FreeFinance alternative
Backbone vs. FreeFinance: what are you actually paying for?
FreeFinance is an established Austrian cloud accounting product: cash-basis accounting, UVA filing and a direct FinanzOnline interface all sit in the cheap Business package. What you cannot do with it is write invoices — invoicing starts in the Plus package at €25 net per month (€22 on a 36-month term).
The name misleads, by the way: FreeFinance is not free — after a 30-day trial you pay up front, for 12 or 36 months. Backbone (formerly Billy) comes from the other side: from €19 a month incl. VAT, cancellable monthly, with an AI assistant for invoices, dunning with interest and receipt handling — but no bookkeeping.
Why freelancers pick Backbone over FreeFinance
In FreeFinance, the invoice is one building block in an accounting bundle. In Backbone it is the core — with an AI assistant and dunning that make sure it gets paid.
- Invoice from one sentence in seconds — no accounting setup required
- Dunning with statutory interest and the €40 flat fee where the law allows
- Clean templates (Basic, Minimal) with your logo and accent color, live preview while you write
- §11 UStG mandatory-detail check while you write, notes for small business and reverse charge — German clients too (§14 UStG)
- Cancel monthly instead of annual or 3-year subscriptions
Backbone vs. FreeFinance at a glance
| Backbone | FreeFinance | |
|---|---|---|
| AI & automation | ||
| Create an invoice from an AI prompt | YesBackbone AI, asks before sending | No |
| Automatic dunning | Yesdunning with interest; own schedule from Studio | Partiallybulk dunning — you start every run yourself |
| AI receipt capture (OCR) | Yesupload receipts, AI reads vendor, date, amount, VAT | Yes1,000 credits/year, then top-ups |
| Design & interface | ||
| Live preview while typing | Yes | NoPDF preview only in edit mode |
| Custom branding | Partiallylogo, accent color, two templates | Yeslogo, colors, ~43 fonts |
| Edit the layout without extra software | Partiallytwo templates (Basic, Minimal), logo & accent color | Partiallyfree-form layouts need Jaspersoft Studio on the desktop |
| Invoicing workflow | ||
| Recurring invoices | Yesrecurring invoices | Partiallyfrom Plus; a batch you create yourself |
| Create e-invoices | PartiallyZUGFeRD live; ebInterface & XRechnung coming soon | YesebInterface & XRechnung from Plus |
| Countries, bookkeeping & price | ||
| Austria (§11 öUStG) | Yes§11 UStG check while you write | Yesexplicitly cited |
| Germany (§14 UStG) | Yessame account | Yesdedicated German edition |
| Cancel monthly | Yes | No12 or 36 months only, prepaid |
| Entry price with invoicing (net/month) | from €19 incl. VAT | €25 (12 months) or €22 (36 months) on Plus — the Business package cannot invoice |
FreeFinance pricing and feature claims per the vendor, verified on July 31, 2026, prices net. Backbone details per back-bone.io as of October 9, 2026; Backbone prices incl. VAT. Subject to change.
Backbone in detail
When FreeFinance is the better choice
To be fair: FreeFinance is deeply integrated with the Austrian tax system — UVA filing straight to FinanzOnline, compliant bookkeeping, a 30-day trial. If you want to run your entire books yourself, it is a well-rounded package. Backbone covers no bookkeeping (no UVA filing, no BMD export) and has the ebInterface file only coming soon; FreeFinance ships ebInterface and XRechnung from Plus.
See all FreeFinance alternatives