FreshBooks vs Invoice Ninja (2026): which should you pick?

Pick FreshBooks if

• Fits if you're a freelancer billing up to 5 clients for your time
• Works for service businesses that send proposals and take retainers, which start on Plus at $43 a month

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you need accounting reports or bank reconciliation, as they start on Plus at $43 a month
• Tight if you bill more than 5 clients on Lite or 50 on Plus, and archived clients count toward both
• Watch out: the advertised prices are 80% off for 4 months only, then $23, $43 or $70 a month
• Pricey if you add people or payments: $11 a month per extra team member, $20 a month for Advanced Payments
• Skip it if you need payroll outside the US: it files US taxes only, costs $40 a month plus $6 an employee, and isn't in the trial

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

FreshBooks

• The advertised prices are 80% off for 4 months; plans then renew at $23, $43 or $70 a month.
• Lite bills only 5 clients and Plus 50, counting archived clients; each extra team member costs $11 a month.
• Payroll costs $40 a month plus $6 per employee, files US federal and state taxes, and is not available during the free trial.
• Advanced Payments is a $20 a month add-on on every plan except Select.

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.

FreshBooks

Invoices, estimates and proposals

Recurring invoices, late fees and automatic reminders on every plan. Proposals and client retainers start on Plus.

Online payments

Clients pay by card, ACH bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Affirm and Afterpay. Card payments through FreshBooks Payments cost 2.9% plus $0.30.

Time tracking and projects

Unlimited time tracking on every plan, with project budgets and billing. Project profitability reports need Premium.

Expenses and receipts

Bank import, mileage tracking on mobile and unlimited expenses. Receipt scanning starts on Plus, and bill line-item capture on Premium.

Double-entry accounting

Accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access start on Plus. Lite has tax-time reports only.

FreshBooks Payroll

Payroll run with Gusto inside FreshBooks: unlimited pay runs, free direct deposit, and federal and state payroll tax filing.

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.

FreshBooks

• Lite$23

  per month for 5 billable clients, billed monthly

  Advertised at $4.60 a month for the first 4 months. Invoices, estimates, expenses, online payments and tax-time reports.

• Plus$43

  per month for 50 billable clients, billed monthly

  Advertised at $8.60 a month for the first 4 months. Adds proposals, retainers, accounting reports, receipt scanning and accountant access.

• Premium$70

  per month for unlimited clients, billed monthly

  Advertised at $14 a month for the first 4 months. Adds project profitability, accounts payable, bill line-item capture and custom email templates.

• SelectCustom

  Unlimited clients, lower card fees, Advanced Payments included, 2 team members, unbranded emails and dedicated phone 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.

FreshBooks

• Other savings

  80% off the first 4 months

  New customers pay 20% of the Lite, Plus or Premium price for 4 months, then the full monthly price. The page calls it a limited-time offer.

• Annual discount

  10% off with yearly billing

  Yearly plans cost $248.40 for Lite, $464.40 for Plus and $756 for Premium, 10% less than paying monthly.

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.