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Starting at
Free plan; $49 Plus plan; $149 Premium plan.
Promotion
of the Plus and Premium plans.
Pros
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Unlimited invoicing, estimates, contracts, users and clients in all plans.
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Integrates with Square’s all-in-one payment platform.
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Streamlined and intuitive.
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Ability to process in-person and online card payments as well as cash, checks, ACH transfers, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
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Send recurring invoices.
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Automatic payment reminders.
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Gives clients the option to include a tip.
Cons
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Must use Square’s in-house payment processing to accept online payments.
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Free plan does not enable custom invoicing fields and the ability to auto-convert estimates into invoices.
Square Invoices
Best for Overall invoicing software
Best for Overall invoicing software
Starting at
Free plan; $49 Plus plan; $149 Premium plan.
Promotion
of the Plus and Premium plans.
Pros
-
Unlimited invoicing, estimates, contracts, users and clients in all plans.
-
Integrates with Square’s all-in-one payment platform.
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Streamlined and intuitive.
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Ability to process in-person and online card payments as well as cash, checks, ACH transfers, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
-
Send recurring invoices.
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Automatic payment reminders.
-
Gives clients the option to include a tip.
Cons
-
Must use Square’s in-house payment processing to accept online payments.
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Free plan does not enable custom invoicing fields and the ability to auto-convert estimates into invoices.
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $38, $65, custom.
Pros
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Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
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Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
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Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
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Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
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Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
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Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
FreshBooks Invoicing
Best for Freelancers
Best for Freelancers
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $38, $65, custom.
Pros
-
Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
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Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
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Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
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Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
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Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
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Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $55, $90.
Pros
- Customizable invoicing, mobile app and robust reporting.
- Unlimited users in all pricing plans.
- Integrates with more than 1,000 third-party apps.
Cons
- No inbound phone customer support (callbacks are available, though).
- Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
- Must subscribe to the highest-tier Established plan to track time and mileage.
Xero Invoicing
Best for Larger small businesses
Best for Larger small businesses
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $55, $90.
Pros
- Customizable invoicing, mobile app and robust reporting.
- Unlimited users in all pricing plans.
- Integrates with more than 1,000 third-party apps.
Cons
- No inbound phone customer support (callbacks are available, though).
- Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
- Must subscribe to the highest-tier Established plan to track time and mileage.
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $19.
Pros
- No billable client or invoice limits.
- Integrates with Wave Accounting.
- Recurring invoices and automatic billing for repeat clients.
- Automatic online payment reminders.
- Converts estimates into invoices.
Cons
- Limited features may not be suited for fast-growing businesses.
- Must use Zapier for third-party integrations.
Wave Invoicing
Best for Basic, free accounting features
Best for Basic, free accounting features
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $19.
Pros
- No billable client or invoice limits.
- Integrates with Wave Accounting.
- Recurring invoices and automatic billing for repeat clients.
- Automatic online payment reminders.
- Converts estimates into invoices.
Cons
- Limited features may not be suited for fast-growing businesses.
- Must use Zapier for third-party integrations.
on Zoho Invoice’s website
Pros
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Send up to 500 invoices per year for free.
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Portal lets clients pay invoices and view their transaction history.
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Payment gateway integrations include Stripe, PayPal, Square and more.
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Photograph receipts and attach them to expense reports.
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Free invoice app for iOS lets you add a timer widget to your home screen, send invoices via iMessage and add new contacts by taking photos of their business cards.
Zoho Invoice
Best for Free invoicing software
Best for Free invoicing software
on Zoho Invoice’s website
Pros
-
Send up to 500 invoices per year for free.
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Portal lets clients pay invoices and view their transaction history.
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Payment gateway integrations include Stripe, PayPal, Square and more.
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Photograph receipts and attach them to expense reports.
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Free invoice app for iOS lets you add a timer widget to your home screen, send invoices via iMessage and add new contacts by taking photos of their business cards.
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $12, $16.
Pros
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Free plan supports unlimited invoices for up to 20 clients.
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Automatically transfer credit card processing fees to customers and allow them to tip on invoices or pay incrementally over time.
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Integrates with more than a dozen payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square and Apple Pay.
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Built-in inventory tool tracks items as they’re invoiced.
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Portal lets clients view their invoices and payment history.
Invoice Ninja
Best for Payment flexibility
Best for Payment flexibility
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $12, $16.
Pros
-
Free plan supports unlimited invoices for up to 20 clients.
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Automatically transfer credit card processing fees to customers and allow them to tip on invoices or pay incrementally over time.
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Integrates with more than a dozen payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square and Apple Pay.
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Built-in inventory tool tracks items as they’re invoiced.
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Portal lets clients view their invoices and payment history.
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $19, $29, $49.
Promotion
of the Pro plan.
Pros
-
Free plan supports unlimited invoicing for up to five clients.
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Integrates with a dozen payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square and more.
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Assign different billable rates to each type of task.
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Direct clients to your own custom domain with the Plus plan.
Cons
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No direct integrations with bookkeeping or accounting software.
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All plans have client limits (highest-tier Plus plan caps at 1,000).
Hiveage
Best for Simple billing software
Best for Simple billing software
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $19, $29, $49.
Promotion
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 direct integrations with bookkeeping or accounting software.
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All plans have client limits (highest-tier Plus plan caps at 1,000).
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $13.75, $17.50 per user.
Pros
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Offers a free plan (limited to two projects).
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Advanced time tracking features, including integrations with Google Calendar, Slack, Asana, Trello and other project management tools.
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Display billable hours by task, person or project on invoices.
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Snap and upload photos of billable expense receipts with the mobile app.
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Integrates with QuickBooks Online and Xero for accounting.
Cons
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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).
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Payment integrations are limited to Stripe and PayPal.
Harvest
Best for Project invoicing
Best for Project invoicing
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $13.75, $17.50 per user.
Pros
-
Offers a free plan (limited to two projects).
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Advanced time tracking features, including integrations with Google Calendar, Slack, Asana, Trello and other project management tools.
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Display billable hours by task, person or project on invoices.
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Snap and upload photos of billable expense receipts with the mobile app.
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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).
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Payment integrations are limited to Stripe and PayPal.
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $9.
Pros
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Large library of customizable invoice templates.
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Invoice up to $1,000 a month for free.
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Payment gateway integrations include PayPal, Authorize.net and Stripe.
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No contract and no cancellation penalty.
Invoice Home
Best for Free online invoice templates
Best for Free online invoice templates
Starting at
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $9.
Pros
-
Large library of customizable invoice templates.
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Invoice up to $1,000 a month for free.
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Payment gateway integrations include PayPal, Authorize.net and Stripe.
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No contract and no cancellation penalty.
Jump to
How we choose the best invoicing software
Our writers and editors gather more than 20 pieces of data for each invoicing software product we rate. This includes information about:
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Affordability.
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Scalability.
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Features (e.g., customization options, reporting, mobile app).
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Customer support.
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Accounting integrations.
Some of our top picks are standalone invoicing software products. These are good choices for very small businesses and side hustles that use spreadsheets instead of accounting software to track their sales. To make our list, these products need to offer free plans, accept online payments and receive at least four stars in our invoicing rubric.
Our other picks are accounting software products with built-in invoicing capabilities. These all-in-one options are best for most small businesses. To make our list, they need to receive at least four stars in both our accounting and invoicing rubrics or fill a specific niche.
What invoicing software we consider
NerdWallet’s editorial team has evaluated more than 60 products, including standalone invoicing software and accounting software with built-in invoicing capabilities.
We prioritize big names in the accounting industry, like Xero and FreshBooks, and free or low-cost invoicing software. We also interview small-business owners and scan user reviews and online forums to broaden our scope.
≡ Full list of accounting software products
What do small-business owners think of our top invoicing picks?
We took user sentiment into account to gauge what small-business owners think about any given invoicing software product. This doesn’t contribute to our star ratings. That’s because it can be difficult to verify every comment and guarantee each reviewer is credible. However, we think it’s still helpful to highlight what real-life business owners commonly like and dislike about a product.
This process involved looking through individual reviews and feedback on sites like Trustpilot, G2, Reddit, the App Store and Google Play. Then, we used AI tools to help spot larger trends within those comments.
Here’s a summary of each product’s user feedback:
Square Invoices: Intuitive, but beware of account freezes
Square Invoices receives mostly positive reviews on sites like Trustpilot and G2. Most of all, online reviewers like how intuitive Square is — and that goes for some of its other in-house products, like its POS system. They also appreciate that, unlike some of its competitors, Square Invoices lets you send contracts to clients.
FreshBooks: Easy to use, but not cheap
Positive reviews of FreshBooks’ invoicing feature applaud its simplicity and the platform’s overall ease of use. Online reviewers with basic invoicing needs, like freelancers and sole proprietors, say the platform does what they need it to do. However, thoughts on its price point are mixed.
For example, some online reviewers think the billable client limits (5 in the $21 Lite plan and 50 in the $38 Plus plan) should be higher, especially for what they’re paying. They also don’t like that plans have become more expensive over the years. Still, FreshBooks is less expensive than many of its competitors, including QuickBooks Online.
Xero: New invoicing platform is improving
Overall, Xero gets lots of positive reviews on sites like G2 and Trustpilot. People appreciate its simplicity and ease of use. They say it’s made the accounting process less tedious.
A large number of negative reviews, however, criticize the transition from its “classic” invoicing platform to a new one. It seems like the company has acted on the feedback, making changes to the new invoicing platform. These include the ability to save column preferences so you don’t have to reset them for each invoice.
Wave: Straightforward, but customer support is lacking
Online reviewers say Wave makes it easy to invoice customers. They also appreciate the fact that it has a free plan. However, the free plan has its pitfalls.
Negative reviews commonly mention customer support. This isn’t necessarily surprising. Free plan users who don’t accept payments online through Wave can’t access live customer support. Instead, they’re limited to using a chatbot. Pro plan users and those who pay for add-ons can access live customer support via email and chat.
Zoho Invoice: Thumbs up for free invoicing and accounting
Zoho’s five-star reviews applaud its free invoicing tool and mobile app. They say it’s user friendly and produces professional-looking invoices for clients. Lots of these online reviewers note that they also use Zoho’s platform for other purposes, like social media management and expense tracking.
Invoice Ninja: Developer experience is preferred
Invoice Ninja doesn’t receive as many reviews as standalone accounting platforms, like FreshBooks and Zoho, so it’s difficult to spot trends in user sentiment. Still, it seems like online reviewers are pretty satisfied with its mobile app.
They say the app is user friendly, and they like that you can self-host the software and play with the API. Self-hosting can give you more control over the software and its data, but probably isn’t ideal for people without developer experience. The same goes for accessing the API.
Hiveage: Simple and clean, but lacking bells and whistles
Hiveage has even fewer user reviews than Invoice Ninja, so it’s hard to draw conclusions on user sentiment. A handful of reviewers say it’s a simple option for small businesses that don’t need all of the bells and whistles competitors offer. They also like its clean layout.
A couple of other online reviewers, however, wish the software had more accounting features. The free plan, for example, doesn’t include reports.
Harvest: Easy to navigate, but mobile app could use some work
For the most part, online reviewers say Harvest’s user interface is intuitive and easy to navigate. And, they appreciate its built-in time and project tracking tools. A handful of users also say its Google Calendar integration is convenient, especially for freelancers.
Poor reviews, on the other hand, focus on its mobile app. Users say it can be laggy and frequently crashes. It’s also worth noting that you cannot generate and send new invoices from the mobile app. They need to have been previously drafted on the web version.
Invoice Home: Could be more transparent about cost
Users like the simplicity of Invoice Home, as well as the fact that it lets you create invoices for free. But there’s a caveat. Many online reviewers say they ended up getting charged for invoices they thought would be free.
The company responded to these complaints, clarifying that you can charge up to $1,000 in invoices every month, but need to pay if you exceed that limit. I agree that this is misleading. The company’s home page doesn’t mention that $1,000 limit and could certainly be more transparent.
What are the pros of online invoicing software?
Consider invoicing software if you’re interested in the following benefits:
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Saved time. Invoicing software tracks invoice payments for you and alerts you when payments are overdue. It’s also quicker than prepping invoices by hand and mailing them.
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Streamlined accounting records. Most accounting software either integrates with invoicing software or has built-in invoicing capabilities. This lets you consolidate your records.
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Faster payments. Adding a “pay now” link to an invoice isn’t just convenient for customers. It’s also good for your
business’s cash flow -
Immediate customer receipt. Customers receive online invoices instantly. This cuts out the delivery time of non-digital methods.
What are the cons of online invoicing software?
Using invoicing software is preferable to paper invoicing in most situations. But there are a few potential pitfalls to be aware of:
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Processing fees. Offering your customers the option to pay online often comes with a payment processing fee. This makes it more expensive than receiving payment by check. Processing fees are usually around 2.9% plus 30 cents per invoice (and sometimes more).
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Spam filters can hide invoices. A customer’s inbox might tag emailed invoices as spam. This isn’t a deal breaker — just make sure to follow up if you don’t receive payment by the due date.
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Email can be hacked. Privacy might be compromised if a customer’s email is hacked, which is much less likely if an invoice is mailed. That being said, mail can get lost, too.
How do you choose the best invoicing software for your small business?
Follow these steps to determine the best fit for you:
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Decide on standalone invoicing or all-in-one accounting software. Most businesses should use accounting software. And all of our
top accounting software picks -
Weigh free vs. paid options.
Free invoicing software -
Gauge whether you’ll need to scale up in the future. If you’re planning to grow your business, make sure the product you’re considering has multiple plan tiers. If not, you may have to switch invoicing software down the road. This can be time consuming.
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Make sure it’s user friendly. Watch demo videos and tutorials and take advantage of free trials. Does a product make the invoicing process feel intuitive? If you struggled to create or customize a mock invoice, that product probably isn’t the right one for you.
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Confirm it integrates with your business software suite. If you use other business software for tasks like inventory or time tracking, make sure your invoicing software syncs with it. This eliminates manual data entry.
Last updated on November 4, 2025
Frequently Asked Questions
Bills are technically different from invoices, but the terms are often used interchangeably. Both indicate that payment is due, but bills are typically paid on the spot, whereas invoices include payment terms that establish a set amount of time a client has to submit full or partial payment. Invoices also serve as a detailed, itemized record of goods and/or services exchanged and the costs associated with each line item, whereas a bill typically offers more general price and tax information. Regardless of when payment is due, you might hear clients refer to an invoice you issued as their “bill.”
In that sense, invoicing software and billing software are essentially the same thing, unless you run a subscription-based business. In that case, you might look specifically for subscription billing software.
The best invoicing software for your small business depends on what type of company you own, whether you provide products or services, your budget and which features you need. For example, project-based businesses may need more granular invoicing details, like billable hours by task or person, than retail businesses.
Think about where your billing process begins and ends. Maybe it starts with a quote and progresses into recording billable hours and expenses. After creating and sending an invoice, you might email automated payment reminders to your client and, finally, accept their payment online. The best invoicing software for you will be able to accommodate each step.
When choosing invoicing software, look for basic features like the ability to send estimates and bill for hours and expenses. Each product also has its own invoice templates, so you’ll want to verify that they contain the fields you need. You’ll usually find invoice fields for sales tax and due dates, for example.
Other invoice software features to consider include the ability to set different billable rates depending on the job, a client portal and integrations. Ideally, your invoicing software will share data with your accounting software and accommodate your payment gateway.
Standalone invoicing software can cost from $10 to $49 or more per month, but many products offer free subscriptions, too. Some invoicing software charges per user, while other products make you upgrade if you want to send unlimited invoices to an unlimited number of clients.
However, if you already use accounting software, the least expensive option would be sticking with its invoicing feature as opposed to subscribing to an additional product.
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