Our Nerdy picks for
Customization
Invoice NinjaPayPal Business users
PayPal InvoicingBest 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
on Zoho Invoice's secure website
$0
Free.
N/A
Pros
- Send up to 1,000 invoices per year for free.
- Portal lets clients pay invoices and view their transaction history.
- Payment gateway integrations include Stripe, PayPal, Square and more.
- Autoscan uploaded receipts and convert them into expenses.
Cons
- Limited third-party integrations outside of other Zoho products and QuickBooks Online.
Our pick for
Built-in payment processing
Square Invoices
on Square Invoices' secure website
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20.
30-day free trial
of the Plus plan.
Pros
- Unlimited invoicing, estimates, contracts, users and clients in all plans.
- Integrates with Square’s all-in-one payment platform.
- Streamlined and intuitive.
- Ability to process in-person and online card payments as well as cash, checks, ACH transfers, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
- Send recurring invoices.
- Automatic payment reminders.
- Gives clients the option to include a tip.
Cons
- Must use Square’s in-house payment processing to accept online payments.
- Free plan does not enable custom invoicing fields and the ability to auto-convert estimates into invoices.
Our pick for
Ease of use
Wave Invoicing
$0
Free.
N/A
Pros
- Easily accessible online software; no installation needed.
- No billable client, invoice or user limits.
- Integrates with Wave Accounting, which is also free.
- Recurring invoices and automatic billing for repeat clients.
- Automatic payment reminders.
- Converts estimates into invoices.
Cons
- Limited features may not be suited for fast-growing businesses.
- Must use Wave’s in-house payment processing to accept online payments.
Our pick for
PayPal Business users
PayPal Invoicing
$0
Free.
N/A
Pros
- Straightforward and simple to use.
- No billable client or invoice limits.
- Send recurring invoices.
- Automatic payment reminders.
- Gives clients the option to include a tip.
- Converts estimates into invoices.
Cons
- Not as customizable as the competition.
Our pick for
Customization
Invoice Ninja
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $10, $14.
N/A
Pros
- Free plan supports unlimited invoices for up to 20 clients.
- Automatically transfer credit card processing fees to customers and allow them to tip on invoices or pay incrementally over time.
- Integrates with more than a dozen payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square and Apple Pay.
- Built-in inventory tool tracks items as they’re invoiced.
- Portal lets clients view their invoices and payment history.
Cons
- No direct integrations with bookkeeping or accounting software.
- Enterprise plan pricing increases as you add more users.
Our pick for
Simple billing software
Hiveage
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $19, $29, $49.
14-day free trial
of the Pro plan.
Pros
- Free plan supports unlimited invoicing for up to five clients.
- Integrates with a dozen payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square and more.
- Assign different billable rates to each type of task.
- Direct clients to your own custom domain with the Plus plan.
Cons
- No built-in, direct integrations with bookkeeping or accounting software.
- All plans have client limits (highest-tier Plus plan caps at 1,000).
Our pick for
Project invoicing
Harvest
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $12 per user.
30-day free trial
of the Harvest Pro plan.
Pros
- Offers a free plan (limited to two projects).
- Advanced time-tracking features, including integrations with Google Calendar, Slack, Asana, Trello and other project management tools.
- Display billable hours by task, person or project on invoices.
- Snap and upload photos of billable expense receipts with the mobile app.
- Integrates with QuickBooks Online and Xero for accounting.
Cons
- Invoice customization options are limited. Free users can’t add company logos to invoices, and Harvest offers only two templates (one PDF and one GDoc).
- Payment integrations are limited to Stripe and PayPal.
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NerdWallet’s picks for best free invoicing software
Invoice Ninja: Best for customization
- $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
Zoho Invoice: Best for comprehensive feature set
PayPal Invoicing: Best for PayPal Business users
Square Invoices: Best for built-in payment processing
- $0 per month for the Free plan.
- $20 per month for the Plus plan.
Hiveage: Best for simple billing software
- $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
- $0 per month for the Free plan.
- $12 per user per month for the Pro plan.
How does free invoicing software work?
How to choose free invoicing software
- 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.