FreelanceBest apps for freelancers with irregular income
There is no single best app, because irregular income creates four separate jobs: getting paid, budgeting, setting aside tax, and knowing how long your cash lasts. Pick the tool for the job that is hurting most right now, and check that the others are covered somewhere.
We make one of the apps on this list, so we have tried to be specific about what each is for, and we have linked every price and feature to the maker's own page. We have not included products we could not check.
The short list
| App | Best for | Price (checked 24 September 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Keeper | Finding deductions and filing, with a tax pro signing the return | From $20 a month without filing, $199 a year with filing. Source |
| QuickBooks Solopreneur | Bookkeeping and invoices clients can pay online | Free plan, then $20 or $38 a month list. Source |
| YNAB | Household budgeting that only uses money you already have | $14.99 a month or $109 a year. Source |
| FreelanceCFO | Runway, quarterly tax set-aside and client profitability | Free plan, then $10 a month for the first 100 customers, then $20. Source |
| A spreadsheet | Total control if you will maintain it | Free in Google Sheets. |
1. If getting paid is the problem
QuickBooks Solopreneur lets clients pay invoices by card, ACH, PayPal, Venmo or Apple Pay, which removes the most common excuse for paying late. Its free plan allows 2 invoices a month; Lite removes that limit. If a client is already late, our guide on what to send at 60 days has the wording.
2. If budgeting is the problem
YNAB budgets only money that has arrived, which suits lumpy income better than apps that assume a monthly paycheck. The strongest setup is to pay yourself a fixed amount each month from your business account and budget that.
3. If tax is the problem
Keeper focuses on write-offs and filing, with quarterly payment scheduling on its Premium plan. FreelanceCFO estimates each quarter from your actual income and shows what to set aside as money arrives, but does not file. To check a number without signing up anywhere, use the free quarterly tax calculator.
4. If you do not know how long your money lasts
This is the one most tools skip. FreelanceCFO puts runway on the first screen: months of expenses your cash covers if new work stopped today. The runway calculator gives the same number without an account, and this guide explains how to calculate it by hand.
How we chose
- Each tool had to be usable by a solo US freelancer without an accountant setting it up.
- Each price and feature had to be on the maker's own public page on the review date. Where a feature was not listed, we say that rather than claim it is missing.
- We did not accept payment or affiliate fees from anyone on this list.
Try FreelanceCFO free: runway, quarterly tax estimates and client profitability in one place. No credit card.
Start freeSources
Checked on 24 September 2026. Prices and features change, so follow the link before you rely on any of them.