The $22/Month Trap: What FreshBooks Really Costs
FreshBooks markets itself at $22 CAD/month (Lite plan). Sounds reasonable, right?
But here's what they don't tell you upfront:
Hidden costs that add up fast:
- 5 clients max on Lite → Hit client #6? Forced upgrade to $35/month (Plus plan)
- 1 user included → Need a team member? $11/month per additional user
- Advanced features paywalled → Want recurring billing? Upgrade to Plus ($35/month)
- Payment delays → Stripe/ACH deposits take longer than advertised
- Currency conversion fees → Up to $198 in hidden charges (see user testimony)
Real annual cost for a typical Canadian freelancer:
- FreshBooks Plus (10+ clients): $35/month = $420/year
- Add 1 team member: $11/month = $132/year
- Total: $552/year
Paymavo Pro:
- Unlimited clients, invoices, and expenses: $29/month = $348/year
- Annual plan: $300/year
You save $204–252/year by switching to Paymavo.1. Forced Upgrades: The Client Limit Trap
1. Forced Upgrades: The Client Limit Trap
FreshBooks Lite ($22/month) allows only 5 billable clients.
Real user experience:
"I may have missed the fact that the lesser plan only allowed for 5 clients. I had to upgrade to the next level and I wasn't prepared for that."
— G2 Review
The pricing ladder:
- Lite: 5 clients max → $22/month
- Plus: 50 clients max → $35/month
- Premium: Unlimited clients → $60/month
For growing freelancers, this is a nightmare. You land your 6th client, celebrate the win, then realize you're forced into a 59% price increase overnight.
FreshBooks' pricing structure:
| Plan | Price (CAD/month) | Client Limit | What Happens When You Hit the Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | $22 | 5 clients | Forced upgrade to Plus ($35/month) |
| Plus | $35 | 50 clients | Forced upgrade to Premium ($60/month) |
| Premium | $60 | Unlimited | Finally unlimited, but 173% more expensive than Lite |
Paymavo’s approach:
- Free plan: unlimited clients, invoices, and expenses — $0/month
- Pro plan: $29/month or $300/year — same unlimited everything, plus recurring invoices, time tracking, AI categorization, Plaid Bank Sync, fiscal reports, and custom branding
No surprises. No forced upgrades. No artificial limits.
2. No Automatic Canadian Tax Compliance
FreshBooks offers basic tax features, but nothing automated for multi-province Canadian businesses.
What FreshBooks requires:
- Manual tax setup for each province
- You configure GST/HST/QST rates yourself
- No automatic provincial rate detection
- Risk of miscalculation = CRA audit trigger
The compliance nightmare:
| Client Location | Correct Tax | What Happens if You Mess Up |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 13% HST | Under-charged? You owe CRA the difference out of pocket |
| British Columbia | 12% (GST + PST) | Over-charged? Client disputes invoice, damages relationship |
| Alberta | 5% GST | Wrong rate? CRA flags your account for audit |
| Quebec | 14.975% (GST + QST) | Missing QST? Invoice non-compliant, legal issues |
Real user frustration:
"There's no automatic tax calculation for Canadian provinces. I've had to manually set up tax profiles for Ontario, BC, and Quebec clients. It's tedious and error-prone."
— Canadian freelancer discussion
For Canadian freelancers juggling multi-province clients, manual tax setup is a massive time sink.
You're essentially doing the work FreshBooks should automate. And if you make a mistake? You're liable to CRA—not FreshBooks.
Paymavo's solution:
Automatic tax compliance powered by Stripe Tax:
- Detects client's province automatically
- Applies correct GST/HST/QST rates instantly
- Generates CRA-ready reports in one click
- Zero manual configuration required
This is our killer feature—and the main reason Canadian freelancers switch from FreshBooks.
3. Hidden Fees & Payment Processing Nightmares
FreshBooks uses Stripe for payment processing, but users report significantly worse experiences than competitors using the same infrastructure.
Payment delays that kill cash flow:
"Nice platform, if you like payment processing at a glacial pace."
— FinancesOnline Review
Common complaints:
- ACH payments taking 7-10 days (vs 2-5 days advertised)
- Stripe deposits held without warning
- Unclear payment status in dashboard
- Bank sync issues causing missing transactions
The $198 currency conversion disaster:
One user's horror story from Trustpilot:
"Their migration FAILED on so many levels. Stripe sent an email that my USD is being sent, then FRESHBOOKS was like 'oh here's your Canadian' GIVING ME NO INDICATION I HAD THE WRONG BANK SET UP. Once FreshBooks deceptively converted my money, they also took $198 as a fee. This is NOT A JOKE. Their conversion rates are WORSE than national banks."
— Premium user for 5+ years, Trustpilot Review
FreshBooks' response? None.
This user had been a paying customer for 5 years and was hit with a surprise $198 fee due to automatic currency conversion they never authorized.
Paymavo's approach:
Direct Stripe integration:
- Funds go straight to your Stripe account (no middleman)
- You control currency settings
- Transparent 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe fee (no markup)
- Deposits arrive in 2-5 business days consistently
We don't touch your money. Stripe handles everything, and you get paid on time.
4. Overkill Accounting Features You Don't Need
FreshBooks positions itself as "accounting software," but most freelancers just need invoicing + payments.
Feature bloat complaints:
"I would choose a (minus) number if I could! Sadly over the years it has been made into un-user friendly monster difficult to use and understand accounting software systems."
— Long-time user, Trustpilot Review
What freelancers actually need:
- Create invoice in 30 seconds
- Send to client
- Get paid online
- Track expenses
- Generate tax reports
What FreshBooks forces on you:
- Double-entry accounting (Premium plan only)
- Project profitability tracking
- Team time tracking
- Client retainers
- Proposal management
The problem? You pay for features you'll never use.
Time comparison:
| Task | FreshBooks | Paymavo |
|---|---|---|
| Create invoice | 3-5 minutes (navigate complex menus) | 30 seconds (streamlined flow) |
| Send invoice | 1-2 minutes (confirm settings) | 1 click (auto-email) |
| Check payment status | Multiple clicks, buried in accounting | Dashboard homepage |
| Generate tax report | 5+ minutes (export, format) | 1 click (CRA-ready PDF) |
Paymavo's philosophy: Do one thing exceptionally well—invoicing for Canadian freelancers.
5. Support Paywall & Migration Issues
FreshBooks advertises "award-winning support," but the reality depends on your plan.
Support tier breakdown:
| Plan | Support Access | Response Time |
|---|---|---|
| Lite ($22/month) | Email only | 24-48 hours |
| Plus ($35/month) | Email + chat | Same day |
| Premium ($60/month) | Priority email + chat | Within hours |
Translation: Pay more to get basic support.
Real user experience:
"My business is in Cyprus, and I asked them why I cannot invoice a client in China and how to do it. They told me 'Our business is in Canada so there are sanctions.' OK. Why should I care? The support reply was not helping me, just telling me what law they have in Canada."
— Trustpilot Review
Their support couldn't solve the user's problem—just cited Canadian regulations.
The migration disaster:
In 2024, FreshBooks forced users to migrate to a new platform. Multiple users report:
- Data loss during migration
- Broken integrations with QuickBooks
- Forced currency conversions
- Zero communication about changes
One user lost 15 years of data compatibility:
"This year, FreshBooks took away the ability to integrate into QuickBooks which has caused us to stop using FreshBooks after 15+ years."
— Capterra Review
Paymavo's approach:
- 24-hour email support for all Pro users
- Built by a Canadian developer in Calgary
- Direct support—no overseas call centers
- No forced migrations or data hostage situations
6. The BBB Rating Drop: What Changed?
FreshBooks' Better Business Bureau rating dropped to C in recent years.
Why? Increased complaints about:
- Hidden fees
- Forced upgrades
- Migration issues
- Payment processing delays
- Unresponsive support
Source: Merchant Maverick Review
For a company that markets "award-winning service," this is a red flag.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | FreshBooks Lite ($22/month) | FreshBooks Plus ($35/month) | Paymavo Pro ($29/month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $22 CAD | $35 CAD | $29 CAD |
| Annual cost | $264 CAD | $420 CAD | $300 CAD |
| Client limit | 5 clients max | 50 clients max | Unlimited |
| Invoice limit | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Automatic Canadian taxes | ❌ Manual setup | ❌ Manual setup | ✅ Automatic GST/HST/QST |
| Payment processing | Stripe (slow deposits) | Stripe (slow deposits) | Stripe (direct, 2-5 days) |
| Currency conversion fees | Yes (up to $198) | Yes | No hidden fees |
| Digital signature | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Custom branding | ❌ | ✅ (limited) | ✅ |
| CRA-ready reports | Manual export | Manual export | 1-click PDF export |
| Support | Email only | Email + chat | 24h email (priority) |
| Learning curve | 15+ minutes setup | 15+ minutes setup | 2 minutes setup |
Annual savings by switching to Paymavo:
- From Lite ($22/month): $0/year with Pro plan $264/year if comparing to Free plan
- From Plus ($35/month): $120/year
- From Premium ($60/month): $420/year
Why Paymavo Wins for Canadian Freelancers
1. Transparent Pricing
- No client limits
- No hidden fees
- No forced upgrades
2. Automatic Tax Compliance
- GST/HST/QST calculated automatically
- CRA-ready reports in 1 click
- Zero manual configuration
3. Fast Payment Processing
- Direct Stripe integration
- 2-5 business days to bank
- No currency conversion surprises
4. Simplified Workflow
- 30-second invoice creation
- Designed for invoicing (not complex accounting)
- Mobile-first design
5. Canadian Support
- Built by Canadian developer in Calgary
- 24-hour response time (Pro users)
- Actually solves problems
Start Saving Today
Free Plan (No Credit Card Required)
- Unlimited invoices, quotes, and clients
- Automatic Canadian tax calculation (GST/HST/QST)
- Stripe payment processing
- Manual expense tracking
- 1 manual reminder per invoice
- "Made with Paymavo" branding on invoices
Perfect for testing Paymavo before committing. No limits, no credit card required.
Pro Plan ($29 CAD/month, $300 CAD/year)
- Everything in Free plan
- Remove "Made with Paymavo" branding
- Custom branding (signature, prefix)
- Unlimited manual + automated payment reminders
- Recurring invoices (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly)
- Time tracking with dedicated page
- Recurring expenses
- Fiscal reports & analytics
- Export fiscal reports (PDF/CSV)
- Unlimited CSV import/export
- Paymavo AI 1.0: Auto-categorization and OCR for expenses
- Plaid Bank Sync: Connect bank accounts and automatically import transactions
- Recurring expense matching: Automatically match recurring transactions to expenses
- Priority support
The Bottom Line
FreshBooks is expensive, complex, and full of hidden costs.
For Canadian freelancers who just need simple, compliant invoicing:
- You'll save $0–420/year by switching to Paymavo (depending on your FreshBooks plan and whether you choose the Free or Pro plan)
- Get automatic tax compliance FreshBooks doesn't offer
- Avoid client limits and forced upgrades
- Migrate your entire FreshBooks account in 2 minutes
- Support a Canadian-built product
Ready to switch?
Start with our Free plan (no credit card required) and see why Paymavo could be the FreshBooks alternative Canadian freelancers need.
👉Start with Paymavo Free: Paymavo.com
No credit card required. Unlimited invoices and clients forever.
Last updated: December 29, 2025
Sources: Testimonials from Capterra Canada, Trustpilot, G2, GetApp Canada, and FinancesOnline (2024-2025). FreshBooks' BBB rating dropped to C according to Merchant Maverick Review with increased complaints about forced upgrades, hidden fees, and payment processing issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I import my FreshBooks data automatically?
A: Yes! Use our built-in migration tool. Go to your dashboard → User menu → Import → Select FreshBooks → Connect your account → Import. Takes 2-3 minutes. All clients, invoices, quotes, and expenses transfer automatically via FreshBooks API.
Q: Will my existing Stripe account work?
A: Absolutely. Paymavo integrates with Stripe Connect, so you can use your existing Stripe account immediately.
Q: Do you charge transaction fees on top of Stripe's fees?
A: No. You pay only Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30. We don't add any markup.
Q: How long does it take to get paid?
A: Stripe deposits funds in 2-5 business days directly to your bank account. No delays, no holds.
Q: Can I cancel anytime?
A: Yes. Cancel anytime via Stripe billing portal. No penalties, no questions asked.
Q: Does Paymavo support multi-user accounts?
A: Paymavo is designed for solo freelancers and small businesses with a single user. If you need team collaboration, FreshBooks may be a better fit for that specific use case.
