FreshBooks vs Mural: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of FreshBooks and Mural to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
FreshBooks
5.8/10
Cloud accounting and invoicing software with built-in time tracking, project budgeting and client collaboration for freelancers and small service businesses.
Mural
7/10
Mural is a visual collaboration whiteboard for teams that run workshops, brainstorms, agile planning and retrospectives, with facilitation tools and enterprise security controls.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.8/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 4/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 4/10 | 6/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Scalability | 3/10 | 8/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $23/mo Lite | $12/user/mo Team+ |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $23/mo Lite | Free Free |
| Features | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| App integrations | ||
| Client collaboration | ||
| Collaboration tools | ||
| File sharing | ||
| Dashboards | Not listed | |
| Gantt charts | ||
| Kanban boards | Not listed | |
| Reporting | Not listed | |
| Task management | Not listed | |
| Whiteboards | Not listed | |
FreshBooks vs Mural cost by team size
Mural costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | FreshBooks | Mural |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $23/moLite | FreeFree |
| 5 users | $23/moLite | FreeFree |
| 10 users | $23/moLite | FreeFree |
| 25 users | $23/moLite | FreeFree |
| 50 users | $23/moLite | FreeFree |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose FreshBooks
- Higher Analytics score (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for small business (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Includes Time tracking, which Mural lacks
Why choose Mural
- Has a free plan (FreshBooks does not)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $23/mo
- Higher Scalability score (8/10 vs 3/10)
- Higher Security score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (9/10 vs 2/10)
Pros & Cons
FreshBooks
Pros
- The pop-up timer turns billable hours into an itemized client invoice in one click.
- Project budgets and profitability tracking sit next to the accounting data, so there is no separate sync.
- The project Discuss area lets teams and clients share files and comments.
- Reviewers repeatedly praise the clean, simple interface.
- Accountant access is free on all plans.
Cons
- There are no Gantt charts, project diagrams or advanced task planning.
- Every plan caps or prices by billable clients, and Lite allows only 5.
- Each extra team member costs $11 a month, which adds up for growing teams.
- Project management cannot be bought separately from the accounting suite.
- Reviewers say collaboration is more limited than in dedicated tools like Asana or Monday.
Mural
Pros
- Facilitation features and LUMA frameworks make it strong for running structured workshops.
- Free visitors can view or edit individual murals, so external participants do not need a paid seat.
- Enterprise security includes SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, SCIM, audit logs, data residency and BYOK.
- Broad integrations with Teams, Zoom, Jira, Azure DevOps, Asana and Confluence.
- Reviewers on G2 and Capterra rate it highly for ease of use, with about 4.5 to 4.6 stars.
Cons
- It is not a project or task manager, so there are no Gantt charts, no time tracking and no task assignment.
- Reviewers complain that menus and functions move around often between releases.
- The Free plan caps editable murals at three.
- The Business plan is annual-only, and SSO is not available on cheaper tiers.
- Large boards with many collaborators can feel cluttered.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Mural scores higher on our Project Management criteria: 7/10 against 5.8/10 for FreshBooks. The largest gap is in Scalability: 3/10 for FreshBooks and 8/10 for Mural.
Mural costs less for 10 users: free on its Free plan, against about $23/mo on its Lite plan for FreshBooks, billed monthly.
Mural has a free plan; FreshBooks does not list one.
Mural is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 2/10 for FreshBooks.
FreshBooks has Time tracking, which Mural lacks.
