You’ve likely heard of at least one of the two most popular accounting software options on the market for businesses if not both: FreshBooks and QuickBooks. Technically, either option should get the job done for your company when it comes to managing your finances and invoices. Yet, depending on the specific needs of your business, there’s a good chance that one of these accounting tools will be a better fit than the other—so which should you choose: FreshBooks or QuickBooks?

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks: What’s the Difference?

While both QuickBooks and FreshBooks offer similar accounting services, each has its own strengths. If you sell products, online or in-person, and want accounting software that will grow as your business grows, QuickBooks may be a better fit. On the other hand, if you are a small business owner or freelancer and want to track time spent on a project, FreshBooks is better aligned with your needs. 

Below you’ll find highlights of some of the most popular tools that QuickBooks and FreshBooks have to offer. You’ll also get a peek at how these software features stack up against each other.

Similarities Between FreshBooks and QuickBooks

At a glance, the two accounting platforms seem similar. Both QuickBooks (created by Intuit) and FreshBooks offer a robust selection of accounting tools to help you manage your finances.

Both are useful to small businesses, and offer invoicing and expense management tools, the ability to accept payments from customers, and financial reports.

Also, both offer an option to work with a bookkeeper, in case you have more than you can manage on your own when it comes to your accounting.

Both services connect to your business bank account so you can keep track of expenses and offer financial statements like balance sheets to help manage cash flow.

Differences Between FreshBooks and QuickBooks

But that’s where the two services split off. QuickBooks has robust inventory tracking built in, whereas FreshBooks has a few integrations offering basic inventory management functionality. Both offer billable hours features, but FreshBooks goes one step further with a time tracker you can set up for each client project you work on. QuickBooks also has time tracking, but it’s offered as a separate service.

Let’s walk through different categories of accounting features to see how the two stack up.

Accounting Tools

Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks offer a host of cloud-based accounting features designed with small business owners in mind. In most instances, QuickBooks is the clear winner in the accounting tasks department. While FreshBooks does a better job of time tracking features for hourly employees and projects, QuickBooks wins the race in just about every other category. 

QuickBooks	Accounting Feature	FreshBooks
Yes	Invoices	Yes
Yes	Estimates	Yes
Yes	Expense Tracking	Yes
Yes	Time Tracking	Yes
Yes	Double-Entry Bookkeeping	Yes
Yes	Inventory Management	No
Yes	Timer for time-tracking	Yes
Yes	Payroll Processing (Additional Fee)	Gusto add on required
Yes	Multi Currency	Yes
Yes	Recurring Payments	Yes
Yes	1099 Reporting	No

Invoicing

QuickBooks and FreshBooks both include invoicing capabilities for their customers. Some of these features are included with certain membership plans. Others may require additional fees. 

The two accounting software platforms are roughly tied within this category. FreshBooks gains extra points for ease of use and advanced features like late fees, deposits, and retainers.

However, QuickBooks has to be recognized for features like accelerated invoicing, which allows you to automate sending multiple invoices to clients. 

FreshBooks gives you a user-friendly platform to create professional, unlimited invoices. You can use the invoice generator to customize your invoice, add your logo, and personalize the thank you email customers receive upon payment.

Save time by automating invoice creation, payment collection, and payment reminders on overdue invoices. 

It’s worth noting that FreshBooks puts a limit on how many clients you can bill with each of its plans. So, if you need to use your FreshBooks account to invoice more than five different clients, you’ll likely have to pay for a higher level of membership.

QuickBooks also has invoicing capabilities, including recurring invoicing. The customizable invoice design selection available through QuickBooks is more robust and allows for more personalization. That being said, some users do report that the QuickBooks interface is less user-friendly and harder to navigate, especially in the beginning. 

Payment Acceptance

Does your business need the ability to accept payments online? Having a “Pay Now” button on your invoices could help you get paid faster.

FreshBooks and QuickBooks both have payment acceptance solutions that allow you to accept credit card payments, PayPal, or ACH payments. You can also use integrations if you accept Stripe payments. See below for a brief overview of the payment processing service costs for each.

QuickBooks Payment Processing Fees:

Payment Type	Fee
ACH Bank Transfers	1% ($10 Maximum)
Credit Card (Swiped)	2.4% + $0.25 Per Transaction
Credit Card (Invoiced)	2.9% + $0.25 Per Transaction
Credit Card (Manually Entered)	3.4% + $0.25 Per Transaction

Freshbooks Payment Processing Fees:

Payment Type	Fee
ACH Bank Transfers	1%
Credit Card (Visa, Discover, Mastercard)	2.9% + $0.30 Per Transaction
Credit Card (American Express)	3.5% + $0.30 Per Transaction
PayPal (U.S.)	3.49% + $0.30 for PayPal accounts 2.9% + $0.30 for credit and debit cards
Stripe (U.S. Bank Transfer)	1%
Stripe (U.S. Credit Card)	2.9% + $0.30

Mobile Apps

Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks offer iOS and Android apps designed to complement their online accounting platforms. The two mobile apps rank pretty evenly, but QuickBooks once again has a slight advantage in this category because its mobile app allows users access to reporting tools. As of the writing of this article, FreshBook’s app does not.

FreshBooks App

With the FreshBooks mobile app, you can:

• Create and send invoices
• Snap pictures of your receipts and save them for your records
• Use time tracking tools
• Communicate with clients
• Log and categorize expenses on the go 

QuickBooks App

The QuickBooks mobile app allows you to:

• Access customer information
• Send invoices
• Record expenses
• Access accounting reports
• Receive payments
• Reconcile bank transactions

FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks Pricing Comparison

Like every small business, price matters for yours. Now that you’ve taken a look at how the features of FreshBooks and QuickBooks stack up against each other, here’s a comparison between the pricing of these business accounting software solutions.

Pricing often changes to be sure to check current pricing.

Freshbooks Pricing	QuickBooks Pricing
N/A	Self-Employed: $15/month
Lite: $15/month	Simple Start: $25/month
Plus: $25/month	Essentials: $50/month
Premium: $50/month	Premium: $80/month
Select: Custom Pricing	Advanced: $180/month

Both QuickBooks and FreshBooks offer promotional pricing discounts and free 30-day trials.

FreshBooks Pricing Plans

FreshBooks is great for tiny budgets, especially if you don’t have many clients to manage. Its Lite plan caters to solopreneurs without employees who only have five or fewer clients to manage. With it, you can create unlimited customized invoices, accept credit card payments and ACH bank transfers online, track your time, create estimates, and process tax time reports.

The Plus plan is for businesses slated for growth. In addition to the features the Lite plan offers, you also get unlimited proposals, double-entry accounting reports, scheduled late fees, and client retainers for up to 50 clients.

The Premium plan accommodates up to 500 clients, with optional add-ons like additional team members who can access your account ($10 per person) and advanced payments ($20 a month).

If you have even greater accounting needs, consider a Custom plan, which gives you access to your own personal Account Manager, as well as customized training and lower credit card transaction fees.

QuickBooks Pricing Plans

QuickBooks also offers a variety of plans for different needs. Its Self-Employed plan is the most basic of the plans, allowing you to track income and expenses, capture and organize receipts, track business miles, and estimate quarterly taxes. The Simple Start plan lets you maximize tax deductions, invoice and accept payments, send estimates, and manage 1099 contractors.

The QuickBooks Essentials plan also lets you track time, manage bills, and add up to three users. And the Plus plan provides the additional ability to run comprehensive reports, send estimates, track project profitability, and track inventory, for up to five users.

The Advanced plan allows you to pay bills, get business analytics and insights, customize access by role for up to 25 users, and automate workflows.

You may find that you start with a smaller plan when your business is still fledgling, and then upgrade as you add the number of clients you service or your accounting needs grow.

QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop Software

If you’re not a fan of online monthly subscription software, QuickBooks does have another solution available—QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus (or QuickBooks for Mac).

QuickBooks Desktop can save you money over the course of time. The trade-off for that savings, however, is that it lacks many of the features available to QuickBooks Online users. As a desktop user, you won’t have access to any of the following (at least not without paying additional fees): 

• Automatic invoice scheduling
• Instant file access for accountants
• Unlimited phone support
• Automatic bank transaction downloads
• Access to product and features updates

With the online software, you always have the latest version and features. After a few years, QuickBooks stops supporting past versions of the desktop software.

FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks Online: Integration with Other Software

Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks partner with other financial services and tools to provide easy integrations that let you get more out of your accounting software package.

FreshBooks Integrations

FreshBooks’ integrations include apps in a variety of functions, including:

• Accounts receivable
• Analytics
• Customer support
• Event management
• Inventory management
• Lead tracking
• And more

Here are a few examples:

• If you use Gusto for payroll processing, you can add the integration to automatically import your payroll transactions and stay on top of expense tracking.

The G Suite integration allows you to add Gmail contacts as clients, and you can create and email invoices directly from Gmail.

QuickBooks Integrations

QuickBooks Apps also help you do more with your subscription. With its integrations, you can expand functionality in: 

• Payment management
• Customer management
• Tax prep
• Data sync
• Expense tracking
• Time tracking
• More

Here are a couple of ways you can leverage these apps:

• If you use Expensify to track receipts and mileage, you can seamlessly integrate this data into QuickBooks.
• Float uses your QuickBooks data to forecast future cash flow.

Opting for FreshBooks

One of the FreshBooks features that users love is the FreshBooks dashboard. When you log into your account, you’ll see a dashboard with an overview of what matters most:

Recent activity tells you when clients opened or paid an invoice. Invoices and expenses show you at a glance a chart of invoices (paid and unpaid) measured against monthly expenses. You can also view client payments in transit, outstanding invoices, and active projects. Additionally, you can view your business expense categories so you know where you’re spending money.

FreshBooks has a lot to love, especially if you’re a solopreneur or service-based business with billable clients. Its time tracking tools are very robust. Simply start the timer when working on a project, and log time when you’re done. The time you spend on a client project can be easily turned into an invoice.

If you have complex accounting needs, however, FreshBooks may not be the best choice. 

Opting for QuickBooks

QuickBooks can be a good choice for more complex accounting needs. However, it can have a steeper learning curve due to this complexity. One tip: if you aren’t experienced with accounting software, you may at least want to get professional help setting up your Chart of Accounts. If it’s not set up properly, it can be a hassle to fix later. 

Another benefit of QuickBooks is the ability to create financial reports. These can be useful for tracking your business financial health, and can even help you qualify for certain types of small business loans. 

One drawback is that you have to add on services like time tracking and inventory management. Prices can creep higher over time.

Read Nav’s QuickBooks review.

FreshBooks or QuickBooks: Which Option Is Best? 

Overall, QuickBooks wins the race for the best small business accounting solution. The program has more features, the features it offers are more robust, and its pricing options are affordable (even if they are slightly more expensive than FreshBooks plans). 

Also, consider the following. If your business is small, starting with QuickBooks now could help you avoid headaches down the road. When your business grows, you may eventually need access to some of the more robust features available through QuickBooks. Learning QuickBooks on the front end can help your business avoid the growing pains of learning a new accounting system down the road.

However, there are still many instances where FreshBooks might be the better choice. If you’re a freelancer or small business and you want a simpler more elegant accounting software solution, or you need to track hours worked by you, your employees, or contractors, FreshBooks may do a better job of meeting your needs at a more affordable price. 

As a small business owner, it’s important to find tools that can save you time and make your job easier. That’s why choosing an accounting software for your company is such an important decision — one which deserves some thoughtful comparison before you click the purchase button. 

Read Nav’s full FreshBooks review.

Frequently Asked Questions About QuickBooks vs FreshBooks

What Is the Disadvantage of FreshBooks?

FreshBooks was designed for freelancers and small businesses to provide an intuitive, easy-to-use solution, focused on helping businesses bill clients, track time and get paid. 

Quickbooks has more solutions or integrations for businesses with inventory, e-commerce stores, and more advanced accounting needs. 

Also, many accountants and bookkeepers use QuickBooks and may prefer it simply because it is the accounting software resource they use most often.

Does FreshBooks Replace QuickBooks?

Entrepreneurs may find you can replace QuickBooks with FreshBooks if it can meet your accounting needs. For small business owners, freelancers and independent contractors who don’t use more advanced QuickBooks features, this can be a simpler alternative. And the FreshBooks support team will help you make the switch. 

However businesses with products and inventory, or businesses with more advanced accounting needs are likely to find QuickBooks offers more robust solutions. 

How Much does FreshBooks Cost per Year?

At the time of writing, FreshBooks plans start at a little over $200 a year when billed annually. You can get a discount and free 30-day trial when you sign up here. 

What are the Similarities Between FreshBooks and QuickBooks?

Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks are double-entry accounting software. Each offers a variety of features that small businesses use for bookkeeping tasks including invoicing customers and tracking expenses, along with accountant access, business health reports, mileage tracking, bills and receipt scanning, online payments, proposals, and estimates and more.