Refrens vs Zoho Books (2026): which should you pick?

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

Pick Zoho Books if

• Fits if your business turns over less than $50K a year and you want to pay $0
• Works for businesses already running other Zoho apps

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if your team grows, since plans cap users at 3, 5, 10 or 15 and more cost $3 each a month
• Pricey if you need warehouses or Amazon and eBay channels, which start on Elite at $120 a month
• Not for you if you're past $50K revenue and hoping to stay free
• Tight if you bill a lot: invoices are capped at 1,000 a year on Free, 5,000 on Standard and 25,000 on Premium
• Watch out: automatic bank feeds need Standard, and the free plan can't take paid add-ons other than autoscans

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.

Zoho Books

• The free plan stays free only while revenue is under $50K a financial year, and paid add-ons other than autoscans cannot be added to it.
• Each plan caps users at 3, 5, 10, 10 or 15; more cost $3 per user a month, or $2.50 billed annually.
• Every plan caps invoices and bills a year: 1,000 on Free, 5,000 on Standard, 10,000 on Professional and 25,000 on Premium.
• These are US prices; Zoho lists separate editions for 18 countries plus a global one, including the UK, Canada, India and Australia.

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.

Zoho Books

Invoicing and online payments

Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, retention payments and automatic reminders, with a customer portal for paying online.

Banking and reconciliation

Reconcile accounts on every plan. Automatic bank feeds start on Standard, along with recurring expenses and period locking.

US tax and 1099s

Track sales and use tax, manage W-9s and 1099 contractors, and e-file 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC forms from Standard up.

Projects and inventory

Professional adds timesheets, project profitability and basic inventory. Elite adds warehouses, serial and batch tracking and shipping labels.

Automation and customization

Workflows, approvals and custom roles from Professional; custom modules, buttons and functions from Premium; Blueprints on Elite.

AI in accounting

Ask questions about the books in plain English, spot anomalies and automate collections, plus receipt autoscans on every plan.

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.

Zoho Books

• Free$0

  Revenue under $50K a year. 1 user and 1 accountant, up to 1,000 invoices a year, recurring invoices, payment reminders and 1099 filing.

• Standard$15

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $20 billed monthly. 3 users, bank feeds, sales and use tax, 1099 e-filing, custom reports, API access and 5,000 invoices a year.

• Professional$40

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $50 billed monthly. 5 users, sales and purchase orders, multiple currencies, timesheets, project profitability, retainers and inventory.

• Premium$60

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $70 billed monthly. 10 users, fixed assets, budgets, cash flow forecasting, a vendor portal and custom modules.

• Elite$120

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $150 billed monthly. 10 users, advanced inventory with warehouses and batch tracking, Etsy, eBay and Amazon channels, and up to 2 Shopify stores.

• Ultimate$240

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $275 billed monthly. 15 users and built-in business intelligence with 50+ prebuilt visualizations, KPI tracking and embeddable reports.

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.

Zoho Books

• Annual discount

  Save up to 25% with yearly billing

  Yearly billing cuts Standard from $20 to $15 a month, Professional from $50 to $40, Premium from $70 to $60, Elite from $150 to $120 and Ultimate from $275 to $240.