Square Invoices vs Zoho Invoice
We give Square Invoices a 2.8 GPA and Zoho Invoice a 3.6, out of 4.0. Zoho Invoice grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
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
Zoho Invoice
Free invoicing app from Zoho for freelancers and small businesses
How we grade them
| 2.8GPASquare InvoicesGood | 3.6GPAZoho InvoiceExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AIt's free, and it's a real invoicing app: 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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, 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. | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, with Zoho Payments, PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, Zoho CRM, HubSpot, Slack and QuickBooks. That's every device plus a real list of connections. |
| Best for | free invoicing for businesses already on Square | 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: Square Invoices and Zoho Invoice. 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. Zoho Invoice has no paid plan and scores 3.3.
Zoho Invoice scores higher and starts $49 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Square Invoices 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
- Square Invoices starts at $49 per location / month, billed monthly. Zoho Invoice is free.
- Only Zoho Invoice lists Windows and macOS apps.
- Zoho Invoice also covers time tracking and expense tracking.
At a glance
| Square Invoices | Zoho Invoice | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $49 per location / month, billed monthly | Free |
| Free plan | Square Free: unlimited invoices, recurring invoices, deposits, reminders, estimates, contracts and projects. Online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢. | 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 | 30-day free trial of Square Plus or Square Premium | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Block, Inc. | Zoho |
| Price read from | squareup.com | zoho.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
Zoho Invoice
- Freelancers who send fewer than 500 invoices a year
- Small businesses that want free invoicing on phone and desktop
- Teams already using Zoho CRM or Zoho Books
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
