Introduction
Free invoicing software sounds like a simple win: send professional invoices, get paid faster, and pay nothing for the tool. In practice, “free” almost always means one of two things. Either the software is free and you pay a fee every time a client pays you online, or it is free only up to a limit — a number of clients, a number of invoices, or a set of features — and you upgrade once you outgrow it. A tool free for five clients is useless to a business with twenty, and unlimited free invoices can still cost more than a paid plan if most of your clients pay by card.
This guide compares the best free invoicing software for small businesses by invoice limits, branding, payment processing costs, recurring billing, reminders, and accounting exports. Prices below were checked on vendor pricing pages in October–November 2026; confirm current numbers before signing up. Where a vendor does not publish a fee, we say so rather than guessing.
The Short Answer
- Zoho Invoice: the strongest all-round free invoicing app — a full feature set at $0, capped at 500 invoices a year.
- Wave: the best free option if you also want bookkeeping — unlimited invoices and free accounting at $0, but only for US and Canadian businesses.
- Invoice Ninja: the best free option for a very small client list — 5 clients, unlimited invoices, and a self-hosted option.
- Square Invoices: the best free option if you also take payments in person — unlimited invoices, but the highest free-plan card fee here.
- PayPal Invoicing: the best free option if your clients already pay with PayPal or Venmo — but its fees are the highest here.
Free vs. Free to Get Paid
Every tool here lets you create and send invoices for $0. The cost arrives when a client pays online: each payment loses a percentage plus a small fixed fee to the processor. For example, at the published rates checked in November 2026: a $500 invoice paid by card on Wave costs $15.10 (2.9% + $0.60); a $1,000 invoice on Square’s free plan costs $33.30 (3.3% + $0.30); a $2,500 invoice through PayPal checkout costs $87.74 (3.49% + $0.49).
Bank payments (ACH) are usually cheaper — typically around 1% of the invoice, sometimes with a cap. Compare tools on the fee your clients will actually trigger, not on the $0 subscription: a percentage fee scales with your revenue, so the more you bill, the more “free” costs you.
Comparison Table
| Tool | Free-plan limit | Card fee when paid online | Recurring billing | Automatic reminders | Branding on free plan | Accounting exports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Invoice | 500 invoices/year, 2 users, 3 projects | Set by your payment gateway | Yes | Yes | “Powered by Zoho Invoice” badge | Reports exportable; invoices exportable to XML |
| Wave (Starter) | Unlimited invoices and bookkeeping records | 2.9% + $0.60; Amex 3.4% + $0.60; bank 1% (min $1) | Yes | Yes | Your logo and colors | Built-in bookkeeping and financial reports |
| Invoice Ninja | 5 clients, unlimited invoices | Set by your payment gateway (not published) | Yes | Late-payment reminders are Pro-only | Invoice Ninja branding | Reports included; more reporting on Pro |
| Square Invoices (Free) | Unlimited invoices | 3.3% + $0.30 per online card payment; 1% ACH ($1 min) | Yes | Yes | Your logo and brand colors | Square ecosystem; accounting integrations available |
| PayPal Invoicing | Unlimited invoices, no monthly fee | Cards 2.99% + $0.49; PayPal/Venmo 3.49% + $0.49; bank 1% (max $10) | Yes | Yes | PayPal-branded payment experience | Downloadable PDF receipts; records in your PayPal account |
US list prices, checked October–November 2026. International cards usually add a surcharge — PayPal adds 1.5% for cross-border payments — so check the international terms if you bill clients abroad.
Zoho Invoice: The Most Complete Free Plan
Zoho Invoice is the only tool here with a single tier, and that tier is free. It includes quotes, recurring invoices, automated reminders, time tracking, expenses, a client portal, and 30+ reports, and connects to 10+ payment gateways, so the fee is your gateway’s rate. The limits are the catch: 500 invoices a year, 2 users, 3 projects, and a “Powered by Zoho Invoice” badge.
Best for: under 500 invoices a year.
Wave: Free Invoicing Plus Free Bookkeeping
Wave’s free Starter plan offers unlimited invoices, estimates, bills, and bookkeeping records at $0. It is the only free option here with double-entry bookkeeping. Card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction (3.4% + $0.60 for American Express), and bank payments cost 1% with a $1 minimum. Limits: US and Canada only, and no built-in time tracking.
Best for: US or Canadian businesses wanting invoicing and bookkeeping free.
Invoice Ninja: Small Roster, Serious Features
Invoice Ninja’s hosted free plan covers up to 5 clients with unlimited invoicing, recurring invoices, a client portal, time tracking, and expenses. The free plan carries Invoice Ninja branding, and automatic late-payment reminders are a Pro feature. Pro costs $14 a month ($140 a year) and removes the client cap and the branding. Processing fees are not published; they depend on your gateway.
Best for: five or fewer regular clients.
Square Invoices: Free Invoicing for Businesses That Also Sell in Person
Square Invoices is free with no monthly fee and includes unlimited invoices, estimates, contracts with e-signature, recurring invoices, and automatic reminders. The tradeoff is the card fee: 3.3% + $0.30 per online card payment on the free plan, the highest in this group. ACH bank payments cost 1% with a $1 minimum and no cap on the free plan. Plus ($49 a month per location) lowers the card rate to 2.9% + $0.30 and caps the ACH fee at $10.
Best for: businesses that also sell in person.
PayPal Invoicing: Free to Send, Expensive to Collect
PayPal Invoicing has no setup or monthly fees and is already inside any PayPal Business account. You get unlimited invoices, recurring invoice schedules, automatic reminders, partial payments, and multi-currency invoicing. The fees are the steepest here: 3.49% + $0.49 through PayPal or Venmo checkout, 2.99% + $0.49 by card, and 4.99% + $0.49 through Pay Later, while Pay by Bank costs 1% capped at $10. International payments add 1.5%, and PayPal can hold payments for review, with risk-based holds generally lasting up to 21 days.
Best for: clients who already pay via PayPal or Venmo.
What About FreshBooks and QuickBooks?
FreshBooks has no free plan — only a 30-day free trial. Lite starts at $23 a month, with card payments at 2.9% + $0.30. QuickBooks does have a free plan, but it caps you at 2 invoices a month, with 1 user and 1 bank connection. Its paid plans start higher, with Simple Start at $38 a month, so QuickBooks makes sense as an accounting system you pay for, not as a free invoicing tool.
When a Spreadsheet Is Still Enough
A spreadsheet is still the right choice if you send only a handful of invoices a month, have one or two regular clients, and are paid by bank transfer or check rather than by card. A good template costs nothing and keeps your records in a file you own. Our guide to How to Make an Invoice in Google Sheets walks through a template you can copy, and How to Track Sales and Expenses in Google Sheets shows how to keep the bookkeeping side tidy without paying for software. If you are just getting started, How to Start an Online Business With a Small Budget covers the other low-cost tools worth setting up first, including a professional business email address.
Move to invoicing software when you send more than about 10 invoices a month, you have retainer clients who need recurring billing, you spend real time chasing late payments, or you need clients to pay by card.
When to Upgrade to a Paid Plan
Upgrade when the free plan’s limit, not its price, starts costing you time or money: you hit the client or invoice cap (Invoice Ninja’s 5 clients, Zoho’s 500 invoices a year, QuickBooks Free’s 2 invoices a month); your card volume makes a lower processing rate pay for the subscription (on Square, Plus at $49 a month drops the rate from 3.3% to 2.9%); or you need your own branding, automatic late-payment reminders, or an accountant’s login. Check first that the paid plan removes the limit hurting you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there really free invoicing software with no catch?
Yes. Zoho Invoice and Wave charge $0 a month with no trial expiry; Square and PayPal earn from payment fees. The “catch” is always one of three things: a limit on clients or invoices, shared branding, or a per-payment processing fee.
What is the cheapest way to get paid on an invoice?
Bank payment (ACH) is usually cheapest at around 1% of the invoice, often with a cap — PayPal’s Pay by Bank, for example, is 1% capped at $10. Card payments cost roughly 2.9% to 3.5% plus a fixed fee of $0.30 to $0.60.
Can I send recurring invoices on a free plan?
Yes, on all five tools compared here: Zoho Invoice, Wave, Invoice Ninja, Square Invoices, and PayPal Invoicing all include recurring invoices on their free plans. But Invoice Ninja holds automatic late-payment reminders for its Pro plan, and Square charges a higher rate (3.5% + $0.15) for automatic card-on-file charges.
Will my invoices show the software’s branding?
Mostly, yes. Zoho adds a “Powered by Zoho Invoice” badge, Invoice Ninja shows its own branding, and PayPal invoices carry PayPal branding. Wave and Square let you use your own logo and colors on their free plans.
Can I export my invoices and reports to my accountant?
Zoho Invoice offers more than 30 built-in reports that are exportable, and invoices can be exported to XML for import into accounting tools. Wave includes bookkeeping and financial reports in its free plan, so there is less to export. PayPal gives you downloadable PDF receipts and records inside your PayPal account. Whatever tool you choose, export your records regularly.
Bottom Line
For most small businesses starting from zero, Zoho Invoice is the best free invoicing software: a complete feature set at $0, capped at 500 invoices a year. If your business is in the US or Canada and you want bookkeeping bundled in, Wave’s unlimited free invoicing is the better pick. If you have five or fewer clients and want a client portal and time tracking, Invoice Ninja fits. Square and PayPal fit when they match how your clients already pay, but their card fees are the highest here.
Whichever you choose, remember the real price of free invoicing is not the subscription — it is the fee on every payment and the limit you will eventually hit. Pick the tool whose limit you will not hit this year, whose fee matches how your clients actually pay, and whose exports your accountant can use — then revisit the choice when your volume doubles.
