shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use FreshBooks?

Invoice and accounting software for small businesses - freshbooks.com

Depends. Buy FreshBooks if you're a freelancer or service business wanting polished, easy invoicing and bookkeeping. Skip it if you need a free tool, run inventory-heavy ecommerce, or baulk at recurring plan repricing.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 20+ public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so ratings rely on counts and titles over full text.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

~$23/mo

Lite

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo
PlusHigher — see site
PremiumHigher — see site

Best for

  • Freelancers and solopreneurs
  • Service businesses billing time
  • Non-accountants wanting simple books
  • Agencies sending client invoices

Not for

  • Hobbyists wanting free invoicing — use Zoho Invoice or a spreadsheet
  • Inventory-heavy ecommerce and product businesses
  • Mid-size firms with multi-entity, complex accounting
  • Teams needing deep accountant handoff ecosystems

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Plans have been reduced/repriced under long-time users; verify renewal pricing yearly.

medium

Guess: FreshBooks Payments adds card processing fees on top of your subscription.

medium

Support complaints recur on Reddit; test response times during the trial.

low

Mixed Trustpilot record (1,043 reviews); read recent pages, not the headline score.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • PCMag: attractive, capable, 'still the best' invoice-focused accounting pick.
  • NerdWallet calls it a good fit for freelancers and small businesses.
  • Users comparing tools find Wave less intuitive.
  • Completed SOC 2 Type 1 certification in 2023.
  • Expense tracking keeps books tax-ready year-round.

Cons

  • Freelancers report plan reductions and price hikes, hunting for alternatives.
  • Reddit bookkeepers post 'horrible experience' and 'nightmare' complaints.
  • Reviewers question fit for ecommerce and product businesses.
  • Migrating clients between FreshBooks and QuickBooks/Xero causes friction.

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/26/2026 - 12 sources - SOC 2 Type 1 certified; no fresh CVEs found, but one reported 2023 credential-leak incident.

official x1review x7security x2news x2
  • Reported WordPress credentials leak (April 2023), Coverage describes an exposed database leaking ~30M WordPress users' credentials across 160+ countries, attributed to FreshBooks.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • ~$23/mo

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Plan reductions and price hikes annoy long-time users
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Praised as attractive; users find Wave less intuitive
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Mature, capable invoicing suite per major reviewers
  • Support quality: 3/5. Recurring Reddit nightmare complaints; Trustpilot mixed
  • Security posture: 3/5. SOC 2 Type 1 done, but 2023 leak reported
  • 981 G2 reviews across FreshBooks product listings
  • 1,043 Trustpilot reviews mixed overall record
  • ~$23/mo Starting price third-party cited promotional rate
  • $130M Funding unicorn round, Aug 2021

Pricing

Lite

~$23/mo

  • Basic invoicing
  • Expense tracking
  • For solopreneurs

Plus

Higher — see site

  • More clients
  • Deeper automation

Premium

Higher — see site

  • Unlimited clients
  • Advanced features

Security

SOC 2 Type 1 certified; no fresh CVEs found, but one reported 2023 credential-leak incident.

  • Reported WordPress credentials leak (April 2023)Coverage describes an exposed database leaking ~30M WordPress users' credentials across 160+ countries, attributed to FreshBooks.⁸

What users say

Reviewers praise FreshBooks' ease of use and invoicing for freelancers, while Reddit bookkeepers report pricing changes, migration friction, and support frustrations.

“My horrible experience with freshbooks”
Reddit, r/Bookkeeping
“My Nightmare Experience with FreshBooks - A Warning to All”
Reddit, r/Bookkeeping
“They're reducing their plan”
Reddit, r/freelance

Alternatives

Compare FreshBooks with each alternative.

Companies that use it

  • The Glorious Company
Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so ratings rely on counts and titles over full text.

Polished invoicing for freelancers; overkill if you want free, underpowered for inventory-heavy ecommerce.

Methodology

Based on 20+ public sources; several review snippets were truncated, so ratings rely on counts and titles over full text.

Sources

  1. FreshBooks Review: Attractive, Capable, and Still the Bestpcmag.com
    review
  2. FreshBooks Review 2026: Features and Pricingnerdwallet.com
    review
  3. FreshBooks Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Featuresg2.com
    review
  4. Read Customer Service Reviews of freshbooks.comtrustpilot.com
    review
  5. Freshbooks alternatives? They're reducing their planreddit.com
    review
  6. My Nightmare Experience with FreshBooksreddit.com
    review
  7. FreshBooks Review 2026: Is It Worth It for Ecommerceecommerceparadise.com
    review
  8. FreshBooks leaks WordPress credentialscybernews.com
    security
  9. FreshBooks SOC 2 Type 1 Certificationfreshbooks.com
    security
  10. FreshBooks Pricing, Lite, Plus and Premium Packagesfreshbooks.com
    official
  11. FreshBooks Pricing Breakdownlinkedin.com
    news
  12. FreshBooks Secures $130M in Fundingfreshbooks.com
    news

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