FreshBooks vs Shoeboxed
We give FreshBooks a 2.6 GPA and Shoeboxed a 2.0, out of 4.0. FreshBooks grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. Shoeboxed grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
FreshBooks
Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses
Shoeboxed
Receipt scanning by app or mail-in envelope, with mileage tracking
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAFreshBooksGood | 2.0GPAShoeboxedFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BGraded against its own alternatives, since it captures receipts rather than keeping books. Starter is $8.08 a month billed yearly ($9 monthly) for up to 3 users, a third of Dext's $25.21. But that's 50 digital scans and no QuickBooks or Xero sync, which needs Pro at $24.75. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 30-day free trial with no card needed, which is fair. 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. | FNothing free. There's no free plan or trial, and the card is charged at sign-up. The 30-day money-back guarantee isn't a trial, and it ends once a Magic Envelope has been shipped. |
| Features | 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. | DNext to its alternatives it does one slice of the job, and does it fully: receipts by app, email, upload or mailed envelope, checked by staff and sorted into tax categories, plus GPS mileage. But it keeps no books, so you'll still want accounting software. |
| Ease of use | 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. | B4.52 from 1,821 App Store ratings. Snap a receipt, or stuff the paper ones in an envelope and post it, and staff check what was read. There's not much to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Gmail, Wave, Evernote and Dropbox, though the QuickBooks, Xero and Gmail links need Pro. There's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | invoicing first, with the books behind it | posting off paper receipts instead of scanning them |
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: FreshBooks and Shoeboxed. How we grade
Price against what you get
FreshBooks starts at $23 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Shoeboxed starts at $8.08 a month and scores 2.3.
FreshBooks scores higher, and starts $14.92 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than FreshBooks for less, and 2 score higher than Shoeboxed 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
- FreshBooks starts at $23 per month, billed monthly. Shoeboxed starts at $8.08 per month, billed annually at $97 ($9 billed monthly).
- FreshBooks also covers time tracking, invoicing and payroll.
At a glance
| FreshBooks | Shoeboxed | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $23 per month, billed monthly | $8.08 per month, billed annually at $97 ($9 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | FreshBooks | Shoeboxed, Inc. |
| Price read from | freshbooks.com | shoeboxed.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
FreshBooks
- Freelancers and consultants who bill a handful of clients for their time
- Service businesses that send estimates, proposals and retainers
- Owners who want invoicing first and accounting reports second
Shoeboxed
- Self-employed people who keep paper receipts and would rather mail them than scan them
- Freelancers and drivers who want mileage and receipts in one record for tax time
- Bookkeepers collecting paper receipts from small business clients
Worth knowing
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.
Shoeboxed
- There is no free plan or free trial: the card is charged at sign-up, with a 30-day money-back guarantee that ends once a Magic Envelope has been shipped.
- Scans past a plan's allowance cost extra, from $0.07 to $0.19 per digital scan and $0.77 to $2 per paper scan, and extra envelopes are $9 each.
- QuickBooks Online, Xero and Gmail sync need Pro or higher, and Starter keeps digital scans for 3 years rather than for as long as the account is active.
- It captures receipts and mileage but does not keep books; cancelling means calling the billing team rather than doing it in the account.
Key features
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.
Shoeboxed
- Magic Envelope mail-in scanning
- Mail paper receipts and documents in a postage-paid envelope; staff in Durham scan and categorize them, then shred them or send them back, as you choose.
- Several ways to send receipts
- Snap receipts in the iOS and Android app, forward them to an account email address, drag them in from a computer, or import e-receipts with Gmail sync on Pro and up.
- Human-checked data extraction
- OCR pulls the vendor, total, date, sales tax and payment type, and Shoeboxed staff check the result before it lands in the account.
- Tax categories and expense reports
- Receipts are sorted into 15 standard tax categories or your own, and reports with the receipt images attached can be exported, shared or printed.
- Automatic mileage tracking
- The mobile app logs business trips by GPS in the background and sends a daily summary to confirm. It is included on every plan.
- Accounting software sync
- Pro and higher connect to QuickBooks Online and Xero; every plan exports CSV, and receipts can also go to Wave, Evernote and Dropbox.
Plans
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.
Shoeboxed
Starter$8.08
per month for up to 3 users, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)
50 digital scans a month, 20 paper scans a year, 1 Magic Envelope a year and 3 years of scan storage. Billed as $97 a year.
Pro$24.75
per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
250 digital and 50 paper scans a month, an envelope each quarter, Gmail receipt sync, QuickBooks Online and Xero, and phone support.
Plus$66.42
per month for up to 10 users, billed annually ($79 billed monthly)
1,000 digital and 150 paper scans a month, a Magic Envelope every month and priority support. Billed as $797 a year.
Paper Plus$166.42
per month for up to 10 users, billed annually ($179 billed monthly)
For heavy paper volume: 5,000 digital and 300 paper scans a month and 2 Magic Envelopes a month. Billed as $1,997 a year.
Ways to pay less
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.
Shoeboxed
- Annual discount
Save 11% to 19% with yearly billing
Starter is $97 a year against $9 a month, Pro $297 against $29 and Plus $797 against $79; the pricing page gives the saving as 11%, 17% and 19%.
