Invoice Ninja vs SumUp Invoices (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Invoice Ninja grades higher than SumUp Invoices: 2.8 against 2.6 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 platforms. SumUp Invoices grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
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
SumUp Invoices
Free invoices and quotes with a low-cost paid upgrade
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 SumUp Invoices if
- Fits if you take card payments with SumUp already
- Works for a UK sole trader who wants unlimited free invoices
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want bank transfers into your own bank for free: that needs Plus
- Tight if you invoice in other currencies or languages, which needs Plus
- Watch out: the Plus price is in pounds, excludes VAT and the page shows only yearly billing
- Watch out: this is the UK listing, and the US page lists no paid plan
- Not for you if you need bookkeeping, since there is no ledger
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAInvoice NinjaGood | 2.6GPASumUp InvoicesGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AFree for unlimited invoices and quotes, and Plus is £7 a month on yearly billing, which is under the category's cheapest quarter. |
| 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. | BUnlimited invoices and quotes, recurring invoices and reminders at no cost. The catch is that bank transfers go to a SumUp Business Account only, and there is 1 invoice language. |
| Features | CInvoices, payments, time tracking, expenses and e-invoicing, but no ledger, and e-invoicing is Enterprise only. | CInvoices, quotes, payments, reminders, reconciliation and UK tax reporting. It does invoicing fully, a smaller job than accounting: no 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. | CNo store rating on record, and you set up your business details and payment methods. |
| 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 no integrations or phone app on the listing. |
| Best for | free invoicing for a handful of clients | a free invoicing tool if you already take cards with SumUp |
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 SumUp Invoices. 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. SumUp Invoices starts at about $9.38 a month and scores 2.0.
Invoice Ninja scores higher, and starts $4.62 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 31 score higher than SumUp Invoices 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
- Invoice Ninja is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Invoice Ninja also covers time tracking and expense tracking.
- SumUp Invoices also covers templates and reports.
At a glance
| Invoice Ninja | SumUp Invoices | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $14 per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually) | £7 per month, billed annually, excluding VAT |
| Free plan | Up to 5 clients with unlimited invoices, 11 templates, online payments, recurring invoices, expenses and projects. | Unlimited invoices and quotes, standard template, 1 invoice language, bank transfers into a SumUp Business Account only. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of Plus |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Invoice Ninja | SumUp Payments Limited |
| Price read from | invoiceninja.com | sumup.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.
SumUp Invoices
- The listed Plus price is in pounds, excludes VAT and assumes yearly billing; the monthly rate is not shown.
- On the free plan, bank transfers go to a SumUp Business Account only, and only 1 invoice language is offered.
- Multi-currency invoices and bank transfers to any bank account need Plus.
- This is the UK listing; the US page lists no paid plan, so a US buyer may see different terms.
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.
SumUp Invoices
- Invoices and quotes
- Create unlimited invoices and quotes, convert a quote to an invoice, and issue credit notes and delivery notes.
- Several ways to get paid
- Customers can pay by online card payment, bank transfer, cash, Google Pay or Apple Pay, and invoices can be marked paid by hand.
- Recurring invoices and reminders
- Send invoices at regular intervals and set automatic email reminders for overdue payments. Both are on the free plan.
- Invoice design and languages
- Plus offers full customization of fonts, colors and layouts and invoices in 14 languages, including Dutch, German and Spanish.
- Reconciliation
- Free matches bank transfers to invoices through the SumUp Business Account; Plus does so for most banks.
- Tax reporting for the UK
- The site describes Making Tax Digital ready software that tracks income and expenses and sends updates to HMRC.
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.
SumUp Invoices
Invoices Free£0
Unlimited invoices and quotes, recurring invoices, credit notes and payment reminders; standard template, 1 language.
Invoices Plus£7
per month, billed annually, excluding VAT
Adds invoice design, 14 languages, multi-currency, bank transfers to any bank and priority support.
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.
SumUp Invoices
- Annual discount
Save 12% with yearly billing
SumUp's pricing page shows a 12% saving when Plus is paid yearly instead of monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Invoice Ninja or SumUp Invoices?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SumUp Invoices is cheaper to start with: about $9.38 a month, against $14 a month for Invoice Ninja. Invoice Ninja starts at $14 per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually), and SumUp Invoices starts at £7 per month, billed annually, excluding VAT.
Which has a free plan, Invoice Ninja or SumUp Invoices?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Invoice Ninja and SumUp Invoices have a free plan.
Which platforms do Invoice Ninja and SumUp Invoices 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.