FreshBooks Review: Strong Client Billing, With Seat Fees and Client Caps
FreshBooks is billing and time-tracking software with books underneath. What it does, what it costs in 2026, and who should pick something else.
FreshBooks is cloud accounting software built around the invoice: time tracking, estimates, proposals, retainers and online payments come first, with double-entry books underneath from the Plus plan. It suits a one- or two-person service business that bills a manageable list of clients for time or fixed fees. This FreshBooks review comes down on the side of skipping it if you sell physical goods, need several people in the file, or bill more than 50 clients without wanting to pay for the top published plan.
The short version: FreshBooks is the right tool when getting invoices out and paid is the hard part of your week. Budget for Plus at $43 a month rather than Lite, add $11 for every extra person, and look elsewhere if you carry stock.
FreshBooks at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Own ledger: invoicing, time and billing software with double-entry accounting reports from Plus |
| Best for | Freelancers, consultants and small agencies that bill clients for time or projects |
| Pricing (as of September 2026) | Lite $23, Plus $43, Premium $70 a month; Select is quote-only; 10% off paid yearly |
| Users included | 1 on Lite, Plus and Premium; 2 on Select; $11 a month for each extra team member |
| Notable limits | 5 billable clients on Lite, 50 on Plus; no bank reconciliation or accountant access on Lite |
| Free trial | 30 days, no credit card, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee after purchase |
| Not ideal for | Product sellers, teams of four or more, businesses with a long client history on a small plan |
What FreshBooks does
Invoicing and getting paid
This is the core of the product, and most of it is on the cheapest plan. FreshBooks lists unlimited customized invoices, automated recurring invoices, scheduled late fees, automated late-payment reminders, deposits, client credits and a client portal on Lite. Clients can pay by card, ACH bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or buy now, pay later through Affirm and Afterpay, and FreshBooks also offers checkout links for payment without an invoice.
Card processing is charged on top of the subscription. After the March 2026 change, FreshBooks’ US rates are 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction for standard cards and 3.5% plus $0.30 for American Express. The quote-only Select plan advertises lower card fees and capped ACH fees, and lists accepting card payments in person or by phone among its features. Advanced Payments is included on Select and is a $20 a month add-on on the other plans.
Time tracking and projects
Unlimited time tracking is on every plan, including Lite, and so is managing a project’s budget and billing. That is the main thing FreshBooks does that the cheapest plans of general ledgers do not: tracked hours flow onto the invoice without being retyped. Project profitability, which shows margin by project rather than revenue by client, starts at Premium.
Estimates, proposals and retainers
Estimates are on Lite. Plus adds unlimited proposals, e-signatures and client retainers, which matters for consultancies and agencies paid before the work rather than after it.
Expenses, bank feeds and receipts
Lite includes automated bank import, unlimited expense tracking and mobile mileage tracking. Bank reconciliation, automatic data capture from expense receipts and emailing receipts into the account start at Plus. Premium adds bill receipt scanning with line items and accounts payable, so a business that wants to manage supplier bills inside FreshBooks is on the $70 plan.
Accounting and reports
Lite produces tax-time reports, business health reports and dashboards. The double-entry accounting reports an accountant expects, and accountant access itself, start at Plus. FreshBooks does not charge for the accountant’s login. In practice that makes Lite an invoicing tool and Plus the first plan that works as a full set of books.
Currencies
Currency and language are set per client in FreshBooks, so each client sees invoices, estimates and proposals in their own currency. FreshBooks’ help article on the setting does not describe how multi-currency activity is reported, so a business with significant foreign-currency receivables should test that in the trial.
Inventory
FreshBooks can hold a stock count on an item once inventory tracking is turned on for it. There is no inventory costing and no cost of goods sold calculation, which is what a product seller’s tax return and gross margin depend on.
Payroll
FreshBooks Payroll is powered by Gusto and sold as an add-on to a paid subscription at $40 a month plus $6 per person. FreshBooks lists unlimited payroll runs, direct deposit, automated tax calculation, filing and payment, W-2 forms, and payroll transactions created in the books automatically.
FreshBooks pricing
US list prices as of September 2026:
| Plan | Monthly | Paid yearly | Billable clients | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | $23.00 | $248.40 | 5 | Invoicing, payments, estimates, expenses, time tracking, bank import |
| Plus | $43.00 | $464.40 | 50 | Bank reconciliation, double-entry reports, accountant access, proposals, retainers, receipt capture |
| Premium | $70.00 | $756.00 | Unlimited | Project profitability, accounts payable, line-item bill capture, custom email templates |
| Select | Quote only | Quote only | Unlimited | 2 team seats, lower card and capped ACH fees, dedicated phone support, Easy Switch migration, Advanced Payments |
| Add-on | List price |
|---|---|
| Additional team member | $11 a month, every plan |
| FreshBooks Payroll | $40 a month plus $6 per person |
| Advanced Payments | $20 a month, included on Select |
FreshBooks raised these prices after March 5, 2026, and card processing fees rose in the same change. Existing customers were given 30 days’ notice, and promotional discounts carried over as a percentage of the new, higher price. Sources still quoting $21, $38 and $65 describe the old rates.
As a promotion in September 2026, FreshBooks lists Lite at $1 a month for one year and 80% off the first three months of Plus and Premium, which is $8.60 and $14.00 a month. The plan returns to list price when the promotion ends, so price the decision on $23, $43 or $70.
Three things force an upgrade. The client cap is the first: five on Lite and 50 on Plus, and FreshBooks counts active and archived clients together. Deleting a client you no longer bill frees the spot, but also removes that client’s history, so export it first. The second is accounting: wanting bank reconciliation or your accountant in the file moves you to Plus regardless of client count. The third is project profitability or accounts payable, which means Premium.
Headcount does not move you up a tier; it adds $11 a month per person. A three-person agency on Plus pays $43 + $11 + $11 = $65 a month, or $780 a year. The same agency on Premium pays $92 a month. Our FreshBooks pricing breakdown works through more examples.
Limitations
Every extra person costs $11 a month. Lite, Plus and Premium each include one user, and Select includes two. A five-person firm on Premium pays $70 plus four seats, or $114 a month, where QuickBooks Online Plus includes five users for $140 and Xero states that its plans include unlimited users.
The client cap counts clients you have stopped billing. A consultancy that has invoiced 50 companies over several years is at the Plus limit even if a dozen are current. The choice is then to delete records, with their history, or move to Premium.
Lite is not a full accounting system. It has no bank reconciliation, no double-entry accounting reports and no accountant access. For a business that needs a bookkeeper or CPA working in the file, the real entry price is $43.
No inventory accounting. A stock count on an item is useful for a service business that sells a few products on the side. It is not enough for a business whose margin depends on cost of goods sold.
Payroll is an add-on. It runs through Gusto at $40 a month plus $6 per person, on top of the subscription and any team-member seats.
Who FreshBooks is for
FreshBooks fits well when:
- You sell time or fixed-fee services, and tracked hours need to turn into invoices without retyping.
- One or two people need a login, so the seat fee stays small.
- Your client list is under 50, counting the ones you have archived, or you are willing to pay for Premium.
- Estimates, proposals, retainers, deposits and late-payment reminders are part of how you get paid.
Look elsewhere when:
- You buy and resell goods and need inventory costed properly.
- Four or more people need access, at which point per-seat pricing overtakes the flat-tier products.
- Your accountant expects to work in QuickBooks and would charge you to learn something else.
- Cost is the binding constraint and you bill flat amounts rather than hours, where a free plan does the job.
How FreshBooks compares
- QuickBooks Online: the fuller general ledger, with inventory costing from Plus, users included by tier and two free accountant seats on paid plans, at $38 to $340 a month. FreshBooks is cheaper for one or two people. FreshBooks vs QuickBooks shows where the crossover falls.
- Xero: $25, $55 or $90 a month, rising to $27, $59 or $97 on October 1, 2026, with no per-seat charge and bank reconciliation on the cheapest plan, but project time tracking only on the top plan and an entry plan capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month. See Xero vs FreshBooks.
- Wave: free for unlimited invoices and bookkeeping records, with automatic bank import on its $19 Pro plan, but no time tracking or project costing at any price. See Wave vs FreshBooks.
- Zoho Books: free under $50,000 of annual revenue, with timesheet billing and project profitability on the $50 Professional plan for five users and $3 for each extra seat.
- Sage: older lists of FreshBooks alternatives include Sage Business Cloud Accounting, which Sage retired in the US on December 31, 2024. Our Sage Business Cloud Accounting page explains what replaced it.
Our FreshBooks alternatives guide sorts these by the reason for leaving, and the head-to-head comparisons cover the pairs in depth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does FreshBooks cost in 2026?
As of September 2026, list prices are $23 a month for Lite, $43 for Plus and $70 for Premium, with a quote-only Select plan above. Paying yearly takes 10% off. Each additional team member is $11 a month, and payroll is $40 a month plus $6 per person.
Is FreshBooks real accounting software?
From the Plus plan, yes: it adds bank reconciliation, double-entry accounting reports and accountant access. Lite is better treated as invoicing and expense software, since it has none of those three.
Can FreshBooks track inventory?
Only as a stock count. You can turn on inventory tracking for an item and record quantities, but FreshBooks does not cost inventory or calculate cost of goods sold. Product sellers should look at QuickBooks Online Plus or another system with inventory accounting.
Does FreshBooks do payroll?
Yes, as an add-on powered by Gusto, available with a paid subscription. It costs $40 a month plus $6 per person and covers direct deposit, payroll tax calculation, filing and payment, and W-2 forms.
Can an accountant work in FreshBooks?
From the Plus plan upward, accountant access is included without a seat charge. Lite has no accountant access, so a business that wants its bookkeeper or CPA in the file needs at least Plus at $43 a month.
Sources
14 links
- FreshBooks pricing
- FreshBooks: 2026 price change FAQ
- FreshBooks support: what is the pricing (client limits)
- FreshBooks support: what are items (inventory tracking)
- FreshBooks support: changing a client’s currency and language
- FreshBooks Payroll
- QuickBooks Online pricing
- Xero US pricing plans
- Xero: US price changes from October 1, 2026
- Xero: QuickBooks alternative (Xero’s own page, cited for its unlimited-users statement)
- Wave pricing
- Zoho Books pricing
- Sage: Sage Business Cloud Accounting has been retired
- NerdWallet: FreshBooks review (cited for Lite’s limits, not prices)
