FreshBooks vs Quaderno (2026): which should you pick?

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

Pick Quaderno if

• Fits if you sell online across countries and need VAT and sales tax worked out
• Makes sense if you sell through Stripe or Shopify

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want a ledger, as it's sales tax and invoicing only
• Tight if you're on Hobby: 25 transactions, 1 user, 1 jurisdiction and 1 integration
• Watch out: every sale, refund and purchase counts, and going over moves you up a tier automatically
• Watch out: registration and filing done by Quaderno are quoted separately

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.

Quaderno

• Plans are priced by transactions, counting every sale, refund and purchase recorded; going over moves the account to the next tier automatically.
• Hobby is limited to 1 user, 1 jurisdiction and 1 integration.
• Registration and return filing done by Quaderno is quoted separately and is not part of the listed plans.
• It handles sales tax and invoicing; it is not a general ledger or bookkeeping product.

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.

Quaderno

Tax calculation at checkout

Calculates sales tax, VAT and GST for a sale from the product and the customer's location, in 150+ countries according to the homepage.

Threshold alerts

Watches sales by region and warns when a business is about to cross an economic nexus or similar threshold and needs to register.

Compliant invoices

Sends invoices automatically after each payment, branded and localized, with e-invoicing for government mandates.

Tax reports and filing

Turns sales into jurisdiction-specific reports for self-filing, or files returns on the seller's behalf for US states, EU VAT OSS and other regions.

Platform integrations and API

Connects to Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, WooCommerce, GoCardless and Amazon FBA, and exposes a REST API for custom setups.

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.

Quaderno

• Hobby$24

  per month for up to 25 transactions, billed yearly ($29 monthly)

  1 user, 1 jurisdiction and 1 integration. Other plans have unlimited users, jurisdictions and integrations.

• Startup$41

  per month for up to 250 transactions, billed yearly ($49 monthly)

  Unlimited users, jurisdictions and integrations for up to 250 transactions a month.

• Business$83

  per month for up to 1,000 transactions, billed yearly ($99 monthly)

  Same features as Startup with a 1,000 transaction allowance; the page marks it as the most popular plan.

• Growth$124

  per month for up to 2,500 transactions, billed yearly ($149 monthly)

  Same features with a 2,500 transaction allowance. Above that, Enterprise is sold through sales.

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.

Quaderno

• Annual discount

  2 months free with yearly billing

  The pricing page says yearly billing gives 2 months free, which brings Growth from $149 to $124 a month.