The Top FreshBooks Competitors and Alternatives for 2023

QuickBooks Online: Best for accounting reports

QuickBooks Online has a lot in common with FreshBooks ― from the similar name to their cloud-based accounting platforms. But compared to FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online has much more powerful reporting features. All QuickBooks plans give you basic reports like profit and loss statements and balance sheets. Higher-tier plans give you more specialized analysis, like inventory reports and profitability reports.

Plus, power QuickBooks users can create customized reports and display them on attractive dashboards. Or you can sync your QuickBooks data with Excel for even more power and customization. It all adds up to an accounting software that makes it wonderfully easy to view, manage, and make decisions using your accounting data.

• Unlimited estimates and conversions to invoices.
• Tax management, including tax deductions, sales tax, and 1099s.
• Mileage and time tracking.
• Job costing and project reporting.

Pros

• Free guided setup with a QuickBooks expert.
• One-click tax filing for 1099s.
• Broad spectrum of accounting tools.

Cons

• High starting prices for plans.
• Complaints of poor customer support.
• Sudden price increases.

Pricing

QuickBooks Online has four different plans, from basic accounting to enterprise-level tools:

• Simple Start costs $30 per month for 1 user.
• Essentials costs $55 per month for 3 users and adds bill management.
• Plus costs $85 per month for 5 users and includes inventory management.
• Advanced costs $200 per month for 25 users and adds automation, 24/7 support and more.

You can also add bookkeeping services for an additional cost.

For more information, read the full Quickbooks review.

Wave Accounting: Best for free accounting tools

If accounting software costs too much for your tastes, then Wave Accounting offers an excellent free alternative to FreshBooks. Unlike most popular accounting software, Wave offers entirely free plans for accounting and invoicing. Even better, those plans don’t limit your use. Wave lets you create unlimited invoices, for instance, and add as many collaborators as you want.

Now, Wave does charge for some extra features: payments, mobile receipt capture, payroll and expert advice. But you can add these à la carte features as you need ― meaning you don’t pay for tools you don’t need. Plus, even if you do pay for add-ons, you may find that Wave costs less than FreshBooks and other competitors. It makes accounting tools accessible for any budget.

Features

• Unlimited cash flow management and banking connections.
• Custom invoicing with automated reminders.
• Optional payment processing, payroll and other add-ons.
• Financial statements, tax, payroll, vendor and other reports.

Pros

• Free and unlimited accounting and invoicing software.
• Optional paid add-ons for extra features.
• Unlimited collaborators on all Wave products.

Cons

• No customer support for free customers.
• No time or mileage tracking tools.
• Few native app integrations.

Pricing

Wave doesn’t charge for its essential invoicing or account software. You’ll only pay for these extra features:

• Per-transaction fee for payment processing.
• Monthly fee for mobile receipt scanning.
• Monthly and per-employee fee for payroll.
• Monthly or one-time fee for expert guidance.

For more information, read the full Wave review.

Xero: Best for document handling

If your accounting needs include lots of receipts, bills, bank statements or other documents, then take a closer look at Xero. Sure, other accounting software offers receipt capture. But often that feature is limited to a higher-tier plan or priced as an add-on. Xero, on the other hand, includes data capture through Hubdoc on all plans. Scan, email or take a photo of your document, and Xero will add that information to your accounting.

Xero also helps you manage your uploaded documents. It offers cloud file storage so you can find documents without digging through papers. You can even set up automatic backup so you never lose important document data. The highest-tier plan also lets you submit and reimburse expenses with your scanned receipts. So for document-heavy businesses, Xero may do more than FreshBooks to help you simplify and organize.

Features

• Built-in bill and receipt capture through Hubdoc.
• Expense management for spending and reimbursement.
• Project and time tracking.
• Cloud file storage for financial documents.

Pros

• Easy receipt capture on all plans.
• 24/7 customer support for all users.
• Extra accounting tools like inventory, contact and file management.

Cons

• Limits on quotes and invoices for low-tier plan.
• No native payroll options.
• No annual billing option or discount.

Pricing

Xero has three plans:

• Early costs $13.00 per month and limits you to 20 invoices.
• Growing costs $37.00 per month and allows for unlimited invoices.
• Established costs $35 per month and adds project tracking and expense claims.

You can also add payroll (through Gusto) for an extra $40 per month.

For more information, read the full Xero review.

Zoho Books: Best for relationship management

Like FreshBooks, most accounting software makes it easy to send invoices ― but Zoho Books goes a step further. It lets you manage incoming invoices with its excellent vendor management tools. You can set up vendor portals, where vendors can manage transactions, add invoices and even add comments to documents. In other words, vendors can take care of all their business in one place, meaning fewer emails to handle.

Zoho Books offers great customer portals too, where clients can pay invoices, view quotes and update their personal information. You can also use your customer portals to collect data, like asking for ratings and comments. Zoho Books streamlines your relationship management so you can spend more time on other accounting matters.

Features

• Banking, expenses, invoicing and other key accounting features.
• Portals for customers and vendors to manage transactions.
• Automation for recurring accounting tasks.
• Project time and expense management.

Pros

• Free plan for one user and accountant.
• Many plan options for different user needs.
• Option to add more users for a low monthly fee.

Cons

• Invoice limits on lower-tier plans.
• Very expensive high-tier plans.
• No way to get 24/7 customer support.

Pricing

Zoho Books offers six different plans, with prices from free to pretty expensive:

• Free has no monthly cost, but limits you to 1 user and 1,000 invoices per year.
• Standard costs $15 per month and gives you 3 users and 5,000 invoices.
• Professional costs $40 per month and allows for up to 5 users.
• Premium costs $60 per month and lets you have 10 users.
• Elite costs $120 per month and adds advanced inventory control.
• Ultimate costs $240 per month and allows for up to 15 users and advanced analytics.

You can also pay an extra $2.50 per month to add another user on any plan.

Sage Accounting: Best for multi-currency accounting

If your business operates in more than one country, you’ll want specialized features for handling different currencies in your accounting. And that’s what Sage Accounting delivers ― at a lower price than other accounting platforms. For just $25 per month, you get all the tools you need to handle multiple currencies. Create invoices in different currencies, monitor exchange rates, and view your bank accounts in any country.

Other accounting platforms tend to offer multi-currency accounting only on premium, top-tier plans. But with Sage Accounting, you don’t need an enterprise-level budget to balance the books across currencies. So even smaller startups that happen to buy or sell across national lines can get all the accounting tools they need.

Features

• Unlimited invoices and estimates.
• Workflow automation for recurring invoices.
• Inventory management and reporting.
• Cash flow forecasting.

Pros

• Unlimited users on higher-tier plan.
• Moderately priced plans with big initial discounts.
• Multi-currency accounting for less than competitors.

Cons

• Complaints of outdated user interface.
• Extra cost for receipt capture.
• Reports of steep learning curve.

Pricing

Sage Accounting has just two plans:

• Sage Accounting Start costs $10 per month for 1 user.
• Sage Accounting costs $25 per month for unlimited users, analytics, quotes, and more.

While Sage does offer a free three-month trial of AutoEntry receipt capture, you have to pay extra for that feature in the long run.

For more information, read the full Sage review.

Oracle NetSuite: Best for scaling and enterprise needs

While FreshBooks does let you customize an enterprise plan for your business, few accounting platforms have the scalability of Oracle NetSuite. It’s an incredibly powerful enterprise accounting software that includes a core accounting platform plus optional modules for things like payroll, human resources and global business management. So whether you need just accounting or advanced extras, Oracle NetSuite can meet your needs.

Plus, NetSuite scales even further with SuiteApps ― integrations that offer more functionality. With apps for taxes, shipping, lease accounting, contract management and more, you can customize NetSuite to work for any industry. Likewise, NetSuite can accommodate multiple languages, tax laws and currencies, making it ideal for businesses expanding across the globe. If you think your business will outgrow FreshBooks, you may find a better fit with Oracle NetSuite.

Features

• Accounting, inventory, order and tax management.
• Adds-ons for CRM, marketing, HR and more.
• Default and custom reporting tools.

Pros

• Extensive accounting features.
• Option to add many non-accounting features.
• Ability to scale to enterprise level.

Cons

• No pricing info without a custom consultation.
• Complaints of high product costs.
• Overwhelming features and options for small businesses.

Pricing

NetSuite charges an annual fee. Your business’s fee depends on what modules you want and how many users you have. You’ll need to set up a consultation to get a quote for your business.