Invoice Ninja review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Invoicing, expenses and time tracking with a free plan
Black Friday: is there a Invoice Ninja sale?
Invoice Ninja report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for free invoicing for a handful of clients
Invoice Ninja does invoices, quotes, expenses and time tracking, free for up to 5 clients. Pro is $14 a month, the API, payment reminders and branding removal need Pro, and bank sync and e-invoicing need Enterprise. It's invoicing, not a full ledger.
Who Invoice Ninja is for
- Fits if you're a freelancer with 5 clients or fewer and want invoicing for free
- Works for people who'd like to self-host their invoicing
Who Invoice Ninja is not for
- Tight if you have more than 5 clients: the free plan stops there
- Skip it if you want the API, branding removed or payment reminders for free, as they're Pro
- Not for you if you need bank sync or PEPPOL e-invoicing but don't want Enterprise
- Watch out: self-hosting is under the Elastic License v2, not an open-source license
- Too light for bookkeeping: it's invoicing, expenses and time, not a ledger
Why Invoice Ninja gets a 2.8
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- BValue for moneyPro is $14 a month billed monthly ($140 a year), inside the category's cheaper quarter. Enterprise starts at $18 for 1 to 2 users and rises with user count.
- BFree plan and trialA free plan with 5 clients, unlimited invoices, online payments, recurring invoices and expenses. A freelancer can live on it until the sixth client.
- CFeaturesInvoices, payments, time tracking, expenses and e-invoicing, but no ledger, and e-invoicing is Enterprise only.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. It's a web app where you build templates and connect payment gateways, with self-hosting as an option.
- APlatforms and integrationsWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, PayPal, Square, Zapier, Make and QuickBooks, and a REST API on Pro.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Invoice Ninja's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/invoice-ninja#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/invoice-ninja.svg" alt="Invoice Ninja: 2.8 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Invoice Ninja stands among accounting and invoicing tools
Invoice Ninja's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 56 of the 65 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, and level with 5.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (A, above 60 of 65) and worst on ease of use (C, above 1).
Its paid plans start at $14 a month, against a middle price of $18.09 for the category: 21 of the 54 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 1 tool scores higher and costs less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 66 accounting and invoicing tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Invoice Ninja’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 48 of 65, level with 9
- BFree plan and trialAbove 50 of 65, level with 10
- CFeaturesAbove 4 of 65, level with 46
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 65, level with 56
- APlatforms and integrationsAbove 60 of 65, level with 5
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 58 accounting and invoicing tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Invoice Ninja, or make your own?
Keep it
The plain part of Invoice Ninja you could make: invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking and quotes and estimates. What surrounds it you could not. The 2 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 56 of the 65 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade. It costs $168 a year.
What you could make
- Invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking and quotes and estimates: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
- It plugs into other products, Stripe, PayPal and Square among them, and has an API.
What this rests on. Invoice Ninja’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Invoice Ninja?
Invoice Ninja is invoicing software for freelancers and small businesses, covering quotes, recurring invoices, expenses, projects and billable time. It runs as a hosted service with a free plan, or on your own server under a source-available license. Paid plans add unlimited clients, an API and, on Enterprise, bank sync and e-invoicing.
Worth knowing
- The free plan stops at 5 clients; the API, branding removal and payment reminders need Pro.
- Bank sync and e-invoicing are Enterprise only, and Enterprise is priced by number of users.
- Self-hosted use is under the Elastic License v2, not an open-source license; reselling it as a service needs a separate agreement.
- Paid plans carry a 30-day money-back promise, per the pricing page.
Key features
- Invoices, quotes and recurring billing
- Create invoices with 11 templates, take deposits and partial payments, and set up recurring or automatic billing.
- Online payments
- Clients pay from a portal with gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, Square and GoCardless.
- Time tracking and projects
- Track billable time against projects, view them on Kanban boards and invoice the hours.
- Expenses and vendors
- Record expenses and vendors, and run reports on invoices, expenses and profit and loss on paid plans.
- E-invoicing
- Enterprise includes PEPPOL network access with 250 credits and bank account sync through Yodlee or GoCardless.
- Self-hosting
- The source code is on GitHub under the Elastic License v2, so you can run it on your own server using Docker.
Invoice Ninja pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, Invoice Ninja has a free plan, and paid plans start at $14 per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually).
- Starts at
- $14 per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually)
- Free plan
- Up to 5 clients with unlimited invoices, 11 templates, online payments, recurring invoices, expenses and projects.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Up to 5 clients, unlimited invoicing, online payments, recurring invoices, expenses and time tracking. |
| Ninja Pro | $14per month, billed monthly ($140 billed annually) | Unlimited clients, removes Invoice Ninja branding, REST API access, late-payment reminders and profit and loss reports. |
| Enterprise | $18per month for 1-2 users, billed monthly | Everything in Pro plus bank sync, e-invoicing with PEPPOL, user permissions and up to 100 users; $300 a month at 51-100 users. |
| Premium Business | Custom | Priority support, a developer concierge, invoice design service and data migration help; from $280 a year, sold through sales. |
Read from invoiceninja.com on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Invoice Ninja before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountTwo months free on annual billing
Paying yearly costs $140 for Pro instead of $14 a month, which the pricing page presents as two months free.
Stated on invoiceninja.com
Works with
Invoice Ninja alternatives
- Invoice Ninja vs Wave
Free plan · from $19/mo
- Invoice Ninja vs Akaunting
Free plan · from $72/yr
- Invoice Ninja vs Manager.io
Free plan · from $59/mo
- Invoice Ninja vs FreshBooks
Free trial · from $23/mo
Common questions
Is Invoice Ninja open source?
Invoice Ninja is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Can Invoice Ninja be self-hosted?
Yes. Invoice Ninja's own site says it can be run on a server of your own.
Does Invoice Ninja have an API?
Yes. Invoice Ninja offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.