A freelancer's books have a narrow job. You need your income and expenses sorted into the categories of Schedule C, a log of the miles you drive for work, the receipts behind your deductions, and a rough idea of the tax you owe before each quarterly payment is due. Full small-business accounting software does all of that and a great deal you will never use. Most of the tools below start free or under $25 a month, and the differences between them are in the limits on their cheapest plans.
Every price here comes from the vendor's own US pricing page. If what you mostly need is to send invoices and get paid, see invoicing software for small business instead; solo attorneys who must keep client money in trust should see legal billing software.
What freelance bookkeeping software has to do
- Sort income and expenses for Schedule C. Sole proprietors report business income and expenses on Schedule C, so the categories you use all year should match it.
- Log mileage. For business driving in 2026, the IRS standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile from January 1 to June 30 and 76 cents a mile from July 1 to December 31. A trip log beats rebuilding the year from your calendar.
- Capture receipts. A photo attached to the expense is easier to find later than a shoebox.
- Help with estimated taxes. The IRS says individuals, sole proprietors included, generally have to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe $1,000 or more when they file. Some apps set money aside for this or let you pay from the app.
- Send invoices, if clients pay you by invoice rather than through a platform.
The options at a glance
| Software | Free plan | Cheapest paid plan | Mileage | Receipt capture | Tax help |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Books | Yes, at $50K revenue a year or less | Standard, $15 a month billed annually ($20 monthly) | All plans | 50 scans a month free, 200 on Standard | 1099 tracking; sales tax from Standard |
| Wave | Starter, $0 | Pro, $19 a month or $190 a year | Not listed | $8 a month add-on on Starter; included in Pro | None listed |
| QuickBooks Solopreneur | Free: 2 invoices, 2 receipts, 5 trips a month | Lite, $20 a month | 5 trips a month free, unlimited on Lite | 2 a month free, unlimited on Lite | Schedule C categories; TurboTax expert filing, paid when you file |
| Found | Yes, with its business banking | Plus, $35 a month or $315 a year | All plans | All plans | Tax estimates and set-aside on all plans; quarterly payments on Plus |
| Keeper | No (14-day trial) | Bookkeeping Only, $20 a month; Standard, $199 a year | Coming soon | Listed | Tax filing from Standard; quarterly payments on Premium |
| FreshBooks | No | Lite, $23 a month for 5 billable clients | All plans | From Plus, $43 a month | Tax-time reports |
| Xero | No | Early, $27 a month, 20 invoices | Established only, $97 a month | All plans | None listed |
What the cheapest paid plan costs in the first year
Show the numbers
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Zoho Books Standard | $180 |
| Wave Pro | $190 |
| Keeper Standard | $199 |
| QuickBooks Solopreneur Lite | $240 |
| FreshBooks Lite | $276 |
| Found Plus | $315 |
| Xero Early | $324 |
Zoho Books: best free plan
Zoho Books' Free plan costs $0 for as long as your revenue for the financial year does not exceed $50K. It is the fullest free plan here: invoices, quotes, expenses, mileage tracking, receipt and document autoscans (50 a month), recurring invoices, online payments, bank reconciliation, 1099 contractor tracking and a profit and loss report among more than 50 reports. It covers one user plus your accountant, and allows up to 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year.
What to watch:
- No bank feeds on Free. Connecting bank feeds starts on Standard, at $15 a month billed annually or $20 monthly, which also raises receipt scans to 200 a month and adds sales and use tax tracking and 1099 e-filing.
- The $50K revenue cap. Once revenue goes over it, you move to a paid plan.
Choose it if you want mileage, receipts and invoicing in one free tool and don't mind importing bank transactions yourself until you upgrade.
Wave: best for free invoicing and bookkeeping
Wave's Starter plan is free with unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, plus mobile invoicing. Pro costs $19 a month or $190 a year and adds automatic bank transaction import (where your bank allows it), automatic merging and categorizing of bank transactions, unlimited receipt capture and automated late-payment reminders.
What to watch:
- Receipts cost extra on Starter. Receipt scanning is a separate Receipts plan at $8 a month or $72 a year; Pro includes it.
- Card fees. On Starter, card payments on invoices cost 2.9% + $0.60 (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex). Pro waives the $0.60 on your first 10 card transactions each month.
- No mileage tracker is listed on Wave's pricing page, and no tax estimates.
Choose it if you invoice clients and want clean books at $0, and you will log mileage somewhere else.
QuickBooks Solopreneur: best for unlimited mileage, receipts and invoices
QuickBooks Solopreneur is Intuit's product for the self-employed (the old QuickBooks Self-Employed survives as a sign-in link). It has three plans, each for one user:
| Plan | Price per month | Invoices | Receipts | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 2 a month | 2 uploads a month | 5 trips a month |
| Lite | $20 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Simple Start | $38 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Intuit is currently taking 50% off Lite and Simple Start for the first three months, so Lite starts at $10. Lite also adds a mobile app, automated sales tax, up to 3 contractors and Expert Assisted tax filing powered by TurboTax, which you pay for only when you file (Lite includes 20% off the base price of federal filing). Intuit describes the expense tracking as built "to help you maximize deductions for your Schedule C reporting".
What to watch:
- Free is a trial in practice. Two invoices a month (unlimited if you qualify for and turn on QuickBooks Payments), two receipts and five trips is not enough for most working freelancers.
- No accountant access on Lite. Simple Start is the first plan that lets an accountant in.
- Quarterly estimates aren't listed among the plan features on Intuit's Solopreneur page, so don't count on them.
Choose it if you drive for work, want every trip and receipt logged without limits, and may file through TurboTax anyway.
Found: best for banking and tax set-aside in one
Found is a business banking app with bookkeeping built in. It is a financial technology company, not a bank; its banking services come from Lead Bank. Every plan, including the $0 one, has automatic expense categorization, receipt scanning, mileage and home office tracking, real-time tax estimates with an automatic tax savings "Pocket", Schedule C generation and unlimited invoices.
Found Plus costs $35 a month or $315 a year and adds importing transactions from your other accounts, unlimited categorization rules and custom tags, and in-app federal quarterly tax payments for Schedule C filers. Found Pro is $80 a month or $720 a year.
What to watch:
- Your money has to run through Found. The bookkeeping works off the Found account; on the free plan it can't import transactions from your other bank.
- One custom rule, tag and category on the free plan.
Choose it if you are happy to move your business banking and want the tax set-aside and the Schedule C to come out of the same app.
Keeper: best if you want the tax return filed too
Keeper finds and categorizes deductions from your connected accounts (unlimited bank and card connections on every plan), and its yearly plans include a filed return:
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeping Only | $20 a month | Bookkeeping, no tax filing |
| Standard | $199 a year | Federal and up to 2 state returns, reviewed and signed by a tax pro |
| Premium | $399 a year | Adds quarterly tax payments and meetings with a tax pro |
| Business | $1,199 a year | Adds S-Corp and partnership filing, year-end book close |
Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. Standard costs less than 12 months of Bookkeeping Only, as Keeper itself points out.
What to watch:
- No invoicing is listed on Keeper's pricing page; pair it with a free invoicing tool.
- Mileage tracking is "coming soon", so if you drive a lot it is not ready yet.
- Quarterly payments start on Premium, at $399 a year.
Choose it if your main goal is a correct return with every write-off, and you'd rather pay one yearly price for bookkeeping and filing.
FreshBooks and Xero: when invoicing is the bigger job
Both are full accounting software rather than freelancer apps, and both cost more than the tools above.
FreshBooks Lite is $23 a month for up to 5 billable clients, with unlimited invoices, unlimited expenses and mobile mileage tracking on every plan. Receipt scanning starts on Plus, $43 a month for 50 clients. FreshBooks is currently showing 80% off for four months on monthly plans. Intuit and FreshBooks both offer an extra 10% off for annual billing without printing the annual price.
Xero Early is $27 a month, with receipt capture but a cap of 20 invoices and 5 bills. Mileage and expense claims are included only on Established, $97 a month. New US customers get 90% off the base plan for six months, an offer that ends on November 2, 2026.
Choose FreshBooks if you bill a few retainer clients and want mileage tracking in the same tool. Choose Xero if you send fewer than 20 invoices a month now but expect to need full accounting later. See QuickBooks alternatives for how both compare as full accounting software, and payroll software for small business if you hire your first employee.
Lili: a bank account with bookkeeping on top
Lili is another banking app (accounts by Sunrise Banks). Its Core plan has no monthly fee. Pro is $15 a month and sorts expenses into tax categories, lets you attach receipts, produces quarterly and annual expense reports and sets money aside for taxes automatically. Accounting software with unlimited invoices and profit and loss reports needs Smart, $35 a month. Lili is currently taking about 40% off paid plans for three months (Pro $9, Smart $21, Premium $33), and paid plans come with a 30-day free trial. Lili's plan page does not list mileage tracking or tax forms.
Choose it if you want a bank account first and bookkeeping second, and don't need mileage.
How to choose
- Spend nothing and drive for work? Zoho Books Free, while revenue stays at $50K a year or less. Every free accounting plan and its limits is in free accounting software for small business.
- Spend nothing and mostly invoice? Wave Starter, adding Pro at $190 a year when typing in bank transactions gets old.
- Drive a lot and want no limits? QuickBooks Solopreneur Lite at $20 a month.
- Willing to switch banks? Found, free, or Plus if you want to pay quarterly taxes from the app.
- Want the return done as well? Keeper Standard at $199 a year, or Premium for quarterly payments.
- Billing a handful of retainer clients? FreshBooks Lite, and a free CRM if you also want to track prospects before they sign.