) for the first 4 months. Prices as published on FreshBooks's pricing page on 21 October 2026.
How many clients can I invoice on FreshBooks Lite?
Lite lets you invoice up to 5 clients. Plus raises the limit to 50, and Premium and Select allow unlimited clients.
Does FreshBooks have a free trial?
Yes. FreshBooks offers a 30-day free trial with no contract and no credit card required, and a full refund if you contact it within 30 days of purchase.
What is FreshBooks used for?
FreshBooks is invoicing and accounting software for freelancers, solopreneurs and small service businesses. People use it for freelancers and consultants who bill a small number of clients, service businesses that invoice for tracked time and project work and owners who want their accountant working in the same books.
What are the alternatives to FreshBooks?
Tools that do a similar job include QuickBooks Online, Wave, Xero, Zoho Books and Invoice Ninja. Each has its own page here with its plans, limits and prices.
Who makes FreshBooks?
FreshBooks is made by 2NDSITE Inc., based in Toronto, Canada. The company was founded in 2003.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from 2NDSITE Inc.'s own pages, read on the dates shown.
- freshbooks.com/pricing (plan prices (monthly, yearly and promotional), client limits, plan features, add-on prices, free trial, money-back guarantee) read 21 October 2026
- freshbooks.com/ (product description, invoicing, payments, expenses, payroll, mobile apps, 100+ apps claim) read 21 October 2026
- freshbooks.com/accounting-software (accounting features: bank reconciliation, reports, double-entry, accountant access) read 21 October 2026
- freshbooks.com/press/releases/freshbooks-anthropicmcpconnector (Claude MCP connector announcement (25 September 2026)) read 21 October 2026
- freshbooks.com/about (company founding year (2003) and head office (Toronto)) read 21 October 2026
- freshbooks.com/policies/terms-of-service (legal company name (2NDSITE Inc.) and address) read 21 October 2026
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