The honest, open source alternative to FreshBooks.
FreshBooks prices by client count and by user. LineLedger prices by nothing at all: free under the AGPLv3, unlimited clients and users, on a server you control — with a real double-entry ledger underneath the invoicing.
Comparison as of October 2026.
What you actually pay
FreshBooks’ sticker prices look friendly. The bill shows up when you outgrow a client cap, add a team member, or need a payments add-on. Here’s where the real cost lands.
LineLedger
Everything on. Unlimited clients, unlimited people.
- Unlimited billable clients
- Unlimited users — no per-seat charge
- Full double-entry ledger, not invoicing with reports bolted on
- Inventory, multi-currency, budgets, classes & locations
- Portable ZIP export — leave anytime
FreshBooks
£16–£42/mo by tier, plus £8 per extra person
Premium tier; team members and Advanced Payments are extra.
- Lite £16: capped at 5 billable clients
- Plus £30: capped at 50 billable clients
- Premium £42: unlimited clients
- Team members are £8 per person per month on every tier
- Archived clients still count toward the cap
| Same books | LineLedger | FreshBooks |
|---|---|---|
| 60 clients on the books | £0 | £42/mo Plus caps at 50 clients → Premium |
| Two people working in the books | £0 | £24/mo Lite £16 + one team member at £8 |
| Six clients, one person | £0 | £30/mo Lite caps at 5 clients → Plus |
FreshBooks figures are current UK list pricing from freshbooks.com; FreshBooks does not state whether its UK prices include VAT as of October 2026. Source.
Feature for feature
Where each one is ahead — including the things FreshBooks does that we don’t yet.
| Capability | LineLedger | FreshBooks |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | £0 — you run it | £16–£42/mo, plus £8 per extra person |
| Billable client cap | None | 5 / 50 / unlimited by tier |
| Users included | Unlimited | One, then £8 each |
| Runs on your own server | Yes | No |
| Open source — audit, patch, or fork (AGPLv3) | Yes | No |
| Inventory & stock valuation | Yes | — |
| VAT return worked out from the books | All nine boxes | Yes |
| Submits the VAT return to HMRC LineLedger prepares the nine boxes; you file them through Making Tax Digital software. | No | Yes |
| UK payroll (PAYE & RTI) Neither FreshBooks nor LineLedger does UK payroll; both expect a separate payroll provider. | No | — |
What it costs
Billable client cap
Users included
Runs on your own server
Open source — audit, patch, or fork (AGPLv3)
Inventory & stock valuation
VAT return worked out from the books
Submits the VAT return to HMRC
LineLedger prepares the nine boxes; you file them through Making Tax Digital software.
UK payroll (PAYE & RTI)
Neither FreshBooks nor LineLedger does UK payroll; both expect a separate payroll provider.
A real double-entry core
Not a single-entry chequebook with a dashboard — a proper ledger that always ties out, with full multi-currency for cross-border work.
Read the code
LineLedger is open source under the AGPLv3. Audit exactly how your books are calculated — or run your own build.
No price at all
Every feature on, unlimited users, as many companies as you like. No tiers to climb, no seats to count, and no invoice from us — ever.
Common questions
- Is LineLedger a true double-entry system?
- Yes. Every posting document writes balanced journal entries, the trial balance always ties out, and you can drill from any report row to the transaction behind it.
- I mostly need invoicing. Is this overkill?
- Invoicing is the part you will touch daily — estimates that convert, recurring invoices, a customer portal with online payments, statements you can email. The ledger underneath is what makes the year-end reports honest.
- Will my price go up every year?
- There is no price to raise. LineLedger is free software you install on your own server, with every feature on and nothing metered as you add users. It is published under the AGPLv3, so the copy you are running stays yours.
- Can I get my data back out if I leave?
- Anytime. Export your whole company to a portable ZIP, plus CSV and XLSX from every report. No export tiers, no retrieval fees — your books are yours.
Weighing other options?
See how LineLedger stacks up elsewhere — or start from the full roundup.
See the difference on your own books.
Install it with Docker in about five minutes and every feature is on. No account, no subscription, no per-company charge — just your own server and the AGPLv3.
FreshBooks and the FreshBooks logo are trademarks of 2ndSite Inc., used here for identification and comparison only. LineLedger is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by 2ndSite Inc. Comparison based on publicly available information as of October 2026; pricing and features may have changed — see the source.