TLDR (Summary)
FreshBooks handles invoicing and basic accounting, but the platform has no Kanban boards, no Gantt charts, no task dependencies, no proposals with e-signatures, and no branded client portals. The Lite plan caps at 5 clients for $11.50/month, Plus at 50 clients for $20/month, and Premium at 500 clients for $35/month. Per-client pricing means every new client pushes toward a forced upgrade. Freelancers using FreshBooks add project management and proposal tools on top, pushing monthly costs past $40. Plutio covers invoicing, projects, time tracking, proposals, contracts, and client portals starting at $19/month with unlimited clients.
The per-client pricing trap that grows with the business
FreshBooks prices by the number of billable clients rather than by features, so the platform gets more expensive every time the client list grows.
The Lite plan at $11.50/month allows 5 billable clients. A freelancer who invoices a 6th client has to upgrade to Plus at $20/month. The Plus plan caps at 50 clients, and Premium at $35/month handles up to 500. The Select plan for unlimited clients requires a custom quote.
The pricing model creates a predictable squeeze. A freelancer who works with 8 clients pays $20/month for the Plus plan, which is 74% more than Lite, even though those 3 extra clients may only generate a handful of invoices each. Adding a team member costs an additional $11/user/month on top of the base plan. Advanced payments cost $20/month extra. Payroll integration starts at $40/month plus $6/person.
None of those upgrades add project management. The jump from Lite to Plus to Premium adds more billable clients and some accounting features, but every plan shares the same gap: no Kanban boards, no Gantt charts, no task dependencies, and no proposals with e-signatures.
FreshBooks' cheapest plan works for freelancers with 5 or fewer clients. The moment a 6th client appears, the forced upgrade starts a pricing escalation that never adds the project management tools the business actually needs.
What FreshBooks handles well in 2026
FreshBooks delivers clean invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, and basic accounting with an interface that's easier to navigate than QuickBooks for freelancers and small businesses.
The invoicing workflow is genuine. Invoice templates are professional, recurring invoices automate repeat billing, and online payments through Stripe, PayPal, and credit cards let clients pay directly from the invoice. Late payment reminders send automatically. For the core task of billing clients and getting paid, FreshBooks covers the invoicing side well.
Time tracking connects to invoices on all paid plans. A timer runs on a project, and the tracked hours pull into an invoice with one click. Expense tracking captures receipts through the mobile app and categorizes spending for tax preparation. Mileage tracking records business travel automatically.
The accounting features handle the basics: profit and loss reports, balance sheets, expense reports, and tax summaries. The NerdWallet review highlights FreshBooks as one of the top invoicing tools for freelancers, noting the clean interface and the direct connection between time tracking and invoicing.
FreshBooks handles invoicing and accounting well. The gap starts at project management, where there are no boards, no timelines, no dependencies, and no way to manage the work that generates the invoices.
What FreshBooks doesn't do for freelancers
FreshBooks handles invoicing but has no Kanban boards, Gantt charts, task dependencies, proposals with e-signatures, contracts, or branded client portals at any price tier.
No project management
FreshBooks' 'Projects' feature is a time tracker organized by project name, not a project management tool. There are no Kanban boards, no Gantt charts, no timelines, no task dependencies, and no workflow automations. Freelancers can't visualize project progress, track deliverable sequences, or manage task assignments across a team. Every project management function requires a separate tool like Trello, Asana, or Monday.
No proposals with e-signatures
FreshBooks has an estimates feature that sends price quotes to clients, but estimates are not proposals. There are no branded proposal templates, no e-signature capability, and no approval workflows. Sending a professional proposal with scope details, deliverables, and a client signature requires separate tools like PandaDoc or Bonsai.
No contracts
FreshBooks has no contract builder, no contract templates, and no legal agreement functionality. Contracts require separate tools. The signed contract doesn't create a FreshBooks project, and the completed project doesn't trigger an invoice automatically.
No branded client portal
FreshBooks has a client-facing view for invoice payment and estimate approval, but there's no branded portal where clients track project progress, download deliverables, approve work, or communicate with the freelancer. Client interactions happen through email notifications and payment links.
FreshBooks handles the invoice. The project that generates the invoice, the proposal that starts the project, and the portal where the client tracks progress all require separate tools and separate subscriptions.
The tiered pricing model is not fair or reasonable and does not make sense. Paying more just to track more clients when features stay the same.
The real cost of a FreshBooks-based freelance workflow
FreshBooks' subscription covers invoicing and accounting, but freelancers add project management and proposal tools on top to cover the gaps in the business workflow.
The monthly math for a FreshBooks-based freelance workflow in 2026:
- FreshBooks Plus: $20/month (for up to 50 clients, the most common tier for active freelancers)
- Asana or Trello: $0-13/month (project management with boards and timelines)
- PandaDoc or Bonsai: $19-25/month (proposals and contracts with e-signatures)
- Total: $39-58/month for three tools that don't share data
The Lite plan at $11.50/month saves on the FreshBooks subscription but caps at 5 clients. Most active freelancers upgrade to Plus within months. Adding a team member pushes the cost up by $11/month per person.
The data disconnect costs time beyond the subscription cost. Finishing a project in Asana, switching to PandaDoc for the next proposal, and generating an invoice in FreshBooks means the project, the proposal, and the invoice live in three separate systems. Client data gets entered into each tool independently. Status updates require checking three dashboards.
Plutio at $19/month covers projects with Kanban and Gantt views, proposals, contracts, time tracking, invoicing, and client portals with unlimited clients. The pricing is flat per workspace, so there's no per-client escalation. Tracked time feeds directly into invoices without copying numbers between apps.
A freelancer pays $39-58/month to run a business around FreshBooks. The same functions cost $19/month on a platform that connects the project to the invoice without client-count limits.
Where FreshBooks users are switching in 2026
Most freelancers leaving FreshBooks look for platforms that keep the invoicing quality but add project management and client portals without per-client pricing tiers.
For the full freelance workflow in one platform
Plutio starts at $19/month with no client limits and connects proposals to projects to invoicing in one flow. When a client signs a proposal, the project creates automatically with tasks, Kanban boards, and a branded client portal. Time tracking feeds directly into invoices. For freelancers frustrated by FreshBooks' client caps and missing project management, Plutio replaces the multi-tool stack. The full FreshBooks alternatives comparison covers features and pricing side by side.
For invoicing with proposals and contracts
Dubsado at $20/month handles invoicing, proposals, contracts, and intake automation in one platform. Project management is basic, but every business function that requires PandaDoc on top of FreshBooks is built in. The Dubsado deep dive covers the trade-offs, including the setup complexity that requires dedicated specialists.
For invoicing with stronger accounting
QuickBooks handles more advanced accounting needs: payroll, tax filing, multi-currency, and inventory management. QuickBooks has the same project management gaps as FreshBooks but covers accounting depth that FreshBooks' simpler interface doesn't match. The FreshBooks vs QuickBooks comparison breaks down both.
For a broader view, the project management tools comparison covers pricing, features, and trade-offs across 8 platforms.
Every platform FreshBooks freelancers switch to either includes project management natively or removes the client-count pricing model that forces upgrades as the business grows.
With Plutio we don't jump between apps anymore! Everything from projects to invoicing is finally connected in one fully-branded app.
How to switch from FreshBooks to Plutio
Most freelancers complete the transition in 1-2 weeks by exporting financial records and starting new invoices on the replacement platform.
- Start a free trial: Plutio offers 14 days of full access with no credit card required. Projects, invoicing, proposals, time tracking, and client portals all work from day one.
- Export financial data: FreshBooks supports exporting client lists, invoices, expenses, and payment records as CSV files. Download all invoice history and expense records for tax purposes. Keep PDF copies of invoices for compliance.
- Import client contacts: Export contacts from FreshBooks as a CSV and import them into Plutio. Client names, emails, and details carry over in minutes.
- Set up a project template: Create one project template with the standard task list, milestones, and deliverable structure. Every new project starts from the template instead of manual setup.
- Start new clients on Plutio: Send the next proposal from Plutio. When the client signs, the project creates automatically with the template structure, portal access, and contract attached.
- Finish FreshBooks projects where they are: Active invoices and pending payments stay in FreshBooks until collection finishes. Running both platforms in parallel for 1-2 weeks avoids disrupting active payment collection.
- Cancel FreshBooks: After all pending invoices are paid and financial records are exported, cancel before the next billing cycle. Keep exported CSV files for tax purposes.
The hardest part of switching from FreshBooks isn't the data export. The hardest part is migrating mid-year when financial records split across two platforms. Timing the switch at the start of a new quarter or fiscal year keeps accounting cleaner.
Export all invoices and expenses as CSV before switching. Financial records for tax compliance are the most important data to preserve during the migration.
