FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks: 2025 finance & accounting management comparison

Popular accounting software FreshBooks and QuickBooks both promise to make accounting and financial management easier, but they’re built for very different users. FreshBooks makes it easy for busy startup founders, entrepreneurs, and freelancers to stay organized without getting buried in unnecessary features. QuickBooks can claim a feature-rich experience that growing businesses looking for enhanced oversight need. 

How do FreshBooks and QuickBooks compare? Here’s what you need to know.

FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks: Features overview 

FreshBooks and QuickBooks, both the desktop app and its cloud-based counterpart, QuickBooks Online, come with similar feature sets, but each tool takes a different approach to finances and accounting. 

Created to help lean teams and small business owners with essential finance management and accounting, FreshBooks has a “no muss, no fuss” style that emphasizes efficiency and accessibility. QuickBooks, on the other hand, has “more.” More features, more customization, more users, and more to figure out.

QuickBooks vs. FreshBooks: Finance management features 

If your business has straightforward finance management needs, FreshBooks can help remove the complexity from accounting, bookkeeping, and other fundamental finance processes. But if you need more muscle—features like payroll, inventory tracking, or project management—QuickBooks may have more of what you’re looking for. Both platforms have tools to help you stay on top of invoices, expenses, and other essentials. IT just depends on how much oversight you need. 

FreshBooks

FreshBooks focuses on simplifying everyday finance management for small teams and business owners looking to take charge of their own business finances. It may not include some of the bells and whistles of a more comprehensive tool, but the pared-down approach also means it’s accessible. You won’t need a CPA or an MBA to navigate the feature set. 

• Receipt and bill scanning. Snap a photo of your bill or receipt, attach it to a transaction, and FreshBooks takes care of the rest. 
• Double-entry accounting reports. FreshBooks supports double-entry accounting, with access to balance sheets, general ledgers, and other critical financial reports for finance tracking. 
• E-signature acceptance. FreshBooks supports e-signatures for proposals and estimates to help move important deals forward efficiently. 

QuickBooks

Built for larger businesses with more complex financial management tools and processes or a high volume of transactions, QuickBooks offers a wider variety of features to support more advanced needs, like VAT tracking, multicurrency accounting, and progress invoicing. The sheer number of solutions may feel overwhelming, however, if your business needs are focused on finance management essentials. 

• Payroll. For an additional fee, QuickBooks offers a comprehensive payroll solution that includes payroll automation, unlimited payruns, and automatic tax calculation and filings. QuickBooks also allows you to process reimbursable expenses for employees as part of payroll.
• Inventory tracking. QuickBooks’ built-in inventory tracking helps businesses that sell physical goods manage stock with real-time insights into stock levels and cost of goods sold.
• Project management. For businesses that bill by the project, QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online help you track invoices, costs, and profitability in a central location.

QuickBooks vs. FreshBooks: Accounting features 

The right accounting features can make all the difference in the world when it comes to keeping your books in order. FreshBooks and QuickBooks both cover the basics, but their standout features cater to different sets of needs.

FreshBooks

Light and simple, FreshBooks provides all the essentials a small business needs to keep accounting under control. 

• Expense categorization with receipt attachments. A lightweight expense management software solution, FreshBooks helps you organize spending with receipt scanning and custom expense categories.
• Time tracking for invoicing. With FreshBooks, you can track your time directly inside the platform and create one-click invoices from your record of billable hours. 

QuickBooks

QuickBooks and its web app sibling, QuickBooks Online, offer more comprehensive features designed to support businesses that need more oversight and control for their accounting and finance. 

• Bank reconciliation. QuickBooks syncs with your business bank account to pull transaction data and match credits and debits automatically.
• Easy access for accountants. If you work with an accountant, QuickBooks gives you the option to connect them directly to your account, where they can access additional features to help manage your books and taxes.

FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks: Integrations

Tech stacks typically grow organically, and you may find that you’ve amassed quite the collection of tools by the time you’re looking for accounting software. Whether you’re syncing sales data or counting stock units, FreshBooks and QuickBooks offer plenty of options to connect with outside tools. 

FreshBooks

FreshBooks aims to keep things simple and flexible, prioritizing the needs of small business owners, solopreneurs, and freelancers who may rely on multiple small tools to handle business tasks. That said, it connects natively with just 100 outside solutions.

• ZenDesk. If you handle customer support through ZenDesk, you can connect it to FreshBooks for a clearer view of client interactions and support tickets.
• Expensify. FreshBooks works with Expensify to make tracking and logging expenses less painful. 
• BigCommerce. Running an online store? BigCommerce syncs with FreshBooks to keep your sales and finance data aligned. 

QuickBooks 

QuickBooks goes big on integrations, with connections to over 750 apps. It may be a better fit for larger businesses, but the reliance on outside tools for more advanced functions might make it less than ideal for enterprise. 

• Square. If you use Square to process point of service payments, you have the option to connect with QuickBooks to keep your sales data flowing automatically.
• Shopify. Online stores that run on Shopify can connect directly to QuickBooks for easy inventory and transaction tracking.
• BILL. Integrating QuickBooks with Bill takes some of the hassle out of handling accounts payable and receivable.

QuickBooks vs. FreshBooks: Customer support

Good customer service can make or break your experience with accounting software. FreshBooks and QuickBooks offer different levels of accessibility and resources, so it all comes down to how you like to get help when you need it. 

FreshBooks

If you prefer a friendly voice on the other end of the line, FreshBooks delivers solid phone support and helpful online resources you can dig into any time. 

• Phone support from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET from Monday to Friday. Want to talk through your issues with a real person? FreshBooks has you covered during standard business hours. 
• Live chat. If you prefer typing over talking, FreshBooks provides live chat support for fast answers without waiting on hold.  
• Webinars and e-books available. When you need to figure things out on your own, FreshBooks has webinars and e-books to walk you through setup and implementation at your own pace. 

QuickBooks

If you regularly run into problems during off-peak hours, QuickBooks has 24/7 chat support and a library of online resources. 

• 24/7 live chat support. Even if your question pops up at midnight, QuickBooks has chat support standing by. 
• Phone support available 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST Saturday and Sunday. For businesses and employees who work weekends, QuickBooks has operators available to assist with troubleshooting. 
• Resources center. The QuickBooks resource center contains articles, tutorials, guides, and other resources for self-help solutions.

FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks: User experience 

Picking the right accounting software goes beyond features. You need to feel confident actually using it. FreshBooks keeps things simple and streamlined, while QuickBooks gives more power but asks for a bit more patience. 

FreshBooks

FreshBooks puts user-friendliness front and center. It’s a solid choice if you’re unfamiliar with accounting or bookkeeping and don’t want to wrestle with your tools. The layout aims to keep things simple, with a clean aesthetic and clear, easy-to-locate menus that make tasks like invoicing and expense tracking simple to find and complete.  Onboarding is likewise straightforward, with a step-by-step introduction that guides you through setup.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks brings more horsepower and features to the table, but it’s worth keeping in mind the steep learning curve that comes with them. Both the desktop app and QuickBooks Online dashboards include detailed insights into the financial health of your business, but you may have to dig for customization options. Getting started may also take more time, particularly if you’re importing large amounts of data from other systems.

QuickBooks vs. FreshBooks: Pros and cons 

FreshBooks and QuickBooks each come with strengths, but what works well for one business might not for yours.  Whether you need straightforward basics or powerful feature sets, here’s how the platforms stack up.

FreshBooks

Pros

• Interface simplicity. FreshBooks offers a clean, easy-to-navigate interface designed to simplify basic accounting and bookkeeping for small business owners, solopreneurs, and others without specialized knowledge.
• Time-tracking included with all plans. FreshBooks includes built-in time tracking across all pricing tiers, making it a good fit for anyone managing billable hours, like freelancers.
• Auto-categorization for transactions. FreshBooks automatically classifies expenses, saving you time on expense tracking and organization.

Cons

• Limited reporting capabilities. FreshBooks offers just seven types of reports with minimal customization. The Lite and Plus plans offer only tax reporting, which means you’ll need to upgrade for even basic business reports.
• Basic tracking functions. FreshBooks supports basic inventory tracking, but lacks advanced features like real-time inventory management. 
• Bank reconciliation is not included in all plans. FreshBooks restricts bank reconciliation to its higher-tier plans: Plus, Premium, and Select. 

QuickBooks

Pros

• Unlimited payroll runs. QuickBooks supports unlimited payroll processing, making it a solid choice for businesses with frequent or off-cycle pay runs.  
• AI-powered accounting assistant. The QuickBooks Assistant chatbot feature uses natural language queries to help you run reports, find transactions, and answer simple accounting questions. 
• Workflow automation. QuickBooks offers customizable workflow automation tolls that can save you time on invoicing, expense tracking, and bill approvals.

Cons

• Time tracking reserved for higher tiers. QuickBooks limits some time-tracking features to its Essentials, Plus, and Advanced plans, which may place it out of reach of some users.
• The mobile app lacks pay-processing features. QuickBooks’s mobile app does not support payroll processing, which could prove inconvenient if you need on-the-go access.

Why Rippling is better than FreshBooks and QuickBooks

FreshBooks and QuickBooks each provide a solid collection of accounting software features and add-ons to manage small business finances. But if you’re looking for a truly comprehensive solution, one that seamlessly connects finance, HR, and IT, you want Rippling.

Built on top of a single source of truth—your employee data—Rippling’s all-in-one platform supports businesses of any size with a truly integrated suite of workforce management, payroll software, and spend management to keep every function aligned and instantly updated.

What does that mean for you and your team? For starters, you have a single source of truth for up-to-the-minute employee information. It also means that your team doesn’t have to reenter information across systems when an employee gets promoted or moves to a different city to work remotely. From changing security permissions to updating PTO policies, Rippling triggers automatic updates to employee information in a single flow. This is especially beneficial for small businesses. It allows you to do more with less—less money, less headcount, and less time. And all with a 100% error-free guarantee.

And while most expense management solutions only allow for basic employee-manager approval chains, with Rippling’s spend management software’s advanced policy engine, you can set hyper-custom policies based on the vendor, dollar amount, and expense category, helping you block out-of-policy expenses with ease. You can also tee up automated workflows that help you control spend, like triggering an alert when a department’s expenses sharply increase.

FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks FAQs

Is FreshBooks better than QuickBooks?

FreshBooks and QuickBooks are both solid, comprehensive accounting software solutions for small and midsize businesses, but each tool serves a different audience. FreshBooks is a good choice for freelancers and small business owners who need support with invoices, expense tracking, and billable hour management. QuickBooks may be better suited to larger organizations looking for more advanced features, like payroll and inventory management. 

Are there limitations on the number of users for each platform?

Yes, both FreshBooks and QuickBooks cap the maximum number of users per plan. With QuickBooks, you can add up to 25 users on the highest tier plan and between two and three accountant users at no extra cost, no matter what subscription you choose. FreshBooks theoretically doesn’t limit the number of users, but at $11 per seat, it’s a pricey option for larger teams. FreshBooks also only allows you to add an accountant on its higher-tier plans.

How do FreshBooks and QuickBooks support accountant collaboration?

Both FreshBooks and QuickBooks offer tools for accountant collaboration, including tailored access and more powerful, customizable reporting features. QuickBooks provides an accountant-specific version with tools for payroll, time tracking, and income and expense management, as well as direct client access for easier communication. FreshBooks allows you to invite your accountant to your workspace as a collaborator, with access to financial reports, payroll, invoices, payments, and expense tracking.

Can FreshBooks and QuickBooks platforms handle payroll processing?

Yes, both QuickBooks and FreshBooks offer payroll processing as an additional feature on top of their accounting software offerings.

What is FreshBooks?

FreshBooks is a cloud-based accounting software designed for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and teams looking for a user-friendly tool to manage basic finance tasks like invoices, expenses, and basic financial reporting.

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of April 7, 2025.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.