Free accounting software: what is really free and when do you have to pay?

What does a provider mean by free?

Free accounting software can be enough if its features match your administration. So start with the question of what you have to do every month: send invoices, process purchase receipts, check payments and supply figures to your bookkeeper. A package that only creates your sales invoices does not yet take over your whole administration.

There are three different kinds of offer. A free basic subscription has no fixed end date, but can limit features. A starter offer gives a temporary discount or free access if you meet the conditions. A trial period is meant for trying out software. Put those three forms on your shortlist separately. Then compare the accounting software on the tasks you need.

Gekko, e-Boekhouden.nl and Moneybird: three different entry routes

This comparison is based on the Dutch price table from Gekko, the starter conditions of e-Boekhouden.nl and the current packages from Moneybird, consulted on 10 September 2026. When ordering, also check the payment term, VAT and any additional services.

Three situations in which a different limit matters

You start alongside your job

Take a fictional copywriter who invoices three clients a month. She wants to keep track of her hours, purchase receipts and payments. A free basic package can work if she handles the missing reporting herself or arranges it with her bookkeeper. The relevant limit here is the required function, not just the number of invoices.

Her trial consists of one complete month: three sales invoices, five receipts, a credit note and the associated payments. She then tries to download the overview her bookkeeper needs. If only invoicing works but a workable handover is missing, the package is not yet complete for her administration.

Your webshop grows

A fictional webshop processes ninety orders a month. The payment provider pays out the proceeds in bundles, after deducting costs. So ninety orders is not the same as ninety bank transactions. Returns and part-payments can also come back separately. Do not simply add these numbers together to calculate a package limit.

Use an example to show how the software splits up a single bundled payout. If you have to buy an extra integration for that, it belongs in your comparison. The subscription with the lowest base price may turn out more expensive with that integration. Also ask what happens when you exceed a volume limit: does an upgrade, a surcharge or a restriction follow?

You start working together

A fictional consultancy wants to work with two partners and a bookkeeper. The firm has few invoices, but does need separate accounts. Check which users are included and whether accountant access is charged differently from an extra employee. Do not share a master password to get around a user limit.

In the same trial, check what information each role can view or change. Someone who logs hours, for example, does not automatically need to see all financial reports. If a package does not offer the separation you want, a higher subscription or a different package is worth investigating.

Calculate the costs after the free period

A simple calculation prevents an introductory offer from deciding the whole choice. Note down over the same period: paid subscription months, fixed integrations, extra users and usage costs. Count one-off help with set-up separately. Compare amounts on the same VAT basis.

Fictional worked example, not supplier prices: package A is free for three months and costs €20 per month after that. A necessary integration costs €5 per month from the start. Over 24 months you pay 21 × €20 + 24 × €5 = €540. Package B costs €18 per month from the start, including that integration. The same period then costs 24 × €18 = €432. In this example the offer with the free start is €108 more expensive over two years.

Change the amounts and periods to fit your situation. A trial period in which you are not yet keeping a full administration is not automatically a saved subscription month. Also include your own work: if a free package requires extra input every month, paying may still be advantageous. You have to determine that time saving yourself.

Check these five points during the trial

1. A complete money flow. Create an invoice, register a part-payment and process the remainder. Check whether it stays clear what the customer still has to pay.
2. Correcting an error. Correct a wrong amount or a wrong category. Can you later find out what was changed?
3. The bank. Try your own bank or a representative import file. Check the costs and restrictions of the integration separately.
4. The handover. Download invoices and overviews. Have your bookkeeper assess whether they are usable.
5. The end of free. Note the end date, how to cancel and the rate afterwards. Check whether your data remains available if you do not continue.

Which route suits your administration?

Investigate Gekko Basic if you want to start structurally without a subscription and find the basic functions sufficient. Look at e-Boekhouden.nl if you qualify for the starter offer and the package after it ends is also suitable. Put Moneybird on your shortlist if you want to compare a paid package and first want to use a generous trial period for it.

You do not have to pay for future growth that may never come. Do make sure you know what the next step costs and how you can take your data with you. That keeps free a conscious choice rather than a reason to have to switch later against your will.

Besides the packages mentioned, also look at the software profile of Gekko. Choose on the features you use now and the limits you expect to reach as you grow.