The best invoicing software is the one that fits how you bill and how your clients pay. A designer with three retainer clients needs something different from a tutor with forty families. Here is what to check, and who each well-known option suits.
What to check first
- How many clients you bill. Some plans cap clients, others cap invoices.
- How you bill: fixed price, by the hour, monthly retainer or deposit first.
- How your clients like to pay: card, bank transfer or something else.
- The fee on each online payment. On small invoices it can matter more than the plan price.
- Automatic reminders for late invoices.
- Recurring invoices, if you bill the same client every month.
- Your country and currency. Some tools only work in a few countries.
- Whether you also want expenses and bookkeeping in the same place.
If you only send a few invoices a month, you may not need software at all. A clear template works. See how to write an invoice for what to include.
Well-known options and who they suit
Prices below are as of October 2026, from each vendor's own page. They differ by country and change often, so check the link before you choose. This list is in no particular order.
Zoho Invoice
Zoho Invoice is free. The free plan allows up to 500 invoices a year, 2 users and 3 projects, and shows Zoho branding. It includes recurring invoices, payment reminders, quotes, time logging and a client portal.
- Suits: freelancers who want a free invoicing tool and plan to keep their books elsewhere.
Wave
Wave Starter is free, with unlimited invoices and estimates, plus bookkeeping. Pro is 19 US dollars a month and adds automatic late payment reminders and bank import. Card payments on Starter cost 2.9% plus 60 cents, as of October 2026. Wave is only for businesses in the US and Canada.
- Suits: North American freelancers who want invoicing and simple bookkeeping for free.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks starts at 23 US dollars a month for Lite, with up to 5 billable clients. Plus is 43 dollars for 50 clients and adds proposals and retainers. Every plan includes time tracking, deposits, recurring invoices and late payment reminders. Card payments cost 2.9% plus 30 cents.
- Suits: freelancers who track hours, quote projects and work with a small number of regular clients.
QuickBooks Solopreneur
QuickBooks Solopreneur has a US Free plan with 2 invoices a month, and a Lite plan at 20 dollars a month with unlimited invoices, receipts and mileage tracking. It is aimed at US self-employed people and their tax records.
- Suits: US freelancers who want invoicing and self-employed bookkeeping in one place.
Xero
Xero's Early plan is 27 US dollars a month, with quotes and 20 invoices, plus full accounting. The Growing and Established plans do not list that limit.
- Suits: freelancers who want full accounting, or whose accountant already works in Xero, and who send few invoices.
A simple way to decide
- Count the clients you billed in the last 3 months, and the invoices.
- Cross out any tool that does not work in your country or currency.
- Cross out any plan whose client or invoice limit you would hit.
- Work out one month of payment fees in the tools that remain.
- Try the top two with real invoices for a month.
The tool is half of it
Software makes invoices easy to send. Getting paid on time still depends on clear terms and steady follow-up.
- Set payment terms before the work starts.
- Send the invoice the day the work is done.
- Turn on reminders, and use polite overdue invoice reminder emails when they are not enough.
For a closer look at two of these, see FreshBooks vs Wave.