FreshBooks accounting software review: pros, cons, and pricing

Our latest analysis, during which we spent 57 hours testing top software platforms across 1,512 criteria, revealed FreshBooks to be amongst the best accounting software for small businesses, thanks to its affordability and user-friendly interface.

Good accounting software should help you track and manage your business finances, and reduce manual effort. Our extensive user testing found that FreshBooks is a reliable accounting software solution for new users who just want the basics.

It’s not without its flaws, though, and the simplicity of the software does sacrifice some more advanced functionality in places. Our in-depth FreshBooks review will take a look under the hood and help you decide whether it really is the best fit for your business.

How did we test and review FreshBooks?

In January 2025, our dedicated research team carried out a thorough examination and analysis of FreshBooks, beginning with industry-led data, combined with hours of actual hands-on user testing (57 hours in total)

We compared and contrasted FreshBooks against six of its key competitors in the accounting software space. We followed 1,512 areas of investigation during our testing process, which fell under the umbrellas of the six main categories we determined were most important for a small business’s accounting software.

These were:

1. How FreshBooks handles the primary tasks an accounting software should be able to carry out
2. How FreshBooks helps aid your business with financial planning and sustainability
3. If FreshBooks maximises the overall productivity for your operation, using integrations and workflows
4. The help and support FreshBooks provides to ensure your business is in safe hands
5. Whether FreshBooks’ pricing is fair, you’re getting your money’s worth, and if there are hidden costs
6. Last but not least, whether FreshBooks is easy to use

These are the core pillars our research executives determined, through industry data and audience analysis, to be crucial to good accounting software.

What’s it like using FreshBooks?

The key strength of FreshBooks’ interface is simplicity –it’s intuitive and really user-friendly, especially for sole-traders with no prior accounting experience. The interface avoids unnecessary clutter, which makes it clear and easy to understand.

We really like the vertical navigation bar, which makes FreshBooks incredibly easy to navigate. Source: Startups.co.uk

The well-organised vertical navigation bar was a big highlight for us (found at the left-hand side of the page). All the features were clearly signposted, so we didn’t find ourselves having to hunt around for anything, and all the essential tools (like invoicing) could be accessed in a flash.

We appreciated the nice visual touches when using FreshBooks, like these helpful arrows. Source: Freshbooks.com

Converting quotes into invoices was refreshingly nice and easy. The handy client dashboard gets a thumbs up from us, as it quickly displays clients that have outstanding payments, making it easy to manage your invoices. Ultimately, FreshBooks strikes that tricky balance between simplicity and functionality.

Is there anything about FreshBooks that’s not so easy to use?

Overall, we found FreshBooks to be both intuitive and user-friendly, but there were a couple of areas we had some trouble with. For example, we didn’t find the bank reconciliation and entry function the easiest to use.

Bank reconciliation is a key aspect of accounting software, and one that you’ll inevitably spend a lot of time with, so it’s a shame FreshBooks doesn’t make this easier. The process is spread across multiple different screens, and it wasn’t clear where we needed to go. We found that a competitor like Xero provides a smoother approach to bank reconciliation.

It was a minor frustration, but FreshBooks’ naming conventions also left us feeling occasionally confused – for example, the word “estimate” being used to mean quote. This is primarily because FreshBooks is a US product, so the Americanised naming conventions might sound a little off to a UK user.

FreshBooks’ Pros and Cons

How much does FreshBooks cost?

FreshBooks has three standard plans to choose from, ranging from £15 to £35, and each comes with a 30-day free trial, so you can test it out for yourself before making a financial commitment. Right now, you can also get 50% off for the first three months:

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	Plan	Cost	Best suited for:	Features
Lite	Plus	Premium	Select
Paid monthly: £15/month (+ VAT) Paid yearly: £180/year (+ VAT) Currently 50% off for three months	Paid monthly: £25/month (+VAT) Paid yearly: £300/year (+VAT) Currently 50% off for three months	Paid monthly: £35/month (+ VAT) Paid yearly: £420/year (+ VAT) Currently 50% off for three months	Bespoke cost
Freelancers	Freelancers, self-employed people, sole traders, and small business owners	Self-employed people, small business owners, and businesses that have contractors or employees	Businesses with employees
Unlimited invoices for up to five clients Unlimited quotes  MTD-compliant, submit VAT returns directly to HMRC	Unlimited invoices to up to 50 clients   Automatically capture data from your receipts  Collaborate with an accountant  Run financial reports	Send invoices to an unlimited number of clients Track the profitability of your projects Customisable email templates	Advanced Payments add-on included (usually £15 per month) Exclusive support number   FreshBooks branding will be removed from your client emails

At £15 per month for the Lite plan, it’s not necessarily the cheapest option out there for a basic tier, but it’s not outrageously expensive either. There’s no free plan, so if you’re looking for a no-cost starter option like Zoho Books, you should check out our guide to the best free accounting software.

However, as far as mid-level plans go (generally aimed at small businesses, as opposed to sole traders), FreshBooks’ Plus plan is very reasonably priced. Just keep in mind that for many small businesses, it will most likely be the Premium plan that you’ll need. 

The Premium level tier is aimed at businesses that work with contractors, or have multiple employees. One of the big benefits of this tier is that the cap on invoices to clients is removed. If you’re a limited company, you’ll most likely be looking at the Premium tier as this unlocks ‘accounts payable’ (this allows you to add the bills you need to pay to the software).

The Premium plan is reasonably comparable to competitor plans at this level, but while it  might appear to be a few pounds cheaper than other premium plans, bear in mind that it’s not quite as strong when it comes to cost vs. features.

Are there any hidden costs?

There are some extra fees to be aware of outside of the normal monthly price, and one not inconsiderable drawback is that you’re only limited to one user (except on the Select plan, which includes two users).

If you want to add more team members to your FreshBooks account, this will cost you an additional £8 per user, per month. If you’re planning on adding multiple users to your accounting software, this could get expensive very quickly. There are no other hidden costs for storage or premium features, though.

FreshBooks’ key features

Let’s take a deeper look at the features FreshBooks comes with, and how they can help your business succeed:

Primary accounting tasks

• We found creating quotes to be a little fiddly in places, such as adding the appropriate tax, a process which we felt had one step too many. Thankfully, though, turning quotes into invoices was a much simpler process. We just had to click on the quote, choose ‘convert’, and Bob’s your uncle.

This is what creating a new quote looks like in FreshBooks. Source: Startups.co.uk

• FreshBooks also provides an easy-to-use, precise time tracker for billable hours. Setting up payment reminders was just as easy, and we also found it quite helpful that FreshBooks allows you to see when your client has viewed your invoice, so you can be confident it’s been received.

You can use the time tracking feature to convert billable hours into invoices, allowing for accurate billing directly from projects. Source: Startups.co.uk

Financial planning and sustainability

• Unfortunately, this is an area where FreshBooks doesn’t perform as strongly, especially when compared to its competitors. For one thing, this is the only software we tested that doesn’t allow you to track upcoming monthly bills and expenses.
• There’s also no option for cash flow projection tools, and you can’t set budgets for specific departments or projects. If you’re looking for advanced forecasting and budgeting tools to help you precisely manage your finances, we’d recommend taking a look at our QuickBooks review instead.
• FreshBooks, as compared to QuickBooks, has previously been more limited in regards to creating and customising reports. That said, in February 2025, FreshBooks rolled out a newer, sightly more customisable Balance Sheet report, including additional filters and collapsible headers. In May 2025, FreshBooks then introduced new filters to the updated Profit and Loss report.
• Most recently, In October 2025, FreshBooks updated the Profit and Loss report again, allowing users to drill down into their transactions without having to leave the report. In December 2025, the drill down function was also added to the Chart of Accounts.

You’ll be able to view profit and loss reports through FreshBooks, and in 2025 the platform introduced a newer, more customisable version. Source: Startups.co.uk

Overall productivity

• This is another area where FreshBooks finds itself a little less equipped than its competitors. It does have its own marketplace, which is home to over 100 integrations you can use (a little meagre when compared to Xero’s 1,000 integrations).
• It can automatically flag mismatched balances, and duplicate entries will be flagged to you when creating clients.
• FreshBooks allow you to create client accounts. Here clients can view, save, and comment on invoices and estimated proposals, as well as collaborate on projects.
  
• Overall, we did feel there were aspects of FreshBooks where there were more clicks and stages to a function than strictly necessary (adding tax to an invoice, for example), and the system could definitely be streamlined.

Is there a mobile app?

Yes, FreshBooks does provide a mobile app for both iOS and Android. With the app, you can:

• Create and send invoices
• Manage your expenses
• Snap receipts
• Speak to clients
• Track mileage

What’s also handy about the FreshBooks app is that it syncs up with your desktop version, so you can stay on top of your financial data on the move.

What’s FreshBooks’ help and support like?

One of the standout areas of FreshBooks’ help and support is its own chatbot, dubbed ‘FreshBot’, that can be accessed 24/7. This will be particularly helpful for newer businesses who could need support outside of regular business hours.

However, when we tested the chatbot, it indicated that the only current way of contacting a FreshBooks ‘Support Specialist’ over the phone is to provide your details and await a call back. This might not be ideal for business owners who need extra support, and want to be able to contact an actual human being as quickly as possible.

You can also email FreshBooks for support from within an active FreshBooks account, and there’s a knowledge centre you can use to get quick answers to your queries. When we tested this out for ourselves, we were pleased to find the responses were mostly relevant and helpful.

Who is FreshBooks best for?

Based on our expertise and experience using the software, we would primarily recommend FreshBooks to service-based businesses whose only real need is to track and bill for its team’s billable hours. Essentially, it provides solid invoicing software for services (and time based projects) with a stripped-down accounting platform built onto it.

Just keep in mind, FreshBooks doesn’t have too many bells and whistles, so it might feel a little basic and stripped back for some more experienced users. Growing, or established, businesses that want more sophisticated tools and advanced workflows may find Sage’s customisability or Xero’s more advanced features to be a better fit.

Expert opinion: Dan Heelan on FreshBooks

I loved much of the user interface and the helpful arrows that pointed you to important information. Setting up and invoicing clients was quick and easy. However, dealing with the bank transactions was a frustrating experience, even as a highly experienced user of other accounting software applications. In my opinion, its key niche is for service-based businesses where tracking and billing for a team is required. If you aren’t in this niche, it’s a struggle not to recommend a competitor.

Dan Heelan Accountant and Business Services Director at Heelan Associates Ltd

What are the best alternatives to FreshBooks?

You can jump over to our full breakdown of the best accounting software for your small business, but these are the platforms that excel in some specific areas FreshBooks stumbles in:

In summary

If you’re looking for a competitively-priced, beginner-friendly software that’s simple to use and understand, FreshBooks might just be the option you’re looking for. It’s definitely edging towards the “cheap and cheerful” end of the accounting spectrum, and its reliable core accounting features and 24/7 chatbot will particularly appeal to new business owners.

However, it is missing out on some more sophisticated features, especially when it comes to forecasting and budgeting tools. Financial planning and long-term visibility is one of FreshBooks’ weakest areas.

But if you’re a novice user, sole trader, or small business owner and you’re looking for an option that has the fundamentals down, FreshBooks is worthy of your consideration.