# Alternatives to FreshBooks

Invoicing-first books for freelancers.

FreshBooks ranks #4 of 10 in Accounting software, with an Alt Score of 82. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from $23/month and available on Web, iOS and Android. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/freshbooks/
Category: Accounting software

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Freelancers, self-employed professionals, and small businesses with employees or contractors who need to manage client billing and finances without hiring an accountant.
- **What you get**: Create and send professional invoices with automatic tax calculation and online payment collection. Track time worked and expenses (via receipt scanning or bank import) and pull them directly into invoices. Generate financial reports, estimates, and proposals, with add-ons for payroll and basic bookkeeping.
- **How it works**: Log time and expenses as you work, turn them into an invoice, and send it to the client for online payment. Payments and expenses sync automatically into reports you can review anytime.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: $23/month (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Odoo](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/odoo.md) | 100 | LGPL-3.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [ERPNext](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/erpnext.md) | 86 | GPL-3.0 | Web |
| 3 | [FreeAgent](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/freeagent.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [QuickBooks](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/quickbooks.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [Sage](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/sage.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [Xero](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/xero.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Zoho Books](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/zoho-books.md) | 78 | ? | Web, iOS, Android |
| 8 | [Invoice Ninja](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/invoice-ninja.md) | 73 | Elastic-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android, Windows |
| 9 | [Wave](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/wave.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Accounting software checklist | FreshBooks | Odoo | ERPNext | FreeAgent | QuickBooks | Sage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription |
| Starts at | $23/month | €11.90/user/month | $5/month | £5/month | $38/month | £14.99/month |
| License | Proprietary | LGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Invoicing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank feeds | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Expense tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Tax reports (VAT) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payroll available | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Inventory | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Partial |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Accountant access | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for FreshBooks. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Subscription — <https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “$23.00USD/mo”
- **Starts at**: $23/month — <https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “$23.00USD/mo”
- **License**: Proprietary — <https://www.freshbooks.com/policies/terms-of-service> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Other than the User Content, the Services and all Content is the property of FreshBooks or its licensors, and is protected by Canadian and international intellectual property laws, and all rights to t”
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — <https://www.freshbooks.com/mobile-apps> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Work anywhere with the FreshBooks mobile accounting app”
- **Status**: active — <https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/feature-news/new-features-july-2025> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “What's New in FreshBooks? Manual Bank Connections, Financial Lock, and More”
- **Invoicing**: Yes — <https://www.freshbooks.com/features> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Create professional invoices in minutes. Automatically add tracked time and expenses, calculate taxes, and customize your payment options.”
- **Bank feeds**: Yes — <https://support.freshbooks.com/hc/en-us/articles/232009268-How-can-I-import-transactions-from-my-bank-account> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Bank Connections, also known as bank import, is made possible through our third party connectors Plaid and Yodlee, which support most major bank and credit card accounts worldwide.”
- **Expense tracking**: Yes — <https://www.freshbooks.com/features> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Keep track of your expenses with mobile receipt scanning, bank account imports, and automated expense categorization.”
- **Multi-currency**: Yes — <https://support.freshbooks.com/hc/en-us/articles/217212017-How-do-I-change-my-client-s-currency-and-language> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Currency and language is set on a per-client basis so that you're able to choose what your clients view on their invoices, estimates and proposals from you.”
- **Tax reports (VAT)**: Yes — <https://support.freshbooks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360027670411-What-is-the-VAT-Return-report> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “a report that allows you to export CSV files in order for you to submit your VAT returns to the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)”
- **Payroll available**: Partial — <https://support.freshbooks.com/hc/en-us/articles/21824633966477-What-is-FreshBooks-Payroll> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “FreshBooks Payroll powered by Gusto is a paid add-on that allows businesses in the United States to run payroll for employees and contractor payments, file payroll taxes automatically, and maintain la”
- **Inventory**: Partial — <https://support.freshbooks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360004173612-What-are-items> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Check off the box next to Track Inventory if you'd like to keep track of your stock”
- **Self-hostable**: No — <https://www.freshbooks.com/accounting-software/for-desktop> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Optimized cloud-based accounting for desktop users. Enjoy the flexibility of accessing your financial data and tools from your desktop, with the added benefits of cloud technology.”
- **Accountant access**: Yes — <https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Give your accountant access”
- **API**: Yes — <https://www.freshbooks.com/api/start> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “The FreshBooks API is an interface for accessing your FreshBooks data using JSON.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/