Billdu vs Invoice Ninja (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Invoice Ninja grades higher than Billdu: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Invoice Ninja grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Billdu
Invoice maker for freelancers and small businesses
Invoice Ninja
Invoicing, expenses and time tracking with a free plan
Which one is for you
Pick Billdu if
- Fits if you invoice a few clients and want expenses in the same app
- Works for people who want to try it free for a week with no card
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you have more than 10 clients on Lite, or more than 50 on Standard
- Skip it if you need estimates or payment reminders on the cheapest plan: both start on Standard
- Watch out: the Xero connection and the API are Premium only
- Watch out: the prices on the page are the average monthly price of a yearly plan, and monthly billing costs $7.99 and up
Pick Invoice Ninja if
- Fits if you're a freelancer with 5 clients or fewer and want invoicing for free
- Works for people who'd like to self-host their invoicing
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you have more than 5 clients: the free plan stops there
- Skip it if you want the API, branding removed or payment reminders for free, as they're Pro
- Not for you if you need bank sync or PEPPOL e-invoicing but don't want Enterprise
- Watch out: self-hosting is under the Elastic License v2, not an open-source license
- Too light for bookkeeping: it's invoicing, expenses and time, not a ledger
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABillduFair | 2.8GPAInvoice NinjaGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$4.99 a month on yearly billing is inside the category's cheapest quarter, but Lite is capped at 10 clients. Estimates and reminders need Standard at $9.99. | BPro is $14 a month billed monthly ($140 a year), inside the category's cheaper quarter. Enterprise starts at $18 for 1 to 2 users and rises with user count. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 7-day free trial with all features and no card. There is no free plan. | BA free plan with 5 clients, unlimited invoices, online payments, recurring invoices and expenses. A freelancer can live on it until the sixth client. |
| Features | CInvoices, estimates, reminders, expenses and recurring invoices. A smaller job than accounting: invoicing and expense tracking, with the Xero link and API on the dearest plan. | CInvoices, payments, time tracking, expenses and e-invoicing, but no ledger, and e-invoicing is Enterprise only. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you build your templates and client list first. | CNo store rating on record. It's a web app where you build templates and connect payment gateways, with self-hosting as an option. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iPhone, iPad and Android apps, with Xero and an API on Premium. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, PayPal, Square, Zapier, Make and QuickBooks, and a REST API on Pro. |
| Best for | freelancers who need invoices and basic expense tracking | free invoicing for a handful of clients |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Billdu and Invoice Ninja. How we grade
Price against what you get
Billdu starts at $4.99 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Invoice Ninja starts at $14 a month and scores 2.7.
Invoice Ninja scores higher, and starts $9.01 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 7 score higher than Billdu for less, and 2 score higher than Invoice Ninja for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Invoice Ninja is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Billdu also covers reports.
- Invoice Ninja also covers time tracking.
At a glance
| Billdu | Invoice Ninja | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.99 per month, billed annually ($7.99 billed monthly) | $14 per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually) |
| Free plan | None | Up to 5 clients with unlimited invoices, 11 templates, online payments, recurring invoices, expenses and projects. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial with all features, no card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Billdu Ltd | Invoice Ninja |
| Price read from | billdu.com | invoiceninja.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Billdu
- Lite is capped at 10 clients and Standard at 50; only Premium has unlimited clients.
- Estimates, quotes and payment reminders need Standard or higher.
- The Xero connection is listed only on Premium, and the API is Premium-only.
- Displayed prices are the average monthly price of an annual plan; the page says USD and EUR prices are the same.
Invoice Ninja
- The free plan stops at 5 clients; the API, branding removal and payment reminders need Pro.
- Bank sync and e-invoicing are Enterprise only, and Enterprise is priced by number of users.
- Self-hosted use is under the Elastic License v2, not an open-source license; reselling it as a service needs a separate agreement.
- Paid plans carry a 30-day money-back promise, per the pricing page.
Key features
Billdu
- Invoices and estimates
- Create invoices on every plan; estimates, quotes and delivery notes start on Standard.
- Payment reminders and receipts
- Standard and Premium send payment reminders and receipts so unpaid invoices are chased from the app.
- Expense tracking
- Unlimited expenses on every plan, with a barcode scanner; recurring expenses are on Premium.
- Recurring invoices
- Premium can bill the same client on a schedule without recreating the invoice.
- Accountant and team access
- Team members, accountants included, count toward the plan's limit of 1, 2 or 10.
- E-invoicing by country
- The site lists e-invoicing pages for Spain (VeriFactu), Belgium (Peppol) and Slovakia (eFaktúra).
Invoice Ninja
- Invoices, quotes and recurring billing
- Create invoices with 11 templates, take deposits and partial payments, and set up recurring or automatic billing.
- Online payments
- Clients pay from a portal with gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, Square and GoCardless.
- Time tracking and projects
- Track billable time against projects, view them on Kanban boards and invoice the hours.
- Expenses and vendors
- Record expenses and vendors, and run reports on invoices, expenses and profit and loss on paid plans.
- E-invoicing
- Enterprise includes PEPPOL network access with 250 credits and bank account sync through Yodlee or GoCardless.
- Self-hosting
- The source code is on GitHub under the Elastic License v2, so you can run it on your own server using Docker.
Plans
Billdu
Lite$4.99
per month, billed annually ($7.99 billed monthly)
Unlimited invoices and expenses for 10 clients and 1 user, with invoice status tracking and client signatures.
Standard$9.99
per month, billed annually ($14.99 billed monthly)
Adds estimates and quotes, delivery notes, payment reminders and receipts; 50 clients and up to 2 team members.
Premium$19.99
per month, billed annually ($27.99 billed monthly)
Unlimited clients, up to 10 team members, recurring invoices and expenses, API access and priority support.
Invoice Ninja
Free$0
Up to 5 clients, unlimited invoicing, online payments, recurring invoices, expenses and time tracking.
Ninja Pro$14
per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually)
Unlimited clients, removes Invoice Ninja branding, REST API access, late-payment reminders and profit and loss reports.
Enterprise$18
per month for 1-2 users, billed monthly
Everything in Pro plus bank sync, e-invoicing with PEPPOL, user permissions and up to 100 users; $300 a month at 51-100 users.
Premium BusinessCustom
Priority support, a developer concierge, invoice design service and data migration help; from $280 a year, sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Billdu
- Annual discount
Save up to 30% with an annual plan
Billdu says annual billing saves up to 30% against paying month to month.
Invoice Ninja
- Annual discount
Two months free on annual billing
Paying yearly costs $140 for Pro instead of $14 a month, which the pricing page presents as two months free.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Billdu or Invoice Ninja?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Billdu is cheaper to start with: $4.99 a month, against $14 a month for Invoice Ninja. Billdu starts at $4.99 per month, billed annually ($7.99 billed monthly), and Invoice Ninja starts at $14 per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually).
Which has a free plan, Billdu or Invoice Ninja?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Invoice Ninja has a free plan. Billdu does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Billdu and Invoice Ninja run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Invoice Ninja lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.