Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover accounting & tax. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Expensify | FreshBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $5 | From $23 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 30 days |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web, iOS, Android |
| Covers | Accounting & Tax | Accounting & Tax, Creator Finance |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | 1 |
Receipt scanning and expense reports
Expensify photographs a receipt and reads the merchant, date and amount off it, then files the result into a report that somebody can approve. Scanning receipts and sending money stay free, and paying is about what happens after the scan: categorisation, approval rules and the accounting handoff. It pushes to QuickBooks and Xero, which is usually why a bookkeeper asks for it.
Our note
The free tier is the honest recommendation for one person, and it is unusually good. Pay for Collect at the point where somebody other than you needs to see the expenses, which in practice means a bookkeeper or a second person on the card.
Invoicing built for freelancers, not accountants
FreshBooks is double-entry accounting wearing a friendly invoice app, which is the right shape for somebody who bills a handful of clients and dreads January. Time tracking and expenses feed the invoice directly. Client limits on the cheap plan are the thing that pushes people up a tier.
Our note
Wave does invoicing and bookkeeping free and is enough for most creators. Pay for FreshBooks when the client count, the retainers or the proposals are the reason, not because it looks more serious.
Only on this side
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.