FreshBooks alternatives: 4 free & open-source picks
Curated, verified, and actually free. No trials, no crippled tiers. Star counts and last-activity dates checked by hand, not scraped and forgotten.
Accounting, invoices, expenses, time and payment requests in one ERP; simplicity did not survive the migration.
Invoices, expenses, time, payments and a real ledger; it looks more back office than front page.
Serious accounting with invoices, expenses, projects and timecards; the interface assumes you came for the ledger.
A full desktop ledger with invoices, expenses and billable time; collaboration is the part you do not get.
last updated 2026-08-06 · no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
CraterStill widely recommended; last push August 2024 and the last release is four years old.
Zoho InvoiceThe free invoicing, time and expense tools are good; full accounting is not part of the product.
| tool | license | running it | platforms | stars | active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERPNext | open source | self-host, real ops | web, self-hosted | 37,700 | 2026-08 |
| Dolibarr | open source | one-click install | web, windows, linux, self-hosted | 7,500 | 2026-08 |
| LedgerSMB | open source | self-host, real ops | web, self-hosted | 554 | 2026-07 |
| Manager Desktop | free (closed) | one-click install | macos, windows, linux | — | — |
They pay because client billing needs to look professional and survive audit/accountant handoff. If none of that applies to you, any pick above saves $276 a year.
Is there a free alternative to FreshBooks?
Yes: ERPNext, Dolibarr, LedgerSMB and 1 more. Every tool on this page is either open source or genuinely free to use long-term: no trials, no crippled tiers.
Should I just build my own FreshBooks?
Our verdict is KINDA. For freelancers, invoices, time tracking, and expense logs are buildable; payments, tax/accounting reports, bank feeds, client portal, and reliability make it more than trivial. If you'd rather build, the exact one-shot prompt is free at canivibecodeit.com/freshbooks.
