Quick verdict
FreshBooksis a well-known North-American invoicing and light-accounting tool with excellent native mobile apps and a mature payment-processing integration. It's a good default for US/Canadian freelancers whose accountants use it.
vlastERP is an all-in-one European ERP that combines invoicing, time tracking, projects, expenses and profitability in a single platform, with native support for European e-invoicing standards and unlimited clients on every plan.
Bottom line:if you're in the EU — or you sell time/projects internationally and need ZUGFeRD, Facturae or the registro horario — vlastERP is usually the better fit and 40-80% cheaper. If you're a solo US freelancer with fewer than 5 clients who only needs invoicing and basic expenses, FreshBooks is still a solid choice.
Why this comparison exists
FreshBooks has been around since 2003 and for a long time was the freelancer-invoicing default in English-speaking markets. That reputation still drives a lot of signups — but the product is optimized for North American accounting and pricing has moved upmarket fast.
We wrote this guide because freelancers increasingly run cross-border businesses: a designer in Berlin with clients in New York, a developer in Madrid working for a Dutch SaaS, a consultant in Lisbon invoicing Germany. In that world, FreshBooks' US defaults and missing e-invoicing formats become friction. This comparison is based on hands-on use of both products in Q1 2026 and public pricing pages from each vendor.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Hover the info icons for details. A green check doesn't always mean feature parity — we call out nuance where it matters.
| Feature | vlastERP | FreshBooks |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in time tracking (stopwatch + timesheets) | ||
| Multi-currency invoicing | ||
| Multi-language invoice templates | ||
| Custom PDF branding (logo, colors, fonts) | ||
| German e-invoicing (ZUGFeRD / XRechnung) | ||
| Spanish e-invoicing (Facturae / Verifactu-ready) | ||
| Public REST API | ||
| Mobile app (iOS/Android) | ||
| GoBD compliance (Germany) | ||
| RD 8/2019 time-registry (Spain) | ||
| Unlimited clients on every plan | ||
| Profitability per project/client/employee |
Pricing breakdown
vlastERP prices in EUR, FreshBooks prices in USD, both billed monthly. FreshBooks prices from freshbooks.com/pricing as of April 2026; extra users cost $11/mo each on all FreshBooks plans.
Solo
Everything a solo freelancer needs — invoices, time, projects.
- Unlimited clients & invoices
- Time tracking & timesheets
- Facturae + ZUGFeRD export
- EU data residency
Lite
For beginners with very few clients.
- 1 user
- Up to 5 billable clients
- Basic invoicing
- Limited reports
Team
Up to 5 users with approvals, roles and profitability.
- Up to 5 users
- Approvals & corrections
- Profitability dashboards
- Custom PDF branding
- Recurring invoices
Plus
For growing freelancers with recurring clients.
- 1 user
- Up to 50 billable clients
- Recurring invoices
- Double-entry accounting
Business
For growing consultancies with advanced workflows.
- Unlimited users
- SSO & audit log
- Advanced RBAC (6 roles)
- API rate-limit upgrade
- Priority support
Premium
For established businesses.
- 1 user
- Unlimited billable clients
- Advanced reports
- Extra users at $11/mo each
Choose FreshBooks if…
- You're a US or Canadian freelancer and your accountant already works inside FreshBooks.
- You need built-in payment processing via FreshBooks Payments (US ACH, credit cards).
- Native mobile apps are a day-one requirement for you.
- You only need invoicing, expenses and basic reports — no projects, no team.
Choose vlastERP if…
- You're based in the EU or regularly invoice EU clients.
- You need ZUGFeRD/XRechnung for Germany or Facturae for Spain.
- You sell time and want one-click time-to-invoice, approvals and profitability.
- You have more than 5 clients and don't want to jump tiers because of client caps.
- You want transparent flat pricing without per-user upsells.
Customer story
Coming soon — we're collecting stories from freelancers who moved from FreshBooks to vlastERP in 2026. Want to share yours? Get in touch.
Migrate from FreshBooks in under 10 minutes
Keep your clients, invoices, and time entries — no data loss.
Frequently asked questions
▸Is vlastERP a direct replacement for FreshBooks?
For most EU-based freelancers and small consultancies — yes. vlastERP covers invoicing, time tracking, projects, expenses and profitability. Where FreshBooks is stronger is North-American accounting workflows (1099 reporting, US sales tax, Stripe/ACH payment processing via FreshBooks Payments). If you're a US/Canadian freelancer, FreshBooks integrates better with your tax ecosystem.
▸How do client limits work on each tool?
FreshBooks charges by billable client: Lite caps at 5, Plus at 50, Premium is unlimited. If you have 6 clients, you jump from $19 to $33/mo. vlastERP has zero client limits on every plan, so pricing is predictable regardless of how your client list grows.
▸Does vlastERP track time like FreshBooks does?
Yes, and more thoroughly. vlastERP includes a stopwatch, manual entries, weekly timesheets, approvals, corrections, overtime rules and RD 8/2019 registro-horario exports. FreshBooks' timer is a lightweight add-on to its invoicing engine, without approvals or team-timesheet views.
▸Can I migrate my FreshBooks data into vlastERP?
Yes. FreshBooks lets you export clients, invoices, time entries and expenses as CSV from Settings → Export Data. vlastERP's import wizard maps these files into clients, projects, invoices, time entries and expenses in a single pass. Most migrations take under 10 minutes.
▸Which tool is better for EU compliance?
vlastERP is built for EU compliance: GDPR by default, EU data residency (Frankfurt), GoBD for Germany, RD 8/2019 for Spain, Facturae and ZUGFeRD/XRechnung e-invoicing. FreshBooks is a Canadian product with US-centric defaults and no native EU e-invoicing formats.
▸How does pricing compare over 12 months?
A 5-client freelancer on FreshBooks Lite pays $228/year. Upgrade to Plus (needed beyond 5 clients) and it's $396/year. vlastERP Solo is €336/year with unlimited clients (€28/mo billed annually). For a 5-person team, FreshBooks Premium plus 4 extra users is ~$1,248/year, while vlastERP Team is €480/year (€40/mo billed annually) — still well below FreshBooks at the team tier and with everything included.
▸Does FreshBooks have a free trial?
FreshBooks offers a 30-day free trial (credit card required). vlastERP offers a 2-month free trial with no credit card required.
▸Where is my data stored?
vlastERP data is stored exclusively in the EU (Frankfurt region) with GDPR-compliant processing and a signed DPA available to all customers. FreshBooks stores data in North America under Canadian/US privacy law.