Elorus vs Zoho Invoice (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Zoho Invoice: it is third in our ranking of accounting and invoicing tools, and it grades higher too, 3.6 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Zoho Invoice grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Elorus
Invoicing, time tracking and expenses in one cloud app
Zoho Invoice
Free invoicing app from Zoho for freelancers and small businesses
Which one is for you
Pick Elorus if
- Fits if you invoice up to 5 clients and want time tracking free
- Works for agencies that bill from tracked time
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you pass 5 active clients, because that is the end of the free plan
- Watch out: limits count clients invoiced in the past 365 days, 25 on Starter and 500 on Standard
- Watch out: the free plan allows 1 user, and extra users are $5 a month on yearly billing
- Skip it if you want a phone app, since none is listed
- Watch out: prices exclude VAT, and the site has a region selector that can show other prices
Pick Zoho Invoice if
- Fits if you're a freelancer sending fewer than 500 invoices a year
- Works for teams already on Zoho CRM or Zoho Books
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for keeping the books, as it's invoicing only and hands that job to Zoho Books or QuickBooks
- Tight if you track time on more than 3 projects or need more than 2 users, since those are the caps
- Not for you if you only invoice now and then, as an account idle for 180 days gets deleted
- Tight if you send more than 500 invoices a year, as there's no paid plan to move up to
- Watch out: every invoice carries Powered by Zoho Invoice, and Zoho points larger needs to Zoho Billing
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAElorusGood | 3.6GPAZoho InvoiceExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $7 a month on yearly billing, inside the category's cheapest quarter. Extra users are $5 a month each on top. | AIt's free, and it covers quotes, recurring invoices, reminders, a customer portal, expenses and time tracking. There's no paid plan at all, where paid plans in this category start around $15 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free plan with unlimited invoices for up to 5 active clients, 1 user and time tracking. One person with a few clients can live on that. | AEverything is free, with nothing held back for a paid tier. The caps are 2 users, 2 organizations, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year, and every invoice says Powered by Zoho Invoice. |
| Features | CInvoicing, quotes, time tracking, expenses, a client portal, stock and an API. It leans toward invoicing and projects, with no ledger described on the page. | CQuotes, one-off and recurring invoices, reminders, online payments through several gateways, expenses, time on projects and reports. It does invoicing fully, but that's a smaller job than accounting: it hands off to Zoho Books or QuickBooks for the books. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you set up clients, products and payment connections first. | A4.86 from 14,879 App Store ratings, the top band. Making and sending an invoice is the whole job here, so there isn't much to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and a browser extension, with Stripe, Braintree, PayPal, Slack, Asana and Jira. No phone or desktop app listed. | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, with Zoho Payments, PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, Zoho CRM, HubSpot, Slack and QuickBooks. That's every device type plus a list of connections. |
| Best for | invoicing and time tracking in one place | free invoicing on every device |
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: Elorus and Zoho Invoice. How we grade
Price against what you get
Elorus starts at $7 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zoho Invoice has no paid plan and scores 3.3.
Zoho Invoice scores higher and starts $7 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 10 score higher than Elorus for less, and none scores higher than Zoho Invoice 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
- Elorus also covers inventory and quotes and estimates.
- Zoho Invoice also covers reports.
At a glance
| Elorus | Zoho Invoice | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $7 per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly) | Free |
| Free plan | Unlimited invoices for up to 5 active clients, 1 warehouse, unlimited products and services, and time tracking. | Free for every business: up to 2 users, 2 organizations, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year, with Powered by Zoho Invoice branding. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Elorus | Zoho |
| Price read from | elorus.com | zoho.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Elorus
- Plan limits count active clients, meaning clients invoiced in the past 365 days: 5, 25 and 500 before unlimited.
- Prices exclude VAT; extra users cost $5 a month on annual billing and $6 billed monthly.
- The Free plan allows one user only.
- The site has a region selector (USA, UK, Greece, International); the page read here showed dollar prices.
Zoho Invoice
- The free account allows 2 users, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year, and invoices carry Powered by Zoho Invoice branding.
- It is invoicing, not full accounting: it connects to Zoho Books or QuickBooks for the books, and Zoho points larger needs to Zoho Billing.
- Data of an account left inactive for more than 180 days is deleted within the following 20 days, after a warning.
Key features
Elorus
- Invoicing and quotes
- Invoices, credit notes, estimates and custom sales documents in many currencies, sent by email with attachments and templates.
- Time tracking
- A live tracker and weekly timesheets, with a Chrome and Firefox extension, and billing of tracked time and expenses to clients.
- Expenses and bills
- Supplier invoices, recurring expenses and bill payments, with expenses tied to projects for cost reporting.
- Client portal and payments
- Clients see invoices and project progress and pay online; the vendor says card payments via PayPal, Braintree and others carry no Elorus commission.
- Automation and API
- Recurring invoices and bills, payment reminders and and a developer API for connecting other systems.
- Stock and warehouses
- Unlimited products and services, delivery notes and internal transfers, with one warehouse on Free and Starter.
Zoho Invoice
- Quotes and invoices
- Create quotes, turn them into invoices, and send invoices by email or as PDFs from customizable templates.
- Recurring invoices and reminders
- Schedule invoices that repeat and send automatic payment reminders to customers who have not paid.
- Online payments
- Connect Zoho Payments, PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net and other gateways so customers can pay invoices online.
- Expenses, time and projects
- Record and categorize expenses, log time and bill it to projects, up to three projects on the free account.
- Customer portal and reports
- Customers view and pay their invoices in a self-service portal, and reports cover sales, receivables and expenses.
Plans
Elorus
Free$0
Up to 5 active clients and 1 user, with time tracking, 1 warehouse and customer support.
Starter$7
per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)
Up to 25 active clients and 1 warehouse. Extra users $5 a month on annual billing. Excludes VAT.
Standard$15
per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
Up to 500 active clients and unlimited warehouses. Marked most popular. Extra users $5 a month annually.
Premium$30
per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
Unlimited clients and warehouses. Extra users $5 a month on annual billing, $6 billed monthly.
Zoho Invoice
Free$0
Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, reminders, expenses, time tracking, a customer portal and reports, within the caps on users, projects and invoices.
Ways to pay less
Elorus
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves $24 to $108 a year
Elorus lists a saving of $24 a year on Starter, $48 on Standard and $108 on Premium when billed annually.
Zoho Invoice
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Elorus or Zoho Invoice?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Zoho Invoice is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $7 a month for Elorus. Elorus starts at $7 per month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly), and Zoho Invoice is free.
Which has a free plan, Elorus or Zoho Invoice?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Elorus and Zoho Invoice have a free plan.
Which platforms do Elorus and Zoho Invoice run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Elorus lists a browser extension and only Zoho Invoice lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. 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.