The Shoeboxed Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Shoeboxed in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Shoeboxed
The Insider’s Guide
Receipt scanning by app or mail-in envelope, with mileage tracking
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among accounting and invoicing tools, read from Shoeboxed’s own pages.
Made by Shoeboxed, Inc. · checked Oct 18, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Shoeboxed’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Shoeboxed’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.0
GPA, above 1 of the 20 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade
Shoeboxed turns receipts into searchable expense records for freelancers and small businesses. Receipts arrive by phone photo, email forwarding, Gmail sync, upload or a postage-paid Magic Envelope of paper that its Durham, North Carolina office scans, and staff check the extracted data. The mobile app also logs business mileage by GPS.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Shoeboxed, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Snap a receipt, or stuff the paper ones in an envelope and post it, and staff check what was read.
- 1
Best for posting off paper receipts instead of scanning them
But it keeps no books, and there's nothing free to try: the card is charged the day you sign up.
- 2
Paid plans start at $8.08 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $8.08 per month, billed annually at $97 ($9 billed monthly).
- 3
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 4
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.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
A 2.0 GPA, above 1 of 20
That is against the other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
To replace Shoeboxed you would be making live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Shoeboxed at a glance
- Pricing
- Paid, from $8.08 per month, billed annually at $97 ($9 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Shoeboxed, Inc., since 2007
- Category
- Accounting & Invoicing
- Our grade
- 2.0 GPA, fair
- Store rating
- 4.5 on the App Store, 1,821 ratings
The report card
Best for posting off paper receipts instead of scanning them
Got a drawer full of paper receipts? Shoeboxed lets you post them off in a prepaid envelope and get them back as checked, searchable records, and your phone logs the mileage too. But it keeps no books, and there's nothing free to try: the card is charged the day you sign up.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B | Graded 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 | F | Nothing 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 | D | Next 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 | B | 4.52 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 | B | Web, 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. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Shoeboxed is for
- Great if you'd rather post a pile of paper receipts than scan them one by one
- Handy when you drive for work and want mileage and receipts in one place at tax time
- Good for bookkeepers collecting paper receipts from small business clients
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want to try it before paying, as the card is charged at sign-up
- Not for you if you need your books kept too, as it only captures receipts and mileage
- Tight if you snap a lot on Starter, with 50 digital scans a month and extras charged per scan
Good to know
Good for
- 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
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$8.08
A month to start
Shoeboxed is a paid product, starting at $8.08 per month, billed annually at $97 ($9 billed monthly).
Graded against its own alternatives, since it captures receipts rather than keeping books.
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.
Read from shoeboxed.com on Oct 18, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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%.
Stated on shoeboxed.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
Receipt scanning by app or mail-in envelope, with mileage tracking. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: reports, bookkeeping, expense tracking.
But it keeps no books, so you'll still want accounting software.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Gmail
- Wave
- Evernote
- Dropbox
Shoeboxed is made by Shoeboxed, Inc., and has been around since 2007.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
1/20
Other accounting and invoicing tools it is graded above
Shoeboxed's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 1 of the 20 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, and level with 1.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 15 of 20) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $8.08 a month, against a middle price of $21 for the category: 2 of the 19 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 2 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 21 accounting and invoicing tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Shoeboxed’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 15 of 20
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 20
- DFeaturesAbove 0 of 20
- BEase of useAbove 13 of 20
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 2 of 20
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 21 accounting and invoicing tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Shoeboxed is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Shoeboxed you would be making live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 18 of the 20 other accounting and invoicing tools grade higher. It costs $96.96 a year.
What you could make
- Expense tracking and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, QuickBooks Online, Xero and Gmail among them.
What this rests on. Shoeboxed’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Dext, QuickBooks Online, Wave, Xero and FreshBooks
The 5 tools Shoeboxed is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Dext
Free trial · from $25.21/mo
Receipt and invoice capture that codes documents for your ledger.
- Only Dext lists a browser extension.
- Shoeboxed also covers reports.
- 2.4GPA
QuickBooks Online
Free plan · from $38/mo
Cloud accounting from Intuit, from a free plan to 25-user Advanced.
- QuickBooks Online has a free plan. Shoeboxed does not.
- QuickBooks Online also covers invoicing and payroll.
- 2.4GPA
Wave
Free plan · from $19/mo
Free invoicing and bookkeeping for US and Canadian small businesses.
- Wave has a free plan. Shoeboxed does not.
- Wave also covers invoicing and payroll.
- 2.6GPA
Xero
Free trial · from $27/mo
Cloud accounting for small businesses, with unlimited users.
- Xero also covers invoicing and payroll.
- 2.6GPA
FreshBooks
Free trial · from $23/mo
Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses.
- FreshBooks also covers time tracking, invoicing and payroll.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Shoeboxed free?
No. Shoeboxed is a paid product, starting at $8.08 per month, billed annually at $97 ($9 billed monthly).
How much does Shoeboxed cost?
Shoeboxed lists 4 plans. Starter: $8.08 per month for up to 3 users, billed annually ($9 billed monthly).
What platforms does Shoeboxed work on?
Shoeboxed is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does Shoeboxed offer any discounts?
Shoeboxed publicly lists the following: Save 11% to 19% with yearly billing.
How is Shoeboxed rated?
Shoeboxed's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1,821 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Shoeboxed have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Shoeboxed is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Shoeboxed have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Shoeboxed is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Shoeboxed open source?
Shoeboxed is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
What does Shoeboxed integrate with?
Shoeboxed's listing names QuickBooks Online, Xero, Gmail, Wave, Evernote and Dropbox.
Who makes Shoeboxed?
Shoeboxed is made by Shoeboxed, Inc. It dates from 2007.
What are the alternatives to Shoeboxed?
The closest alternatives to Shoeboxed in our directory are Dext, QuickBooks Online, Wave, Xero and FreshBooks.
How does Shoeboxed compare with other accounting and invoicing tools?
Shoeboxed's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 1 of the 20 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, and level with 1.
Is Shoeboxed good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Shoeboxed B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $8.08 a month, against a middle price of $21 for the category: 2 of the 19 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Shoeboxed?
To replace Shoeboxed you would be making live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Shoeboxed’s own pages on Oct 18, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 18, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Shoeboxed's own pages on 18 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Shoeboxed, Inc. Prices change, so check shoeboxed.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
2,021
Tools graded, in 54 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
2,021
tools graded
54
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Shoeboxed, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/shoeboxed
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Shoeboxed: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/shoeboxed
Know someone choosing between accounting and invoicing tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/shoeboxed/guide
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See our other guides
The best-graded accounting and invoicing tools after Shoeboxed, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Accounting & Invoicing Insider's GuideEvery one of the 21 accounting and invoicing tools we grade, compared
- Zoho Invoice Insider's GuideFree invoicing app from Zoho for freelancers and small businesses3.6 GPA
- Zoho Books Insider's GuideOnline accounting from Zoho, with a free plan and six paid tiers3.4 GPA
- Odoo Insider's GuideBusiness app suite whose Accounting app is free when used on its own3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Shoeboxed’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Shoeboxed is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Shoeboxed, Inc. Prices and plans change: check shoeboxed.com before you buy.