FreshBooks vs GnuCash
FreshBooks
freshbooks.com
GnuCash
gnucash.orgSide by side
| Figure | FreshBooks | GnuCash |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4.60/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 2 |
| Spec score · Financial Management | 9.1 (#2) | 8.8 (#4) |
| Spec score · Accounting & Finance Software | 9.1 (#2) | 8.8 (#7) |
| Spec score · Bookkeeper Software | 9.2 (#2) | 8.9 (#3) |
| Spec score · Bookkeeping Software | 9.2 (#7) | 9.0 (#12) |
| Spec score · Gym Accounting Software | 9.1 (#3) | 8.8 (#7) |
| Spec score · Core Financial Management | 9.1 (#3) | 8.9 (#4) |
| Spec score · Salon Accounting Software | 9.1 (#6) | 8.8 (#12) |
| Accounting | Plus, Premium and Select include double-entry accounting, chart of accounts and financial reports such as profit and loss and balance sheet. | Its double-entry accounting requires each transaction’s debits and credits to balance. |
| API | The public API exposes FreshBooks data as JSON for web and desktop integrations and uses OAuth2 access tokens. | A C API in the libgnucash engine abstracts XML and SQL backends for GUI and plugin programmers. |
| Founded | 2003 | 1997 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Licence | The service is proprietary: its terms grant limited access and prohibit modifying, redistributing or creating derivatives of FreshBooks content. | GnuCash is open-source software released under the GNU General Public License. |
| Purpose | FreshBooks describes itself as accounting software for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses. | GnuCash is personal and small-business financial-accounting software for tracking bank accounts, stocks, income, and expenses. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | 4.7 out of 5 from 11K ratings | 2.7 out of 5 from 13 ratings |
| Rating on Capterra | 4.5 out of 5 from 4,529 reviews | 4.5 out of 5 from 53 reviews |
| Rating on G2 | 4.5 out of 5 from 981 reviews | 4.2 out of 5 from 23 reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 3.7 out of 5 from 1,047 reviews | 3.7 out of 5 from 1 review |
| Rating on TrustRadius | 9.2 out of 10 from 214 reviews and ratings | No overall rating; 1 review |
| Support | The Help Center organizes guidance for invoices, payments, expenses, projects, reports, payroll, integrations and mobile use, with FreshBot routing support options. | The project points users to public mailing lists, IRC, a wiki, documentation, and bug reports for help. |
| System requirements | Supported browsers are the latest two Chrome, Firefox and Safari major versions and the latest Edge and Opera versions; current macOS or Windows is recommended. | The 5.17 build requirements include GTK+ 3.22.30, Guile 2.0.9, Boost 1.67, WebKitGTK 2.4, GoogleTest 1.8.0, CMake 3.14.5 and SWIG 3.0.12. |
| What it does | FreshBooks is cloud accounting software for small businesses that combines invoicing, payments, expenses, time tracking, projects and reports. | GnuCash is free accounting software for personal and small-business finances, including bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. |
Plans
FreshBooks
- Lite$23 a month
- Plus$43 a month
- Premium$70 a month
- Lite$4.60 a month
- Plus$8.60 a month
- Premium$14 a month
- SelectPriced on request
In their own words
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is accounting software for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses. It creates invoices with tracked time and expenses, calculates taxes, and offers configurable payment options. Users can track time against clients and projects, then generate invoices from those records. Projects organize client work, team members, time, invoices, and expenses, and include profitability views. Listed payment options include card and ACH payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and buy now, pay later options. FreshBooks also offers recurring invoices, expense tracking, and a client portal. Its API uses OAuth2 for integrations and account automation. The service runs on the web and has iOS and Android apps, but some features, including reporting, are desktop-only. Mobile apps require iOS 15 or later or Android 7.0 or later. Lite costs $23 a month and includes five billable clients; Plus costs $43 a month and includes 50. Premium costs $70 a month and includes unlimited clients. Double-entry accounting is available on Plus, Premium, and Select. There is no free plan, and the listed trial lasts 30 days.
GnuCash
GnuCash is free personal and small-business accounting software for tracking bank accounts, stocks, income, and expenses. Its double-entry accounting requires every transaction’s debits and credits to balance. Small-business tools cover customers, vendors, jobs, invoicing, bill payment, tax and billing terms, and budgeting. Users can create customizable balance sheets, profit and loss, and portfolio valuation reports, as well as charts. GnuCash imports QIF and OFX files with transaction matching; German users can use HBCI to download statements and initiate transfers and direct debits. Data is stored in XML by default. Support for SQLite3, MySQL, and PostgreSQL databases is experimental, and some reported corner cases can cause data loss. The GNU GPL-licensed software has installation options for Linux and installers for macOS and Windows. The main application is unavailable for iOS and iPadOS, while the separate Android app appears abandoned according to the project FAQ. The project is maintained, documented, and translated by volunteers.