Does FreshBooks or QuickBooks Online have a free plan?

Neither offers a permanently free plan. FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online offer a free trial instead.

How long is the FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online free trial?

FreshBooks offers a 30-day free trial, and QuickBooks Online offers a 30-day free trial.

Which is easier to use, FreshBooks or QuickBooks Online?

In VERILO's editorial assessment FreshBooks is the easier of the two, scoring 5 out of 5 against 3 for QuickBooks Online. That is a judgement about how quickly a new team gets productive, not a measured benchmark.

FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online

A side-by-side look at FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online: what each costs to start, whether there is a free plan, how easy they are to pick up, and which features and integrations they cover.

Which should you choose?

Choose FreshBooks if

Freelancers and consultants who bill by the hour or by project
Small agencies and service firms with a modest number of clients
People who find full accounting packages intimidating

Visit FreshBooks

Choose QuickBooks Online if

US small businesses that want the accounting system most bookkeepers and CPAs already use
Product businesses that need inventory and project profitability (Plus and above)
Companies with many third-party apps to connect
Businesses planning to add payroll and payments from the same vendor

Visit QuickBooks Online

Cheapest to start

Not confirmed

Free plan

Neither

Highest editor rating

QuickBooks Online · 4.4

Comparison of FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online
Compare	FreshBooks Visit site	QuickBooks Online Visit site
Free plan	No	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Starting price	From $21/mo	From $38/mo
Editor rating	4.1	4.4
Ease of use	Very easy (5/5)	Moderate (3/5)
Category	Finance & Accounting	Finance & Accounting
Pricing model	Lite, Plus and Premium at approximately $21, $38 and $65 per month billed monthly, priced by number of billable clients; additional team members cost about $11 per user per month and introductory promotions are common.	Four company-level plans priced $38 to $340 per month in the US, with user caps of 1, 3, 5 and 25. Payroll, time tracking and payments are separate add-ons, and list prices have increased most years.
Plans	Lite — $21/mo Plus — $38/mo Premium — $65/mo Select — Custom	Simple Start — $38/mo Essentials — $85/mo Plus — $140/mo Advanced — $340/mo
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android, API	Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, API
Integrations	Gmail, Make, PayPal, Stripe, Zapier	Gmail, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Make, PayPal, Salesforce, Shopify, Zapier
Best for	Freelancers and consultants who bill by the hour or by project Small agencies and service firms with a modest number of clients People who find full accounting packages intimidating	US small businesses that want the accounting system most bookkeepers and CPAs already use Product businesses that need inventory and project profitability (Plus and above) Companies with many third-party apps to connect Businesses planning to add payroll and payments from the same vendor
Pros	Very easy to set up and use, with polished invoices and estimates Built-in time tracking, projects and a client portal suit hourly and project work Good iOS and Android apps Clients can pay by card or bank transfer directly from the invoice	Largest ecosystem of accountants, bookkeepers and third-party apps in small-business accounting Deep feature set on higher tiers: inventory, projects, budgets, class tracking and workflow automation Strong US bank feed coverage and solid receipt capture in the mobile app Free accountant access on every plan
Cons	Billable client caps on Lite (5) and Plus (50) Each additional team member costs about $11 per month Weaker general ledger and reporting than QuickBooks Online or Xero No inventory management	Repeated price increases, and the cheapest plan is single-user only Payroll, time tracking and payments are paid add-ons that push the real monthly cost up Interface can feel cluttered and pushes upgrades and add-ons frequently Features and pricing vary noticeably between countries
API access	Yes	Yes
App marketplace	No	Yes
Bank connections	Yes	Yes
Client portal	Yes	No
Expense tracking	Yes	Yes
Inventory management	No	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	Yes
Multi-currency invoicing	Yes	Yes
Payment processing	Yes	No
Payroll	No	Yes
Quotes & invoices	Yes	No
Recurring invoices	Yes	Yes
Reporting & dashboards	Yes	Yes
Tax reports	Yes	Yes
Time tracking	Yes	Yes

Common questions

Does FreshBooks or QuickBooks Online have a free plan?: Neither offers a permanently free plan. FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online offer a free trial instead.
How long is the FreshBooks and QuickBooks Online free trial?: FreshBooks offers a 30-day free trial, and QuickBooks Online offers a 30-day free trial.
Which is easier to use, FreshBooks or QuickBooks Online?: In VERILO's editorial assessment FreshBooks is the easier of the two, scoring 5 out of 5 against 3 for QuickBooks Online. That is a judgement about how quickly a new team gets productive, not a measured benchmark.

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