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Hourbun vs FreshBooks

Looking for a FreshBooks alternative that does not charge for each teammate? Hourbun tracks time and sends invoices for one flat price per workspace, with profit and capacity on every plan.

By Fred Wu, maker of Hourbun · Checked · Report a mistake

The short answer

Hourbun charges one flat price per workspace, set by seats, with no fee for each teammate, and has profit and capacity on every plan. FreshBooks adds $11 a month for each team member besides the owner, and limits its Lite and Plus plans to 5 and 50 billable clients. FreshBooks fits businesses that want accounting and invoicing in one app.

Why switch

Why teams pick Hourbun over FreshBooks

  • No fee for each teammate: FreshBooks adds $11 a month for each team member besides the owner. A team of 10 pays $99 a month on Hourbun and $142 on FreshBooks Plus.
  • A price set by seats, not clients: FreshBooks Lite holds 5 billable clients and Plus 50, archived ones included. Two people with 8 clients pay $15 on Hourbun, $54 on FreshBooks.
  • Cost rates, profit and the weekly capacity of each teammate on every plan: FreshBooks has them from its Premium plan.
  • Hourly rates by client, project, task and person: FreshBooks sets rates by project, service and team member.
  • Project budgets in hours or money: FreshBooks sets project budgets in hours.
  • Account deletion in the app: FreshBooks anonymizes your data on an email request under GDPR.

Head to head

At a glance

Hourbun and FreshBooks at a glance
Hourbun FreshBooks
Duo, a month $15 (lower price) Duo $54 Plus
Free plan None None
Free trial 14 days, with no card 30 days, with no credit card
Client invoices Yes Yes
Online payment Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account Yes By card, ACH bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Buy Now, Pay Later, on every plan
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes iOS and Android apps

Same work, two prices

What you'd pay each month

Hourbun costs less in 4 of 5 examples below.

Hourbun

  • One flat price per workspace
  • Duo up to 2 seats · Team up to 30
  • 14-day free trial, no card

FreshBooks

  • A monthly price per account, by plan and billable clients
  • Plus $11 a month per team member besides the owner
  • 10% off when billed yearly
What each example pays a month, billed monthly
Hourbun FreshBooks
Solo freelancer 1 person · 5 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $8 a month $23 Lite
Duo 2 people · 8 clients $15 (lower price) Duo Save $39 a month $54 Plus
Small studio 5 people · 15 clients $99 Team $87 (lower price) Plus
Agency 10 people · 30 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $43 a month $142 Plus
Larger team 25 people · 60 clients $99 (lower price) Team Save $235 a month $334 Premium
  • USD list prices, billed monthly
  • Before tax and payment fees
  • Highlight = lower price
  • Checked 10 November 2026
Pricing details (8)
  • A custom price, with 2 team members and Advanced Payments included.
  • The price is for the account and its owner. Each other team member costs $11 a month. A yearly plan of the account has a 10% discount (Lite $248.40, Plus $464.40, Premium $756 a year), but the pricing page shows no yearly price for team members, so the table has monthly prices only.
  • The client limit of Lite (5) and Plus (50) counts active and archived clients; deleted clients do not count.
  • Up to 10 accountants join free on the Plus, Premium and Select plans.
  • FreshBooks Payments (US): 2.9% + $0.30 for a standard card, 3.5% + $0.30 for commercial cards and American Express, 1% for an ACH bank transfer.
  • Advanced Payments (stored cards and recurring card payments) is an add-on of $20 a month, included in Select. Payroll (US) is an add-on of $40 a month plus $6 a person.
  • The pricing page shows an introductory offer for new customers (80% off for 4 months on 2026-11-10); these are list prices without it.
  • The usage of each example: Solo freelancer: 1 person · 5 clients · 6 projects · 5 tasks · 6 invoices and $7.5k invoiced a month. Duo: 2 people · 8 clients · 10 projects · 8 tasks · 10 invoices and $16k invoiced a month. Small studio: 5 people · 15 clients · 20 projects · 10 tasks · 20 invoices and $40k invoiced a month. Agency: 10 people · 30 clients · 40 projects · 15 tasks · 40 invoices and $90k invoiced a month. Larger team: 25 people · 60 clients · 80 projects · 20 tasks · 80 invoices and $220k invoiced a month.

Feature by feature

Features

  • Yes
  • Partly
  • No
  • Only the rows that we could check on a page of FreshBooks
The features of Hourbun and FreshBooks
Hourbun FreshBooks
Time tracking
Timer Yes Yes
Weekly timesheet grid Yes Yes
Day view Yes Yes
Keyboard shortcuts Yes Yes
Billable and non-billable time Yes Yes
Hourly rates by client, project, task and person Yes Partly By project, service and team member, with a standard rate
Calendar view No Yes A month calendar of time entries
Desktop or mobile apps No A web app with a layout for phones Yes iOS and Android apps
Browser extension No Yes Chrome
Invoicing and payments
Invoices from tracked time Yes Yes
Invoice lines of your own (a fixed fee, a product) Yes Yes
Recurring invoices Yes Yes
Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online Yes Yes
Deposit invoices Yes Yes A deposit requested on an invoice
Credit notes Yes Yes
Expenses with receipts, billed with a markup Yes Yes
A currency for each client or project Yes Yes A currency for each client
A tax on each line, and a second tax Yes Yes Up to two taxes on each line
Invoices in your client's language Yes Yes
Email reminders of late invoices Yes Yes Up to three reminders, and late fees
Online payment of an invoice Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account Yes By card, ACH bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Buy Now, Pay Later, on every plan
Projects and reports
Project budgets in hours or money Yes Partly A budget in hours
Fixed-fee projects Yes Yes Flat rate projects
Cost rates and profit Yes For admins and the owner Higher plan From the Premium plan
Reports with a CSV export Yes Yes
Weekly capacity of each teammate Yes Higher plan From the Premium plan
Team
Team roles Yes Member, manager, admin and owner Yes Admin, manager, employee, contractor and accountant
Integrations and data
Accounting sync Partly Xero, one way: issued invoices and credit notes, and their payments if you choose Higher plan Accounting is built in: double-entry accounting reports and bank reconciliation from the Plus plan
A public API No Yes
Import from any app by CSV, with past invoices and expenses Yes Time, clients and projects too; a format guide with a prompt for an AI agent Partly Clients, expenses, items and vendors
Data export and account deletion Yes A whole workspace as CSV files with receipts, for the owner and admins; your account as JSON Partly CSV and PDF exports; anonymization of your data on an email request under GDPR

Which one fits

Hourbun or FreshBooks?

Choose Hourbun if

  • Your team grows, and you want no fee for each teammate.
  • You bill many clients and want a price that does not change with them.
  • You want profit, cost rates and capacity without a higher plan.
  • You keep your accounts in Xero and want issued invoices and their payments synced there.

Where FreshBooks is better

  • Accounting built in: double-entry reports and bank reconciliation from the Plus plan, and bills and vendors on Premium.
  • iOS and Android apps, a Chrome time tracker, and payment by card, ACH, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Buy Now, Pay Later.
  • Proposals with e-signatures, client retainers, a US payroll add-on, and a public API.

Switching

Switch from FreshBooks to Hourbun

Hourbun imports a CSV of time entries from any app. FreshBooks exports clients, invoices, expenses and reports as CSV files: upload a CSV of your time, check the columns and the people that Hourbun proposes, and see a preview before anything is added. Your clients, projects, expenses and past invoices can come too: give the Hourbun format guide and your FreshBooks exports to an AI agent, and upload the files that it makes. The 14-day trial of Hourbun needs no card.

Questions

Questions and answers

Is Hourbun cheaper than FreshBooks?

For most examples on this page, yes: a solo freelancer pays $15 a month on Hourbun and $23 on FreshBooks Lite, a team of 10 pays $99 against $142 on Plus, and a team of 25 pays $99 against $334 on Premium. A team of 5 with 15 clients pays less on FreshBooks Plus: $87 against $99.

Does FreshBooks charge per user?

Yes. FreshBooks adds $11 a month for each team member besides the owner, on top of a plan priced by billable clients (5 on Lite, 50 on Plus, no limit on Premium). Hourbun charges a flat price per workspace by plan, with no fee for each teammate within the seats of the plan.

Is Hourbun a FreshBooks alternative for time tracking and invoicing?

Yes. Hourbun tracks time and turns it into client invoices, with estimates, recurring invoices, expenses, online payment and a sync to Xero, like FreshBooks does for invoicing. FreshBooks is also accounting software, with double-entry reports and bank reconciliation.

Do FreshBooks and Hourbun have a free plan?

Neither has a free plan. Hourbun has a 14-day trial with no card, and FreshBooks has a 30-day trial with no credit card.

Can I move my data from FreshBooks to Hourbun?

Yes. Hourbun imports a CSV of time entries from any app, with the clients, projects, tasks and people that it names, after a preview. Your FreshBooks invoices and expenses can come too, in files of the Hourbun format guide that an AI agent can make from your exports.

Sources

  • From the pages of FreshBooks, unless a source says otherwise
  • A feature that we could not check has no row
  • Prices change: check the pricing page of FreshBooks
All sources (25)

FreshBooks is a trademark of 2ndSite Inc., and Hourbun is not affiliated with it.

Try Hourbun for free.

14 days, no card. Add a client, track your first hour, and send the invoice.