In short: Looking for FreshBooks alternatives? FreshBooks itself is capable but pricey, starting at $23 a month in the US, €16 in the EU or £16 in the UK at regular prices, with no free plan and billable-client caps on the lower tiers. If you want to start free and keep things simple, Tally Crow has a free plan and multi-currency invoicing that works anywhere. For free North American accounting, Wave. For a free, global invoicing tool, Zoho Invoice. For an all-in-one freelance suite, Bonsai. If you bill by the hour and want time tracking built in, Harvest. Prices checked 11 November 2026.
Full disclosure: we make Tally Crow, so we’ve kept this honest, with real prices and a clear “best for” on each tool, including where FreshBooks and the others beat us. FreshBooks is a genuinely good product. The question this article answers is narrower: if FreshBooks is more tool, or more cost, than you need, what should a freelancer look at instead?
Why look for a FreshBooks alternative?
FreshBooks does a lot well. It’s a polished, well-established tool with estimates, time tracking and recurring invoices on every plan, and, from its Plus plan up, double-entry accounting reports, receipt scanning, proposals, retainers and accountant access. If you want your books and your invoices in one place, it’s a strong pick.
The reasons freelancers go looking for an alternative are usually price and simplicity:
- It starts at $23 a month in the US, €16 in the EU or £16 in the UK on the Lite plan at regular prices, and there’s no free plan, only a 30-day trial. An introductory offer cuts the first few months (80% off for 4 months in the US, 50% off for 3 months in the EU and UK, checked 11 November 2026).
- The lower tiers cap billable clients. Lite covers 5 billable clients, Plus ($43, €30 or £30 a month) covers 50, and you need Premium ($70, €50 or £42) for unlimited.
- Team members are a paid add-on: $11 a month each in the US, €10 in the EU or £8 in the UK.
- It’s more accounting tool than many freelancers need. If you just want to send a professional invoice and get paid, you may be paying for a general ledger you’ll never open.
None of that makes FreshBooks a bad choice. It makes it the wrong choice for some people. Here are the alternatives worth knowing, and who each one is genuinely best for.
FreshBooks alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Price | Free plan? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tally Crow | Free; Basic €8.99/mo, Pro €14.99/mo | Yes | Free-first, multi-currency invoicing for freelancers anywhere |
| FreshBooks | From $23/mo (US), €16/mo (EU), £16/mo (UK) | No (30-day trial) | Freelancers who want fuller accounting and reports |
| Wave | Free; Pro $19/mo (USD) | Yes | US and Canada freelancers on a budget |
| Zoho Invoice | Free (up to 500 invoices a year) | Yes | A completely free, global invoicing tool |
| Bonsai | Invoicing from $19/user/mo (USD) | No (7-day trial) | Freelancers who want an all-in-one business suite |
| Harvest | Free; Teams $11/seat/mo, or $9 billed annually (USD) | Yes (1 seat, 2 projects) | Freelancers who bill by the hour and want time tracking built in |
*Prices checked 11 November 2026 at regular (non-promotional) monthly rates; confirm on each provider’s pricing page. Currencies are as each provider lists them, and FreshBooks shows different prices on its US, EU and UK sites.*
Tally Crow, best for simple, multi-currency invoicing that starts free
We built Tally Crow for freelancers and creators who want to look professional and get paid, with no accounting experience required. Where FreshBooks asks you to commit from day one, you can start completely free and only pay when you actually need more.
It’s multi-currency and works anywhere: invoice and issue credit notes in any currency, apply VAT, send a polished PDF, and let clients pay online. It’s euro-friendly with solid EU and VAT support, but it isn’t EU-only.
- Price: starts free (2 invoices a month, no card). Basic €8.99/mo, Pro €14.99/mo (unlimited invoices, recurring invoices, no Tally Crow credit on PDFs). Roughly 17% off annually.
- Get paid online: an optional pay-now link with a disclosed application fee (2% Free, 1% Basic, 0.5% Pro), on top of the card processor’s own fee, and no Tally Crow fee on bank transfers.
- Best for: freelancers and creators anywhere who want to start free, then a simple, affordable tool with proper credit notes and multi-currency, rather than a full accounting suite.
- Not for you if: you need full double-entry accounting, tax filing, bank feeds or receipt scanning. FreshBooks covers most of those (receipt scanning and double-entry reports from its Plus plan up), and we deliberately don’t.
At regular prices, the gap is real. A freelancer on Tally Crow’s Pro plan pays €14.99 a month for unlimited invoices and clients, while FreshBooks’ Premium, its plan with unlimited clients, is $70 a month in the US, €50 in the EU or £42 in the UK. Basic, at €8.99 a month, also costs less than FreshBooks Lite ($23, €16 or £16), and there’s a free tier under both. FreshBooks’ introductory offer narrows the gap for the first few months, and can make FreshBooks the cheaper of the two while it lasts, so compare what you’ll pay once it ends. See features and pricing for the detail.
Tally Crow is simple, multi-currency invoicing for freelancers and creators: free to start, no card needed, and you only pay when you need more.
Start invoicing freeFreshBooks, best for fuller accounting
It’s only fair to say what FreshBooks does well, because it’s the reason plenty of freelancers happily pay for it. It goes well beyond invoicing into proper accounting reports, and keeps your books and invoices together.
- Price (regular, a month): Lite $23 / €16 / £16 (5 billable clients), Plus $43 / €30 / £30 (50 clients), Premium $70 / €50 / £42 (unlimited clients), on FreshBooks’ US, EU and UK sites, plus a custom “Select” tier. 30-day trial, no free plan. Extra team members are $11, €10 or £8 a month each.
- Genuinely good at: estimates, time tracking, recurring invoices and automated bank import on every plan; double-entry accounting reports, expense receipt scanning, proposals, retainers and accountant access from Plus up. It’s a more complete accounting tool than anything else on this list.
- Best for: freelancers and small businesses who want accounting bundled with invoicing, and don’t mind paying for it.
- Worth knowing: the lower tiers cap billable clients, several of the features above start on Plus rather than Lite, and it gets pricier once the introductory offer ends.
If accounting reports and receipt scanning are what you’re after, FreshBooks may be exactly right and the “alternatives” below will feel too light. Be honest with yourself about whether you’ll use that depth.
Wave, best for a free North American option
Wave is genuinely free for invoicing and accounting, which makes it a strong FreshBooks alternative on price, with one important caveat: it’s built for North America.
- Price (USD/CAD): Starter is free (unlimited invoices, estimates and bookkeeping); Pro $19/mo adds bank-transaction import, receipt capture, cheaper payment processing and reminders. Online payments cost about 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction (Amex 3.4% + $0.60).
- Best for: freelancers in the US and Canada who want free invoicing plus basic accounting.
- Worth knowing: Wave says it’s available only to businesses located in the US and Canada (US territories aren’t supported), and its pricing is in USD and CAD. If your business is in the EU or anywhere else, it isn’t an option, and that’s Wave’s main limitation.
Wave gives you more of the “accounting” side of FreshBooks for free than any other tool here. The trade-off is geography.
Zoho Invoice, best free and global
Zoho Invoice is completely free and available globally, which is a rare combination. It’s invoicing-focused (the deeper accounting lives in the separate, paid Zoho Books). Check its currency support before you rely on it: Zoho’s knowledge base says Zoho Invoice can invoice only in your base currency and points you to Zoho Billing, while one of its settings help pages still describes adding other currencies (both checked 11 November 2026).
- Price: Free, described by Zoho as free “forever”, with limits: up to 500 invoices a year, 2 users and 3 projects, and “Powered by Zoho Invoice” branding on your invoices.
- Best for: freelancers anywhere who invoice in one currency and want a free tool with estimates, time tracking (up to 3 projects), expenses, a client portal and payment reminders.
- Worth knowing: it’s part of the wider Zoho ecosystem, so it nudges you toward other Zoho products, and deeper accounting means moving up to paid Zoho Books.
If your main gripe with FreshBooks is the price and you want something global, Zoho Invoice is the obvious free starting point.
Bonsai, best all-in-one freelance suite
Bonsai is less an invoicing tool and more a run-your-whole-freelance-business platform: contracts, proposals, a CRM, tasks, projects, time tracking and invoicing.
- Price (USD, per user, billed annually): Basic $9/user/mo (note: invoicing is not on Basic), Essentials $19/user/mo (adds invoicing, payments, proposals, contracts and a client portal), Premium $29/user/mo, Elite $49/user/mo (minimum 3 users). Monthly billing costs more. 7-day trial, card required.
- Best for: freelancers and small agencies who want contracts, proposals and a CRM in one place, and will use the wider suite.
- Worth knowing: if you only need invoicing, you’re paying for a lot you won’t use, and pricing is per user in US dollars. To get invoicing at all, you’re on Essentials at $19/user/mo.
Bonsai is closest to FreshBooks in ambition, arguably broader on the business-admin side. It’s the right alternative only if you’ll use the contracts and CRM, not just the invoices.
Harvest, best for freelancers who bill by the hour
Harvest is a time-tracking tool with invoicing built in. You log hours against clients and projects and invoice from the same place, with expense tracking on every plan, recurring invoices, late-payment reminders on a schedule you choose, and apps for iOS, Android and Mac. FreshBooks tracks time too, on every plan, but in Harvest the timesheet is the heart of the product rather than one feature among many.
- Price (USD, per seat): a free plan for one person (1 seat) on up to 2 projects, with time tracking, invoicing and expenses included. Teams is $11/seat/mo, or $9/seat/mo billed annually ($108 a year). Paid plans have a 30-day trial, no card needed.
- Best for: freelancers who bill by the hour, or who need hours to back up a project fee, and want timesheets and invoices in one place.
- Worth knowing: online payments through Stripe or PayPal are listed from the Teams plan up. Harvest’s pricing page showed only US dollar prices when we checked, so we couldn’t confirm a pound or euro price list, and it doesn’t list proposals, contracts or a client portal.
Tally Crow doesn’t do time tracking, so if hours are what you bill, Harvest (or FreshBooks) will suit you better. If you log time somewhere else and just need a polished invoice, Tally Crow’s Basic and Pro plans let you attach the timesheet to the invoice, and it’s emailed alongside the PDF.
How to choose a FreshBooks alternative
Match the tool to your situation, not the other way round:
- Want to start free and keep invoicing simple? Tally Crow or Zoho Invoice.
- Invoice in euros or several currencies, from anywhere? Tally Crow (any currency on every plan, not geo-locked). If you’re weighing Zoho Invoice, check its currency support first: its own pages disagree.
- Based in the US or Canada and want free accounting? Wave.
- Want contracts, proposals and a CRM too? Bonsai.
- Bill by the hour and want a timer built in? Harvest, or FreshBooks, which tracks time on every plan. Tally Crow doesn’t do time tracking.
- Actually want the fuller accounting FreshBooks offers? Stay with FreshBooks.
The good news is that most of these have a free plan or trial, so you can send a real invoice or two before you decide. For a wider round-up, see our best invoicing software for freelancers comparison, and for the fundamentals of a professional invoice, our guide on how to invoice a client as a freelancer.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers to common questions.
Yes, several. Zoho Invoice is free and available worldwide (up to 500 invoices a year), Wave is free for businesses in the US and Canada only, Harvest has a free plan for one person on up to 2 projects, and Tally Crow has a free plan (2 invoices a month, no card) with multi-currency invoicing you can upgrade later. FreshBooks itself has no free plan, only a 30-day trial.
For a free tool, Zoho Invoice (free worldwide, up to 500 invoices a year), Wave (free, for US and Canadian businesses only) or Harvest’s free plan (one person, up to 2 projects). If you want a paid plan, Tally Crow’s Basic is €8.99 a month and unlimited Pro is €14.99 a month. At regular prices FreshBooks starts at $23 a month in the US, €16 in the EU or £16 in the UK, with no free plan, though its introductory offer lowers the first few months. Prices checked 11 November 2026.
It depends on what you want. For a free plan with simple, multi-currency invoicing anywhere, Tally Crow. For free North American accounting, Wave. For a free global invoicing tool, Zoho Invoice. For an all-in-one business suite with contracts and a CRM, Bonsai. For time tracking with invoicing built in, Harvest.
Both are strong on price because they’re free. Wave gives you more of FreshBooks’ accounting side, but it’s only available to businesses in the US and Canada. Zoho Invoice is available worldwide (up to 500 invoices a year), but its own pages disagree on whether it can invoice outside your base currency, and deeper accounting means moving up to paid Zoho Books.
Not all of them, and that’s the trade-off. FreshBooks and Wave include fuller accounting (Wave for free in North America). Zoho Invoice is invoicing-focused, with accounting in the separate Zoho Books. Tally Crow is invoicing, credit notes, expenses and getting paid, not full double-entry accounting, tax filing or bank feeds, so if you need those, FreshBooks or Wave will suit you better.
It depends on how you bill. Harvest is built around time tracking, with invoicing and expenses alongside, and has a free plan for one person on up to 2 projects; its paid Teams plan is $11 a seat a month, or $9 billed annually. FreshBooks tracks time too, but it’s the fuller bookkeeping tool, with accounting reports and accountant access from its Plus plan, and it has no free plan: it starts at $23 a month in the US, €16 in the EU or £16 in the UK at regular prices. For a UK freelancer, FreshBooks sells in pounds and its UK pricing page lists filing Making Tax Digital VAT returns to HMRC, while Harvest’s pricing page showed only US dollars when we checked. If hours are what you bill, Harvest is the more focused choice; if you want your books in the same place, FreshBooks. Tally Crow doesn’t track time, so it isn’t a like-for-like option here. Prices checked 11 November 2026.
