Invoice Ninja vs Zervant (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 Zervant if

• Fits if you are a sole trader who sends a few invoices a month
• Works for someone who wants estimates turned into invoices from a phone

Look elsewhere if

• Too light for bookkeeping: it is an invoicing tool with no ledger
• Tight if you stay free, with 5 customers and 5 invoices a month, and 30 customers on Starter
• Watch out: card payments cost 1.9% + €0.25 per invoice for European cards, and bank payments €0.99 plus VAT
• Watch out: recurring invoices and bank connection start at Pro, and prices are in euros excluding VAT

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.

Zervant

• The Free plan stops at 5 customers and 5 invoices a month, and Starter at 30 customers.
• Card payments cost 1.9% + €0.25 per invoice for European cards, and bank payments €0.99 plus VAT per invoice.
• Prices are in euros, excluding VAT, with versions in pounds, kronor and francs; they may differ outside the main European markets.
• This is an invoicing tool; it is not a full bookkeeping ledger.

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.

Zervant

Invoices and estimates

Create and send invoices and estimates by email or PDF, and turn an accepted estimate into an invoice.

E-invoices and postal delivery

Premium deliveries send an invoice as an e-invoice or by post, with monthly allowances that rise by plan.

Time tracking

Track working hours and transfer tracked time onto an invoice on Pro and Growth.

Online payments

Customers can pay by card or bank from the invoice email, priced per use rather than in the plan.

Recurring invoices

Pro and Growth add recurring invoices, down payments, payment schedules and multiple trade names.

Payment reminders

Send reminders on overdue invoices from the Starter plan up.

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.

Zervant

• Free€0

  5 customers and 5 invoices a month, estimates and the mobile app.

• Starter€9.99

  per month, billed annually (€11.99 billed monthly)

  30 customers, unlimited invoices, estimates converted to invoices, payment reminders.

• Pro€17.99

  per month, billed annually (€20.99 billed monthly)

  Unlimited customers, recurring invoices, down payments, payment schedules and bank connection.

• Growth€41.99

  per month, billed annually (€47.99 billed monthly)

  Pro features with more premium deliveries: 30 a month by e-invoice or post, against 10 on Pro.

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.

Zervant

• Annual discount

  Save up to 15% with yearly plans

  The pricing page says yearly plans save up to 15% against monthly ones, which come with a 14-day trial.