SaaS directory
8 FreshBooks alternatives for 2026
The tools buyers compare with FreshBooks, side by side on price, pricing model and what each one is built for.
Why teams look beyond FreshBooks
- Cost for solo users and annual price increases.
- Limited invoice flexibility.
- Access to records after cancelling.
- Teams that need many staff seats cheaply ($11 per extra user)
- Businesses needing inventory or deep ledger control.
From FreshBooks's published plan limits and recurring themes in public reviews. See the FreshBooks review for sources.
FreshBooks vs. its alternatives
| Tool | Pricing model | Starting price | G2 rating | Invoicing and billing | Bank feeds and reconciliation | Financial reporting | Expense and bill management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 FreshBooks Current | per plan by billable client count plus per extra user | $23/month (Lite, 5 billable clients) | 4.5 (981 reviews) | Recurring invoices and late payment reminders on all tiers. | Bank reconciliation from Plus. | Financial and double-entry accounting reports from Plus. | Expense tracking all tiers; bill scanning and accounts payable on Premium. |
 QuickBooks Online | flat per plan with user cap | $38/month (Simple Start, 1 user) | 4.0 (3,866 reviews) | Invoicing with online payments from Simple Start; Free plan limited to 2 invoices per month; bulk invoice creation in beta on Essentials. | Automated bookkeeping from Simple Start; reconciliation tools listed from Plus; Free plan limited to 1 bank connection. | Top 3 reports on Free, general business reports on Simple Start, enhanced reports on Essentials, custom KPIs and dashboards on Advanced. | Expense categorization and free ACH bill pay from Simple Start; $0.50 per standard ACH over monthly allotment; Bill Pay Elite listed for Advanced. |
 Xero | flat per plan, no per-user license fee | $27/month (Early) | 4.4 (1,558 reviews) | Quotes and invoices; Early plan limited to 20 invoices and 5 bills per month. | Auto-reconcile $5/month add-on on Early, included on Growing and Established. | Cash flow forecast 30/60/180 days by plan. | Expense claims and project tracking only on Established. |
 Wave | free tier plus flat Pro plan and payment fees | $0 (Starter); Pro $19/month | 4.3 (327 reviews) | Invoicing on both tiers; online payments are paid by transaction. | Automatic bank imports on Pro per Gappsy; not verified on vendor page. | Receipt capture add-on $11 or $8/month. | |
 Zoho Books | flat per plan plus per extra user | $15/month billed annually ($20 monthly) for Standard; Free plan available | 4.4 (327 reviews) | Invoice volume caps per year by plan (1,000 to 100,000) | Not verified from pricing page. | Not verified. | Expense claim add-on $9/$7 per active user; BillPay add-on. |
 Harvest | per user | $9/seat/month billed annually (Teams); Free plan $0 | 4.3 (881 reviews) | Custom reports (4 on Teams, unlimited on Enterprise) | |||
 Oracle NetSuite | base platform fee plus per user plus modules | Contact sales | 4.1 (4,400 reviews) | ||||
 Sage Intacct | custom (modules, business users and entities) | Contact sales | 4.3 (4,000 reviews) | Core AR and billing; advanced billing and revenue recognition are separate modules per Vendr guide. | Dimension-based financial reporting and dashboards (vendor claims, not verified) | ||
 Bill.com | per user | $49 per user per month (Essentials) | 4.5 (3,985 reviews) | Cash flow forecasting from Team (QBO users); full reporting detail not verified. |
The alternatives in detail
QuickBooks Online
Intuit's cloud bookkeeping suite with four paid tiers that scale by user cap (1, 3, 5, 25) rather than per seat.
- Starting price
- $38/month (Simple Start, 1 user)
- Pricing model
- flat per plan with user cap
- G2 rating
- 4.0 (3,866 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Invoicing with online payments from Simple Start; Free plan limited to 2 invoices per month; bulk invoice creation in beta on Essentials.
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Automated bookkeeping from Simple Start; reconciliation tools listed from Plus; Free plan limited to 1 bank connection.
- Financial reporting
- Top 3 reports on Free, general business reports on Simple Start, enhanced reports on Essentials, custom KPIs and dashboards on Advanced.
- Expense and bill management
- Expense categorization and free ACH bill pay from Simple Start; $0.50 per standard ACH over monthly allotment; Bill Pay Elite listed for Advanced.
Choose it if
- Small businesses that work with an outside accountant who already uses QuickBooks.
- Teams that want a wide third-party app ecosystem.
- Businesses needing inventory, projects and budgeting on the Plus tier.
Skip it if
- Companies needing SAML SSO with an external identity provider.
- Very small freelancers watching cost, since list prices rose in 2025.
Worth knowing
- Users are capped by plan (1/3/5/25), so a 20-person team has to buy Advanced at $340/month on the vendor pricing page.
- Third-party sources and Intuit's own notice documented a list increase effective July 1, 2025 (Simple Start $35 to $38, Essentials $65 to $75, Plus $99 to $115, Advanced $235 to $275)
- Community answers and a ThreatLocker post state QuickBooks Online does not support SAML SSO with external identity providers; Google sign-in is the alternative.
Full QuickBooks Online review · QuickBooks Online alternatives
Xero
New Zealand-built cloud accounting with three flat-priced plans and no per-user license fees.
- Starting price
- $27/month (Early)
- Pricing model
- flat per plan, no per-user license fee
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (1,558 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Quotes and invoices; Early plan limited to 20 invoices and 5 bills per month.
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Auto-reconcile $5/month add-on on Early, included on Growing and Established.
- Financial reporting
- Cash flow forecast 30/60/180 days by plan.
- Expense and bill management
- Expense claims and project tracking only on Established.
Choose it if
- Teams that need unlimited users without per-seat cost.
- Businesses with multi-currency needs.
- Firms working with accountants who use Xero practice tools.
Skip it if
- Buyers needing annual billing discounts (none on the US page)
- Teams needing SAML SSO, which we could not confirm.
Worth knowing
- No per-user license fees, so seats do not affect price.
- Prices step up on October 1, 2026 to $27/$59/$97 from $25/$55/$90 (insightfulaccountant.com and vendor page)
- Pricing page says Xero may change pricing at any time and subscriptions auto-renew monthly.
Wave
Free-to-start bookkeeping and invoicing for tiny businesses that makes money on payments and a $19 Pro tier.
- Starting price
- $0 (Starter); Pro $19/month
- Pricing model
- free tier plus flat Pro plan and payment fees
- G2 rating
- 4.3 (327 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Invoicing on both tiers; online payments are paid by transaction.
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Automatic bank imports on Pro per Gappsy; not verified on vendor page.
- Expense and bill management
- Receipt capture add-on $11 or $8/month.
- Payroll and sales tax support
- Payroll add-on from $25 or $40/month.
Choose it if
- Freelancers and micro businesses wanting free bookkeeping.
- Service businesses collecting card payments through invoices.
Skip it if
- Teams wanting a wide app ecosystem or inventory.
- Buyers needing fast support (slow support is the main G2 complaint)
Worth knowing
- Owned by H&R Block, which reports Wave Pro tier momentum in fiscal 2026.
- Starter is free but card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction.
- Pro roles (admin, editor, viewer) imply multi-user, but the page gives no numeric user limit.
Zoho Books
Zoho's accounting product with a revenue-capped free plan and six paid tiers priced per organization plus cheap extra users.
- Starting price
- $15/month billed annually ($20 monthly) for Standard; Free plan available
- Pricing model
- flat per plan plus per extra user
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (327 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Invoice volume caps per year by plan (1,000 to 100,000)
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Not verified from pricing page.
- Financial reporting
- Not verified.
- Expense and bill management
- Expense claim add-on $9/$7 per active user; BillPay add-on.
Choose it if
- Small firms already on Zoho CRM or other Zoho apps.
- Cost-sensitive teams that need several users.
- Microbusinesses under the free plan's revenue limit.
Skip it if
- Buyers needing a large US accountant ecosystem.
- Teams requiring offline use (reviewer complaint)
Worth knowing
- Annual billing is 25% cheaper than monthly on Standard ($15 vs $20)
- Extra users cost only $2.50 to $3 per month, the cheapest in this batch.
- Free plan is tied to revenue under $50K per financial year.
Harvest
Time tracking tool with built in invoicing and expense tracking, priced per seat with a one seat free tier.
- Starting price
- $9/seat/month billed annually (Teams); Free plan $0
- Pricing model
- per user
- G2 rating
- 4.3 (881 reviews)
- Time and expense billing
- Time and expenses roll into invoices.
- Reporting and aging
- Custom reports (4 on Teams, unlimited on Enterprise)
- Pricing model and transparency
- Per seat, free tier of 1 seat and 2 projects.
- Target company size
- Small teams to enterprise; SSO and approvals aimed at larger teams.
Choose it if
- Agencies and consultancies that bill clients by the hour from tracked time.
- Teams that want one tool for timesheets, expenses and invoices without a separate accounting app.
Skip it if
- Solo users needing more than 2 projects on a free plan.
- Teams that need SCIM provisioning (not offered on any plan per a third party guide)
- Companies needing payroll or attendance compliance features.
Worth knowing
- SAML SSO is only on Enterprise ($14/seat annual) and is excluded from the Premium features available during the 30 day trial.
- Seats cannot be removed mid cycle; only added with proration, reductions apply at next renewal.
- Teams with 10 or more seats paying annually can request an invoice and pay by ACH or bank transfer.
Oracle NetSuite
Oracle's quote-only cloud ERP that bundles financials, inventory and CRM for mid-market companies.
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- base platform fee plus per user plus modules
- G2 rating
- 4.1 (4,400 reviews)
- Pricing model
- Quote-only: base fee + users + modules.
- Target company size
- Mid-market.
Choose it if
- Multi-entity mid-market companies outgrowing QuickBooks.
- Distributors and product firms needing financials plus inventory.
Skip it if
- Small teams needing public pricing and quick setup.
- Budgets without room for implementation partners.
Worth knowing
- No public list prices; consultants quote about $999/month base plus per-user licenses.
- SAML 2.0 SSO is available per Oracle's help center and works with any SAML 2.0 identity provider.
- Oracle data security addendum commits to annual SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 audits.
Sage Intacct
Cloud financial management and accounting system from Sage for mid-market companies, sold through quotes and partners rather than public price lists.
- Starting price
- Contact sales
- Pricing model
- custom (modules, business users and entities)
- G2 rating
- 4.3 (4,000 reviews)
- Invoicing and billing
- Core AR and billing; advanced billing and revenue recognition are separate modules per Vendr guide.
- Financial reporting
- Dimension-based financial reporting and dashboards (vendor claims, not verified)
- Pricing model
- Quote-based; core financials plus separately priced modules (inventory, project accounting, consolidation, revenue recognition per Vendr guide)
- Target company size
- Mid-market; also nonprofits (G2 Spring 2026 report summary via PKF SCS)
Choose it if
- Mid-market and nonprofit finance teams that outgrew QuickBooks and need multi-entity consolidation.
- Companies that want a finance-first cloud system and will add modules as they grow.
Skip it if
- Very small businesses or freelancers (entry subscriptions reported around $10k per year plus implementation)
- Manufacturers needing deep production planning built in.
Worth knowing
- Sage publishes no list prices; the only anchors are reseller and Vendr data (about $10k to $30k per year for Intacct, per Vendr)
- Advanced modules (inventory, project accounting, consolidation, revenue recognition) are priced separately and may not carry the original discount if added mid-contract (Vendr guide)
- Vendr guide: cloud renewals without price protection may rise about 3 to 8% per year; recommends negotiating a 3 to 5% cap.
Bill.com
Per-user AP and AR automation platform that sends invoices, collects payments and syncs with QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite.
- Starting price
- $49 per user per month (Essentials)
- Pricing model
- per user
- G2 rating
- 4.5 (3,985 reviews)
- Recurring invoices and subscriptions
- Recurring invoices listed explicitly on Corporate and Enterprise; Essentials and Team list 'send invoices flexibly' only.
- Online payment acceptance
- Card 2.9% and ACH $0.59 on received payments; instant transfer 1.25% ($1 min)
- Automated payment reminders
- Automated payment reminders on all plans.
- Accounting integration
- 2-way sync QuickBooks Online/Pro/Premier and Xero from Team; NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Dynamics and QuickBooks Enterprise on Enterprise; Essentials is CSV only.
Choose it if
- Finance teams that run both bill pay and invoicing in one tool with approval chains.
- Small and mid-size companies on QuickBooks Online or Xero that want 2-way sync.
Skip it if
- Freelancers who only need to send a few invoices (starts at $49 per user per month)
- Companies needing many international payment options (reviewers complain about this)
Worth knowing
- Per-user pricing: a 20-user team on Team costs $15,600 per year at the listed monthly rate ($65 x 20 x 12), before payment fees.
- Only Corporate and above show SSO in the plan comparison table; the security page does not mention SSO.
- Automatic QuickBooks/Xero sync starts at Team ($65); Essentials is manual CSV.
When to stay with FreshBooks
- Freelancers and service businesses billing a limited number of clients.
- Teams wanting time tracking and invoicing in one tool.
- Buyers who want simple, guided accounting.