FreshBooks alternative · updated 2026-08-03
The honest FreshBooks alternative for small teams
Lyto is a FreshBooks alternative for teams of one to ten people who want invoicing tied to the rest of their business. Lyto Sum handles invoicing and cost tracking inside one suite with CRM, helpdesk, tasks and time tracking, at €13 per seat per month — €10 billed annually, with no client caps or per-member fees. FreshBooks Lite is $23 per month but limits billable clients and charges extra per team member (July 2026). Lyto Sum is invoicing and costs, not double-entry accounting.
Lyto · all 7 apps
from €10 / seat / mo
billed annually · €13 monthly
FreshBooks · invoicing & accounting
Lite $23 / mo caps billable clients
Plus $42 / mo higher client cap
Extra team member +$11 / mo each add-on per user
prices as of July 2026
How does Lyto compare to FreshBooks?
| Lyto (Sum) | FreshBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | €13 / seat / mo, or €10 billed annually — invoicing plus six more apps | $23 / mo (Lite) — invoicing, with a billable-client cap |
| Client limits | No cap on how many clients you invoice | Billable clients capped by tier (Lite lowest) |
| Team members | Priced per seat; each seat gets the whole suite | +$11 per month for each extra team member |
| Where the invoice comes from | The client (Pipeline) and tracked hours (Tally) in the same suite | Invoicing tool; CRM and richer time tracking are separate |
| Scope | Invoicing and cost tracking — not double-entry accounting | Invoicing plus lightweight accounting and expenses |
| Free trial | 14 days, card required — disclosed up front | 30-day trial; then monthly billing plus per-member fees |
Competitor prices checked July 2026; see their pricing page for current figures.
Why look past FreshBooks at one to ten people?
FreshBooks is a friendly invoicing tool with some light accounting attached, and for a solo freelancer it can be plenty. The friction for a small, growing team is in its shape. The entry Lite plan caps how many clients you can bill, so success nudges you up the tiers, and every extra team member is another $11 a month on top. Meanwhile the CRM that holds those clients and the richer time tracking that should feed the invoices live in other tools. The “invoicing app” quietly becomes a tiered bill plus a couple of neighbours.
We should be plain about scope, too: Lyto Sum is not here to replace your accountant’s ledger. It is invoicing and cost tracking, connected to the rest of your business — which for many small teams is exactly the part that hurts.
How is Lyto Sum different?
Sum is the invoicing-and-costs app inside the Lyto suite, built for one-to-ten-person teams:
- No client caps, no per-member surcharge. Bill as many clients as you like; each €13 seat includes the whole suite, not an invoicing tier plus add-ons.
- Invoices that build themselves. Hours from Tally and the client from Pipeline flow into a Sum invoice — one shared record.
- Costs alongside income. Track what a client costs you next to what they pay, for a real margin view.
- Honest scope. Invoicing and cost tracking — not double-entry accounting, tax filing or payroll.
Where is FreshBooks still the better pick?
If you need the lightweight accounting FreshBooks bundles — expense categorisation your accountant relies on, or built-in double-entry — Sum does not replace that, and we will not pretend it does. FreshBooks is the better pick when accounting features, not just invoicing, are the job. Lyto wins when invoicing and cost tracking connected to your CRM, support and time are what you actually need.
What does the suite change day to day?
Send an invoice in Sum and it already knows the client from Pipeline and the hours from Tally, with support history in Solve one click away. No client cap pushing you up a tier, no per-member fee, no separate CRM to reconcile. One login, one shared record, one flat bill — invoicing joined to the business it bills.
Questions people ask about switching
Is Lyto Sum an accounting tool like FreshBooks?
No — and this is important to be clear about. Lyto Sum is invoicing and cost tracking: create and send invoices, track what you are owed, and record costs against a client. It is not double-entry accounting, and it does not do tax filing, bank reconciliation or payroll. FreshBooks includes lightweight accounting features Lyto does not. If you need books your accountant works from, keep an accounting tool; if you mainly need to bill clients and track costs, Sum covers that inside the suite.
How does Lyto's pricing compare to FreshBooks for a small team?
FreshBooks starts at $23 per month for Lite, caps billable clients, and adds $11 per month for every extra team member. Lyto is €13 per seat (€10 billed annually) with no client cap, and each seat includes CRM, time tracking and the rest of the suite — not invoicing alone. So a two- or three-person team billing many clients usually pays less on Lyto and gets far more than an invoicing tool for it.
Can invoices in Lyto pull from tracked time and clients automatically?
Yes, that is the advantage of the suite. Hours tracked in Tally become billable line items on a Sum invoice, and the client being billed is the same record you manage in Pipeline and support in Solve. FreshBooks has its own time tracking, but its CRM and support live in other tools; Lyto keeps the client, the hours and the invoice on one shared record in a single login.
Try the whole suite, not a demo
Every plan includes all seven apps — from €10 / seat / mo, billed annually.
14-day free trial · card required · cancel in one click