Professional Services · head to head
FreshBooks vs Productive
FreshBooks
Professional Services
Accounting software that makes you look good
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Productive
Professional Services
Run projects, budgets and resources in one place
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only FreshBooks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: FreshBooks lite tier limited to 5 clients maximum; Productive essential plan is capped at 5 account-level custom fields and 1 CRM pipeline versus 15 fields and 3 pipelines on Professional
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which FreshBooks and Productive actually diverge.
| Attribute | FreshBooks | Productive |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | Unknown | quote |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web |
| Founded | 2003 | Unknown |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Professional Services).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in FreshBooks
- Invoicing
- Expense tracking
- Time tracking
- Project management
- Payments
- Financial reporting
- Proposals
- Mileage tracking
Only in Productive
Nothing recorded that FreshBooks does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
FreshBooks
- Invoicing and payment processingnot Productive
- Time tracking and expense managementnot Productive
- Multi-client project accountingnot Productive
Productive
No use cases recorded yet. See the Productive review.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
FreshBooks
- Lite tier limited to 5 clients maximum
- E-signatures, proposals, and client retainers unavailable on Lite and Plus tiers
- Advanced payment processing fee of £20/month on Plus tier (extra cost)
- Email customization and project profitability tracking restricted to Premium tier and above
- Offline mode not available; web-based only
Productive
- Essential plan is capped at 5 account-level custom fields and 1 CRM pipeline versus 15 fields and 3 pipelines on Professional
- Ultimate tier for complex organizations is quote-only, listed as Let's talk with no published price
Pricing, plan by plan
FreshBooks
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the FreshBooks review.
Productive
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Productive review.
Which should you pick?
Choose FreshBooks if
- You need invoicing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want expense tracking.
Choose Productive if
Nothing in the data separates Productive from FreshBooks on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Questions people ask
- Is FreshBooks or Productive better?
- Neither clearly leads. FreshBooks starts at Free and Productive at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, FreshBooks or Productive?
- FreshBooks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for FreshBooks and On request for Productive.
- Does FreshBooks or Productive run on more platforms?
- FreshBooks runs on Web, iOS, Android. Productive runs on Web.
- Can I use FreshBooks for free?
- Yes. FreshBooks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Productive starts at On request.
- What is FreshBooks best used for?
- FreshBooks is most often used for invoicing and payment processing, time tracking and expense management, multi-client project accounting. Of those, invoicing and payment processing and time tracking and expense management are not what Productive is typically brought in for.
- What can FreshBooks do that Productive cannot?
- FreshBooks covers Invoicing, Expense tracking, Time tracking, Project management.