Invoice Ninja vs InvoicePlane (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Invoice Ninja grades higher than InvoicePlane: 2.8 against 2.0 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 value for money, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Invoice Ninja
Invoicing, expenses and time tracking with a free plan
InvoicePlane
Free self-hosted invoicing for quotes, invoices and payments
Which one is for you
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
Pick InvoicePlane if
- Fits if you only need to send quotes and invoices from your own server
- Works for freelancers who can install PHP software
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need real bookkeeping, as there's no ledger or bank feeds
- Not for you if you want paid help, since there's no SLA and support is community-only
- Watch out: the maintainers can't promise it meets every legal requirement for your business
- Tight if you don't run servers, because installing and updating is on you
- Watch out: it's described as a volunteer hobby project, not a commercial product
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAInvoice NinjaGood | 2.0GPAInvoicePlaneFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CFree to download, but you need your own server. That's a C by this ladder. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free plan with 5 clients, unlimited invoices, online payments, recurring invoices and expenses. A freelancer can live on it until the sixth client. | BNo paid plans and no limits listed, though you must install it yourself. |
| Features | CInvoices, payments, time tracking, expenses and e-invoicing, but no ledger, and e-invoicing is Enterprise only. | CQuotes, invoices, clients, payments and e-invoices. No general ledger, bookkeeping or bank feeds, and the listing says so. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It's a web app where you build templates and connect payment gateways, with self-hosting as an option. | DYou install and maintain it on your own server. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, PayPal, Square, Zapier, Make and QuickBooks, and a REST API on Pro. | CWeb only, with PayPal and Stripe for payments. |
| Best for | free invoicing for a handful of clients | self-hosted quotes and invoices |
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: Invoice Ninja and InvoicePlane. How we grade
Price against what you get
Invoice Ninja starts at $14 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. InvoicePlane has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
Invoice Ninja scores higher, and starts $14 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 2 score higher than Invoice Ninja for less, and none scores higher than InvoicePlane 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
- InvoicePlane is open source, according to its own site.
- Invoice Ninja also covers time tracking and expense tracking.
At a glance
| Invoice Ninja | InvoicePlane | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $14 per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually) | Free |
| Free plan | Up to 5 clients with unlimited invoices, 11 templates, online payments, recurring invoices, expenses and projects. | Free to download and self-host; there are no paid plans. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Invoice Ninja | InvoicePlane |
| Price read from | invoiceninja.com | invoiceplane.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
InvoicePlane
- It is invoicing software, not a general ledger; the site does not list bookkeeping or bank feeds.
- The project says it offers no SLA or paid help, and support is community-only.
- The maintainers say they cannot guarantee it meets every legal requirement for a given business.
- You install and maintain it on your own server.
Key features
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.
InvoicePlane
- Quotes, invoices and payments
- Covers the billing cycle from a quote through an invoice to a recorded payment.
- Client records
- Stores client contact details, notes and custom fields, with basic project and task management.
- Online payments
- Clients can pay invoices through payment providers; the site names PayPal and Stripe and says others are coming.
- E-invoices
- From version 1.6.2 it can create e-invoices that the site says can follow European Union standards.
- Customization
- Themes, amount formats, and email and PDF templates can be changed to fit a business.
- Many languages
- The interface is translated into many languages by community members.
Plans
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.
InvoicePlane
Self-hosted$0
Free download that you install on your own server; support comes from the community.
Ways to pay less
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.
InvoicePlane
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Invoice Ninja or InvoicePlane?
As of Nov 13, 2026, InvoicePlane is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $14 a month for Invoice Ninja. Invoice Ninja starts at $14 per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually), and InvoicePlane is free.
Which has a free plan, Invoice Ninja or InvoicePlane?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Invoice Ninja and InvoicePlane have a free plan.
Which platforms do Invoice Ninja and InvoicePlane run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Invoice Ninja lists macOS, Windows, Linux, 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.