Freshbooks Cost: Startup & Ongoing Costs

FreshBooks is cloud accounting software built for freelancers and small service businesses. It handles invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, and payments, and it is priced by how many clients you bill instead of how many features you switch on. The plan you need follows your client count, and the add-ons you attach can change the total.

The plan prices on this page are published by FreshBooks and were checked on Oct 14, 2026. FreshBooks changes promotions often, and the list price you see before any discount is the number to budget around. Confirm the current amounts on the official pricing page before you sign up.

On monthly billing, Lite is $23/mo, Plus is $43/mo, and Premium is $70/mo. A fourth plan, Select, has custom pricing that you get by talking to FreshBooks.

Lite is limited to a handful of billable clients. Plus raises the limit, and Premium removes it. If you bill many small clients, the client cap is usually the reason to move up a plan, rather than any single feature.

Yearly billing lowers the cost. Based on figures reported by Agiled, paying for a year of Lite costs $248.40/yr, Plus costs $464.40/yr, and Premium costs $756/yr.

Those yearly totals are lower than twelve months at the monthly list price. They come from a third party that checked FreshBooks in May 2026, and the official page may show them differently, so confirm at checkout.

FreshBooks has advertised a first year offer for new solopreneurs, with Lite at $1/mo during the first year. Discounts like this end, and the price rises to the regular rate afterward. Plan on the list price when you build a budget, and treat any promotion as a bonus.

The plan price is not always the final bill. Several items are charged on top.

Team members cost $11/mo for each added person, so a bookkeeper with two helpers pays for each seat. Advanced Payments adds $20/mo, and it is included in the Select plan. Payroll starts with a base fee of $40/mo, and a per user charge is added on top.

If you let clients pay invoices online through FreshBooks Payments, a processing fee applies to each payment. FreshBooks lists the card rate and the bank transfer rate separately.

The card fee is 2.9% of each payment plus a fixed charge for every transaction, and bank transfers cost 1%. Those fees come out of what you collect from clients, so they are not part of the monthly subscription. If you use a different payment processor, its own rates apply.

Pick Lite if you are a solo freelancer with only a few active clients. Choose Plus once your client list grows past the Lite cap, which is common for coaches, consultants, and part time bookkeepers. Premium suits a business with many clients. Select is for businesses that need custom terms.

Count your billable clients in a typical year before you choose. A plan that is too small forces an upgrade mid year, and a plan that is too large wastes money.

Team seats, payroll, and advanced payments are optional, so budget for them if you plan to use them. Taxes may also apply depending on where you live. FreshBooks offers a free trial, but check the trial terms on its site before you rely on one.