FreshBooks vs Xero Comparison 2026
FreshBooks is $23 a month for five billable clients, with time tracking and expenses feeding directly into the invoice. Xero is $25 a month for its Early tier, capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills, and adds contractor 1099 handling and cash flow forecasts up to 180 days out. The two prices land within two dollars of each other; the real difference is which cap you hit first, client count on FreshBooks or invoice count on Xero.
Invoicing built for freelancers, not accountants
Accounting a freelancer can run without help
At a glance
- FreshBooks starts cheaper, at $23.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
FreshBooks | Xero | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $23 | From $25 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 30 days | Not stated |
| API | Yes |
FreshBooks
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.
Xero
Accounting a freelancer can run without help
Xero covers the parts of bookkeeping a creator actually meets: invoices, bank reconciliation, expenses and the reports an accountant asks for in January. Nothing in it assumes you have taken an accounting class. There is no free plan, and the cheapest tier stops at twenty invoices a month, which a busy freelancer clears by the third week.
Our note
Pick Xero over Wave when you have contractors to pay and a real filing to make, and Wave over Xero when you mostly need invoices to look professional. The invoice cap on the entry plan is the thing people hit and get annoyed by, so count last year's invoices before choosing it.
Why people weigh these two
- Xero instead of FreshBooks
- Xero is fuller double-entry accounting a freelancer can still run without help, at $25 a month, close to FreshBooks's $23.
- FreshBooks instead of Xero
- FreshBooks is invoicing built for freelancers rather than accountants, at $23, a bit under Xero's $25 for a narrower focus on invoices.
Which one should you pick
Pick FreshBooks if you bill a small number of clients directly and want time tracking, expense receipts and proposals in the same app. Lite is $23 a month for five billable clients, and a 30-day free trial shows whether five is enough before you pay anything.
Pick Xero if you pay contractors and need 1099 forms filed, or want cash flow projected 30 to 180 days out. Early is $25 a month but caps at 20 invoices and 5 bills, a limit a busy freelancer clears by the third week, so budget for Growing at $55 once that happens. Xero also runs a rolling promotion on the first six months, so the real ongoing price is higher than the first bill suggests.
Common questions
- Which one is cheaper to start?
- FreshBooks, by two dollars: Lite is $23 a month against Xero's Early at $25. FreshBooks caps you at five clients, while Xero's Early caps at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month instead, so the tighter limit depends on how you work.
- Does FreshBooks handle contractor 1099 forms like Xero does?
- The listing does not list 1099 or W-9 handling for FreshBooks. Xero collects contractor forms and files the 1099s directly, which matters the first year you pay an editor or another contractor.
- What happens after Xero's introductory pricing ends?
- Xero runs a rolling promotion on the first six months, so the first bill is often close to a tenth of list price and the price rises afterward. FreshBooks' 30-day trial is shorter, but the $23 Lite price afterward does not change.
- Which invoice or client cap gets hit first?
- On Xero's Early plan, 20 invoices and 5 bills a month, a cap a busy freelancer clears within the month per the listing. On FreshBooks Lite, five billable clients total, regardless of how many invoices each one gets.
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.