Best Accounting Software for Freelancers
By Riley Park . Last verified: August 2026
Freelancer accounting needs vary more than a single ranking can capture, so it's worth being specific about who this guide is actually for. Freelance work splits into two broad clusters: knowledge and digital work (writers, designers, developers, consultants, marketers) and local or service-based work (contractors, rideshare and delivery drivers, tradespeople). This guide is written primarily for the first group - the freelancers actually comparison-shopping accounting software online, per real search behavior, skew heavily toward knowledge work, and tend to be younger (Millennials and Gen Z make up roughly three-quarters of the US freelance workforce) and highly educated. The tax mechanics below apply to both groups equally - anyone filing a Schedule C as a 1099 worker faces the same quarterly-tax and self-employment-tax rules - but the software recommendations lean toward what actually serves a knowledge-work freelancer's day-to-day.
What Freelancers Actually Need
8 pain points
Before comparing products feature-by-feature, it's worth being clear about what actually creates friction for freelancers - because it's a genuinely different list than what a typical small business with employees deals with.
How the Five Products Compare
| Need | QuickBooks Plans | FreshBooks Plans | Xero Plans | Zoho Books Plans | Wave Plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly estimated tax calculation | Native Lite ($20/mo) | Add-on product Hurdlr ($10/mo) | Add-on product Hurdlr ($10/mo) | Unverified | Add-on product Hurdlr ($10/mo) |
| Mileage tracking | Native Lite ($20/mo) | Native Plus ($43/mo realistic entry) | Top tier only Established ($90/mo) | Native Free tier and up | Add-on product Driversnote ($11/mo, free tier capped at 15 trips/mo) |
| Client-facing tools (proposals, retainers, client portal) | Not available | Native Every plan, from Plus ($43/mo realistic entry) | Not available | Native Every plan, including free | Not available |
| Time tracking (billable hours by client/project) | Not available | Native Every plan, from Plus ($43/mo realistic entry) | Not available | Top tier only Professional ($50/mo) and up | Not available |
| Total monthly cost | $20/mo $20/mo (Lite) See plans | $53/mo $43/mo (Plus) + Hurdlr $10/mo See plans | $100/mo $90/mo (Established) + Hurdlr $10/mo See plans | $50/mo $50/mo (Professional) See plans | $21/mo $0/mo (Free) + Hurdlr $10/mo + Driversnote $11/mo See plans |
Quarterly-tax add-on referenced above:
See Hurdlr plansWhich One Is Best for You
5 scenarios
FreshBooks is the only one of the five with genuine client-facing tools - a client portal, proposals, and retainers - on every plan. This is its defining strength for consultants and service-based freelancers.
QuickBooks Solopreneur is the only one of the five that calculates estimated quarterly tax payments natively, and it connects directly to TurboTax for filing. None of the other four have a confirmed quarterly-tax-calculation feature.
Time tracking is included on every FreshBooks plan. Zoho Books has it too, but only from the Professional tier up - the other three don't offer it natively at all. If tax calculation also matters to you, FreshBooks pairs well with Hurdlr ($10/mo), which integrates directly with it and adds quarterly tax estimates.
Wave's core bookkeeping and invoicing are free with no user limits. The real tradeoffs are real, though: no native mileage tracking (though Wave's own Driversnote partnership fills this) and no client portal at any tier.
Zoho Books' free tier includes mileage tracking and a client portal - features that cost extra or aren't available at all on some competitors' free tiers.
Where the Gaps Are, and What Fills Them
2 gaps
None of the five products fully solves every pain point above natively, and that's worth being upfront about rather than glossing over.
The clearest real-world fix is combining a base product with Hurdlr, a mobile-first app built for gig and freelance workers that adds automatic GPS mileage tracking and real-time quarterly tax estimates. Hurdlr integrates directly with Wave, Xero, and FreshBooks - notably, it does not integrate with QuickBooks, and that's not an oversight: QuickBooks Solopreneur already calculates quarterly taxes natively, so the gap Hurdlr fills elsewhere doesn't exist there. In practice, this means 'Wave (free) + Hurdlr ($10/mo)' is a genuinely competitive, low-cost combination for a freelancer who wants both free bookkeeping and real tax estimation without paying for QuickBooks.
None of the five products handle Solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA contribution tracking - and honestly, this is one case where that's not really a software gap worth waiting on. Contribution limits are straightforward enough to calculate yourself: a Solo 401(k) lets you contribute as both "employee" and "employer" (up to 100% of compensation as employee deferral, plus an employer contribution, subject to an annual combined cap), while a SEP-IRA caps employer contributions at 25% of net self-employment earnings. For the exact current-year numbers and setup rules, the IRS's own guides below cover both options directly, including contribution limits, deadlines, and filing requirements. Setting up the account itself is a one-time task through a brokerage of your choice - the ongoing math is simple enough that most freelancers can handle it themselves once a year at tax time.
Freelancer-Native Alternatives Worth Knowing About
2 alternatives
It's also worth knowing that dedicated freelancer-native tools exist outside DDR's current five-product SMB accounting comparison set, built specifically around the tax and client-management problem rather than general bookkeeping.
Bonsai is the closest thing to a FreshBooks-style client-management tool outside DDR's five - a client portal, proposals, and contracts starting at its Essentials tier ($19/month for one user), plus time tracking included from its base Basic tier ($9/month). Bonsai was acquired by Zoom in a deal that closed in December 2025; it remains a standalone product with its existing pricing and features intact as of this writing, though Zoom has stated a longer-term plan to eventually integrate its capabilities into Zoom's broader Workplace ecosystem. One correction worth being upfront about: we'd earlier understood Bonsai to include quarterly tax estimation directly - it doesn't. That capability lives in a separate product, Bonsai Tax, which is not part of any Bonsai plan and hasn't been independently priced or verified here. Keeper Tax is narrower than either - AI-driven deduction-finding plus quarterly tax filing - but doesn't cover invoicing or client management at all. None of these have been independently scored using DDR's methodology, so we're not ranking them here, but for a freelancer whose biggest need is client-facing tools specifically, Bonsai is worth knowing about.
Frequently Asked Questions (5)
5 questions
The Insider's Take
The most common mistake freelancers make when comparing accounting software is treating it as a single ranking, the same mistake we've flagged on DDR's other comparison pages. There isn't a single 'best' here - there's a tax-focused product (QuickBooks Solopreneur), a client-focused product (FreshBooks), and three products that split the difference to varying degrees. Which one is genuinely best depends entirely on which pain point actually costs you more time: filing taxes cleanly, or managing client relationships professionally.
The retirement gap surprised us more than any other finding in this research. We expected at least one of the five products, or at least one app in QuickBooks' extensive marketplace, to have a real answer for Solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA tracking. None do - and the two most prominent marketplace options we checked directly (Accrue and Human Interest) turned out to be structurally built for businesses with employees and payroll, not a freelancer working alone. If retirement contributions matter to you, plan on using a separate, dedicated provider from the start rather than assuming your accounting software will eventually cover it.
Don't assume a NerdWallet-style comparison table is the last word on a feature, even when it's accurate. In our own research, Wave's 'no mileage tracking' listing was true but incomplete - Wave has an official partnership with Driversnote for exactly that. The lesson generalizes: always check what a product's own site or support documentation says before ruling it out based on a single comparison chart.
Not sure freelancer-specific needs apply to you? See How to Choose the Right Accounting Software for Your Small Business for the general framework, or go back to SMB Accounting Software for the full comparison.