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Ranking Freelancers and the self-employed

The 9 best freelancers and the self-employed tools (2026): PayPal

The best freelancers and the self-employed tools in October 2026 are ZipBooks, Akaunting and Synder. ZipBooks is the pick for small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place. We read the price of all 9 on their own sites.

Tick Mark Books ResearchUpdated

9 ranked · each checked against its own site 26–29 October 2026

Compare all 9 picksMarkdown
Freelancers and the self-employed tools, first paid plan, October 2026 All 9 tools that publish a monthly price start under $100 a month. The median first paid plan is $19.
  1. Under $2566 of 9
  2. $25 to $9933 of 9
  3. $100 to $29900 of 9
  4. $300 or more00 of 9
9
ranked
$19
median first paid plan
3
of the 9 have a free plan

tickmarkbooks.com · First paid plan from each tool's own pricing page, read 26–29 October 2026.

On this page
  1. The short answer
  2. Pick by what you need
  3. All 9 picks at a glance
  4. The ranking
  5. Side by side
  6. Questions buyers ask
  7. Sources and method

The short answer

ZipBooks ranks first. It has a free plan, and paid plans start at $15 a month.

Akaunting ranks second with a free plan, then $12 a month, and Synder third from $65 a month. Wave has a free plan too.

Half of the 9 tools with a monthly paid plan charge $19 a month or less.

3 tools here have a free plan to try before you pay. The highest ranked are ZipBooks, Akaunting and Wave.

Pick by what you need

This ranking

  • 9 tools ranked
  • 3 free or freemium
  • verified 28 October 2026
How we rank →

All 9 picks at a glance

#ToolBest forStarts at
1ZipBooksSmall businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one placeFree, then $15 a monthits pricing page
2AkauntingFreelancers and small businesses that want open-source books they can host themselvesFree, then $12 a monthits pricing page
3SynderEcommerce and SaaS sellers syncing Stripe, Shopify or Amazon sales into QuickBooksFrom $65 a monthits pricing page
4WaveFreelancers and solo owners who want real double-entry books without paying for softwareFree, then $19 a monthits pricing page
5XeroSmall businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books, no per-user feesFrom $27 a monthits pricing page
6FreshBooksService businesses and freelancers who bill clients and want their books in the same placeFrom $23 a monthits pricing page
7PennylaneSmall businesses in France and their accounting firm working in one shared fileFrom about $7.82 a monthits pricing page
8Sage AccountingVAT-registered sole traders and small firms up to 49 employees wanting payroll built inFrom about $27 a monthits pricing page
9FreeAgentUK sole traders and small limited companies filing their own VAT and Self AssessmentFrom about $13 a monthits pricing page

Checked between 26 October 2026 and 29 October 2026. “About” figures are converted at the European Central Bank rate of 30 October 2026.

9 tools, ranked. How we rank

About this list

9 of 26 freelancers and the self-employed tools match “PayPal”. Of the rest: 1 on some plans only, 9 no, 7 unknown.

How the freelancers and the self-employed tools matching “PayPal” differ: 9 of 9 also match “Stripe”, against 3 of 17 in the rest of the category.

The ranking

  1. 1

    ZipBooks

    A free plan before you pay

    Best forsmall businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place

    PayPal: Yes — Square, Stripe and PayPal connect for payments and Gusto for payroll, each with its own setup article“Integrate with other small business software (Gusto)”Pricing page, plan comparison table, integrations row · checked 2026-10-28

    Price
    Free, then $15 a month · source
    Visit ZipBooks ↗Read the reviewGet a quote →
  2. 2

    Akaunting

    Freelancers and small businesses

    Best forfreelancers and small businesses that want open-source books they can host themselves

    PayPal: Yes — Stripe and Shopify sync are included from Elite Cloud, and PayPal sits among twenty-plus payment providers“Accept payments from 20+ payment providers such as Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, eWay, M-Pesa, Flutterwave, Klarna, PagSeguro, etc.”Feature detail section below the comparison list, Payment Methods · checked 2026-10-28

    Price
    Free, then $12 a month · source
    Visit Akaunting ↗Read the reviewGet a quote →
  3. 3

    Synder

    Best forecommerce and SaaS sellers syncing Stripe, Shopify or Amazon sales into QuickBooks

    PayPal: Yes — More than 30 sales and payment platforms connect, Stripe, Shopify, PayPal, Square, Amazon, eBay and Etsy among them, while Magento, Walmart, TikTok and Clover are premium connections from Pro upwards.“Synder connects with 30+ popular sales and payment platforms, including Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Stripe, PayPal, Square, and more.”FAQ, 'What sales and payment platforms does Synder support?' · checked 2026-10-27

    Price
    From $65 a month · source
    Visit Synder ↗Read the reviewGet a quote →
  4. 4

    Wave

    Freelancers and solo owners

    Best forfreelancers and solo owners who want real double-entry books without paying for software

    PayPal: Yes — Shopify, Stripe and PayPal reach Wave only through the Make.com automation bridge on Pro“Yes. Wave Accounting integrates with Shopify, Stripe, and PayPal through Make.com, available on the Wave Pro plan. Wave also connects directly with 14 apps, including Etsy, Amazon, GoHighLevel, and Google Sheets.”Frequently Asked Questions, "Does Wave integrate with third-party apps like Shopify, Stripe, and PayPal?" · checked 2026-10-28

    Price
    Free, then $19 a month · source
    Visit Wave ↗Read the reviewGet a quote →
  5. 5

    Xero

    Lowest monthly price in the top five

    Best forsmall businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books, no per-user fees

    PayPal: Yes — Xero publishes App Store listings for Stripe, Shopify, PayPal, Square and Gusto“Payout reconciliation: Automatically match payouts from Shopify Payments and more to your bank account. The integration handles fees, refunds, and taxes”Shopify by Xero listing, overview · checked 2026-10-28

    Price
    From $27 a month · source
    Visit Xero ↗Read the reviewGet a quote →

Side by side

Every field, side by side

Scroll sideways to see them all.

FeatureZipBooksAkauntingSynderWaveXeroFreshBooksPennylaneSage AccountingFreeAgent
DescriptionFree-forever double-entry books whose machine learning categorizes transactions and learns from your corrections.Open-source small-business books you host free yourself or run on its cloud, extended by 50+ paid apps.Posts sales, fees and taxes from 30+ channels into QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite or Sage Intacct.Free double-entry books for solo owners, with bank imports, receipts and payroll kept behind the paid Pro Plan.Small-business ledger with a JAX assistant that answers questions in plain language; unlimited users on every plan.Double-entry small-business ledger built around invoicing, with a read-only Claude connector for questions.AI-native invoicing, accounting and business banking for small businesses and their accounting firms.Sage's cloud small-business ledger with built-in payroll and the Sage Copilot assistant; US edition retired.UK cloud accounting with HMRC filing, bank feeds and AI receipt capture, priced per business type.
CategoryFree accounting software, Accounting software, Small businesses, Freelancers and the self-employed, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firmsFree accounting software, Accounting software, Small businesses, Freelancers and the self-employed, Cheapest accounting software, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Bookkeepers and accounting firmsAI bookkeeping for QuickBooks and Xero, Month-end close and reconciliation, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employedAccounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Free accounting software, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businessesAccounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businessesAccounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businessesAccounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businessesAccounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businessesAccounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Free accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses
TagsFree accounting softwareAccounting softwareSmall businessesFreelancers and the self-employedCheapest accounting softwareBookkeepers and accounting firmsFree accounting softwareAccounting softwareSmall businessesFreelancers and the self-employedCheapest accounting softwareWorks with QuickBooks OnlineWorks with XeroBookkeepers and accounting firmsAI bookkeeping for QuickBooks and XeroMonth-end close and reconciliationWorks with QuickBooks OnlineWorks with XeroBookkeepers and accounting firmsFreelancers and the self-employedAccounting softwareCheapest accounting softwareFree accounting softwareFreelancers and the self-employedSmall businessesAccounting softwareCheapest accounting softwareBookkeepers and accounting firmsFreelancers and the self-employedSmall businessesAccounting softwareCheapest accounting softwareBookkeepers and accounting firmsFreelancers and the self-employedSmall businessesAccounting softwareCheapest accounting softwareBookkeepers and accounting firmsFreelancers and the self-employedSmall businessesAccounting softwareCheapest accounting softwareFreelancers and the self-employedSmall businessesAccounting softwareCheapest accounting softwareFree accounting softwareBookkeepers and accounting firmsFreelancers and the self-employedSmall businesses

Questions buyers ask

How much do freelancers and the self-employed tools cost?

The median first paid plan is $19 a month, across the 9 of the 9 that publish a monthly price. They run from $7.82 to $65.

Which freelancers and the self-employed tools have a free plan?

3 of the 9 have a free plan.

How current are these figures?

The prices were read 26–29 October 2026.

Sources and method

Every price was read on the maker's own pricing page.

Pricing pages 9 read

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