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

As of Nov 13, 2026, Invoice Ninja grades higher than InvoiceShelf: 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

Free plan · from $14/mo
Full detailsinvoiceninja.com

InvoiceShelf

Open-source invoicing and expense tracking you host yourself

Free
Full detailsinvoiceshelf.com

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 InvoiceShelf if

  • Fits if you bill clients regularly and can run your own server
  • Works for German B2B sellers who need ZUGFeRD or Factur-X files

Look elsewhere if

  • Skip it if you want a full double-entry ledger, as it covers invoicing and expenses only
  • Not for you if you don't want to run PHP, since security updates are yours
  • Watch out: support is a community on Discord, with no paid help
  • Tight if you take card payments other than Stripe, the only one named
  • Watch out: it needs a server you pay for

How we grade them

2.8GPAInvoice NinjaGood2.0GPAInvoiceShelfFair
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 under AGPL-3.0 with no seat limits, but it only counts as free if you host it, which needs a server.
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.
BEvery feature is free and unlimited, once you've installed it yourself.
Features
CInvoices, payments, time tracking, expenses and e-invoicing, but no ledger, and e-invoicing is Enterprise only.
CInvoices, estimates, recurring billing, expenses, multi-company and ZUGFeRD e-invoicing. The listing says it isn't a full ledger.
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.
DInstalled with Docker or by hand on your own server, with updates yours to apply.
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, and Stripe is the one online payment option named.
Best forfree invoicing for a handful of clientsself-hosted invoicing and expenses

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 InvoiceShelf. 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. InvoiceShelf 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 InvoiceShelf for less.

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

D1.0C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$1$2$5$10$20$50$100$200$500More for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessInvoice NinjaInvoiceShelf

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
The full chart of accounting and invoicing tools, and the best at every price

Where they differ

  • InvoiceShelf is open source, according to its own site.
  • Invoice Ninja also covers time tracking.
  • InvoiceShelf also covers reports.
In commonFree planWebSelf-hostableInvoicingExpense trackingQuotes and estimates

At a glance

Invoice NinjaInvoiceShelf
PricingFree planFree
Starts at$14 per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually)Free
Free planUp to 5 clients with unlimited invoices, 11 templates, online payments, recurring invoices, expenses and projects.Fully free to self-host under AGPL-3.0, with unlimited invoices and estimates and no seat limits.
Free trialNone listedNone listed
Web
macOS
Windows
Linux
iOS
Android
Made byInvoice NinjaInvoiceShelf
Price read frominvoiceninja.cominvoiceshelf.com
CheckedNov 12, 2026Nov 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.

InvoiceShelf

  • It covers invoicing, expenses and payments, not a full double-entry ledger.
  • Self-hosting means you handle PHP and security updates; the 2.4.7 release notes describe a PHP security fix.
  • Support is through the community on Discord.
  • Stripe is the online card payment option the site names.

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.

InvoiceShelf

Invoices and estimates
Builds branded invoices and estimates with custom fields, taxes and notes.
Recurring billing
Retainers and subscriptions are scheduled once and repeat invoices are generated automatically.
Expenses and reports
Tracks expenses, sales, taxes and overdue balances, with multi-currency support listed.
Customer portal
Clients get a private place to view, download and pay invoices.
Multiple companies
Several businesses can run from one install, each with its own branding, currency and tax rules.
E-invoicing
An E-Invoicing module issues ZUGFeRD and Factur-X invoices for EN 16931; the site labels it new in 3.0.

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.

InvoiceShelf

  • Self-hosted$0

    Every feature is free; you install it with Docker or a manual install on your own server.

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.

InvoiceShelf

No public discounts listed.

Common questions

Which is cheaper, Invoice Ninja or InvoiceShelf?

As of Nov 13, 2026, InvoiceShelf 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 InvoiceShelf is free.

Which has a free plan, Invoice Ninja or InvoiceShelf?

As of Nov 13, 2026, both Invoice Ninja and InvoiceShelf have a free plan.

Which platforms do Invoice Ninja and InvoiceShelf 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.
How we review and grade