Khatabook vs Refrens (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Khatabook grades higher than Refrens: 3.2 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Khatabook grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Refrens
GST invoicing, accounting and lead tracking for Indian firms
Which one is for you
Pick Khatabook if
- Fits if you run a small Indian shop and track what customers owe
- Works for shopkeepers who want reminders sent by SMS or WhatsApp
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you need double-entry accounting, since it is a ledger and billing app
- Watch out: the Google Play listing says the app contains ads
- Watch out: loans come from partner lenders at 15% to 24% interest and fees up to 5%, per the Play listing
- Skip it if you are outside India, because it is built for GST bills and rupee loans
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
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAKhatabookVery good | 2.2GPARefrensFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree. The site calls the apps free and lists no paid plan, which is below anything else in the category. | C₹8,900 a year for Lite, ₹16,900 for Plus and ₹30,900 for Pro, excluding GST. Lite is about ₹742 a month, but bookkeeping sits on Pro, around the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with no paid plan on the site or the Google Play listing. You will see ads. | CA free plan of 15 documents, then you need a paid plan to keep creating them. |
| Features | CCustomer ledger, payment reminders, GST bills and stock. It does that job fully, a smaller job than accounting: no double-entry books. | CGST invoices and quotations, e-invoices, GSTR reports, inventory and AI bill capture. Bookkeeping starts at Pro, and custom templates and digital signatures cost extra. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but you install it and start entering what people owe. | CNo store rating on record. You set up inventory, GST details and clients before it saves time. |
| Platforms and integrations | BAndroid, iPhone and web, with Tally and WhatsApp. No desktop app or API is listed. | BWeb, with IndiaMART, Google Calendar and WhatsApp sharing. The footer links Android and iOS apps but the FAQ says there's none, so we don't count them. |
| Best for | tracking who owes you in a small Indian shop | GST invoicing for Indian firms |
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: Khatabook and Refrens. How we grade
Price against what you get
Khatabook has no paid plan and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Refrens starts at about $7.81 a month and scores 2.3.
Khatabook scores higher and starts $7.81 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, none scores higher than Khatabook for less, and 11 score higher than Refrens 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
- Khatabook also covers reports.
- Refrens also covers sales pipeline, expense tracking and quotes and estimates.
At a glance
| Khatabook | Refrens | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | ₹8,900 per year, excl. GST (₹742 a month effective) |
| Free plan | None | 15 documents free, then a paid plan is needed to keep creating new ones. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Khatabook | Refrens |
| Price read from | khatabook.com | refrens.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Khatabook
- It is a ledger and billing app, not a full double-entry accounting system.
- The Google Play listing says the app contains ads.
- Loans come from partner lenders; the Play listing gives interest of 15% to 24% and processing fees of up to 5%.
- Built for India: GST bills and rupee loans only, and the site does not publish a paid plan list.
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.
Key features
Khatabook
- Customer ledger
- Records credit and debit transactions per customer, so the balance each person owes or is owed stays in one place.
- Payment reminders
- Sends reminder links by SMS or WhatsApp, including several at once, to chase unpaid balances.
- GST bills
- Creates GST and non-GST invoices and shares them over WhatsApp.
- Inventory
- Tracks stock with low-stock alerts and item-wise reports.
- Multiple businesses and backup
- Several businesses can be managed from one account, with automatic backup when the device is online.
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.
Plans
Khatabook
Free$0
The site calls the apps free; no paid plan is listed on the site or the Google Play page, which says the app contains ads.
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.
Ways to pay less
Khatabook
No public discounts listed.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Khatabook or Refrens?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Khatabook is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $7.81 a month for Refrens. Khatabook is free, and Refrens starts at ₹8,900 per year, excl. GST (₹742 a month effective).
Which has a free plan, Khatabook or Refrens?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Khatabook and Refrens have a free plan.
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.