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Best Free Invoicing Software for Small Businesses of December 2023

Consider billable client limits, payment gateway integrations and customization options while choosing free invoice software.
Last updated on September 18, 2023
Edited bySally Lauckner
Fact checked and reviewed

⏰ Estimated read time: 7 minutes

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The best free invoicing software makes it easy for small businesses and freelancers to send bills to clients and accept payments online. These solutions stand out for offering a mix of useful features, such as recurring invoicing, time tracking tools, client portals and automatic payment reminders to help you get paid on time.
Lots of NerdWallet’s picks for the best invoicing software have free options, and this list focuses primarily on those no-cost plans. “Free” here means that there’s no monthly subscription cost or software purchase to use the basic version of any of these programs. However, if you’re receiving payments online, you’ll be responsible for a per-payment transaction fee.
Here are the best free invoicing software options for small-business owners.

Our Nerdy picks for

Customization

Invoice Ninja

PayPal Business users

PayPal Invoicing

Best Free Invoicing Software for Small Businesses

Product
Promotion
Learn more

Zoho Invoice

Learn more

on Zoho Invoice's secure website

Best for Comprehensive feature set

$0

Free.

N/A

Learn more

on Zoho Invoice's secure website

Square Invoices

Learn more

on Square Invoices' secure website

Best for Built-in payment processing

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20.

30-day free trial

of the Plus plan.

Learn more

on Square Invoices' secure website

Wave Invoicing

Best for Ease of use

$0

Free.

N/A

PayPal Invoicing

Best for PayPal Business users

$0

Free.

N/A

Invoice Ninja

Best for Customization

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $10, $14.

N/A

Hiveage

Best for Simple billing software

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $19, $29, $49.

14-day free trial

of the Pro plan.

Harvest

Best for Project invoicing

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $12 per user.

30-day free trial

of the Harvest Pro plan.

Our pick for

Comprehensive feature set

Zoho Invoice

Learn more

on Zoho Invoice's secure website

Starting at

$0

Free.

Promotion

N/A

Our pick for

Built-in payment processing

Square Invoices

Learn more

on Square Invoices' secure website

Starting at

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20.

Promotion

30-day free trial

of the Plus plan.

Our pick for

Ease of use

Wave Invoicing

Starting at

$0

Free.

Promotion

N/A

Our pick for

PayPal Business users

PayPal Invoicing

Starting at

$0

Free.

Promotion

N/A

Our pick for

Customization

Invoice Ninja

Starting at

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $10, $14.

Promotion

N/A

Our pick for

Simple billing software

Hiveage

Starting at

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $19, $29, $49.

Promotion

14-day free trial

of the Pro plan.

Our pick for

Project invoicing

Harvest

Starting at

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $12 per user.

Promotion

30-day free trial

of the Harvest Pro plan.

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Tell our Nerds what you think about the offerings here to help us refine our product evaluations.

NerdWallet’s picks for best free invoicing software

Invoice Ninja: Best for customization

Why we like it: Invoice Ninja is an open-source platform, so developers from around the world can contribute to testing and improving the software. That also means you can write your own code (or hire a developer to do so) for a completely customized version, designed for exactly your business needs. Aside from the basics, Invoice Ninja includes unique features, like the ability to auto-match payment gateway fees and pass the fees along to your customers. However, there is no built-in, direct integration with QuickBooks Online or Xero for accounting.
The software’s basic plan is free and users can upgrade to the Ninja Pro plan or the Enterprise plan. Upgrading to a paid plan gives you the ability to invoice unlimited clients and to access dozens of other features.
Monthly fee:
  • $0 per month for the Free plan.
  • $10 per month for the Ninja Pro plan.
  • $14 per month for the Enterprise plan for up to 2 users; price increases with more users.

Wave Invoicing: Best for ease of use

Why we like it: Wave offers completely free invoicing and accounting software, with the option to pay for payment and payroll features. The company’s software is ideal for self-employed professionals. In addition to invoicing capabilities, users get access to income and expense tracking, along with reports like a profit and loss statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and sales tax breakdown. The system updates you when your client views an invoice, pays it or it becomes due so you can make sure you’re being paid on time.
Monthly fee: $0.

Zoho Invoice: Best for comprehensive feature set

Why we like it: Zoho Invoice is one of the most comprehensive free invoice software options, thanks to its multicurrency and multilanguage support, client portal features and automation capabilities. In addition to implementing automatic payment reminders and recurring invoices, users can schedule reports so that they’re automatically sent to their email. It also integrates with other Zoho platforms, including Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects and Zoho Analytics. Users have the option to upgrade to Zoho Books accounting software, too, which includes invoicing capabilities and offers its own free plan. Zoho Invoice integrates with other third-party programs, like QuickBooks Online, but accounting add-ons are limited beyond that.
Monthly fee: $0.

PayPal Invoicing: Best for PayPal Business users

Why we like it: If you’re already using PayPal for any of its many business services (PayPal's POS system, payment gateway and business financing are three of the platform’s more popular business services), then PayPal Invoicing, available through the free PayPal Business app, will fit nicely into your current workflow. The platform is primed for existing PayPal users to send basic invoices quickly, automatically and from anywhere.
Monthly fee: $0.

Square Invoices: Best for built-in payment processing

Why we like it: Square is right up there with PayPal as one of the world’s top all-in-one payment platforms for small-business owners. User-friendly design is its style, so even tech-shy users will likely be able to navigate its invoicing platform. Unlike many of the software solutions on this list that require integration with a payment gateway, as a payment processor first and foremost, Square offers a built-in processing solution. That makes it a great option for existing Square POS users who want to add invoicing functionality and small-business owners who don’t want the hassle of choosing a separate payment gateway to accept payments. For additional customization and project management features, you can upgrade to the Plus plan. Square also offers e-commerce, payroll, team management, customer relationship management (CRM), marketing and business banking tools that all integrate with its invoice software. Read our full Square Invoices review.
Monthly fee:
  • $0 per month for the Free plan.
  • $20 per month for the Plus plan.

Hiveage: Best for simple billing software

Why we like it: Hiveage stands out for its simplicity. Creating one-time and recurring invoices is straightforward, the dashboard is easy to navigate, and it offers time and expense tracking even in the free version. You can accept online payments with any plan, but to accept offline payments through cash, check and bank transfer, you’ll have to subscribe to the most expensive Plus plan. Hiveage can also integrate with accounting, CRM and project management software via Zapier.
Monthly fee:
  • $0 per month for the Free plan.
  • $19 per month for the Basic plan.
  • $29 per month for the Pro plan.
  • $49 per month for the Plus plan.

Harvest: Best for project invoicing

Why we like it: When it comes to invoicing, Harvest’s estimate, invoice and payment collection tools are easy to navigate, and it offers helpful features like automated email reminders to customers with late payments. If you’re concerned about credit card processing fees adding up, you can switch off the ability to pay with a credit card through Stripe. Instead, your invoices will give clients the option to pay only via ACH transfer.
Monthly fee:
  • $0 per month for the Free plan.
  • $12 per user per month for the Pro plan.

How does free invoicing software work?

Free invoicing software lets you bill clients and accept payments online without having to pay a monthly fee. Typically, you choose from a list of invoice templates, add your logo, enter payment terms and send the invoice to your client from within the software through email or text message. From there, your client can choose how they want to pay, whether it’s through a check, credit card, debit card or another payment method like PayPal or Apple Pay. Free invoice software tracks the invoice’s status each step of the way.
The free version of the software sometimes comes with invoice and client limits or fewer features than paid programs. Some options, like Square Invoices, offer paid plans that you can upgrade to should your needs change. Whether you use free or paid invoicing software, you will have to cover payment processing fees when a client pays their invoice online. These fees vary depending on your payment processor.

How to choose free invoicing software

As you weigh free invoice software options, consider them in the context of your entire business software ecosystem. Will all of the programs be able to exchange information with each other? In particular, check to make sure your free invoice software integrates with your small-business accounting software and your preferred payment processor.
Your business’s trajectory also plays an important role in the decision-making process. If you plan to grow your business, you may want to look for options with more robust paid plans that you can upgrade to in the future. Options that put a cap on invoices, clients or users could be limiting.
Here are some other free invoicing software features to consider:
  • Recurring billing for repeat clients. 
  • Time-tracking tools. 
  • Built-in inventory tracking. 
  • Built-in accounting tools, like income and expense tracking, plus reports. 
  • The ability to get paid in different currencies. 
  • Automated features such as payment reminders or estimate-to-invoice conversions. 
  • Payment options (e.g., cash, check, credit card, ACH, etc.). 
  • Ability to let clients include a tip or pay in installments. 
A version of this article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.
Last updated on September 18, 2023

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