Refrens vs Zoho Invoice (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Zoho Invoice: it is third in our ranking of accounting and invoicing tools, and it grades higher too, 3.6 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Zoho Invoice grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
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
Zoho Invoice
Free invoicing app from Zoho for freelancers and small businesses
Which one is for you
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 Invoice if
- Fits if you're a freelancer sending fewer than 500 invoices a year
- Works for teams already on Zoho CRM or Zoho Books
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for keeping the books, as it's invoicing only and hands that job to Zoho Books or QuickBooks
- Tight if you track time on more than 3 projects or need more than 2 users, since those are the caps
- Not for you if you only invoice now and then, as an account idle for 180 days gets deleted
- Tight if you send more than 500 invoices a year, as there's no paid plan to move up to
- Watch out: every invoice carries Powered by Zoho Invoice, and Zoho points larger needs to Zoho Billing
How we grade them
| 2.2GPARefrensFair | 3.6GPAZoho InvoiceExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | AIt's free, and it covers quotes, recurring invoices, reminders, a customer portal, expenses and time tracking. There's no paid plan at all, where paid plans in this category start around $15 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan of 15 documents, then you need a paid plan to keep creating them. | AEverything is free, with nothing held back for a paid tier. The caps are 2 users, 2 organizations, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year, and every invoice says Powered by Zoho Invoice. |
| Features | 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. | CQuotes, one-off and recurring invoices, reminders, online payments through several gateways, expenses, time on projects and reports. It does invoicing fully, but that's a smaller job than accounting: it hands off to Zoho Books or QuickBooks for the books. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You set up inventory, GST details and clients before it saves time. | A4.86 from 14,879 App Store ratings, the top band. Making and sending an invoice is the whole job here, so there isn't much to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, with Zoho Payments, PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, Zoho CRM, HubSpot, Slack and QuickBooks. That's every device type plus a list of connections. |
| Best for | GST invoicing for Indian firms | free invoicing on every device |
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: Refrens and Zoho Invoice. How we grade
Price against what you get
Refrens starts at about $7.81 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zoho Invoice has no paid plan and scores 3.3.
Zoho Invoice scores higher and starts $7.81 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 4 score higher than Refrens for less, and none scores higher than Zoho Invoice 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
- Refrens also covers sales pipeline, bookkeeping, inventory and quotes and estimates.
- Zoho Invoice also covers time tracking and reports.
At a glance
| Refrens | Zoho Invoice | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | ₹8,900 per year, excl. GST (₹742 a month effective) | Free |
| Free plan | 15 documents free, then a paid plan is needed to keep creating new ones. | Free for every business: up to 2 users, 2 organizations, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year, with Powered by Zoho Invoice branding. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Refrens | Zoho |
| Price read from | refrens.com | zoho.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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 Invoice
- The free account allows 2 users, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year, and invoices carry Powered by Zoho Invoice branding.
- It is invoicing, not full accounting: it connects to Zoho Books or QuickBooks for the books, and Zoho points larger needs to Zoho Billing.
- Data of an account left inactive for more than 180 days is deleted within the following 20 days, after a warning.
Key features
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 Invoice
- Quotes and invoices
- Create quotes, turn them into invoices, and send invoices by email or as PDFs from customizable templates.
- Recurring invoices and reminders
- Schedule invoices that repeat and send automatic payment reminders to customers who have not paid.
- Online payments
- Connect Zoho Payments, PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net and other gateways so customers can pay invoices online.
- Expenses, time and projects
- Record and categorize expenses, log time and bill it to projects, up to three projects on the free account.
- Customer portal and reports
- Customers view and pay their invoices in a self-service portal, and reports cover sales, receivables and expenses.
Plans
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 Invoice
Free$0
Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, reminders, expenses, time tracking, a customer portal and reports, within the caps on users, projects and invoices.
Ways to pay less
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 Invoice
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Refrens or Zoho Invoice?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Zoho Invoice is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $7.81 a month for Refrens. Refrens starts at ₹8,900 per year, excl. GST (₹742 a month effective), and Zoho Invoice is free.
Which has a free plan, Refrens or Zoho Invoice?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Refrens and Zoho Invoice have a free plan.
Which platforms do Refrens and Zoho Invoice run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Zoho Invoice lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. 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.