The best FreshBooks alternatives in 2026

Why People Look for FreshBooks Alternatives in 2026

FreshBooks has been the default invoicing tool for freelancers and small service businesses for a long time. It is easy to learn, the invoices look professional, and time tracking and expenses sit right next to billing. So why do so many FreshBooks users compare other tools?

The answer usually comes down to plan limits. FreshBooks prices its plans by the number of billable clients: 5 on Lite, 50 on Plus, unlimited on Premium. Every plan includes one user, and each extra team member costs $11 per month. Accountant access and proposals start on Plus, not Lite. For a solo consultant with three retainer clients, that is fine. For a designer who bills 12 small clients a year, or a two-person agency, the bill climbs quickly once the introductory discount ends.

Payment fees are the second reason. Card payments through FreshBooks Payments cost 2.9% + $0.30, American Express and commercial cards cost 3.5% + $0.30, and bank transfers (ACH) cost 1% with no cap outside the Select plan. On a $5,000 invoice paid by ACH, that is $50. Some competitors cap ACH fees at a few dollars.

A few things also changed in the market over the last year:

• Bonsai is now a Zoom company. Zoom announced the acquisition in November 2025 and says the deal closed in December 2025. Bonsai still sells under its own brand and its own pricing, and Zoom has said it plans to bring Bonsai features into Zoom over time.
• Xero raised its US prices. The three US plans now list at $27, $59 and $97 per month.
• QuickBooks Online now lists a Free plan for very small users (1 user, 2 invoices per month, 1 bank connection), alongside paid plans from $38 per month.
• Zoho Books kept its free plan for businesses under $50K in annual revenue, which is one of the most generous free tiers in this group.

This guide compares FreshBooks with six alternatives: QuickBooks Online, Xero, Wave, Zoho Books, Harvest and Bonsai. It is written for FreshBooks' core audience: freelancers, solopreneurs and small service businesses that care about invoicing, time tracking, expenses, client limits, payment fees, proposals and accountant access. All prices are US list prices checked on each vendor's website in October 2026.

Comparison Table

FreshBooks review

Overview and key features

FreshBooks is invoicing-first accounting software. You can create branded invoices, send estimates, set up recurring invoices and automatic payment reminders, track time and turn billable hours into invoice lines, record expenses, and run tax-time reports. The time tracker offers a timer in the web app, mobile app and a Chrome extension, and time entries are marked as billed, unbilled or non-billable so you can see what you have not invoiced yet.

Features unlock by plan:

• Lite: invoices for up to 5 billable clients, expense tracking, estimates, online payments and tax-time reports.
• Plus: up to 50 clients, plus proposals and client retainers, financial and accounting reports, expense receipt scanning and accountant access.
• Premium: unlimited clients, plus project profitability, bill receipt scanning with line items and custom email templates.
• Select: custom pricing, 2 team member accounts included, lower card transaction fees, Advanced Payments included, removal of FreshBooks branding and dedicated phone support.

Pricing

As of October 2026, FreshBooks lists Lite at $23 per month, Plus at $43, Premium at $70, and Select on custom pricing. New customers can choose a 30-day free trial with no credit card or an introductory discount (80% off for 4 months at the time of writing). Extra team members cost $11 per user per month. Advanced Payments (card on file, recurring billing and AutoCollect) is a $20 per month add-on, and Payroll costs $40 per month plus $6 per person.

Payment fees (FreshBooks Payments, powered by Stripe): 2.9% + $0.30 for standard cards, 3.5% + $0.30 for American Express and commercial cards, 1% for ACH bank transfers (caps available on Select), plus 1.5% for international cards and 2% for currency conversion. Disputes cost $15 and failed ACH payments cost $4. Instant payouts cost 1.5%, and Buy Now, Pay Later costs 6% + $0.30.

Pros

• Very easy to learn, with clean invoices and a short setup
• Time tracking, expenses and invoicing in one place
• Proposals and retainers on Plus and above
• 30-day free trial with no card required

Cons

• Client caps on Lite (5) and Plus (50) push growing freelancers to Premium
• Every plan includes only one user; extra team members cost $11/month each
• ACH fee is an uncapped 1% outside the Select plan

Who it is for and who should skip it

FreshBooks suits solo consultants, designers, writers and small service firms with a manageable number of clients who want the least friction between doing the work and getting paid. Skip it if you have many small clients, need several users, invoice large amounts by ACH, or want a full general ledger that most outside bookkeepers prefer.

QuickBooks Online review

Overview and key features

QuickBooks Online is the most widely used small business accounting platform in the US, and it is the system many accountants and bookkeepers ask clients to use. Compared with FreshBooks it is a full accounting system first and an invoicing tool second: bank feeds and rules, bill pay, sales tax, detailed reports, budgets and inventory are all part of the product. Invoicing, estimates and online payments are included, and employee time tracking starts on Essentials.

Plan highlights from the QuickBooks pricing page:

• Free: 1 user, 2 invoices per month, 1 bank connection. No accountant access, no mobile app access and no third-party integrations.
• Simple Start: 1 user plus 2 accountants, automated bookkeeping, invoicing and bill pay with free ACH.
• Essentials: 3 users plus 2 accountants, enhanced reports, employee time tracking and custom forms.
• Plus: 5 users plus 2 accountants, budgets, project profitability, inventory tracking and 40 classes and locations.
• Advanced: 25 users plus 3 accountants, advanced project tools, unlimited classes and locations, and Excel sync.

Pricing

As of October 2026, US list prices are Free at $0, Simple Start at $38 per month, Essentials at $85, Plus at $140 and Advanced at $340. New customers can take a 30-day free trial or 50% off for 3 months. There is no annual contract. Payroll and other add-ons are priced separately.

Payment fees (QuickBooks Payments): 2.99% for invoices and payment requests paid by card or digital wallet, 1% for ACH bank transfers (with a $1 minimum), 2.5% for in-person card payments, 3.5% for keyed-in cards and 1.75% for instant deposits. QuickBooks says businesses processing over $2,500 a month could qualify for up to 25% off transaction costs.

Pros

• Full accounting with strong reporting, bank rules and bill pay
• Paid plans include 2 or 3 accountant seats at no extra charge
• Most bookkeepers and tax preparers already know it
• Large integration ecosystem on paid plans

Cons

• Expensive for freelancers once the introductory discount ends
• The Free plan is very limited (2 invoices per month, no accountant access)
• Project profitability requires the $140 Plus plan

Who it is for and who should skip it

QuickBooks Online fits service businesses that work with an outside accountant, expect to add employees or contractors, or need sales tax, bill pay and deeper reporting. Skip it if you mainly send invoices and track time: you would pay more than FreshBooks for features you may not use.

Xero review

Overview and key features

Xero is cloud accounting software known for bank reconciliation and a clean interface. Its biggest difference from FreshBooks is pricing by plan rather than by user or client: all plans include unlimited users with no per-user license fees. That matters for small teams where a partner, an assistant and an accountant all need logins.

Plan highlights from the Xero US pricing page:

• Early: quotes and 20 invoices, 5 bills, bank reconciliation, Smart Document Capture, real-time reports, W-9 and 1099 management, sales tax and a 30-day cash flow forecast.
• Growing: unlimited invoices and bills, automated bill entry, budgets, customizable dashboards, a 60-day cash flow forecast and auto-reconcile.
• Established: everything in Growing, plus project time and cost tracking, employee expense and mileage claims, multiple currencies, KPI analysis and a 180-day cash flow forecast.

For FreshBooks users, the key point is that time tracking for projects is only on Established. On Early and Growing, you would need a time tracking app such as Harvest connected to Xero.

Pricing

As of October 2026, Xero lists Early at $27 per month, Growing at $59 and Established at $97. New US customers can choose one month free or 80% off for the first 3 months. Xero Payroll (powered by Gusto) is an add-on at $36 per month plus $6 per employee or contractor, and an auto-reconcile add-on is available for Early at $5 per month. Xero includes free setup help from Xero coaches for the first 90 days.

Payment fees (Stripe through Xero, US): 2.9% + 30c for domestic cards, 4.4% + 30c for international cards plus 1% if currency conversion is required, ACH debit at 1% capped at $9.00 per transaction, bank transfers at 0.5% capped at $5.00 per transaction, and instant payouts at 1.5% (50c minimum).

Pros

• Unlimited users on every plan
• Strong bank reconciliation and cash flow forecasting
• ACH debit fee capped at $9.00
• Popular with accountants and bookkeepers

Cons

• Early caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills, which many freelancers outgrow
• Project time tracking only on the $97 Established plan
• No free plan (new customers choose one month free or 80% off for 3 months)

Who it is for and who should skip it

Xero is a good move for a small agency or studio that needs several logins and wants real accounting with a bookkeeper. Skip it if you are a solo freelancer who wants built-in time tracking at a low price; the plan you would need costs more than FreshBooks Premium.

Wave review

Overview and key features

Wave is the budget pick. Its free Starter plan includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, the mobile app for invoicing, and a dashboard for cash flow and customers. Wave makes money from payment processing and paid add-ons, so the free plan is meant to stay free.

The Pro plan adds automatic bank transaction import, auto-merge and categorization of transactions, unlimited receipt capture, automated late payment reminders, removal of Wave branding, and users with admin, editor or viewer roles. Starter accounts can still invite a payroll manager or a tax pro.

Wave does not list time tracking or proposals in its plans. If you bill by the hour, you would track time elsewhere and type hours onto invoices.

Pricing

As of October 2026, Starter is $0 and Pro is $19 per month or $190 per year. Receipt scanning on Starter is an add-on at $11 per month or $96 per year. Payroll starts at $25 per month, and Wave Advisors (a dedicated bookkeeper) starts at $149 per month. Support is live chat and email, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 4:45 PM Eastern.

Payment fees: on Starter, 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction and 3.4% + $0.60 for American Express. On Pro, the first 10 card transactions each month drop the fixed fee (2.9% + $0 and 3.4% + $0), then return to the Starter rates. Bank payments (ACH) cost 1% with a $1 minimum on both plans. Card payouts take 1 to 2 business days; bank payments take 1 to 7.

Pros

• Free unlimited invoicing and bookkeeping records
• Pro plan at $190 per year is the cheapest paid plan here
• No client limits
• Optional bookkeeping service if you want to hand off the books

Cons

• No built-in time tracking or proposals
• Card fixed fee ($0.60) is double that of most competitors
• Support hours are limited to weekdays

Who it is for and who should skip it

Wave suits solopreneurs and very small businesses that bill flat fees, want to stop paying a monthly subscription, and do their own bookkeeping. Skip it if you bill by the hour, send proposals, or process a lot of small card payments, where the $0.60 fixed fee adds up.

Zoho Books review

Overview and key features

Zoho Books is a full accounting system with a strong free plan and low-cost paid plans. The free plan includes invoices, quotes, expenses and journals, receipt autoscans, sales receipts, mileage tracking, online payments, a self-service customer portal, retention payments, automated payment reminders, bank reconciliation, recurring invoices, W-9 management, 1099 contractor tracking and filing, and more than 50 reports. It is available indefinitely as long as revenue stays under $50K per financial year, with 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year.

Paid plans add more as you move up:

• Standard: 3 users, bank feeds, sales and use tax tracking, 1099 e-filing, recurring expenses, transaction locking, custom fields and reports, and API access.
• Professional: 5 users, plus timesheet billing, project profitability, retainers, multi-currency, inventory, purchase and sales orders, and custom roles.
• Premium, Elite and Ultimate: 10 to 15 users, plus budgets, cash flow forecasting, a vendor portal, advanced inventory and analytics.

For a FreshBooks user, Professional is the plan that matches FreshBooks Premium most closely, since it adds billable timesheets, projects and retainers.

Pricing

As of October 2026, Zoho Books US prices per organization are: Free $0; Standard $15 per month billed annually or $20 monthly; Professional $40 billed annually or $50 monthly; Premium $60 or $70; Elite $120 or $150; Ultimate $240 or $275. Extra users cost $2.50 per month billed annually or $3 monthly. Paid plans have a 14-day free trial. Prices exclude local taxes.

Payment fees (Zoho Payments, US): 2.90% + 30c for domestic cards, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% for currency conversion. ACH direct debit costs 0.8%, capped at $5, with a $1 fee for instant bank verification and $5 for failed payments. Zoho also advertises 1% back in Zoho Credits on card transactions for new users (terms apply).

Pros

• Free plan with accountant access, customer portal and online payments
• Paid plans start at $15 per month billed annually
• Lowest ACH debit fee in this group (0.8%, capped at $5)
• Timesheets, projects and retainers on Professional

Cons

• The free plan ends once revenue passes $50K per year
• Bank feeds require Standard or above
• More menus and settings to learn than FreshBooks

Who it is for and who should skip it

Zoho Books is a strong choice for cost-conscious freelancers and small firms who want real accounting, especially if they already use Zoho CRM or other Zoho apps. Skip it if you want the simplest possible interface and only need invoicing and time tracking.

Harvest review

Overview and key features

Harvest is time tracking and invoicing software, not an accounting system. That makes it a different kind of FreshBooks alternative: it replaces the parts of FreshBooks that agencies use most (timers, timesheets, expenses, project budgets and invoices from tracked time) and hands the books to QuickBooks Online or Xero.

Harvest's integrations page says you can copy Harvest invoices and recorded payments into QuickBooks Online or Xero, and accept online invoice payments by card or ACH through Stripe, or through PayPal Standard. Harvest's help center says that, for accounts not on its Premium or Unlimited billing plans, Harvest adds a small fee on card and ACH payments on top of Stripe's standard charges; the fee is shown during invoice creation.

Plan highlights:

• Free: 1 seat and 2 projects, with time tracking, invoicing, expense tracking and the Mac and iOS apps.
• Teams: unlimited seats, team reporting and accounting integrations.
• Enterprise: everything in Teams plus unlimited custom reports, profitability reporting, timesheet approvals, an activity log, SAML-based SSO and required notes.
• Enterprise Plus: custom pricing with custom integrations, a dedicated customer success manager and white labelling.

Pricing

As of October 2026, Teams costs $11 per seat per month billed monthly or $9 per seat per month billed annually ($108 per seat per year). Enterprise costs $17.50 per seat per month billed monthly or $14 billed annually ($168 per seat per year). Paying annually gives a 20% discount. These are starting seat prices: Harvest bills Teams and Enterprise either as Flex (per seat plus usage-based charges for active projects, clients, tasks and invoicing beyond a free allowance) or Unlimited (a fixed price). Paid plans come with a 30-day free trial.

Pros

• Excellent time tracking for teams, with budgets and reports
• Free plan for one person with up to 2 projects
• Connects to QuickBooks Online and Xero for the books
• No hard client cap, with a fixed-price Unlimited billing option

Cons

• Not accounting software; you still need QuickBooks, Xero or similar
• Per-seat and usage-based charges add up for larger teams
• Profitability reporting and timesheet approvals need Enterprise

Who it is for and who should skip it

Harvest fits agencies, studios and consultancies that bill by the hour and want better team timesheets than FreshBooks offers, with an accountant running the books in QuickBooks Online or Xero. Skip it if you want one tool for everything, or if you bill flat project fees.

Bonsai review

Overview and key features

Bonsai is a client management platform for freelancers and small service businesses. Where FreshBooks starts from accounting and invoicing, Bonsai starts from the client relationship: proposals, contracts, a client portal, scheduling, forms and questionnaires, then invoices and payments, time tracking and projects.

Bonsai is now owned by Zoom. Zoom announced the deal in November 2025 and says it closed in December 2025. Bonsai remains a standalone product under the Bonsai brand, and its site footer reads "Bonsai, a Zoom company." Zoom has said it plans to build Bonsai's project, proposal, time tracking and invoicing features into Zoom over time, so buyers should expect changes in how the product is packaged.

Plan highlights:

• Basic: time tracking, task management, unlimited projects, CRM, a service library, mobile apps and unlimited clients. It does not include invoicing.
• Essentials: adds invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, all templates, forms and questionnaires, scheduling, a client portal, and expense and income tracking.
• Premium: adds project insights, workload management, a Gantt view, a deals pipeline, custom fields, client tasks and messaging, profit and productivity reports, Bonsai branding removal, and integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Zapier, Calendly and Google.
• Elite: adds custom permissions, timesheet locking, expense markups and custom data import, with a minimum of 3 users.

Pricing

As of October 2026, Bonsai charges per user: Basic $9 per month billed annually or $15 monthly; Essentials $19 or $25; Premium $29 or $39; Elite $49 or $59 (3-user minimum). There is a 7-day free trial.

Payment fees (through Stripe): 2.9% + $0.30 for cards and ACH "as low as 1%," according to Bonsai's payments page.

Pros

• Proposals and contracts built for freelancers, from Essentials up
• Client portal and scheduling in the same tool as invoicing
• Unlimited clients on every plan
• QuickBooks and Xero integrations on Premium

Cons

• Not full accounting software; serious bookkeeping still needs another tool
• Invoicing requires Essentials ($19 per user billed annually), not Basic
• Ownership change means the roadmap and packaging may shift

Who it is for and who should skip it

Bonsai suits freelancers and small agencies whose biggest pain is the sales side: sending proposals, getting contracts signed and onboarding clients. Skip it if you need a general ledger, or if a 7-day trial is too short for you to evaluate the switch.

Head-to-Head: How the Alternatives Compare to FreshBooks

Client limits and users

FreshBooks is the only tool here that limits billable clients (5 on Lite, 50 on Plus). QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, Zoho Books, Harvest and Bonsai do not cap clients on the plans compared here, though Harvest's Flex billing charges for active clients and projects beyond a free allowance. On users, Xero stands out with unlimited users on every plan. QuickBooks includes 1 to 25 users depending on plan plus accountant seats. Zoho Books includes 1 to 15 users, with extras at $2.50 to $3 each. Harvest and Bonsai charge per seat, and FreshBooks charges $11 per extra team member.

Invoicing and payment fees

All seven tools send professional invoices with online payments. The fees differ in ways that matter:

If your clients pay large invoices by bank transfer, the cap matters more than anything else. A $10,000 ACH payment costs $100 on FreshBooks (outside Select), $9 on Xero by ACH debit ($5 by Stripe bank transfer) and $5 on Zoho Books.

Time tracking

FreshBooks, Harvest and Bonsai all include time tracking that feeds invoices. Zoho Books includes billable timesheets on Professional and above. Xero includes project time tracking only on Established. QuickBooks includes employee time tracking from Essentials. Wave does not list time tracking. For teams that live in timesheets, Harvest is the strongest; for solo freelancers, FreshBooks and Bonsai are the simplest.

Expenses and receipts

FreshBooks tracks expenses on every plan, with receipt scanning from Plus. Wave includes unlimited receipt capture on Pro or as a Starter add-on. Zoho Books includes receipt autoscans even on the free plan. Xero includes Smart Document Capture on all plans and employee expense claims on Established. Bonsai includes expense tracking from Essentials, and Harvest includes expense tracking on its free plan.

Proposals and contracts

FreshBooks offers proposals on Plus and above. Bonsai goes furthest, with proposals, contracts, forms and a client portal from Essentials. QuickBooks, Xero, Wave and Zoho Books offer estimates or quotes rather than full proposals.

Accountant access

QuickBooks paid plans include 2 accountant seats (3 on Advanced). Zoho Books includes 1 accountant even on the free plan. Xero's unlimited users mean your accountant can log in on any plan. Wave lets you invite a tax pro on Starter and add users on Pro. FreshBooks includes accountant access from Plus, not on Lite. Harvest and Bonsai are not accounting tools, so your accountant works in the connected QuickBooks or Xero file.

How to Choose

Questions to ask yourself

1. How many clients do you bill in a year? If it is more than 5, FreshBooks Lite is out; more than 50 and you need Premium at $70 per month.
2. Who else needs a login? A partner, assistant or contractor makes per-user pricing expensive. Xero (unlimited users) and Zoho Books (cheap extra users) handle this best.
3. How do clients pay you? Large ACH payments favor Xero and Zoho Books because of the fee caps. Many small card payments favor tools without a $0.60 fixed fee.
4. Do you bill by the hour? Then make sure time tracking is on the plan you are pricing: FreshBooks, Harvest, Bonsai and Zoho Books Professional cover it.
5. Does your accountant have a preference? Many prefer QuickBooks Online or Xero. Ask before you migrate.
6. Do you need proposals and contracts? Bonsai covers this best; FreshBooks Plus covers proposals.

Red flags to watch for

• Introductory prices. FreshBooks, QuickBooks and Xero all advertise discounts for the first months. Compare list prices, which are what you will pay from month four or five onward.
• Plan gates on key features. Accountant access (FreshBooks Plus), project time tracking (Xero Established), bank feeds (Zoho Books Standard) and invoicing (Bonsai Essentials) are common surprises.
• Uncapped percentage fees. A 1% ACH fee looks small until you invoice $100,000 a year by bank transfer.
• Ownership changes. Bonsai's move to Zoom may change packaging. Read the current terms before you sign an annual plan.

What to test in a trial

• Import your client list and a few open invoices, then send a test invoice to yourself and pay it by card and by ACH to see the real fees and payout timing.
• Track a day of time and turn it into an invoice.
• Snap a receipt on your phone and check how it is categorized.
• Invite your accountant and confirm they can see what they need.
• Run a profit and loss report and a sales tax report, and compare them with your current FreshBooks numbers.

The Verdict

FreshBooks is still a very good tool for freelancers and small service businesses with a modest client list who value simplicity. If that describes you, the main reason to leave is cost: client caps, per-user fees and an uncapped 1% ACH fee.

If you want proper accounting your bookkeeper will like, choose QuickBooks Online (familiar to accountants) or Xero (unlimited users). If price is the main concern, Wave is free for unlimited invoicing and Zoho Books gives you full accounting free under $50K revenue and cheap paid plans after that, with the lowest ACH debit fee here. If you bill by the hour as a team, Harvest plus QuickBooks or Xero is a proven pairing. If your work starts with proposals and contracts, Bonsai covers the client workflow FreshBooks only partly handles.

Conclusion

There is no single best FreshBooks alternative, because FreshBooks users leave for different reasons. List the two or three things that frustrate you most (client limits, fees, users, time tracking, proposals or accountant access), check the plan that fixes them on each vendor's pricing page, and run a short trial with real invoices before you move your data. Prices and fees in this guide were checked on vendor websites in October 2026 and change often, so confirm them before you buy.