No monthly fees
Skip the subscription. Don’t pay for bloated platform features that you won’t use.
Lower card rates
Pay a flat 2.7% on each invoice (the industry standard is 2.9% and 30 cents).
Faster payouts
Send payouts straight to your bank account or crypto wallet, today (not in 48 hours).
More options
Capture card payments, bank transfers, stablecoins and 135+ currencies.
Salvatore Ciccone, Head of Finance Capa
Invoice generator
Create a stunning invoice, without another monthly subscription
Don’t pay for features that you never use. Click ‘Create invoice’ to get started with Acctual. Add your customer details and upload your logo to generate a beautiful, branded invoice. Write a short message and hit ‘send’.
“Acctual delivers the cleanest, most polished invoices I’ve seen. It’s simple, efficient and incredibly easy to use."
Akash, CEO Heeko
Payment links
Offer more payment methods and save thousands of dollars
Give each client their favorite method and save cash with lower rates. Our invoices include a secure payment link for credit cards, bank transfers (ACH/SEPA) and stablecoins (USDC/USDT). We’ll convert any funds into your favorite currency. Fees on bank transfers and stablecoins are only 1%.
“It was painful to chase customers and check their payment method. Now I can send one invoice with every option and get paid.”
Jesse Friedland, Founder 10am Studios
Direct payouts
Don’t let accounting platforms hold your cash hostage for two days. We send each payout straight to your connected bank account or crypto wallet on the same day. Any problems? Talk to a real human on our support team.
"I used to deal with slow, inconsistent payments. Now clients can pay through ACH, wire, or stablecoins in minutes. Cash comes in fast and my workflow isn’t held hostage by delays."
Oladayo Odewole, Email Marketer Encore Retention
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FAQs
Does Acctual replace everything I use FreshBooks for?
It depends on which parts of FreshBooks you actually use. If you use FreshBooks for invoicing and payments, Acctual replaces that completely and costs less. If you rely on FreshBooks for time tracking, expense management or payroll, Acctual doesn’t cover those.
What features does FreshBooks have that Acctual doesn’t?
Time tracking, expense management, mileage tracking and dedicated payroll. FreshBooks is broader. If those are central to how you run your business, Acctual isn’t the right swap. Most agencies and freelancers who switch already use a dedicated tool for time tracking. Harvest, Toggl, that kind of thing. Expenses go through their accounting software directly. Payroll runs through Gusto. In that case, you’re paying FreshBooks for invoicing and a couple of light-touch features you’re not really using. Pure invoicing is where Acctual is faster and cheaper than FreshBooks. If invoicing is what you actually need, that’s why Acctual ends up on most lists of FreshBooks alternatives.
Is switching from FreshBooks to Acctual difficult?
No. Acctual connects to QuickBooks and Xero, so your existing accounting setup stays intact. You add Acctual as your invoicing layer, your books sync on their own and most users send their first invoice within minutes of signing up.
Can I bring my existing client data across?
You can add your clients and outstanding invoices in Acctual, but there’s no automated import from FreshBooks. If you have a large client list, plan for a short setup period. Most freelancers with 5–10 active clients are done in under an hour.
Can I send recurring invoices like in FreshBooks?
Yes. Set up a recurring template once. Pick the cadence (weekly, monthly, quarterly, whatever). Acctual sends it on its own. Update the template if anything changes and the next invoice picks it up. No charge per recurring invoice, no cap on how many run at once. A lot of users on FreshBooks’ higher tiers are paying extra for recurring invoicing on top of the base fee. On Acctual it’s just included.
How much cheaper is Acctual than FreshBooks?
Acctual charges $0/month and 2.7% flat on card payments with no monthly fee or fixed dollar charge per transaction. FreshBooks charges $19–$60/month plus 2.9% + $0.30 per card transaction. On bank transfers, Acctual’s rate drops to 1%.
Is there a free FreshBooks alternative?
Yes and no. Acctual works as a free alternative to FreshBooks if you’re using it for invoicing. There’s no monthly fee, no setup, no per seat charge. You only pay when a client actually pays you (2.7% on cards, 1% on ACH). Zero invoices in a month means zero fees. That’s different from a FreshBooks free plan in the traditional sense. FreshBooks doesn’t have a permanent free tier, just a 30-day trial. After that the cheapest paid plan (Lite) is $19/month with a five client cap. Most freelancers hit that cap fast. If you’ve been comparing free FreshBooks alternatives, the trade off usually comes down to subscription pricing with included features versus usage-based pricing where you only pay when money moves. Acctual is the usage-based version. For users who send lots of invoices, it works out cheaper most months. For freelancers and small agencies trying to find the best FreshBooks alternative on cost, the rule of thumb: if you bill less than ~$700 a month, FreshBooks math is fine. Above that, Acctual saves you money.
Can I pass the processing fee to my clients?
Yes. Toggle it on per invoice or set it as the default for a specific client. The fee shows up as its own line item so the client sees what they’re paying for. On a $5k invoice paid by card, that’s $135 you keep instead of eating. Most users pass card fees and absorb the 1% on ACH. Clients usually switch to ACH once they see the card surcharge, which is fine because bank transfers settle same day and 1% is well below what a wire would cost them. For retainer clients, you can also just price the fee into the base rate. Either way works.
Will my clients notice the switch?
No, and they’ll probably prefer it. Your clients get a clean, branded invoice with a secure payment link and more payment methods than FreshBooks offers.
What about international clients and multi-currency invoicing?
Acctual supports 135+ currencies. You invoice in the client’s currency, they pay in that currency and Acctual converts it into your local currency the same day. FreshBooks supports multi-currency on its higher tiers ($33/month and up), but the FX conversion happens through a separate processor and adds a markup. If a chunk of your business is international, this is one of the more practical reasons to look at alternatives to FreshBooks. The FX spread on a few thousand a month in euro or pound invoicing adds up fast.
Does Acctual have a client limit like FreshBooks?
No. Acctual has no client limit. FreshBooks’ Lite plan caps you at five clients. Acctual doesn’t.
Does Acctual pay out faster than FreshBooks?
Yes. Acctual sends funds to your bank account the same day your client pays. FreshBooks holds funds in a platform balance with a standard two day payout.
Why do people switch from FreshBooks to Acctual?
Cost is the big one. FreshBooks’ Lite tier starts at $19/month and climbs to $60/month once you have a real client list. Acctual is $0/month, no per seat charge, you only pay when money moves. Client caps are the second thing. FreshBooks limits how many clients you can have on lower tiers and Acctual doesn’t. Payout speed is the third. FreshBooks holds money in a platform balance on a two day schedule. Acctual sends funds same day. If you’re looking at FreshBooks competitors and these match what’s pushing you away from FreshBooks, the rest of the comparison is mostly whether the feature set covers what you actually use. For most freelancers and agencies running invoicing as the main job, it does.
