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

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 Refrens if

• Fits if you're an Indian business that needs GST invoices, e-way bills and GSTR reports
• Works for freelancers who share invoices over WhatsApp

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you use Free: 15 documents, then a paid plan
• Not for you if you're outside India, as it's rupees and GST
• Pricey if you want bookkeeping: that's Pro at ₹30,900 a year, and e-invoices and e-way bills need Plus at ₹16,900
• Watch out: prices exclude GST, and extras such as custom templates and digital signatures cost more
• Watch out: the pricing FAQ says there's no downloadable app, while the footer links Android and iOS apps

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.

Refrens

• Prices are in rupees and exclude GST; the page lists 3-month, 1-year and 3-year terms.
• The Free plan stops at 15 documents, and extras such as custom templates and digital signatures are charged on top.
• Built for Indian tax rules, with GSTR reports and e-way bills at its core.
• The pricing page FAQ says there is no downloadable app, while the footer links Android and iOS apps.

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.

Refrens

Invoices and quotations

Create, customize and share invoices, quotations and purchase orders, with recurring invoices and payment reminders.

GST compliance

E-invoices, e-way bills, GSTR-1 and GSTR-2B reports with reconciliation, from the Plus plan.

Accounting

Automated bookkeeping, charts of accounts, bank reconciliation and financial statements, from the Pro plan.

Inventory

Stock tracking across locations, with batch and serial tracking and expiry reports on higher plans.

AI bill capture

OCR scanning and a WhatsApp and email assistant turn vendor bills into draft entries; 100 to 500 scans a year by plan.

Leads and vendors

Track sales leads across pipelines, and run vendor approval and onboarding workflows on Enterprise.

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.

Refrens

• Free₹0

  Create up to 15 documents, such as invoices and quotations, before a paid plan is needed.

• Lite₹8,900

  per year, excl. GST (crossed out ₹10,680)

  Unlimited documents, inventory, recurring invoices, WhatsApp sharing and OCR scanning; 2 users.

• Plus₹16,900

  per year, excl. GST (crossed out ₹20,280)

  Adds e-invoices, e-way bills, GSTR-1 and GSTR-2B reports and lead management; 3 users.

• Pro₹30,900

  per year, excl. GST (crossed out ₹37,080)

  Adds automated bookkeeping, journals, bank reconciliation, balance sheet and batch tracking; 5 users.

• Enterprise₹44,900

  per year, excl. GST (crossed out ₹53,880)

  Adds document and vendor approval workflows, RFQ and RFI links and vendor verification; 5 users.

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.

Refrens

• Annual discount

  Save 16% on 1 year and 25% on 3 years

  The Premium page marks its 1-year term as 16% cheaper and its 3-year term as 25% cheaper than the shorter terms.