FreshBooks review
Simple invoicing for freelancers and service businesses, but client caps and add-on seats raise the real cost
FreshBooks has a 4.5 rating on both G2 and Capterra, but Lite caps you at 5 billable clients and each extra team member costs $11 a month.
FreshBooks score breakdown
| Criterion | Weight | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of results | 30% | 7.0/10 |
| Output quality | 25% | 7.0/10 |
| Ease of use | 15% | 7.5/10 |
| Pricing and value | 15% | 6.0/10 |
| Customer support | 10% | 6.5/10 |
| Security and compliance | 5% | 6.0/10 |
What FreshBooks is and who it is for
FreshBooks is cloud invoicing and accounting software for freelancers, self-employed people and small service businesses, and this FreshBooks review rates it 6.8 out of 10. Third-party company profiles report that it was founded in 2003 in Toronto by Mike McDerment, and comparison listings on TrustRadius describe its positioning the same way.
FreshBooks suits a small service business that mainly needs to send invoices, take card or bank payments, track time and expenses, and hand clean reports to an accountant. Third-party reports say it is weaker on quarterly tax estimates, quarterly reporting and inventory than QuickBooks, so a business that sells stock or expects to outgrow simple bookkeeping should look at QuickBooks or Xero instead.
What FreshBooks does
Every plan covers invoices, estimates, expense tracking, unlimited time tracking, automated bank import, mobile mileage tracking, a client portal, recurring invoices, late fees, payment reminders and deposits. Clients can pay by card, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay or buy-now-pay-later, according to the vendor's pricing page. These are vendor-sourced descriptions.
The plans differ mostly in accounting depth and client volume. Plus adds 50 clients, proposals, e-signatures, receipt scanning, double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access. Premium adds unlimited clients, customizable and automated client emails, bill receipt scanning, project profitability and accounts payable. Select, the sales-quoted tier, adds lower card and ACH processing fees, phone support, a dedicated account manager, customized onboarding, removal of FreshBooks branding from client emails and two included team member accounts. Payroll is a separate add-on.
Reviewers on Capterra and G2 consistently praise the intuitive onboarding, modern interface and simple invoicing, and a business.org review adds that the mobile app is thorough. The most common criticisms on those platforms are technical glitches, unclear billing, and a product that can feel restrictive as a business grows. One reviewer reports bank feeds importing debits only.
On security, the vendor states that it completed a SOC 2 Type 1 audit with A-LIGN in February 2023, with the report available under NDA, and that it is audited annually for PCI DSS Level 1. An administrator or owner can export the client list as CSV, according to a third-party tutorial.
FreshBooks pricing
Vendor-sourced monthly list prices in USD, from the FreshBooks pricing page:
- Lite: $23 a month, 5 billable clients.
- Plus: $43 a month, 50 billable clients.
- Premium: $70 a month, unlimited clients.
- Select: custom pricing quoted by sales, unlimited clients and 2 team members included.
The vendor also lists a 30-day free trial with no card required, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a limited-time promotion of 80% off for 4 months on Lite, Plus and Premium (promotional prices of $4.60, $8.60 and $14). There is no free plan.
Add-ons are vendor-sourced: team members cost $11 a month each, Advanced Payments costs $20 a month (included with Select), and FreshBooks Payroll costs $40 a month plus $6 a month per user.
Sources disagree on the plan prices. The vendor page, agiled.app and TemperStack (third-party reported) agree on $23, $43 and $70. Other third-party pages list $21, $38 and $65, which are likely older figures, and a further page lists $19, $33 and $60.
The entry price understates the real cost. No plan below Select includes team members, so each added user costs $11 a month on top of the plan. The client caps push growing businesses from Lite to Plus to Premium, and bank reconciliation and accountant access only start on Plus. G2 and Capterra reviewers also mention pricing that rises annually.
FreshBooks pros
- Capterra shows a 4.5 rating from about 4,500 reviews and G2 shows 4.5 from roughly 955 to 981 reviews, the strongest review volume among the evidence behind this score.
- Reviewers on Capterra and G2 describe onboarding and navigation as intuitive and invoicing as simple.
- Every plan includes unlimited time tracking and expenses, recurring invoices, late fees, payment reminders and a client portal.
- Plus adds bank reconciliation, double-entry reports and accountant access, which covers the basics a bookkeeper needs.
- Vendor case studies report outcomes such as payments arriving in about 7 days instead of 30-plus (Guilded Agency) and 5 to 6 billable hours saved per week (Web Digital). These are vendor-sourced and self-reported by customers.
FreshBooks cons
- Lite caps billable clients at 5 and Plus at 50, so growing client lists force an upgrade.
- Team members cost $11 a month each on every plan except Select, which raises the total cost for any business with staff.
- Lite lacks bank reconciliation and accountant access, according to review platform themes.
- Third-party reviews report no quarterly tax estimates, weak quarterly reporting and limited inventory support compared with QuickBooks.
- Trustpilot ratings are lower than the other platforms, at 3.9 to 4.0 across roughly 600 to 870 reviews, and G2 reviewers describe the product as restrictive as a business grows.
How FreshBooks compares
- Xero: choose it when you expect to grow and want a broader accounting product than FreshBooks' service-business focus.
- QuickBooks: choose it when you need deeper payroll, integrations or inventory support, and can accept a higher price range.
- Zoho Books: choose it when you want a free version with bank reconciliation and a client portal, as third-party comparisons describe.
Featured in: Best accounting software
Last researched: October 30, 2026.
Reviewed by Greylisting Team.
FreshBooks verdict
FreshBooks earns a 6.8 for simple, well-rated invoicing and a large base of review platform feedback, held back by client caps, paid team seats and outcome evidence that comes only from the vendor. It is right for freelancers and small service businesses with a handful of clients who want quick invoicing and tidy reports for an accountant. It is not right for businesses with inventory, larger teams or fast-growing client lists, where the add-on costs and plan steps add up.