Bookkeeping software for freelancers, compared

By SoloWOS teamPublished October 23, 2026

IN SHORT

For a US freelancer filing Schedule C, QuickBooks Solopreneur ($215 a year) or Wave Pro ($190 a year) cover bank imports and tax categories at the lowest paid price. Wave Starter is free if you enter transactions yourself. FreshBooks fits hourly invoicing, Keeper fits people who want the tax return in the same subscription.

Prices and limits as of October 26, 2026.

Key takeaways

QuickBooks Solopreneur costs $20 a month or $215 a year, with a 30-day free trial, and is built around Schedule C.
Wave Starter is free; Wave Pro costs $19 a month or $190 a year and has no free trial.
FreshBooks' 2026 plans are Lite $23 a month for 5 clients (archived clients count), Plus $43 for 50 clients and Premium $70.
Keeper charges $20 a month for bookkeeping alone, or $199 a year for Standard, which includes a tax return reviewed by a professional.
A spreadsheet costs nothing and is fine below a few dozen transactions a month, as long as you keep receipts and reconcile it to the bank.

Bookkeeping software does three jobs: it pulls in bank and card transactions, puts each one in a tax category, and produces the profit and loss report your Schedule C is built from. Below are four apps and the spreadsheet option, with prices from each company's own site. For the detailed one-to-one comparisons with SoloWOS, see SoloWOS vs QuickBooks Solopreneur, SoloWOS vs Wave and SoloWOS vs FreshBooks.

Price per year and over three years

Bookkeeping software for freelancers: plan prices over 1 and 3 years (each company's site, October 23, 2026)
App and plan	Price shown	1 year	3 years
Spreadsheet	$0	$0	$0
Wave Starter	Free	$0	$0
Wave Pro	$19/month or $190/year	$190	$570
QuickBooks Solopreneur	$20/month or $215/year	$215	$645
Keeper, bookkeeping only	$20/month	$240	$720
Keeper Standard (includes a reviewed tax return)	$199/year	$199	$597
FreshBooks Lite (5 clients)	$23/month	$276	$828
FreshBooks Plus (50 clients)	$43/month	$516	$1,548
FreshBooks Premium	$70/month	$840	$2,520

FreshBooks prices are the monthly list prices; check its site for yearly billing and promotions. The FreshBooks cost calculator works out a total from your client count.

The options, one by one

QuickBooks Solopreneur is Intuit's plan for one-person businesses filing Schedule C: it sorts transactions into business and personal, tracks mileage and estimates quarterly taxes. $20 a month or $215 a year after a 30-day trial. Live help from a tax expert starts at $169 more. Intuit's page lists an extra 1.75% on invoice payments that don't go into QuickBooks Checking, so read that line before you turn on payments. It isn't built for employees or an S corp.
Wave has a free Starter plan for invoicing and basic bookkeeping; card payments on Starter cost 2.9% + $0.60. Wave Pro ($19 a month or $190 a year, no free trial) adds automatic bank imports and other paid features. Free is real here, but you'll enter or upload transactions yourself.
FreshBooks started as invoicing software and is strongest at time tracking and invoicing by the hour. The 2026 Lite plan ($23 a month) allows 5 clients, and archived clients count toward that limit. Plus ($43) allows 50. If you bill many small clients, you'll land on Plus.
Keeper is an expense tracker and tax filing service in one. Bookkeeping alone is $20 a month. Standard is $199 a year and includes your return reviewed by a tax professional, Premium is $399, and Business, for S corps, is $1,199.
A spreadsheet with one row per transaction, a category column that matches the Schedule C expense categories, and a link to each receipt. It works if you have under a few dozen transactions a month and reconcile it to your bank statement monthly. It stops working when you forget to update it.

Choose it if

Which bookkeeping option to pick, by situation
Choose	If	Skip it if
Spreadsheet	Few transactions, one business account, and you like doing it yourself	You fall behind on monthly updates
Wave Starter	You want free software and don't mind entering transactions	You want bank imports without paying
Wave Pro	You want bank imports at the lowest paid price shown here	You need a free trial first
QuickBooks Solopreneur	Sole proprietor or single-member LLC, no employees, want quarterly tax estimates	You have employees or an S corp
FreshBooks	You bill hours and want time tracking and invoices in the same app	You have more than 5 clients and don't want to pay for Plus
Keeper	You want expense tracking and a filed, reviewed return in one bill	You already have a CPA who does your return

WORKED EXAMPLE

Worked example: a copywriter with 12 clients a year

Sam writes for 12 clients a year, has about 60 transactions a month across one business checking account and one card, and files Schedule C. FreshBooks Lite is out because 12 clients is over its 5-client limit, so FreshBooks would mean Plus at $516 a year. QuickBooks Solopreneur costs $215 a year and Wave Pro $190, both with bank imports. Over three years that's $1,548 for FreshBooks Plus against $645 or $570. Sam picks Wave Pro and keeps sending invoices from the tool he already uses. If he also wanted his return done, Keeper Standard at $199 a year would cover tracking and a reviewed return for about the same money.

What to check before you pay

Export: can you download transactions, receipts and reports as CSV or PDF at any time? The Bench shutdown showed why that matters.
Bank connection: does it connect to your bank, and on which plan?
Accounting method: freelancers on the cash method need reports by the date money moved; see cash vs accrual accounting.
Records: the IRS expects you to keep records that support each figure on your return for at least three years in most cases. See how long to keep business records.

Where SoloWOS fits

SoloWOS Expenses is not bookkeeping software. It doesn't connect to banks, reconcile accounts or keep a double-entry ledger. You log business expenses with receipts, income comes from the invoices marked paid, and the monthly report shows profit and a tax set-aside at the percentage you choose. That's enough for some freelancers to hand a CSV to an accountant; if you want bank imports and a Schedule C report, use one of the apps above.

Prices checked on October 23, 2026 on each company's site.

Questions

What's the best free bookkeeping software for self-employed people?

Wave Starter is free and includes invoicing and basic bookkeeping, but you enter or upload transactions yourself; automatic bank imports are part of Wave Pro. A well-kept spreadsheet is the other free option.

Is QuickBooks Solopreneur enough for a single-member LLC?

Yes, if the LLC is taxed as a sole proprietorship (the default for one owner) and has no employees. If you elect S corp status or run payroll, you'll need a fuller QuickBooks plan or another service.

Do I need bookkeeping software as a freelancer?

No law requires software. The IRS requires records that support your income and deductions. A spreadsheet with receipts works at low volume; software saves time once you have dozens of transactions a month or more than one account.

Can my bookkeeping app file my taxes?

Some can. Keeper includes a tax return on its Standard plan and above. QuickBooks Solopreneur prepares tax estimates and offers paid help from a tax expert. Wave and FreshBooks produce the reports, and you or a preparer file the return.

Sources

Facts checked against these sources on October 23, 2026. Rules and amounts change, so confirm them at the source before you file or sign.

We don't get paid by any brand on this page: no affiliate links, no sponsored placements.

Last reviewed: October 23, 2026

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