The Hidden Limits in Free Accounting Software | HelloBooks Invoice caps, turnover limits, missing bank feeds and trials that end: the limits in free accounting software, from each vendor’s own pricing page, dated.
Free accounting software limits, hidden limits free bookkeeping software, free plan invoice cap, United States.
“Free” means different things. Some plans cap invoices, some cap turnover, some leave out the bank feed and some are trials. Here is each one, from the vendor’s own page, with the date we read it.
Free Plan with invoices within 200 transactions, bills & quotes — no credit card.
Invoice caps: QuickBooks’ free tier allows 2 invoices a month.
Turnover and volume caps: Zoho Books Free allows 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year, and only while turnover stays under $50K.
Missing bank feed: Wave’s free Starter plan has unlimited invoices but no bank feed.
No free plan at all: Xero has no free tier; every Xero plan is paid after the trial. FreshBooks has no permanent $0 plan; it offers a 30-day free trial, then a paid plan.
Each row links to the vendor’s pricing page and shows when we read it.
| Software | Free tier | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| HelloBooks Free ($0/mo) | Invoices, bills and quotes, up to 200 transactions in total; 1 live bank feed; 2 users; free AI credits to get started. No credit card, no expiry. | Our own plan |
| QuickBooks | QuickBooks’ free tier allows 2 invoices a month. | September 2026 |
| Wave | Wave’s free Starter plan has unlimited invoices but no bank feed. | September 2026 |
| Zoho Books | Zoho Books Free allows 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year, and only while turnover stays under $50K. | September 2026 |
| Xero | Xero has no free tier; every Xero plan is paid after the trial. | September 2026 |
| FreshBooks | FreshBooks has no permanent $0 plan; it offers a 30-day free trial, then a paid plan. | 28 September 2026 |
HelloBooks Free is metered too. It allows up to 200 transactions, 2 users and 1 live bank feed, and the AI runs on free starter credits:
Export, recurring invoices and multi-currency are paid. Free invoices carry a “Powered by HelloBooks” badge. Starter is $14.99/mo per entity; Pro is $39.99/mo per entity.
“AI categorizes every transaction automatically and learns from your corrections, so a small team keeps clean books without spending evenings on manual data entry.”
“For a practice managing dozens of client books, automated reconciliation turns a full day of matching into a background task — review the AI matches, approve, and move on.”
“Snap a receipt on your phone and the AI reads, categorizes, and files it — bookkeeping stays current even for people who would rather not think about numbers.”
Illustrative scenarios describing what the product does for each business type — not attributed customer reviews.
QuickBooks, Wave, Zoho Books, Xero and FreshBooks are trademarks of their respective owners. HelloBooks is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
Free Plan with full access to the AI accountant — no credit card, no time limit.
