Unclaimed: Are you working at FreshBooks?
FreshBooks Reviews: 4.5/5 — Highly Rated
FreshBooks is a cloud-based accounting software preferred by numerous small to medium enterprises for its ability to easily manage and streamline finances. Core features include expensive tracking and invoicing, and it also helps improve operational transparency through reporting and time-tracking features.
| Capabilities |
API
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|---|---|
| Segment |
Small Business
Mid Market
Enterprise
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| Deployment | Cloud / SaaS / Web-Based, Desktop Mac, Desktop Windows, Mobile Android, Mobile iPad, Mobile iPhone, On-Premise Linux |
| Training | Documentation |
| Languages | English |
FreshBooks Pros and Cons
- 'Lite plan is great for startups (includes 5 billable clients)
- You can track unlimited expenses and send unlimited estimates
- Clients can pay you using credit cards
- Limited invoice customization
- The mobile app could use improvements
FreshBooks advertises $2.30 a month. The actual price is $23, and the discount lasts three months. Every plan also includes exactly one user, with additional team members at $11 each, so a three-person firm on the middle tier pays $65 a month rather than the $4.30 on the banner. The software is good and well-suited to service businesses — the pricing page just requires arithmetic.
- What it is: Accounting and invoicing software built around service businesses rather than product sellers.
- Best for: Freelancers, consultants, and agencies who bill for time and projects.
- Pricing: Lite $23, Plus $43, Premium $70 per month regular. Select quoted. Extra users $11 each. Verified July 2026.
- The honest catch: Lite allows just 5 billable clients, which most working freelancers exceed.
What Is FreshBooks?
FreshBooks approaches accounting from the invoice rather than the ledger, and that shapes everything. Where QuickBooks and Xero are built around double-entry bookkeeping with invoicing attached, FreshBooks is built around getting paid — proposals, estimates, time tracking, retainers, invoices, and payment collection — with accounting behind it.
For a consultant or agency that bills by project or hour, that orientation is genuinely better. Time tracking feeds invoices directly, retainers and proposals are first-class rather than bolted on, and project profitability tracking on Premium answers the question service businesses actually care about: are we making money on this client.
The trade-off is that it is a weaker general-purpose accounting system. Inventory is essentially absent, and businesses selling physical products will find it thin where QuickBooks is deep.
How FreshBooks Works
- Billable clients are the meter. 5 on Lite, 50 on Plus, unlimited on Premium and Select.
- One user included on every plan. Additional team members cost $11 a month each.
- Time tracking to invoice. The core workflow for service businesses.
- Proposals, retainers, e-signatures from Plus, which is where the plan becomes agency-shaped.
- Project profitability on Premium, tracking costs against project revenue.
- Payments built in. Cards, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and buy-now-pay-later.
FreshBooks Pricing
Captured from FreshBooks’ US site in July 2026. The displayed figures are promotional; the struck-through prices are the real ones.
| Plan | Regular | Promotional | Billable clients | Users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | $23/mo | $2.30 for 3 months | 5 | 1 |
| Plus | $43/mo | $4.30 for 3 months | 50 | 1 |
| Premium | $70/mo | $7.00 for 3 months | Unlimited | 1 |
| Select | Quoted | — | Unlimited | 2 |
Add-ons: team members $11/month each, Advanced Payments $20/month, FreshBooks Payroll $40/month plus $6 per user.
What actually determines your bill:
- The 90% discount runs for three months. After that you pay $23, $43, or $70. FreshBooks discloses this clearly — the struck-through price and “90% Off for 3 Months” label are both on the card — but the large number is the promotional one, and it is what people remember. Budget from the regular rate.
- Five billable clients on Lite is the sharpest constraint. A freelancer with six clients cannot use the entry plan. This is a low ceiling by any measure, and it is the single most common reason people upgrade — not features.
- Every plan is a one-person plan. At $11 per extra team member, a three-person firm on Plus pays $65 a month rather than $43. Count your seats before comparing against competitors that bundle users differently.
- Yearly billing adds a further 10% off, on top of whatever promotion applies.
- Payroll and Advanced Payments are separate. $40 a month plus $6 per user, and $20 a month respectively — relevant if you were treating FreshBooks as an all-in finance stack.
- A 30-day money-back guarantee applies, which is the right way to test whether the client cap works for you.
Who Should Use FreshBooks
- Freelancers and consultants. The clearest case, and what the product is shaped around.
- Agencies billing by project. Proposals, retainers, and project profitability are genuinely well built.
- Anyone who tracks time and bills it. Time-to-invoice is smoother here than in general accounting tools.
- Service businesses without inventory. The absence of stock management is irrelevant to you.
It fits poorly for product businesses needing inventory, where QuickBooks and Zoho Books are far stronger; for teams of several people, where the per-seat add-on stacks up; and for businesses wanting the cheapest compliant books, where Zoho Books undercuts it substantially.
Honest Pros and Cons
Strengths
- Built for service businesses. Time, projects, and retainers are first-class rather than afterthoughts.
- Excellent invoicing. The most-praised part of the product, and the reason most people choose it.
- Project profitability on Premium. Answers the question consultancies actually need answered.
- Broad payment acceptance. Cards, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and BNPL built in.
- Genuinely easy to use. Approachable for people with no bookkeeping background.
- Clear discount disclosure. The struck-through price and three-month term are both stated.
Limitations
- Five billable clients on Lite. A very low ceiling that forces upgrades on volume, not need.
- One user per plan. $11 per additional seat.
- The headline price lasts three months. After which it is ten times higher.
- Weak inventory management. Effectively unsuitable for product businesses.
- Payroll costs extra. $40 a month plus $6 per user.
- More expensive than several rivals once seats and the regular rate are counted.
FreshBooks Alternatives and How It Compares
- QuickBooks Online is the US default with far deeper accounting and inventory, at a higher price and with repeated increases.
- Xero includes unlimited users on every plan, which is the decisive difference for teams.
- Zoho Books is substantially cheaper and strong if you use other Zoho applications.
- Sage Business Cloud Accounting is the established alternative, particularly in the UK.
- Bonsai targets freelancers specifically, bundling contracts and proposals with invoicing.
For a broader survey, browse our accounting software directory.
The Verdict
FreshBooks is the right shape for service businesses, and that matters more than a feature count. If you bill for time and projects, the workflow from tracked hours to sent invoice to collected payment is smoother than any general accounting package manages, and the proposals, retainers, and project profitability tools on the higher tiers are built for how consultancies actually work rather than adapted from bookkeeping software.
Price it from the struck-through number. The $2.30 on the pricing card is 90% off for three months; the real figure is $23, and Plus is $43 rather than $4.30. To FreshBooks’ credit both are shown clearly on the same card, which is more than several competitors manage — but the promotional price is the one in large type, and anyone budgeting from it will be surprised in month four.
The two structural constraints matter more than the tiers suggest. Lite’s five billable clients is a very low ceiling — a freelancer with six clients is already excluded, which makes Plus the realistic entry point for most working professionals and moves the effective starting price to $43. And every plan includes one user, so a three-person firm on Plus pays $65 a month once seats are added. If you have a team, Xero’s unlimited-user model is the comparison worth running, because that single structural difference outweighs most feature debates at this size.
FAQ
How much does FreshBooks cost?
Regular prices are $23 per month for Lite, $43 for Plus, and $70 for Premium, with Select quoted by sales. FreshBooks was running a promotion of 90% off for three months when captured in July 2026, displaying $2.30, $4.30, and $7.00 respectively. Additional team members cost $11 per month each, Advanced Payments $20, and FreshBooks Payroll $40 plus $6 per user. Yearly billing adds a further 10% discount.
How many clients can I invoice on FreshBooks Lite?
Five. Lite is capped at five billable clients, Plus at fifty, and Premium and Select are unlimited. This is the most restrictive limit in the lineup and the most common reason people upgrade — a freelancer working with six clients cannot use the entry plan at all, which makes Plus the realistic starting point for most working professionals.
Does FreshBooks include multiple users?
No. Every plan includes a single user, with additional team members charged at $11 per month each; only the quoted Select plan includes two. A three-person firm on Plus therefore pays $65 a month rather than $43. If you have a team, Xero includes unlimited users on all its plans and is the more natural comparison.
Is the FreshBooks discount permanent?
No. The advertised 90% discount applies for three months, after which the regular rate takes effect. FreshBooks displays both the discounted price and the struck-through regular price on each plan card along with a “90% Off for 3 Months” label, so it is disclosed rather than hidden — but budgeting from the promotional figure will produce an unpleasant surprise in the fourth month.
What is FreshBooks best for?
Freelancers, consultants, and agencies that bill for time and projects rather than selling products. Its time tracking, proposals, retainers, and project profitability tools are built specifically for service work, and its invoicing is the strongest part of the product. It is a poor fit for businesses needing inventory management, and expensive for teams once per-seat costs are included.
Compare FreshBooks with other popular tools in the same category.
Setting up auto-invoicing and auto payments is incredible. I set everything up and then forget it. Money is deposited into my account.
I haven’t found any downsides. It works seamlessly for what I need
I no longer need to invoice customers monthly, and it makes billing a breeze. It also tracks my total income.
Using FreshBooks has saved me time when creating invoices, and also provides a great way to time track.
Sometimes the interface can be a little tricky to find things, but once they're found it's not a problem.
I used to use a phone app to track time, but FreshBooks has an internal time tracker that can link directly to clients. This helps to save me time, and thus makes me money.
FreshBooks user-friendly interface. The ability to invoice clients and send client’s estimates for a job all while on the go.
I have yet to find anything I dislike about FreshBooks
My accounting was a mess before finding FreshBooks. Now at tax time, I have zero anxiety. Everything is perfectly packaged and ready for my accountant.
I like how easy it is to create and invoice and copy from previous invoices. I can set up my various billing categories and it saves my billing rates. Also, the payment options are great.
I'm not sure I really dislike anything about it. I've used it for years and it serves my needs perfectly. I would appreciate more extensive reporting now that I think about it. When I'm preparing my tax returns, I could use information in different ways.
Extremely cost effective, professional-looking invoicing that I can do from my phone!
The responsiveness of their customer service and the fact that they are open and willing to add suggested features.
Features of the old version are still being rolled out into the new one, but they've almost got all of them back now.
Invoicing, client management, time tracking, annual reports.
As a graphic designer that handles my own bookkeeping, I love the convenience of having the whole process in one place; from the estimate to the time tracking, billing and all the accounting features.
It no longer shows the the monthly profit and loss on the home screen
Freshbooks made it so much easier to keep track of my billing.
I love how easy it is to create an invoice or estimate in just a minute or two and click send to a client. FreshBooks has more than enough features for my business while retaining a great user interface and keeping things easy to find and use.
I have not found a downside to Freshbooks yet.
I’ve significantly reduced my time spent on invoicing and keeping track of billing and expenses so I can spend my time where I need to to keep my business growing. FreshBooks has shaved hours off my week.
Invoicing, online payments, ability to customize the look of invoices. I also use the time tracking feature quite a bit.
I'd love it if there were a built-in estimate function.
Solved the problem of my poor bookkeeping skills. It's much easier to track my hourly time and project fees, then generate invoices so I actually get paid for my work.
Ease of use, new features being added, Stripe implementation, great API, great support, I've tried most of the competition and have chosen FreshBooks as my accounting and invoicing software. Everything is in one place, and it just works well. Even over industry-leading solutions.
I literally cannot think of something about Freshbooks that I dislike. I tried!
Rescinding my review.
Freshbooks has a clean and easy to understand interface. The training time for new employees is minimal, which helps us save money and hit the ground running quickly.
I would like to see more of the desktop features make their way to the mobile app.
Easier / friction free invoicing. We have saved time and money using Freshbooks. d
Recurring invoices allow me to automatically collect payment for time worked. This avoids stopping to wait for payment, or risking lost time. Excellent customer service!
No block time billing options in addition to the inability to choose the start day of week view, means time logging can be confusing for certain use cases.
Avoiding down time to wait for payment.
FreshBooks is so easy to use for my business. And their customer service is fantastic. I really needed a way to manage retainer clients and I asked customer service and it was already something they were working on and they were able to turn my account on as a beta user so that I could go ahead and get started using the new feature.
I really love everything. I think one thing that would really help me that is not part of the system is that if a client has reached or exceeded their retainer for the month, I wish it would give me an alert so that I could alert the client and/or know when to invoice them for their overage.
I find Accounting incredibly tedious and time-consuming for a small business owner. FreshBooks makes it so much easier to understand and I feel like my time tracking and invoicing has improved exponentially since using FreshBooks over my previous program.
I like that the product is well designed for consultants who log their time, unlike Quick Books. It has also a solid API that helps integrating with additional solutions. Their support is also responsive.
1. I'd like more shortcuts and the ability to use macros for efficiency. 2. The internal reports are a bit weak... 3. Mobile app does not let use the timesheet functions, which should be its main purpose
Logging my hours and providing detailed invoices to my customers. My accountant can access easily.
I love how intuitive the tools are within Freshbooks. I'm a creative-type who isn't great with numbers. But inside Freshbooks, everything makes sense to me. Invoicing always used to be a real pain. Now, invoicing day is my favorite day of the month, as Freshbooks makes it so easy, especially with the time tracking tool. I also love that I can access the software anywhere that I have an Internet connection. That kind of freedom of setting up my shop anywhere in the world is very important to me.
Sometimes, I wish it did even more. I love that it handles my income, expenses and time tracking. I would love if it also had integrated into it a similarly easy-to-use CRM tool and a production management tool as well. There used to be an add-on for production management. I'd love to see something integrated. While it has team time tracking, I'd like to see even more functionality regarding tasks.
I use Freshbooks for all of my accounting. In the past, I did a lot of my bookkeeping very manually. I never liked the competition software — it never seemed to fit my small business. So I dumped using it after only a few months. But with Freshbooks, it became super-easy to track my time, create and send my invoices, collect payments (I was able to connect my credit card vendor with no difficulty), and keep track of my monthly expenses. A huge benefit has been the reports. It takes only a few minutes to generate what I need for my tax accountant. Plus, I'm able to look back at the time I spent on various jobs and services, to determine if my fees for certain tasks and projects need to be adjusted accordingly. That's something that took me an extreme amount of time to do I had Freshbooks. Again, now — just a few keystrokes away!
Ease of preparing snazzy looking invoices and receiving online payments. I love being able to add pictures to my invoices, and it's nice to be able to check on whether an invoice or estimate has been viewed yet. If the customer hasn't viewed it I know I should follow up and make sure it hasn't been lost in their email. That feature alone has made a lot of sales that I would have otherwise considered "abandoned". Support has been great the few times I've needed it, and when the Freshbooks team was in town they even took us out to dinner along with a dozen other small business owners from the area. I thought that was really nice and it really helped put a face to the people who are behind the scenes.
It doesn't integrate as well with other tools as some of the other big names in accounting software (QB, xero, etc), but that's getting better all the time. I've found workarounds using Zapier to allow integration with third party software that isn't officially supported.
Freshbooks makes our bookkeeping easy, makes it easy for our customers to pay us, and has definitely contributed to our success over the past 5 years or so. They keep adding new features- It's like they can read my mind. Every time I think of something that would be really nice to have, it seems to show up! Altogether it really reduces the admin workload for us and lets us focus on customer service and making quality products instead of fussing with spreadsheets.
The commitment that this platform has with its clients is the best it offers an incredible amount of incredible accounting and billing functions. It is a software for small and large companies accessible. This tool is powerful and professional. It is easy to create invoices, view bill payments and handle all your standard tasks. FreshBooks offers great services and this is very helpful for companies that constantly send payment details to their customers.
apparently freshbooks maintains full control of its services making it a very efficient and error free software
In certain cases, there have been errors in the billing or accounting processes, this is due to many of these processes are performed manually, with the arrival of FreshBooks the manual processes are now finished our accounting is accurate and the invoices we send to Our customers are corrected. This platform is a great alternative.
When we talk about accounting software that help improve the accounting of a company, the first one that comes to mind is the innovative freshbooks platform because it offers very innovative billing features and time tracking processes are very accurate, FreshBooks is a Reliable and fast accounting set that makes financial management a pleasant experience, the creation of facts have a very professional design and can be done only by making a clip, it saves time to dedicate your effort to other areas of your company.
it is too easy to start implementing freshbooks in your company, you will not delay in enjoying the newest collection processes.
From generating professional invoices to making financial reports, they are one of the few characteristics that I have been able to use from FreshBooks, through the use of invoices generated by freshbooks I have been able to obtain a balance in my sales and with the reports I have managed to determine my earnings and my losses, all this through a clip.
I have felt very comfortable today because I have automated tools that help me in all the accounting processes of my company, it is none other than FreshBooks, this online accounting platform makes me feel happy, it has perfect features for billing and tracking of very precise expenses that look professional, allows you to easily collaborate with team members to complete projects in record time and it is possible to accept payments online and receive payments faster. You can accept payments by credit card.
I have perfectly enjoyed the services of FreshBooks and it does not compare with any other tool that exists online. This cloud accounting platform is extremely better.
Although all accounting processes in my company are automated, FreshBooks gives us a leap in quality, the invoices we send to our clients are extremely accurate and the expenses of our company are very well monitored.
freshbook is special, the ideal platform you can trust, this tool allows business owners to work from anywhere, it is possible to bill, record expenses, track time and collect quickly. To describe a freshbook it is necessary to say that it is an accounting software that makes managing your small business easy, fast and secure.
Good accounting allows the company to grow, freshbook offers unique alternatives and has no disadvantages.
Online accounting allows my company to be precise, FreshBooks helps us save time and look more professional in billing processes, so that customers pay faster. Because FreshBooks is hosted in the cloud, it allows synchronization with all our devices, making us more transparent in all our processes.
There are many online accounting platforms that solve accounting problems, FreshBooks is the best alternative because it offers the best online accounting service, it is ridiculously easy to use on any mobile device whether you have an iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. FreshBooks adapts to all mobile devices, has an application that was designed with simplicity in mind and millions of small business owners and freelancers.
As a frequent user of FreshBooks I have determined that this platform does not have any problems, it always acts according to what you need.
Controlling accounting is a very complicated task and more if you have hundreds of clients. We decided to use freshbook to eliminate all errors in the invoices, now we can send invoices to customers and they look very professional, we are very happy with the service we are providing. Now we control our time, we are sure that we are billing the correct amount.
Perform all accounting processes Doing so can expose us to great errors, for very accurate accounting it is necessary to use useful software that will help us improve accounting. FreshBooks can create easy to customize and professional invoices for accurate accounting. In the same way you can easily track all business expenses and you can accurately track all your time in Freshbooks to determine how much time you spend with all your customers.
FreshBooks is a simple and intuitive accounting tool, capable of managing all the invoices and processes of a company, in my organization we have not had problems using FreshBooks.
As workers in a company, I am always aware of the need to track income and expenses and to have all accounts in order by the time the tax time comes. FreshBooks helps me manage that whole process in a very precise way. Now all accounting processes in my company are controlled by FreshBooks.
It is not easy to find a billing tool with accounting capabilities. It is more complicated to find excellent billing software and accounting functionality at a low price. FreshBooks allows you to easily customize, create and send invoices, the option that allows you to send invoices from a mobile application and the ability to track billable time and expenses and add them to invoices is the one that I love the most, it makes work and price easier of the services provided by freshbook are very economical.
After all the time I have been using FreshBooks I have determined that there are no problems in all the services it offers.
I mainly use this accounting software to create invoices with a more professional design, FreshBooks makes billing very simple this allows me to concentrate on the other tasks of my company, now I have time for everything. Freshbooks allows us to create invoices with our company logo and thank you email.
FreshBooks is one of the most popular online programs, it offers very useful tools with which you can send invoices, track expenses, time management and basic project management. This tool is very useful for all companies that do not have time to devote to accounting activities that are carried out manually.
FreshBooks helps us manage many accounting processes in our company, everything is positive I have no negative opinions to say about this tool
FreshBooks is a very useful tool and helps us with the entire billing process and tracking all our expenses.
This tool called Freshbooks is one of the best in its field, accounting, its attractive, elegant and not very complex design makes the user marvel at it and all the functions it offers such as billing, capital tracking, dates itself, everything related to the management of your company's finances. It can also be used from a mobile device so you can access your records anytime, anywhere.
Freshbooks is a very complete tool for what makes its defects minimal, the only negative is that at the beginning it is somewhat difficult to adapt and in terms of cost, I think it is a bit expensive.
Currently, Freshbooks helps me with the management of my company's records and have everything in order.
A few months ago since I started using FreshBooks since then, it has facilitated the handling of all the accounting information of my company, this tool is what I was looking for, something that would give me ease and speed when organizing my accounts, highlighting that I can manage invoices, time, expenses and reports so that control over your accounting processes is much easier, faster and safer
The little negative that I can highlight is that in the beginning it will be difficult to understand and learn to use all its functions and features, also in comparison with other tools FreshBooks is somewhat expensive but worth it.
The use of Freshbooks in my day to day is necessary since it is the tool that I use to manage the accounting processes in what my company refers in an organized and efficient way.
The best thing about FreshBooks is that it allows you to make invoices in a very simple way, basically, I manage all the accounting of my company. FreshBooks has many features such as tax planning and time tracking. It should be noted that it is also compatible with mobile devices which makes things even easier to be able to access your data management at any time.
As for its functions I have no problem, on the other hand, the tool takes a few months without updates and the cost is a bit high.
My use of this tool goes more than anything in the following areas: Billing Accounting Payment Collection Bookkeeping In itself, everything that has to do with the management of my company.
FreshBooks is a very complete billing platform, since it is very easy to configure and use, and the best thing is that little accounting experience is required, I also like it a lot because they have added new accounting functions with updates that have improved this software. incredible way and have made it a viable option for small and large companies. Apart from that everything is compatible with almost any device with an Internet connection.FreshBooks is an excellent ally for the billing and accounting of any company because it offers excellent accounting techniques, key strategies such as bank reconciliation, journal entries, and reports with results Very complete and professional.
The only problem is that its monthly cost is quite expensive and that its users and features are limited.
FreshBooks has always been incredibly easy to use and the newly redesigned software is no exception. This tool is very easy to use for any company and although Freshbooks is somewhat expensive, for my company it has been ideal because it has helped us solve many things, such as Facilitate excellent customer service, since it generates excellent results. Thanks to the fact that it also has a mobile application, I can use it anytime, anywhere. It also allows us an interface with users which is very well designed and invoice templates are very attractive to our customers.
Fresh books is a great ally to all people seeking to conduct smart business more so in the small businesses or startup where records at times are overlooked. Thus it comes in to fill that gap to enable all business owners and persons to document their transactions, prepare invoices and balance sheets, have automatic financial reports and up to date accounting services all on one platform. The greatest power the software brings on board also is the fact that one can keep track pf their projects online be it recruitment, orders and a whole array of services that fall under this category. More still all this is done on the cloud and thus one will not be hampered by working on one device as they can access all their work in real time across different devices.
So far so good and indeed i have not witnessed any dislikes yet. it is really workable software.
with the inception of Fresh Books there is a clean and systematic record of business at our centre and as a result it is now possible to track the progress of the business, preparing of tax records efficiently and quick balance sheets all of which have come in handy to streamline our business and closing all avenues of leakages and indeed as a confession, the loss margin has greatly reduced.
The ease of keeping up with your clients balances and have a quick view on any over due invoices at a glance.
At first i did not like the pricing module as far as paying by client. Because i was used to paying flat rates. But after a while of freshbooks billing I see that it is a much better system.
Saving time in tracking down our money and billing clients.
Since I started using freshbooks I handle all the accounting information of my company much more easily, now everything is in its rightful place, because this tool gives me the ease and speed that I need in the organization of my accounts. It is very understandable and simple to use. What I like most about Freshbooks are the features these include billing, expense tracking, time tracking, reports and payment management for even greater control of all accounting operations.
I have never had any difficulty using freshbooks. Its implementation in the accounting area of my business has greatly facilitated administrative procedures. In that sense I can say that I am certainly free of complaints.
Currently my work has become less heavy and boring, now I can send invoices to all my clients without any delay or error and at the same time I can manage all my expenses. on the other hand to have everything organized in one place helps me to lower my levels of stress. That is certainly the main advantage brought me being a user of FreshBooks.
