SoloBid vs FreshBooks

Great for freelancers billing clients. Not built for job-site trades.

FreshBooks is popular small-business invoicing and accounting software aimed at freelancers, agencies, and service businesses that bill clients from a desk. It's polished — but it's priced in tiers, capped by client count, and has none of the trade-specific tooling a contractor needs on the job.

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Why solo contractors switch from FreshBooks

FreshBooks is built for freelancers and agencies billing clients from an office. If you're a one-person shop, here's what that means:

The $23 Lite plan caps you at 5 clients and leaves out recurring invoices and e-signatures.

You need the $43 Plus plan before you get recurring invoices and client signatures.

It's built around desk-based client billing, not quoting a job in a customer's driveway.

There are no trade templates or price book — you build every quote from scratch.

Feature comparison

Side by side — what you actually get.

Monthly cost

SoloBid

$19.99/month flat

FreshBooks

$23–$70/month by tier

Client limit

SoloBid

Unlimited

FreshBooks

5 / 50 / unlimited by tier

Extra team member fee

SoloBid

None

FreshBooks

$11/month each

Recurring invoices

SoloBid

Yes (all plans)

FreshBooks

Plus plan & up

E-signatures

SoloBid

Yes (all plans)

FreshBooks

Plus plan & up

Trade templates

SoloBid

Yes

FreshBooks

No

Price book (materials + labor)

SoloBid

Yes

FreshBooks

No

Quote on-site from phone

SoloBid

Built for it

FreshBooks

Basic mobile app

Online payments

SoloBid

Yes (Stripe)

FreshBooks

Yes (FreshBooks Payments)

SMS invoice sending

SoloBid

Yes

FreshBooks

No

Full accounting & bookkeeping

SoloBid

No (use with accountant)

FreshBooks

Yes

Best for

SoloBid

Solo trade contractors

FreshBooks

Freelancers & agencies

The honest breakdown

We're not trying to replace FreshBooks. If you run a big operation, use FreshBooks. But if you're a solo contractor, here's why SoloBid makes more sense.

FreshBooks has, you don't need

Great features — for companies with employees.

  • Full double-entry accounting & bookkeeping
  • Expense and mileage tracking
  • Time tracking for billable hours
  • Project profitability tracking
  • Bank reconciliation and financial reports

SoloBid gives you what matters

Built for the one-person shop.

  • Flat $19.99/month — no client caps, no per-tier feature gates
  • Trade templates for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and more
  • Price book with your saved materials and labor rates
  • Built to quote on your phone, on-site, and collect a signature
  • E-signatures and recurring invoices on every plan, not just higher tiers

Simple pricing

FreshBooks: Lite $23/mo (5 clients), Plus $43/mo (50 clients), Premium $70/mo — plus $11/mo per extra team member.
SoloBid: $19.99/month. Everything included.

Pro

$19.99/month

or $149/year (save 37%)

  • Unlimited quotes & invoices
  • Unlimited customers
  • E-signatures
  • PDF generation
  • Online payments via Stripe
  • SMS & email sending
  • Price book & trade templates
  • Recurring invoices
  • Reports & analytics
  • Overdue reminders
  • CSV data export
  • Works on phone, tablet & desktop
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You don't need FreshBooks.
You need to get paid.

Quote it. Send it. Get paid. That's it. Start your free trial and see why solo contractors are switching to SoloBid.

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