Square Invoices vs ZipBooks
We give Square Invoices a 2.8 GPA and ZipBooks a 2.4, out of 4.0. Square Invoices grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. ZipBooks grades higher on value for money. 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.
Square Invoices
Free invoicing, estimates and contracts inside Square's payment plans
ZipBooks
Browser-based invoicing and bookkeeping with a free starter plan
How we grade them
| 2.8GPASquare InvoicesGood | 2.4GPAZipBooksFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DPlus is $49 a location a month, where the dearest tenth of accounting tools starts. For invoicing it mostly buys a lower card fee, 2.9% instead of 3.3%, plus batch invoices and payment schedules. That fee cut only pays for itself past about $12,000 a month in card payments. | CSmarter is $15 a month, right at the cheaper quarter of accounting tools, with recurring billing, several bank accounts and time tracking. But reconciling accounts and locking finished books need Sophisticated at $35, above the dearer quarter at $31.10. |
| Free plan and trial | AUnlimited invoices, recurring invoices, deposits, reminders, estimates and contracts cost nothing a month, with no cap. You pay per payment instead: 3.3% + 30¢ on an online card, and 1% on a bank transfer. | BStarter is free for good: unlimited invoices, customers and vendors, card payments through Square or PayPal, basic reports and 1 connected bank account. One person could live on that. Recurring invoices, reminders and time tracking need Smarter. |
| Features | CInvoices on any schedule, deposits, auto-pay, estimates, e-signed contracts, a project workspace and cards, Cash App Pay, ACH or Afterpay. It does invoicing fully, but that's the smaller job: it keeps no books and takes one currency only. | CInvoices and quotes in 100+ currencies, bank transactions sorted by learned rules, cash or accrual reports, 1099 tracking, time tracking and payroll through Gusto. The listing names the gaps: the phone app is gone, and some bank connections outside the US may not sync. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from 93,229 App Store ratings, the top band in this category. If you already take payments with Square, invoices sit in the same account. | CNo store rating on record, as there's no app. Rules that learn how you sort transactions save some clicking, but there's still a bank to connect and bookkeeping to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Afterpay, Cash App Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay. There's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A. | BWeb only, since ZipBooks discontinued its phone app and points you to the browser. What lifts it is the connections: Square, PayPal, Stripe, Gusto and Slack. |
| Best for | free invoicing for businesses already on Square | free invoicing and simple books in a browser |
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: Square Invoices and ZipBooks. How we grade
Price against what you get
Square Invoices starts at $49 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. ZipBooks starts at $15 a month and scores 2.3.
Square Invoices scores higher, and starts $34 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Square Invoices for less, and 3 score higher than ZipBooks 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
- Square Invoices starts at $49 per location / month, billed monthly. ZipBooks starts at $15 per month, billed monthly.
- Only Square Invoices lists iOS and Android apps.
- ZipBooks also covers time tracking, bookkeeping and expense tracking.
At a glance
| Square Invoices | ZipBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49 per location / month, billed monthly | $15 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Square Free: unlimited invoices, recurring invoices, deposits, reminders, estimates, contracts and projects. Online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢. | Starter plan: unlimited invoices, customers and vendors, card payments through Square or PayPal, basic reports and 1 connected bank account. Free with no time limit. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of Square Plus or Square Premium | 30-day free trial of the paid features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Block, Inc. | ZipBooks |
| Price read from | squareup.com | zipbooks.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Square Invoices
- Service businesses that want to send invoices without a monthly fee
- Businesses already taking in-person payments with Square
- Contractors who send estimates and contracts before billing
ZipBooks
- Freelancers who want free invoicing with basic books
- Small service businesses that bill for time
- Bookkeepers who manage several client accounts from one dashboard
Worth knowing
Square Invoices
- Invoices come with Square's general plans, which also cover point of sale and bookings; Plus and Premium are charged per location.
- Each payment has a fee: invoice card payments are 3.3% + 30¢ on Free and 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus or Premium, ACH 1% ($1 minimum).
- It does not keep books: Square sends payments to QuickBooks Online or Xero, and it accepts one currency only.
- Square Payroll is a separate product, from $35 a month plus $6 per person paid.
ZipBooks
- There is no mobile app: ZipBooks discontinued it and its help center points phone users to the browser.
- The free plan connects 1 bank account; team members need Smarter, which allows 5, and unlimited users need Sophisticated.
- The Accountant plan for bookkeeping firms is priced by number of clients on a separate page, with no figure in its page text.
- ZipBooks is in English only, and its help center says some bank connections outside the US may not sync.
Key features
Square Invoices
- Invoices and recurring billing
- Send unlimited invoices by email, text or link, on daily to yearly schedules, with deposits, automatic reminders and auto-pay from a saved card.
- Ways to pay
- Customers pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cash App Pay, ACH bank transfer or Afterpay, online or in person.
- Estimates and contracts
- Send estimates and e-signature contracts built from reusable templates. Plus adds multi-package estimates and automatic conversion to invoices.
- Project workspace
- Keep each job's invoices, estimates, contracts and notes in one place and track what is paid, unpaid or overdue.
- Payment schedules and batch invoices
- Square Plus splits one invoice into milestone payments and sends one invoice to many customers at once.
- Fast access to funds
- Transfers to your bank arrive the next business day for free, or instantly for a fee, or land at once in a Square Checking account.
ZipBooks
- Invoices and quotes
- Custom invoices and quotes with taxes, discounts and over 100 currencies. Recurring invoices, auto-billing and payment reminders start on Smarter.
- Online payments
- Customers pay invoices by card through a connected Square, PayPal or Stripe account.
- Bookkeeping with auto-categorizing
- Bank transactions land in one list and are categorized by learned rules, with custom categories and 1099 tracking for vendors.
- Tags and reports
- Income statement and balance sheet on cash or accrual basis. Sophisticated adds tags by location or project and reports built on them.
- Time tracking and projects
- Track time live or by hand at fixed or hourly rates and pull the entries onto invoices, from the Smarter plan.
- Payroll through Gusto
- Payroll is handled by Gusto, which connects to ZipBooks as an integration.
Plans
Square Invoices
Square Free$0
Unlimited and recurring invoices, deposits, reminders, estimates, contracts with e-signature and a project workspace. You pay only processing fees.
Square Plus$49
per location / month, billed monthly
Adds batch invoices, milestone payment schedules, custom templates and fields, multi-package estimates, lower online card fees and a $10 ACH fee cap.
Square Premium$149
per location / month, billed monthly
Everything in Plus, with the lowest in-person card fees and 24/7 phone support.
Square ProCustom
For businesses processing over $250,000 a year: custom pricing and processing fees, onboarding help and account management.
ZipBooks
Starter$0
Unlimited invoices, customers and vendors, Square or PayPal payments, basic reports and 1 bank account.
Smarter$15
per month, billed monthly
Adds recurring invoices with auto-bill, automatic reminders, saved line items, several bank accounts, time tracking and 5 team members.
Sophisticated$35
per month, billed monthly
Adds tagging by location, project or custom field, reconciliation, locked books, document sharing, tag-based reports and unlimited users.
