Comparison
QuickBooks Online vs FreshBooks
How QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks compare on price, pricing model, features and reviews, with every fact checked on October 24, 2026.
Quick verdict
Choose QuickBooks Online if
- Small businesses that work with an outside accountant who already uses QuickBooks.
- Teams that want a wide third-party app ecosystem.
- Businesses needing inventory, projects and budgeting on the Plus tier.
Choose FreshBooks if
- Freelancers and service businesses billing a limited number of clients.
- Teams wanting time tracking and invoicing in one tool.
- Buyers who want simple, guided accounting.
QuickBooks Online vs FreshBooks side by side
| QuickBooks Online | FreshBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Intuit's cloud bookkeeping suite with four paid tiers that scale by user cap (1, 3, 5, 25) rather than per seat. | Invoicing-first accounting for freelancers and service firms, priced by billable client count. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Starting price | $38/month (Simple Start, 1 user) | $23/month (Lite, 5 billable clients) |
| Pricing model | flat per plan with user cap | per plan by billable client count plus per extra user |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan, Free trial | Free trial |
| SAML SSO | No SAML SSO with external identity providers per ThreatLocker and Intuit community answers (older, unverified in current docs) | Not published |
| SCIM provisioning | Not published | Not published |
| Audit logs | Not published | Not published |
| Data residency | Not published | Third-party review says personal data processed in Canada; not vendor-confirmed. |
| Contract | Monthly; no annual contract; cancel anytime per pricing page. | Not published |
| Support | Chat on Free; phone support free during trial; priority support and training on Advanced. | Dedicated phone support on Select. |
| G2 rating | 4.0 (3,866 reviews) | 4.5 (981 reviews) |
| Founded | 1983 | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Mountain View, US (Intuit) | Toronto, Canada |
| Employees | 10,001+ (Intuit group) | Not verified |
| Invoicing and billing | Invoicing with online payments from Simple Start; Free plan limited to 2 invoices per month; bulk invoice creation in beta on Essentials. | Recurring invoices and late payment reminders on all tiers. |
| Bank feeds and reconciliation | Automated bookkeeping from Simple Start; reconciliation tools listed from Plus; Free plan limited to 1 bank connection. | Bank reconciliation from Plus. |
| Financial reporting | Top 3 reports on Free, general business reports on Simple Start, enhanced reports on Essentials, custom KPIs and dashboards on Advanced. | Financial and double-entry accounting reports from Plus. |
| Expense and bill management | Expense categorization and free ACH bill pay from Simple Start; $0.50 per standard ACH over monthly allotment; Bill Pay Elite listed for Advanced. | Expense tracking all tiers; bill scanning and accounts payable on Premium. |
| Payroll and sales tax support | Payroll sold as an optional add-on; pricing not on the pricing page. | FreshBooks Payroll $40/month + $6 per user. |
| Accountant access and integrations | 2 accountant seats on Simple Start to Plus, 3 on Advanced; integrations not available on Free. | Accountant access from Plus. |
| Pricing model | Tiered flat price with user caps; no per-user price listed. | Client-count tiers plus $11 per extra user. |
| Target company size | 1 to 25 users; Advanced aimed at the upper small business end. | Freelancers to small service firms. |
| Recurring invoices and subscriptions | Not stated on pricing page. | Automated recurring invoices on all tiers. |
| Online payment acceptance | QuickBooks Payments, card and ACH; Free plan gets unlimited invoices if you enable Payments. | Cards, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay, BNPL; lower fees on Select. |
| Automated payment reminders | Not stated on pricing page. | Automated late payment reminders on all tiers. |
| Sales tax and multi-currency | Not verified. | Tax-time reports on Lite; multi-currency not verified. |
| Accounting integration | Native accounting product. | Native accounting from Plus. |
| Time and expense billing | Employee time added to invoices from Essentials. | Unlimited time tracking and expenses on all tiers. |
| Branding and templates | Custom lead form on Essentials; not verified for templates. | Custom email templates on Premium; branding removal on Select. |
Differences most comparisons miss
Worth knowing about QuickBooks Online
- Users are capped by plan (1/3/5/25), so a 20-person team has to buy Advanced at $340/month on the vendor pricing page.
- Third-party sources and Intuit's own notice documented a list increase effective July 1, 2025 (Simple Start $35 to $38, Essentials $65 to $75, Plus $99 to $115, Advanced $235 to $275)
- Community answers and a ThreatLocker post state QuickBooks Online does not support SAML SSO with external identity providers; Google sign-in is the alternative.
- The Free plan appeared on the pricing page with 2 invoices per month and no integrations.
Worth knowing about FreshBooks
- Plans are capped by billable clients (5/50/unlimited), not by users, so Lite stops working once you bill a sixth client.
- Every extra team member costs $11/month on all tiers; only Select includes 2.
- Only SOC 2 Type 1 found (Feb 2023), report available under NDA.
- Advanced Payments is a $20/month add-on except on Select.
What reviewers complain about
QuickBooks Online
- Repeated price increases and promo-then-list pricing.
- Support quality and billing issues reported by some reviewers.
- User caps force a jump from Plus (5 users) to Advanced (25 users)
FreshBooks
- Cost for solo users and annual price increases.
- Limited invoice flexibility.
- Access to records after cancelling.
Sources
Both columns use the same sources: vendor pricing and product pages, documentation, G2 and company records, checked on October 24, 2026. Full source lists are on the QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks reviews.