Elorus vs FreshBooks (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Elorus and FreshBooks share a 2.6 GPA, and only Elorus has a free plan.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Elorus grades higher on value for money and the free plan. FreshBooks grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Elorus
Invoicing, time tracking and expenses in one cloud app
FreshBooks
Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses
Which one is for you
Pick Elorus if
- Fits if you invoice up to 5 clients and want time tracking free
- Works for agencies that bill from tracked time
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you pass 5 active clients, because that is the end of the free plan
- Watch out: limits count clients invoiced in the past 365 days, 25 on Starter and 500 on Standard
- Watch out: the free plan allows 1 user, and extra users are $5 a month on yearly billing
- Skip it if you want a phone app, since none is listed
- Watch out: prices exclude VAT, and the site has a region selector that can show other prices
Pick FreshBooks if
- Fits if you're a freelancer billing up to 5 clients for your time
- Works for service businesses that send proposals and take retainers, which start on Plus at $43 a month
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you need accounting reports or bank reconciliation, as they start on Plus at $43 a month
- Tight if you bill more than 5 clients on Lite or 50 on Plus, and archived clients count toward both
- Watch out: the advertised prices are 80% off for 4 months only, then $23, $43 or $70 a month
- Pricey if you add people or payments: $11 a month per extra team member, $20 a month for Advanced Payments
- Skip it if you need payroll outside the US: it files US taxes only, costs $40 a month plus $6 an employee, and isn't in the trial
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAElorusGood | 2.6GPAFreshBooksGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $7 a month on yearly billing, inside the category's cheapest quarter. Extra users are $5 a month each on top. | DLite is $23 a month, right at this category's middle, but it bills only 5 clients and has tax-time reports only. Accounting reports and bank reconciliation start on Plus at $43, and every extra team member is $11 a month on top. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free plan with unlimited invoices for up to 5 active clients, 1 user and time tracking. One person with a few clients can live on that. | CA 30-day free trial with no card needed. There's no free plan, though, and the 80% off for 4 months is a discount, not a trial: after that you pay the full $23, $43 or $70. |
| Features | CInvoicing, quotes, time tracking, expenses, a client portal, stock and an API. It leans toward invoicing and projects, with no ledger described on the page. | BInvoices, estimates, proposals, retainers, online payments, unlimited time tracking, expenses, double-entry reports, bank reconciliation, accounts payable on Premium and payroll run with Gusto. That's the whole job for a business that bills clients. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you set up clients, products and payment connections first. | A4.7 from 10,979 App Store ratings, the top band for accounting apps. It's built around sending an invoice, which is the first thing most small business owners need to do. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and a browser extension, with Stripe, Braintree, PayPal, Slack, Asana and Jira. No phone or desktop app listed. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with card payments through Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Affirm and Afterpay, and payroll through Gusto. There's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | invoicing and time tracking in one place | invoicing first, with the books behind it |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Elorus and FreshBooks. How we grade
Price against what you get
Elorus starts at $7 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. FreshBooks starts at $23 a month and scores 3.3.
FreshBooks scores higher, and starts $16 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 10 score higher than Elorus for less, and 1 scores higher than FreshBooks for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Elorus also covers inventory and quotes and estimates.
- FreshBooks also covers reports, bookkeeping and payroll.
At a glance
| Elorus | FreshBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $7 per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly) | $23 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Unlimited invoices for up to 5 active clients, 1 warehouse, unlimited products and services, and time tracking. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Elorus | FreshBooks |
| Price read from | elorus.com | freshbooks.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Elorus
- Plan limits count active clients, meaning clients invoiced in the past 365 days: 5, 25 and 500 before unlimited.
- Prices exclude VAT; extra users cost $5 a month on annual billing and $6 billed monthly.
- The Free plan allows one user only.
- The site has a region selector (USA, UK, Greece, International); the page read here showed dollar prices.
FreshBooks
- The advertised prices are 80% off for 4 months; plans then renew at $23, $43 or $70 a month.
- Lite bills only 5 clients and Plus 50, counting archived clients; each extra team member costs $11 a month.
- Payroll costs $40 a month plus $6 per employee, files US federal and state taxes, and is not available during the free trial.
- Advanced Payments is a $20 a month add-on on every plan except Select.
Key features
Elorus
- Invoicing and quotes
- Invoices, credit notes, estimates and custom sales documents in many currencies, sent by email with attachments and templates.
- Time tracking
- A live tracker and weekly timesheets, with a Chrome and Firefox extension, and billing of tracked time and expenses to clients.
- Expenses and bills
- Supplier invoices, recurring expenses and bill payments, with expenses tied to projects for cost reporting.
- Client portal and payments
- Clients see invoices and project progress and pay online; the vendor says card payments via PayPal, Braintree and others carry no Elorus commission.
- Automation and API
- Recurring invoices and bills, payment reminders and and a developer API for connecting other systems.
- Stock and warehouses
- Unlimited products and services, delivery notes and internal transfers, with one warehouse on Free and Starter.
FreshBooks
- Invoices, estimates and proposals
- Recurring invoices, late fees and automatic reminders on every plan. Proposals and client retainers start on Plus.
- Online payments
- Clients pay by card, ACH bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Affirm and Afterpay. Card payments through FreshBooks Payments cost 2.9% plus $0.30.
- Time tracking and projects
- Unlimited time tracking on every plan, with project budgets and billing. Project profitability reports need Premium.
- Expenses and receipts
- Bank import, mileage tracking on mobile and unlimited expenses. Receipt scanning starts on Plus, and bill line-item capture on Premium.
- Double-entry accounting
- Accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access start on Plus. Lite has tax-time reports only.
- FreshBooks Payroll
- Payroll run with Gusto inside FreshBooks: unlimited pay runs, free direct deposit, and federal and state payroll tax filing.
Plans
Elorus
Free$0
Up to 5 active clients and 1 user, with time tracking, 1 warehouse and customer support.
Starter$7
per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)
Up to 25 active clients and 1 warehouse. Extra users $5 a month on annual billing. Excludes VAT.
Standard$15
per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
Up to 500 active clients and unlimited warehouses. Marked most popular. Extra users $5 a month annually.
Premium$30
per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
Unlimited clients and warehouses. Extra users $5 a month on annual billing, $6 billed monthly.
FreshBooks
Lite$23
per month for 5 billable clients, billed monthly
Advertised at $4.60 a month for the first 4 months. Invoices, estimates, expenses, online payments and tax-time reports.
Plus$43
per month for 50 billable clients, billed monthly
Advertised at $8.60 a month for the first 4 months. Adds proposals, retainers, accounting reports, receipt scanning and accountant access.
Premium$70
per month for unlimited clients, billed monthly
Advertised at $14 a month for the first 4 months. Adds project profitability, accounts payable, bill line-item capture and custom email templates.
SelectCustom
Unlimited clients, lower card fees, Advanced Payments included, 2 team members, unbranded emails and dedicated phone support.
Ways to pay less
Elorus
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves $24 to $108 a year
Elorus lists a saving of $24 a year on Starter, $48 on Standard and $108 on Premium when billed annually.
FreshBooks
- Other savings
80% off the first 4 months
New customers pay 20% of the Lite, Plus or Premium price for 4 months, then the full monthly price. The page calls it a limited-time offer.
- Annual discount
10% off with yearly billing
Yearly plans cost $248.40 for Lite, $464.40 for Plus and $756 for Premium, 10% less than paying monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Elorus or FreshBooks?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Elorus is cheaper to start with: $7 a month, against $23 a month for FreshBooks. Elorus starts at $7 per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly), and FreshBooks starts at $23 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Elorus or FreshBooks?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Elorus has a free plan. FreshBooks does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Elorus and FreshBooks run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Elorus lists a browser extension and only FreshBooks lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.