If you freelance, you don't need accounting software. You need to send a clean invoice, get paid, and not lose half a day to UI you'll touch four times a month.
Here's the honest take in 2026, from someone who has run client invoicing through most of these tools at one point or another.
The default for most freelancers: Stripe Invoicing
If you're already using Stripe for any payment work, just use Stripe Invoicing. It's the cleanest, fastest, and the math is simple: 0.4% per paid invoice, no fixed monthly fee. For five invoices a month at $2,000 each, that's $40/mo all-in, and you're already getting Stripe's payment infrastructure.
Where it falls short: no time tracking, no expenses, no proposals. If invoicing is the only thing you need, this is the answer.
Best for: consultants and developers who already use Stripe.
The free option that's actually good: Wave
Wave is genuinely free for invoicing and accounting. They make money on payments (1% ACH, ~3% card), which is how most freelancers prefer to get paid anyway. The UI feels dated next to FreshBooks but the feature set is shockingly complete: invoices, recurring invoices, expense tracking, basic reports. Tax season is easier than people expect.
Where it falls short: customer support is thin, mobile app is fine but not great, and accountants prefer QuickBooks formatting at scale.
Best for: solo freelancers who want zero monthly cost and don't need fancy reports.
The "I want a real product" pick: Hello Bonsai or Indy
Hello Bonsai ($25/mo) and Indy ($16/mo) are built for freelancers, not "small businesses." That distinction matters: contracts, proposals, time tracking, and invoices all live in the same flow, and onboarding a new client takes 90 seconds instead of 20 minutes.
Bonsai is more polished and the contract templates are genuinely useful for protecting yourself. Indy is cheaper, has a strong free tier, and the project management is simpler than Bonsai's. For most US/UK freelancers, Bonsai is the safer pick. For agencies that don't need contract heavy lifting, Indy is fine.
Best for: freelancers running 5+ clients who need contracts and time tracking in the same tool.
Don't bother: FreshBooks and QuickBooks Self-Employed
FreshBooks isn't bad — it's just expensive ($21/mo Lite, capped at 5 clients) for what it does. Wave gives you most of the same value for free. FreshBooks shines when you have an accountant who insists on the format, or when you're scaling past 20 clients.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is what your accountant wants you to use, and that's about the only good thing I'll say about it. The UX is clunky, the mobile app is bad, and the upsell to QuickBooks Online is constant. Skip unless your tax situation is complex enough that you need the integrations.
What I actually use
For consulting work paid in $ to LLC: Stripe Invoicing, billed at end of month. Done in 90 seconds per invoice.
For UK clients paying in £: Stripe still wins, with GBP set as the invoice currency. Wave is the backup if I want zero fees.
For long retainers with contracts: I write the contract once in Notion and use Stripe recurring invoicing. Cheaper than Bonsai, plenty good for solo work.
The two-question filter
Before you pick, answer these:
- Do I send more than 10 invoices a month? If no, Stripe or Wave. If yes, look at Bonsai or Indy for the workflow gain.
- Do I bill hourly? If yes, you need time tracking baked in (Bonsai, Indy, or Toggl + Stripe). If no, skip the time-tracking premium.
That's the whole decision. Most freelancers way over-spec invoicing. The hours you save with a "powerful" tool you'll lose configuring it.