QuickBooks Online vs FreshBooks — Australia 2026
QuickBooks vs FreshBooks compared for Australian businesses. GST handling, BAS reporting, bank feeds, pricing & AU compliance features.
Quick Verdict
QuickBooks offers more for AU businesses than FreshBooks
QuickBooks Simple Start ($33) e-lodges BAS and includes accountant access. FreshBooks Lite ($29) is invoicing for 5 clients with no bank reconciliation and no accountant access. Neither hosts ledgers in Australia.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | QuickBooks Online | FreshBooks |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Mountain View, CA, USA | Toronto, Canada |
| Entry Price | $33/mo inc GST | $29/mo inc GST |
| BAS Lodgement | AU pricing comparison lists GST tracking & e-lodge BAS on Simple Start through Advanced. Setup guide describes connecting to the ATO to lodge BAS from QuickBooks. | AU pricing page lists tax-time reports and double-entry reports from Plus up. No e-lodge BAS or SBR. You export and lodge elsewhere. |
| STP Phase 2 | compliant | not_supported |
| Payday Super | infrastructure_exists | n/a |
| Modern Awards | Advanced Payroll (powered by Employment Hero) includes full automated Modern Award interpretation — penalty rates, overtime rules, allowances, and automatic age/anniversary-based rate progressions. Available as add-on only, not in base plans. | No Australian payroll features — Modern Award interpretation is not available in FreshBooks. |
| Bank Feeds | Big 4 + expanding banks | limited banks |
| Data Hosting | US | US and EU |
| AU Support Hours | Mon-Fri 8am-6:30pm AEST | Limited — approximately 7pm-3am AEDT (corresponds to North American business hours) |
| Phone Support | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | 750+ apps | 100+ apps |
Pricing Comparison (AUD, Mar 2026)
QuickBooks Online Plans
Simple Start
$33/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bills: basic
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Users: 1
- ✓Accountant Access: Yes
Most Popular
Essentials
$60/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bills: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Users: 3
- ✓Accountant Access: Yes
- ✓Multi Currency: Yes
Plus
$84/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bills: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Inventory: Yes
- ✓Users: 5
- ✓Accountant Access: Yes
Advanced
$125/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Users: 25
- ✓Accountant Access: Yes
FreshBooks Plans
Lite
$29/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Clients: 5
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: No
- ✓Accountant Access: No
Most Popular
Plus
$43/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Clients: 50
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Accountant Access: Yes
Premium
$60/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Clients: unlimited
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Accountant Access: Yes
- ✓Project Profitability: Yes
Select
Quote
AUD inc GST
- ✓Clients: unlimited
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Accountant Access: Yes
AU Compliance Scores
How we scoreScores are out of 5 and reflect depth of compliance support, ease of setup, and ongoing reliability for Australian businesses. Assessed March 2026.
QuickBooks Online
BAS Lodgement5/5
STP Phase 25/5
Payday Super3/5
Modern Awards4/5
GST Handling5/5
Bank Feeds4/5
FreshBooks
BAS Lodgement2/5
STP Phase 21/5
Payday Super0/5
Modern Awards0/5
GST Handling3/5
Bank Feeds2/5
Pros & Cons
QuickBooks Online
Pros
- Simple Start $33/mo with unlimited invoices and included accountant access (vs Xero Ignite $37 with 20 invoices)
- GST tracking and e-lodge BAS listed on all AU plans
- Phone support 1800 046 038, Monday to Friday 8:30am–6:30pm (AU pricing page)
- 1 / 3 / 5 / 25 users plus accountant across Simple Start / Essentials / Plus / Advanced
- Automated bank feeds listed on AU plans
- 30-day trial; no lock-in on monthly billing
Cons
- QBO ledgers hosted in the United States (Intuit Inc. / AWS US) — not AU data sovereignty
- Payroll is an add-on on every plan
- 70% intro pricing is easy to confuse with the $33/$60/$84/$125 ongoing rates; cards say 6 months while offer-terms body says 3 months, and the same modal lists 50% off 12 months — checkout was not started
- Bank-feed institution count still not as documented as Xero/MYOB
- Payday Super readiness still not independently verified; the AU payroll page prints Payday Super ready as vendor copy
- Public cancel path is a phone number (1800 350 468); the same cancel URL later opened a QuickBooks Time article
FreshBooks
Pros
- Best invoicing experience in the market — professional templates, automated reminders, online payments via Stripe/PayPal
- Easiest accounting platform to learn — intuitive interface designed for non-accountants
- Built-in time tracking with one-click conversion to invoices — ideal for hourly billing
- Phone support available at +61 1800 595452 (during North American business hours)
- 30-day free trial with full feature access, no credit card required
- Unlimited clients on Premium plan — scales well for growing freelancers
- Multi-currency invoicing for international freelancers
Cons
- No direct BAS lodgement to the ATO — a major gap for Australian compliance
- No Australian payroll, STP Phase 2, or superannuation features — not for employers
- Limited Australian bank feed coverage — relies on third-party aggregators
- Data hosted in US and EU (Google Cloud) — not AU data sovereign
- Support operates during North American hours (7pm-3am AEDT) — poor for AU daytime issues
- Prices have increased three times since early 2025 — ongoing cost uncertainty
- Lite plan has no bank reconciliation — limiting for actual bookkeeping
Who Should Choose QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is best suited for businesses that need budget conscious small business, sole trader, simple accounting.
Choose QuickBooks Online if you are:
- Budget Conscious Small Business
- Sole Trader
- Simple Accounting
- Freelancer
Who Should Choose FreshBooks
FreshBooks is best suited for businesses that need freelancer, sole trader invoicing, consultant.
Choose FreshBooks if you are:
- Freelancer
- Sole Trader Invoicing
- Consultant
- International Freelancer
- Simple Invoicing