In short: There’s no single best invoicing software for freelancers, only the best one for how you work. For a free plan you can grow into, with simple multi-currency invoicing, we’d point you at Tally Crow. For fuller accounting, FreshBooks. For a genuinely free North American option, Wave. For a free, global invoicing tool, Zoho Invoice. For an all-in-one freelance business suite, Bonsai. For EU solopreneurs invoicing without a company, Xolo. Prices and details below, all checked on 11 November 2026.
Full disclosure: we make Tally Crow. So we’ve kept this honest, with real prices and a clear “best for” on each tool, including where a competitor beats us. If you just want to send a professional invoice and get paid, most of these will do the job. The differences are price (including whether there’s a free plan), how much accounting you want bundled in, and where in the world you’re based.
What to look for in invoicing software
Before the list, the things that actually matter for a freelancer:
- Price, and whether there’s a free plan to start on before you spend anything.
- Multi-currency and VAT, if you invoice clients abroad.
- Where it works: some tools (and their online payments) are region-locked.
- Getting paid online and the fees for it.
- How much else is bundled: pure invoicing, or a fuller accounting or business suite.
The best invoicing software for freelancers, compared
| Tool | Paid plans from | Free plan? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tally Crow | Free; Basic €8.99, Pro €14.99 | Yes | Free-first, multi-currency invoicing for freelancers and creators (any country) |
| FreshBooks | $23/mo (US), €16/mo (EU), £16/mo (UK) | No (30-day trial) | Freelancers who want fuller accounting and reports |
| Wave | Free; Pro $19/mo (USD) | Yes | US and Canada freelancers on a budget |
| Zoho Invoice | Free (up to 500 invoices a year) | Yes | A completely free, global invoicing tool |
| Bonsai | $19/user/mo for invoicing (USD) | No (7-day trial) | Freelancers who want an all-in-one business suite |
| Xolo | Go: €0 + 5.9% payout; Leap €59/mo (Starter, limited) or €99/mo (Standard) | Go (pay-as-you-go) | EU solopreneurs invoicing without a company |
*Prices checked 11 November 2026, at regular (non-promotional) monthly rates. Currencies are as each provider lists them, and FreshBooks shows different prices on its US, EU and UK sites; always confirm on their own pricing page.*
Tally Crow: best for simple, multi-currency invoicing that starts free
We built Tally Crow for freelancers and creators who want to look professional and get paid, with no accounting experience. You can start completely free and only pay when you actually need more. It’s multi-currency and works anywhere: invoice and issue credit notes in any currency, apply VAT, send a polished PDF, and let clients pay online. It’s euro-friendly with solid EU and VAT support, but it isn’t EU-only.
- Price: starts free (2 invoices a month, no card), so you only pay when you outgrow it. Basic €8.99/mo, Pro €14.99/mo (unlimited invoices, recurring, no Tally Crow credit on PDFs). Roughly 17% off annually.
- Get paid online: an optional pay-now link, with a disclosed application fee (2% Free, 1% Basic, 0.5% Pro) on top of the card processor’s own fee, and no Tally Crow fee on bank transfers.
- Best for: freelancers and creators anywhere who want to start free, then a simple, affordable tool with proper credit notes and multi-currency, not a heavyweight accounting suite.
- Not for you if: you need full double-entry accounting, tax filing, or bank feeds. We deliberately don’t do those.
See features and pricing for the detail.
Tally Crow is simple, multi-currency invoicing for freelancers and creators, free to start.
Start invoicing freeFreshBooks: best for fuller accounting
FreshBooks is a well-established, polished tool that goes beyond invoicing into proper accounting reports, and it’s a common pick for freelancers who want their books and invoices in one place.
- Price (regular, a month): Lite $23 / €16 / £16 (5 billable clients), Plus $43 / €30 / £30 (50 clients), Premium $70 / €50 / £42 (unlimited), on FreshBooks’ US, EU and UK sites. 30-day trial, no free plan. An introductory offer cuts the first few months (80% off for 4 months in the US, 50% off for 3 months in the EU and UK). Extra team members are $11, €10 or £8 a month each.
- Best for: freelancers and small businesses who want accounting reports, receipt scanning, and proposals alongside invoicing (those start on the Plus plan), and don’t mind paying for it.
- Worth knowing: the lower tiers cap how many clients you can bill, prices differ by region (USD, EUR or GBP), and it’s pricier than most tools here once the introductory promo ends.
Wave: best for a free North American option
Wave is genuinely free for invoicing and accounting, which makes it a strong starting point, with the important caveat that it’s built for North America.
- Price (USD/CAD): Starter is free (unlimited invoices and bookkeeping); Pro $19/mo adds bank-transaction import, receipt capture and cheaper payment processing. Online payments cost about 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction.
- Best for: freelancers in the US and Canada who want free invoicing plus basic accounting.
- Worth knowing: Wave says it’s available only to businesses located in the US and Canada (US territories aren’t supported), and its pricing is in USD and CAD. If your business is based anywhere else, it isn’t an option.
Zoho Invoice: best free, global option
Zoho Invoice is completely free and available globally, which is rare. It’s invoicing-focused (the paid accounting lives in Zoho Books). Check its currency support before you rely on it: Zoho’s knowledge base says Zoho Invoice can invoice only in your base currency and points you to Zoho Billing, while one of its settings help pages still describes adding other currencies (both checked 11 November 2026).
- Price: Free, described by Zoho as free “forever”, with limits: up to 500 invoices a year, 2 users and 3 projects, and “Powered by Zoho Invoice” branding on your invoices.
- Best for: freelancers anywhere who invoice in one currency and want a free tool with estimates, expenses, a client portal and payment reminders.
- Worth knowing: it’s part of the wider Zoho ecosystem, so it nudges you toward other Zoho products, and deeper accounting means moving up to paid Zoho Books.
Bonsai: best all-in-one freelance suite
Bonsai is less “invoicing tool” and more “run-your-whole-freelance-business” platform: contracts, proposals, a CRM, task and time tracking, and invoicing.
- Price (USD, per user, billed annually): Basic $9/user/mo (note: invoicing is not on Basic), Essentials $19/user/mo (adds invoicing, payments, proposals, contracts), Premium $29/user/mo. 7-day trial, card required.
- Best for: freelancers and small agencies who want contracts, proposals and a CRM in one place, and will use the wider suite.
- Worth knowing: if you only need invoicing, you’re paying for a lot you won’t use, and pricing is per user in US dollars.
Xolo: best for EU solopreneurs without a company
Xolo is a different model, aimed at EU and Estonia e-Residency solopreneurs. Xolo Go lets you invoice clients without registering a company; Xolo Leap helps you run an Estonia-based e-Residency company.
- Price (EUR): Xolo Go €0/mo with a 5.9% fee on payouts; Xolo Leap from €59/mo for the full e-Residency company service (that Starter price is for your first 12 months or until you reach €4,000 in revenue; Standard, with no revenue limit, is €99/mo).
- Best for: EU-based solo freelancers who either want to invoice without setting up a company (Go), or run a lean Estonian company (Leap).
- Worth knowing: it’s more of a company-and-admin service than a pure invoicing app, and the Go payout fee adds up as you invoice more.
How to choose
Match the tool to your situation, not the other way round:
- Just want simple invoicing, free to start? Tally Crow or Zoho Invoice.
- Want accounting bundled in? FreshBooks (paid) or Wave (free, for US and Canadian businesses).
- Want contracts, proposals and a CRM too? Bonsai.
- EU solo without a company? Xolo.
The good news: most offer a free plan or trial, so you can send a real invoice or two before you decide. For the fundamentals of a professional invoice, see our guide on how to invoice a client as a freelancer.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers to common questions.
It depends on how you work. For a free plan with simple, multi-currency invoicing, Tally Crow. For fuller accounting, FreshBooks. For a free North American tool, Wave. For a free global option, Zoho Invoice. For an all-in-one suite, Bonsai. For EU solopreneurs without a company, Xolo.
Zoho Invoice is free and available worldwide (up to 500 invoices a year), Wave is free for businesses in the US and Canada only, and Tally Crow has a free plan (2 invoices a month) if you want simple, multi-currency invoicing you can upgrade later.
Tally Crow lets you invoice in any currency on every plan, Free included, and works anywhere, with strong EU and VAT support. FreshBooks lets you set a currency for each client, and Bonsai says its invoices support more than 100 currencies. Zoho’s own pages disagree on whether Zoho Invoice can invoice outside your base currency, so check with Zoho first. Xolo is EU-focused but is more a company-and-admin service than a pure invoicing app.
If your business is in the US or Canada, Wave is free and covers invoicing plus basic bookkeeping. FreshBooks has no free plan and costs from $23 a month in the US, €16 in the EU or £16 in the UK at regular prices; its accounting reports and proposals start on the Plus plan ($43, €30 or £30). Wave is only available to businesses in the US and Canada, so anywhere else the choice is FreshBooks or another tool on this list. Prices checked 11 November 2026.
Anywhere from free (Wave for US and Canadian businesses, Zoho Invoice up to 500 invoices a year, and Tally Crow’s free plan) to €8.99 or €14.99 a month for a simple paid tool like Tally Crow, up to $23 to $70 a month for FreshBooks in the US (€16 to €50 in the EU, £16 to £42 in the UK, at regular prices) or from $19 per user a month for Bonsai. Most freelancers don’t need the expensive end.
