Free invoicing apps help B2B sales and marketing teams save time, streamline billing, and deliver a professional client experience—especially in the early stages of growth.
But while these tools offer strong value, free plans often come with client or usage caps, limited automation, and basic reporting features that can restrict scalability.
The takeaway? Start with free tools like PayPal, Square, or Invoice Ninja to build your billing workflow—but be ready to upgrade as your operations grow and demands increase.
Generating revenue is every business’s goal, but once you close a sale, you need an efficient way to invoice the customer and collect payments.
That’s where invoicing software comes into play. In this post, we’ll cover some of the best free invoicing apps. While many of these apps offer paid upgrades, many budget-conscious businesses gravitate toward the free versions. We’ll therefore highlight what each app’s free plan provides.
Invoice software is a tool used to facilitate payments between a business and its customers or clients. The best invoicing apps automatically create and send invoices for each purchase, send bills, and process payments.
Benefits of using an invoicing app
An effective, easy-to-use invoicing app resolves a lot of the struggles with manual invoicing, from chasing down payments and fixing errors to shuffling paperwork at the office. Switching to a good invoicing app can take that pain away, offering some major perks for your business without the tedious busywork. Here are the big benefits (with numbers to prove it):
Saved time: Using an invoicing app dramatically reduces the time and effort spent on billing. Instead of manually drafting every invoice, the software auto-fills templates with each sale’s details. On average, businesses cut 60–80% of the hours typically spent on manual invoice tasks. All that time saved translates into real money, too – one company found automating AP saved them about $218,000 per year in efficiency gains. Plus, faster billing means faster cash: 80% of businesses with automated invoicing report better cash flow and quicker payments from clients.
Fewer errors: Manual billing is error-prone (in one study, accounts payable professionals caught only ~39% of the invoice errors in a test). Invoicing software dramatically reduces those mistakes by handling calculations and data entry for you. In fact, industry benchmarks show automation can cut invoice error rates roughly 50–80%—meaning far fewer billing mistakes to fix later and less time spent putting out fires.
Integration with other software: Modern invoicing tools play nice with your other business systems (like your accounting software or CRM). This connectivity boosts your financial efficiency by eliminating double data entry and ensuring information is updated in real time. In fact, nearly 49% of companies report improved data accuracy once they integrated their CRM with other systems. When your sales, customer, and finance data all talk to each other, you get a 360° view of what’s happening—and that real-time visibility leads to smarter, faster decision-making.
Client portal: Many invoicing apps let you give your customers a self-service payment portal to view invoices and pay online. Make it easy, and they’ll actually use it—Versapay, for example, sees an 81% customer adoption rate on its online payment portal, well above the usual industry uptake. High portal adoption means more clients paying through the system (no more “I lost the invoice” excuses), which speeds up collections and keeps everyone happy.
Access to a mobile app: A good invoicing app puts billing in your pocket. You can send invoices and check payments on your phone, whether you’re at the office or on the go. (Because let’s face it, who isn’t quicker to pay with a few taps on their phone versus mailing a check?) Being able to invoice anywhere means you get paid faster and keep the cash flowing.
A free invoice app brings big-time benefits—from saving hours of work and preventing costly errors to improving your cash flow and customer experience. All these perks come without an extra price tag if you choose one of the top free invoicing tools.
You should expect to find several different features in the best free invoicing software. Those features include:
Inventory tracking: Know how much stock you have and alert you when it’s running low. Thus, you can create accurate invoices based on what you actually have in stock.
Intuitive interface: Keeping track of clients’ financial affairs can get complicated. A good invoicing app offsets that with a platform that’s easy to understand and easy to use.
Sales analytics: Understand how your business is doing and what your customers like. With sales analytics, you can see trends in your sales, study your data, and make reports to find ways to grow and improve.
Client portal: This makes things easy for your customers. It lets them see their invoices, pay bills, and talk to you all in one place. It’s like a special website for them, improving their experience and keeping them happy.
Integrations with other software: Connect your tools together seamlessly. Your invoice app should work well with your other programs, like your accounting or customer relationship management software. This makes your work smoother, saves time typing things in twice, and keeps all your data consistent.
Access to a mobile app: Stay productive from anywhere. With a mobile app, you can handle invoices no matter where you are. Create, send, and track them on your phone or tablet, so you’re always on top of things, even when you’re not at your desk.
Support team: Having a support team means you can get answers to your questions or fix problems quickly. Good support ensures you get the most out of your invoice app and keeps your business running smoothly.
Admittedly, free invoicing apps may not always have all those features—some tools limit certain features to the paid versions. Still, even the free versions should have most of those features. Keep that in mind as you’re looking into your options.
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First up on our list of the best free invoicing software options is PayPal. Odds are, you’ve already heard of this platform. It’s not just used by businesses—tons of individuals use PayPal to transfer or receive money, too. In fact, that’s one of its biggest advantages. If you sell to consumers, many of them will already know and trust PayPal.
On top of that, it’s great at handling invoices. You can create them fast —plug in a few pieces of info about your customer, and there you go. You can customize PayPal invoices with your logo and business info, but its free invoicing tool lacks advanced features like recurring billing, detailed reporting, and extensive integrations.
PayPal Pros:
Clients recognize and trust the PayPal name
Easy accessibility and integration
Straightforward and easy to use, combining payments and invoicing in one platform
PayPal Cons:
Invoicing feature lacks advanced functionalities
Transaction fees can add up
Potentially limited customer support
2. Square
Next up on our list of best free invoice makers is Square. This tool is super user-friendly, so you don’t have to be experienced with invoices to navigate it. A big plus is that it can process a wide variety of payment types, from cash to checks to Google Pay.
Like some of the other tools on this list, Square also sends out automated reminders about payments. It even lets users include a tip in their payment.
Square also integrates with Nutshell, so you can easily transfer your invoice and sales data between the two.
Square Pros:
Unified platform for managing invoicing processes across different channels
Comprehensive inventory management features for both products and services
All-in-one invoicing and payment solution
Square Cons:
Limited reporting features compared to other invoicing tools
Complex navigation through account settings and customizing templates
Dependency on additional tools for advanced functionality
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Another of the best free invoicing apps is Invoice Ninja. This tool has all the typical features, but it also has some unique ones. These features are particularly nice if you own multiple businesses (or use the software to manage invoicing for your clients, not yourself) because you can manage them all from one account.
Invoice Ninja Pros:
Open-source coding for high-level customization
Ability to manage invoices for multiple businesses
Payment gateway fee auto-matching
Invoice Ninja Cons:
Only one user allowed one
Free plan restricted to a maximum of only 20 clients
Costly to add more than two users to the Enterprise plan
4. Paymo
Invoicing isn’t the main feature of Paymo—it primarily exists to help with project management and time tracking. However, if your company charges clients based on time spent providing services, it’s just the kind of tool you need.
Since you’ve already used Paymo to track the time spent on each project, it makes sense to use that same tool to manage the invoicing for those projects. Of course, the free plan is limited, but you can always consider upgrading to the paid plan.
Paymo Pros:
Combines time-tracking, project management, and invoicing functionalities in a single tool
Seamless integration of tracked time into invoices
Cost of upgrading to a paid plan is reasonable
Paymo Cons:
Limited reporting and visual customization
Restrictive free plan
Dependency on third-party integrations for enhanced functionality
5. Wave
Perhaps the strongest feature of Wave is its user-friendliness. It has an intuitive interface, and it’s easily navigable on both desktop and mobile. That makes it an excellent choice for businesses that are new to the world of invoicing apps.
In terms of Wave’s capabilities, it offers several valuable features, including adjustable templates and income and expense tracking.
Wave Pros:
Intuitive and user-friendly interface and accessible even from mobile devices
Full feature set with accounting features
Integrates a native payment processor, simplifying the invoice payment process
Wave Cons:
Limited invoice customization
Additional features come with a cost
Dependency on additional features for scalability
6. Invoicely
Invoicely’s free plan allows you to have up to three clients in your account and send up to five invoices per month. In that sense, it’s a fairly limited plan, but it does come with all the best features of an online invoice maker—automated payment reminders, expense tracking, and more.
Another nice thing about Invoicely is that it’s compatible with PayPal. If you use PayPal to receive payments but don’t want to use it as your invoicing tool, Invoicely is a great alternative.
Invoicely Pros:
Highly customizable templates for creating professional invoices
Seamless integration with various payment gateways
The application’s web console provides fast processing speeds
Invoicely Cons:
Limited customization of invoice templates
Additional fees for branding options and billing automation tools
Targeted towards premium users with a learning curve
7. Invoice Home
Last on our list of free online invoice makers is Invoice Home. This tool is great if you want something super simple. To create and send out an invoice, you just fill out the necessary info, pick a template, and connect it to the payment gateway.
Beyond that, Invoice Home isn’t loaded with features. This simplicity is a turn-off for many businesses, but others may crave a straightforward and easy-to-use tool.
Invoice Home Pros:
Tons of professionally designed invoice templates
Save your logo, customers, and product/service details
Easy to add payment gateway links
Invoice Home Cons:
Lacks in-depth reporting features and real-time analytics
Unclear free plan inclusions
Payments accepted through Invoice Home are subject to transaction fees
Free invoice app FAQs
If you’re trying to determine the best free invoice app for your business, check out these FAQs:
Are free invoicing apps really free?
Yes, many invoicing apps offer genuinely free plans. However, they typically have certain limitations such as:
Monthly invoice limits
Basic template options
Maximum number of clients
Single-user access
Premium features like advanced reporting, multi-user access, or API integration usually require paid upgrades
What essential features can I expect in a free invoicing app?
Most free invoice apps include:
Basic invoice creation and sending
Payment tracking
Client management
Basic reporting
Mobile access
PDF generation
Basic customization options
Payment reminders
Do I need technical expertise to use free invoicing apps?
No, most free invoicing apps are designed for non-technical users and offer:
User-friendly interfaces
Guided setup processes
Video tutorials
Help documentation
Customer support
Template-based systems
Can I accept payments through free invoicing apps?
Yes, most free apps offer payment processing, but:
Standard processing fees apply (typically 2.9% + $0.30)
Some require premium plans for certain payment types
International payment options may be limited
Bank transfer options vary by country
Can free invoicing apps integrate with my other business tools?
Basic integrations often include:
Payment gateways
Basic accounting software
Common business apps
Advanced integrations usually require paid plans
Manage invoicing in your CRM with Nutshell Quotes & Invoices
If you’re tired of juggling separate invoicing apps, Nutshell Quotes & Invoices keeps everything in one place so you never have to leave your CRM. It even auto-fills your existing lead and product details to save time and eliminate double data entry. You’ll know exactly when a customer opens or accepts your quote thanks to instant notifications, so you can follow up at just the right moment. With every quote and invoice tracked inside Nutshell, your whole team has a real-time view of each deal’s progress, and your sales pipeline updates automatically based on quote activity. Say goodbye to clunky third-party invoicing apps and streamline your sales process with this all-in-one solution.
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