Reference dataset
Invoicing software compared
Free-tier limits, cheapest paid plan, and card and ACH fees for the invoicing tools freelancers and small businesses weigh most. Every row cites that vendor's own pricing page, dated. Downloadable as CSV and JSON.
Invoicing software compared, with the receipts. Nine tools freelancers and small businesses actually shortlist: Wave, Zoho Invoice, Invoice Ninja, Square, Stripe Invoicing, PayPal, FreshBooks, Bonsai, and QuickBooks. For each, the free tier and its real limit, the cheapest paid plan that includes invoicing, and the card and ACH fees. Every value is linked to that vendor's own live pricing page and dated, so you can verify it yourself, and where a fee is only charged through a separate payment gateway or isn't published on the pricing page, the table says so rather than guessing.
Reviewed by the JupiterInvoice team. Prices and fees verified 13 August 2026, against each vendor's public pricing page. Pricing changes often, so treat the per-row date as the scope of the claim and check the linked source before you rely on a number.
| Tool | Free tier | Cheapest paid plan | Card fee | ACH / bank fee | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Yes: Starter plan, unlimited invoices | Pro, $19/mo | 2.9% + $0.60 (Amex 3.4% + $0.60) | Bank payments available; rate not on pricing page | Wave pricing |
| Zoho Invoice | Yes: free plan, up to 500 invoices/yr and 2 users | None: Zoho Invoice is fully free | Via gateway (Stripe, Zoho Payments, etc.) | Via gateway | Zoho Invoice pricing |
| Invoice Ninja | Yes: free plan, up to 5 clients, unlimited invoices (self-hosting is free and open source) | Ninja Pro, $14/mo ($140/yr) | Via gateway (Stripe, PayPal, etc.) | Via gateway | Invoice Ninja pricing |
| Square Invoices | Yes: free to create and send invoices | Invoices Plus, $20/mo | 3.3% + $0.30 (invoice paid online) | 1%, $1 minimum, $10 cap | Square processing fees |
| Stripe Invoicing | Yes: Starter, 0.4% per paid invoice | Plus, 0.5% per paid invoice | + 2.9% + $0.30 (Stripe Payments applies on top) | Stripe Payments ACH pricing applies | Stripe Invoicing pricing |
| PayPal Invoicing | Yes: free to create and send invoices | None: no subscription | 3.49% + $0.49 when an invoice is paid | Not on this fees page | PayPal business fees |
| FreshBooks | No: 30-day free trial only | Lite, $23/mo (up to 5 billable clients) | Not on pricing page (FreshBooks Payments) | Not on pricing page | FreshBooks pricing |
| Bonsai | No: 7-day free trial only | Essentials, $19/user/mo billed annually ($25 monthly) | Not on pricing page | Not on pricing page | Bonsai pricing |
| QuickBooks Online | No: free trial only | Simple Start, $38/mo | Not on pricing page (QuickBooks Payments) | Not on pricing page | QuickBooks pricing |
Every row cites a primary source. See the methodology section below for sourcing details and known limitations.
So what's the best invoicing software?
There's no single best invoicing software, only the best fit for how you get paid. If price is the deciding factor, Wave, Zoho Invoice, Square, Stripe Invoicing, and PayPal all let you send invoices for free, with no monthly fee. If you need invoicing bundled with full accounting (a general ledger, expense tracking, payroll), FreshBooks, Bonsai, and QuickBooks Online are built for that job, but none of them has a free plan, only a free trial. Invoice Ninja splits the difference: free for up to 5 clients, or free to self-host if you're comfortable running your own instance. The table above has the free-tier limits, cheapest paid plan, and card and ACH fees for all nine, sourced and dated, so you can weigh the actual numbers rather than a marketing page's summary of them.
How to read this
- "Free tier" is what you can do without paying: Wave, Zoho Invoice, Square, Stripe, and PayPal let you send invoices for free; FreshBooks, Bonsai, and QuickBooks are trial-only.
- "Cheapest paid plan" is the lowest tier that includes invoicing. Bonsai's cheapest plan (Basic) does not, so the figure shown is Essentials, the tier where invoicing starts.
- "Via gateway" means the tool does not process payments itself: it connects to Stripe, PayPal, or similar, and that gateway's fees apply. Invoice Ninja and Zoho Invoice work this way.
- "Not on pricing page" means the vendor does not publish that fee on the page we cite (FreshBooks, Bonsai, and QuickBooks route card payments through their own payments product with separately stated rates).
- Stripe Invoicing charges a small per-invoice percentage on top of standard Stripe Payments processing, not instead of it.
This is a public-source comparison: no first-party data and no affiliate arrangements. The only thing being sold here is the honesty of the table.
Invoicing software: common questions
What is the best invoicing software?
What is the best free invoicing software?
What is the best billing and invoicing software for a small business?
Where does JupiterInvoice fit among these tools?
Last updated August 23, 2026
Where JupiterInvoice fits
JupiterInvoice is free to send an invoice your client can actually respond to: add a PO, fix billing, approve for payment, no account needed. There's no monthly or per-invoice fee. You pay a 1% JupiterInvoice fee on top of Stripe's own rate only if a customer pays by card through your connected Stripe account, and nothing at all if they pay by wire or ACH. Free to start, no signup.
Create your first invoiceNo signup required. Build now, save later.