FreshBooks is the best accounting software for most freelancers, because it is built around the work a freelancer actually does: sending invoices, tracking time, logging expenses and getting paid. QuickBooks Solopreneur is the better pick if your main worry is quarterly estimated taxes and mileage, Wave is the strongest free starting point, and Zoho Books has the most generous free plan for anyone earning under its revenue cap. Xero and Hurdlr round out the list for specific situations.
Freelancers do not need a full accounting department. They need clean income and expense records, a fast way to bill clients, and a set of numbers a tax preparer can use in April. Every tool below covers that, at very different prices and with different trade-offs. We compared them on published plans and documented features, not on running our own books through each one, so verify current pricing before you sign up. Introductory discounts are common and the regular price is what you will pay from year two.
If you run a small team rather than working solo, our broader guide to the best accounting software for small business weighs the same tools for multi-user businesses.
How We Compared These Accounting Tools
We compared six products using each vendor's public pricing page, documented feature lists, help-center articles and recurring themes in published user reviews. We did not keep live books in any of them, and we do not report invented scores or time savings. The yardstick was the same for every tool: the regular monthly price for one person after promotions end, how well invoicing and online payments are documented to work, whether bank feeds and receipt capture are included, whether the tool helps with self-employment tax estimates, and how easily the data can be handed to an accountant or exported if you leave.
| Tool | Reported starting price | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| FreshBooks | About $23 per month (Lite) | Client invoicing and time tracking | Lite caps billable clients at 5 |
| QuickBooks Solopreneur | About $20 per month | Quarterly tax estimates and mileage | Thin invoicing compared with FreshBooks |
| Wave | Free; Pro about $19 per month | Freelancers on a tight budget | Auto bank import requires Pro |
| Zoho Books | Free under $50K revenue | Free plan with real accounting | Free plan skips some features |
| Xero | About $27 per month (Early) | Freelancers who will hire staff later | Early plan limits invoices and bills |
| Hurdlr | Free; Premium about $10 per month | Gig workers tracking mileage on mobile | Light on full accounting |
All prices are reported list prices for 2026 and change often, so verify current pricing on each vendor's site.
1. FreshBooks is the best fit for client-based freelancers
FreshBooks is documented around the invoice. You can track time against a project, turn those hours into an invoice, accept card and bank payments, and send automatic payment reminders. Expense tracking, receipt capture and bank connections are included, and proposals and retainers are available on higher tiers. Reviewers consistently praise how quickly a non-accountant can find their way around and how professional the invoices look to clients.
Reported 2026 list prices are about $23 per month for Lite, $43 for Plus and $70 for Premium, with frequent first-year discounts. The catch is the client cap: Lite is documented as limited to five billable clients and Plus to fifty, so a freelancer with many small clients can be pushed up a tier quickly. Additional team members cost extra on every plan. Our FreshBooks review covers the tiers in more depth.
2. QuickBooks Solopreneur is built for the tax side of freelancing
QuickBooks Solopreneur is Intuit's plan for one-person businesses, reported at about $20 per month. Its documented focus is separating business and personal transactions, tracking mileage automatically from your phone, and estimating quarterly self-employment taxes so the April bill is not a surprise. It also connects naturally to TurboTax for the personal return. Invoicing exists but is simpler than FreshBooks, and it is not designed for staff, inventory or complex reporting.
If you outgrow it, QuickBooks Simple Start at about $38 per month adds a fuller ledger and more reporting. Reviewers like the tax estimates and dislike Intuit's frequent upsell prompts and price increases, so check the current price before you commit.
3. Wave is the best free option if you can live without automation
Wave remains one of the few accounting tools with a genuinely free plan that includes unlimited invoicing, double-entry bookkeeping and basic reports. The trade-off since its plan changes is that automatic bank imports and receipt scanning are documented as Pro features, with Pro reported at about $19 per month or $190 per year. On the free Starter plan you upload transactions yourself. Online payments carry per-transaction fees, which is how Wave makes money.
Reviewers praise the price and simplicity and criticize the limited support on the free plan and the shrinking free feature set over the years. Our Wave accounting review explains what changed.
4. Zoho Books has the most capable free plan
Zoho Books documents a free plan for businesses with annual revenue under $50,000, with one user plus an accountant and a yearly invoice allowance. It includes real accounting features such as bank feeds, a client portal and recurring invoices. Some items, including sales tax tracking and recurring expenses, have been documented as paid-only, so check the free plan limits against your needs. Paid plans start at roughly $20 per month.
The ceiling is the main appeal. A freelancer who grows can move up within Zoho and connect Zoho's CRM, project and invoicing tools without migrating. Reviewers note the interface has more menus than FreshBooks. See our Zoho Books review for the paid tiers.
5. Xero suits freelancers who expect to grow into a business
Xero is full small-business accounting with unlimited users on every plan. Its US prices rose on October 1, 2026, with Early documented at about $27 per month, Growing at $59 and Established at $97. Early limits how many invoices and bills you can process each month, which can pinch a busy freelancer. The reason to pick Xero is the long road ahead: if you plan to hire, take on a partner or add inventory, you will not need to migrate, and many bookkeepers already know it.
For a pure solo freelancer, though, Xero is more system than the job needs, and there is no built-in self-employment tax estimate.
6. Hurdlr is a mobile tracker for gig and side-hustle income
Hurdlr is a mobile-first app for rideshare drivers, delivery workers and side hustlers. It documents automatic mileage tracking, expense and income capture from connected accounts, and running tax estimates. A free plan exists, Premium is documented at about $9.99 per month or $100 per year, and Pro adds invoicing and fuller accounting features. It is not a general ledger in the way QuickBooks or Xero are, so a freelancer with clients, contracts and invoices will usually want one of the tools above instead. Our Hurdlr review covers who it fits.
How to choose without overbuying
Start with how you get paid. If you invoice clients for hours or projects, FreshBooks is the most comfortable fit, and Zoho Books is the budget version of the same idea. If your income comes through platforms or 1099 payers and your main headache is taxes, QuickBooks Solopreneur or Hurdlr fit better. If money is the deciding factor, Wave's free plan or Zoho's free plan will carry you a long way.
Then think one or two years out. A freelancer who plans to stay solo should pay for the simplest tool that covers invoicing and taxes. A freelancer who expects to hire or incorporate should lean toward QuickBooks or Xero, because moving accounting systems mid-growth is tedious. Whichever you pick, check the export options before entering a year of data. Our list of the best invoicing software is useful if billing, not bookkeeping, is your real pain point.
The bottom line: choose FreshBooks if you invoice clients, QuickBooks Solopreneur if taxes are your main worry, and Wave or Zoho Books if you need a free plan to start.
