FreshBooks Pricing in 2026: Plans, Add-Ons and What You Will Really Pay
FreshBooks lists at $23, $43 and $70 a month. The $11 per-seat fee and the billable client caps decide what you actually pay each year.
FreshBooks pricing starts at $23 a month for Lite, $43 for Plus and $70 for Premium as of September 2026, with a quote-only Select tier above that. Plus is the plan most small businesses should price first, and the bill usually comes to more than $43, because every plan includes one user and each additional team member costs $11 a month. Our FreshBooks review covers what the software does; this page covers what it costs once the add-ons land on the invoice.
The short version: budget $43 a month plus $11 for every person who needs a login, watch the billable client cap on Lite and Plus, and expect payment processing at 2.9% plus $0.30 on top.
FreshBooks pricing at a glance
US list prices as of September 2026. Annual billing takes 10 percent off the plan price.
| Plan | Monthly list | Annual list | Billable clients | Users included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | $23.00 | $248.40 | 5 | 1 |
| Plus | $43.00 | $464.40 | 50 | 1 |
| Premium | $70.00 | $756.00 | Unlimited | 1 |
| Select | Quote only | Quote only | Unlimited | 2 |
FreshBooks raised these prices after March 5, 2026. Any source still quoting $21, $38 and $65 is describing the old rates.
What each plan includes
Lite, $23 a month
Invoicing, expense tracking, estimates and online payments for one person billing up to five clients. The limit that forces an upgrade is usually not the client count but the missing pieces: Lite has no accountant access and no bank reconciliation, so a business that wants a bookkeeper in the file, or a proper set of double-entry reports at year end, has to move to Plus regardless of how few clients it bills.
Plus, $43 a month
The plan most FreshBooks customers should price first. It raises the cap to 50 billable clients and adds proposals, retainers, receipt scanning, bank reconciliation and accountant access. FreshBooks does not charge for the accountant seat itself, and accountant access is part of Plus and every tier above it.
The limit that forces the next upgrade is the client cap, and it is stricter than it looks. FreshBooks counts both active and archived clients against the limit, so a consultancy that has invoiced 50 different companies over four years has used its allowance even if only a dozen are current. Deleting a client frees the spot; archiving does not.
Premium, $70 a month
Unlimited billable clients, project profitability reporting, customized invoice templates and line-item receipt capture. Two things push businesses here: passing 50 clients, and wanting to see margin by project rather than revenue by client. Project profitability is the single feature worth the $27 a month step up for most service firms that run fixed-fee work.
Select, quote only
FreshBooks does not publish a Select price, only what the tier adds: two team-member seats in the base price, preferred payment rates, dedicated support, Easy Switch migration help, and Advanced Payments, which is otherwise $20 a month. Treat it as a negotiated plan for businesses with high card volume, where the processing discount does most of the work.
What is not included in the price
| Item | List price, September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Additional team member | $11 per person per month, on every plan |
| FreshBooks Payroll | $40 a month plus $6 per person per month |
| Advanced Payments | $20 a month, included on Select |
| Card payments (Visa, Mastercard, Discover) | 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction |
| Commercial, corporate, business cards and American Express | 3.5% plus $0.30 per transaction |
| ACH bank transfers | 1% per transaction |
The per-seat fee is the item people miss. It applies from the second person onward on every plan, including Premium, so headcount raises your bill without moving you up a tier. The card mix is the second: at 3.5% plus $0.30, a $5,000 invoice paid on a corporate or American Express card costs $175.30 in processing, against $145.30 on a standard card and $50 by ACH.
Payment processing rates rose in the same March 2026 change as the plan prices. FreshBooks attributes the increase to card networks and processors rather than to its own margins.
What a typical business actually pays
A solo freelancer with four clients
Lite covers it: one user, five billable clients, invoicing and expenses. That is $23 a month, or $276 a year. Paying annually costs $248.40, a saving of $27.60. If the same freelancer wants a bookkeeper in the file or bank reconciliation at year end, Lite cannot do it and the real number is Plus at $43 a month, or $516 a year.
A three-person agency with 30 clients
Plus at $43 covers the client count and the accountant. Two extra team members cost $11 each:
$43 + $11 + $11 = $65 a month, or $780 a year.
On annual billing the plan component falls to $464.40. FreshBooks does not publish a discounted annual rate for team seats, so budget $11 a month per seat either way.
Add payroll for the three of them and the arithmetic changes shape: $40 base plus $6 per person is $58, taking the total to $123 a month, or $1,476 a year before any card processing.
A business with 60 billable clients
Sixty clients is past the Plus cap, so this business is on Premium whether or not it wants project profitability. With two extra seats:
$70 + $11 + $11 = $92 a month, or $1,104 a year.
Worth checking before you pay for the upgrade: because archived clients count, some businesses cross 50 on paper while working with far fewer. Deleting dead client records can keep a firm on Plus at $65 a month, a saving of $324 a year, but deleting also removes that client’s history, so export what you need first.
Discounts, promotions and renewals
Annual billing takes 10 percent off the plan price: $248.40, $464.40 and $756.00 for Lite, Plus and Premium against $276, $516 and $840 paid monthly.
As a promotion in September 2026, FreshBooks lists Lite at $1 a month for one year and 80 percent off the first three months of Plus and Premium, which works out at $8.60 and $14.00 a month. Those are introductory rates. The plan reverts to list at the end of the promotional period, so price the decision on $23, $43 or $70.
FreshBooks publishes no renewal cap. What it did publish, in the March 2026 change, is how it handles increases: existing customers were given at least 30 days’ notice, and anyone holding a promotional discount kept the percentage, applied to the new higher base price rather than the old one. Keeping the percentage on a bigger base still means a bigger bill.
The trial is 30 days with no credit card required, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee after you buy.
Is it worth the price?
Against QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks wins on price at small headcounts and loses it as the team grows. FreshBooks Plus at $43 with three people costs $65 a month against QuickBooks Essentials at $85, which includes three users. At five people, FreshBooks Premium is $70 plus four seats at $11, so $114, against QuickBooks Plus at $140 for five users. QuickBooks is still more expensive at that point, but it is carrying inventory with first in, first out costing and two free accountant seats, which FreshBooks does not match. Our FreshBooks vs QuickBooks comparison works through where the crossover falls.
Against Wave, the question is whether you need anything beyond invoicing. Wave’s Starter plan is free with unlimited invoices, and Pro is $19 a month for automatic bank feeds and branding removal. Wave has no time tracking, no project costing and no inventory, so it is the cheaper answer only if you bill flat amounts and reconcile by hand. Wave vs FreshBooks sets out what the free plan gives up.
Against Xero, the comparison turns on seats. Xero’s Early plan is $25, rising to $27 on October 1, 2026, but allows only 20 invoices and 5 bills a month; Growing is $55, then $59, with those caps removed; Established is $90, then $97, and adds multi-currency, expense claims and project time and cost tracking. For a five-person firm, FreshBooks Premium with four extra seats is $114 against Established at $97 from October 1, and Xero’s number does not rise with each new hire. Xero vs FreshBooks covers the rest.
The judgment: FreshBooks is priced fairly for one or two people billing time to a stable client list, where invoicing and project margin are the reports you actually open. It becomes expensive for its category once your team passes three or four logins, and the billable client caps mean growth can move you up a tier for reasons that have nothing to do with revenue. Price the seats and count the archived clients before you sign for a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does FreshBooks cost per month in 2026?
List prices are $23 for Lite, $43 for Plus and $70 for Premium, with a quote-only Select tier above. Annual billing takes 10 percent off, giving $248.40, $464.40 and $756.00 a year. These rates took effect after March 5, 2026.
Does FreshBooks charge extra for users?
Yes. Every published plan includes one user, and each additional team member is $11 a month on every tier, including Premium. Select includes two seats in its negotiated price. Accountants are the exception: accountant access is included at no extra charge from the Plus plan upward, and Lite has none at all.
What counts as a billable client on FreshBooks?
A client is anyone you bill, and the plan limit counts active and archived clients together. Lite allows five, Plus allows 50 and Premium is unlimited. Archiving a client you no longer work with does not free the spot; only deleting the record does, and deleting removes their history from your account.
Is the FreshBooks annual plan worth it?
It saves 10 percent, which is $27.60 a year on Lite, $51.60 on Plus and $84.00 on Premium. That is a straightforward saving if you are confident about staying for the year. The 30-day money-back guarantee applies after purchase, so the practical test is whether you expect to outgrow the client cap mid-year and want the flexibility to move.
What does FreshBooks charge for payments and payroll?
Card payments are 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, commercial and American Express cards are 3.5% plus $0.30, and ACH bank transfers are 1%. Payroll is an add-on at $40 a month plus $6 per person. Advanced Payments is a separate $20 a month add-on, included on Select.
