# The 10 best freelancers and the self-employed tools (2026): PayPal

> Source: https://tickmarkbooks.com/best/freelancers/paypal (curated, re-verified)

The best freelancers and the self-employed tools in November 2026 are **Hnry, ZipBooks and Akaunting**. Hnry is the pick for new Zealand sole traders who want tax paid as they earn. We read the price of all 10 on their own sites.

By [Tick Mark Books Research](https://tickmarkbooks.com/authors/research.md).

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

### All 9 tools that publish a monthly price start under $100 a month. The median first paid plan is $19.

*Freelancers and the self-employed tools, first paid plan, November 2026*

- Under $25: 6
- $25 to $99: 3
- $100 to $299: 0
- $300 or more: 0

- **10** ranked
- **$19** median first paid plan
- **4** of the 10 have a free plan

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

## The short answer

**Hnry** ranks first. It has a free plan, and paid plans start at about $0.56 per percent of self employed income.

**ZipBooks** ranks second with a free plan, then $15 a month, and **Akaunting** third with a free plan, then $12 a month. **Wave** has a free plan too.

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

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

## Pick by what you need

- A free plan before you pay: [Hnry](https://tickmarkbooks.com/hnry.md), Free, then about $0.56 per percent of self employed income
- Small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing: [ZipBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zipbooks.md), Free, then $15 a month
- Freelancers and small businesses: [Akaunting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/akaunting.md), Free, then $12 a month
- Ranked fourth: [Synder](https://tickmarkbooks.com/synder.md), From $65 a month
- Freelancers and solo owners: [Wave](https://tickmarkbooks.com/wave.md), Free, then $19 a month
- The lowest monthly price we found: [Pennylane](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pennylane.md), From about $7.82 a month

## All 10 picks at a glance

| # | Name | Best for | Starts at |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Hnry](https://tickmarkbooks.com/hnry.md) | New Zealand sole traders who want tax paid as they earn | Free, then about $0.56 per percent of self employed income |
| 2 | [ZipBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zipbooks.md) | small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place | Free, then $15 a month |
| 3 | [Akaunting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/akaunting.md) | freelancers and small businesses that want open-source books they can host themselves | Free, then $12 a month |
| 4 | [Synder](https://tickmarkbooks.com/synder.md) | ecommerce and SaaS sellers syncing Stripe, Shopify or Amazon sales into QuickBooks | From $65 a month |
| 5 | [Wave](https://tickmarkbooks.com/wave.md) | freelancers and solo owners who want real double-entry books without paying for software | Free, then $19 a month |
| 6 | [Xero](https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero.md) | small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books, no per-user fees | From $27 a month |
| 7 | [FreshBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freshbooks.md) | service businesses and freelancers who bill clients and want their books in the same place | From $23 a month |
| 8 | [Pennylane](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pennylane.md) | small businesses in France and their accounting firm working in one shared file | From about $7.82 a month |
| 9 | [Sage Accounting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/sage-accounting.md) | VAT-registered sole traders and small firms up to 49 employees wanting payroll built in | From about $27 a month |
| 10 | [FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent.md) | UK sole traders and small limited companies filing their own VAT and Self Assessment | From about $13 a month |

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

**10 tools, ranked.**

10 of 27 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: 10 of 10 also match “Stripe”, against 3 of 17 in the rest of the category.

## The ranking

### 1. Hnry

**A free plan before you pay**

**Best for:** New Zealand sole traders who want tax paid as they earn

- Price: Free, then about $0.56 per percent of self employed income ([source](https://hnry.co.nz/pricing/))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/hnry.md)

### 2. ZipBooks

**Small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing**

**Best for:** small businesses and freelancers wanting free invoicing and books in one place

- Price: Free, then $15 a month ([source](https://zipbooks.com/pricing/))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zipbooks.md)

### 3. Akaunting

**Freelancers and small businesses**

**Best for:** freelancers and small businesses that want open-source books they can host themselves

- Price: Free, then $12 a month ([source](https://akaunting.com/plans))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/akaunting.md)

### 4. Synder

**Best for:** ecommerce and SaaS sellers syncing Stripe, Shopify or Amazon sales into QuickBooks

- Price: From $65 a month ([source](https://synder.com/pricing/))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/synder.md)

### 5. Wave

**Freelancers and solo owners**

**Best for:** freelancers and solo owners who want real double-entry books without paying for software

- Price: Free, then $19 a month ([source](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing))
- [Read the review](https://tickmarkbooks.com/wave.md)

## Side by side

| Feature | Hnry | ZipBooks | Akaunting | Synder | Wave | Xero | FreshBooks | Pennylane | Sage Accounting | FreeAgent |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Description | New Zealand sole-trader tax service that deducts and pays taxes as income arrives. | Free-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. |
| Category | AI tax for the self-employed, Freelancers and the self-employed, Free accounting software, With a bookkeeper checking | Free accounting software, Accounting software, Small businesses, Freelancers and the self-employed, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms | Free accounting software, Accounting software, Small businesses, Freelancers and the self-employed, Cheapest accounting software, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Bookkeepers and accounting firms | AI 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-employed | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Free accounting software, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Free accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses |
| Tags | AI tax for the self-employed, Freelancers and the self-employed, Free accounting software, With a bookkeeper checking | Free accounting software, Accounting software, Small businesses, Freelancers and the self-employed, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms | Free accounting software, Accounting software, Small businesses, Freelancers and the self-employed, Cheapest accounting software, Works with QuickBooks Online, Works with Xero, Bookkeepers and accounting firms | AI 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-employed | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Free accounting software, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small businesses | Accounting software, Cheapest accounting software, Free accounting software, Bookkeepers and accounting firms, Freelancers and the self-employed, Small 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 10 that publish a monthly price. They run from $7.82 to $65.

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

4 of the 10 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 (10 read)

- [Hnry](https://tickmarkbooks.com/hnry.md): [hnry.co.nz/pricing](https://hnry.co.nz/pricing/), checked 29 October 2026
- [ZipBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zipbooks.md): [zipbooks.com/pricing](https://zipbooks.com/pricing/), checked 28 October 2026
- [Akaunting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/akaunting.md): [akaunting.com/plans](https://akaunting.com/plans), checked 28 October 2026
- [Synder](https://tickmarkbooks.com/synder.md): [synder.com/pricing](https://synder.com/pricing/), checked 29 October 2026
- [Wave](https://tickmarkbooks.com/wave.md): [waveapps.com/pricing](https://www.waveapps.com/pricing), checked 28 October 2026
- [Xero](https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero.md): [xero.com/us/pricing-plans](https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/), checked 28 October 2026
- [FreshBooks](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freshbooks.md): [freshbooks.com/pricing](https://www.freshbooks.com/pricing), checked 28 October 2026
- [Pennylane](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pennylane.md): [pennylane.com/fr/tarifs](https://www.pennylane.com/fr/tarifs), checked 27 October 2026
- [Sage Accounting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/sage-accounting.md): [sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting](https://www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting/), checked 27 October 2026
- [FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent.md): [freeagent.com/pricing](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/), checked 26 October 2026