Best Free Estimate Software 2026: 6 Options Compared
Best free Estimate Software compared: Wave, Zoho Books, Invoice Ninja, InvoiceShelf and 2 more, with free-plan limits, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 24, 2026.
•3 min read•Accounting & Payments
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Free (Starter plan at $0 for invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records; card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 a transaction); paid from $19 per month, billed monthly (Pro; $190 billed annually) | Web | Freelancers who want estimates and bookkeeping together | Docs only |
| Zoho Books | Free (Free plan while annual revenue stays under $50K: 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year); paid from $15 per organization/month, billed annually (Standard; $20 billed monthly) | Web, iOS, Android | Small businesses under the revenue cap | Docs only |
| Invoice Ninja | Free (hosted plan for up to 5 clients, described as free forever) | Web, Self-hosted | Few-client freelancers | Docs only |
| InvoiceShelf | Free (Free self-hosted software; the repository page lists no price or hosting costs) | Web, Self-hosted | Self-hosters who want estimates with a portal | Docs only |
| InvoicePlane | Free (Free self-hosted software; the repository page lists no price) | Web, Self-hosted | Simple quotes on your own server | Docs only |
| LedgerSMB | Free (Free self-hosted software; the repository page lists no price) | Web, Self-hosted | Accounting-led teams that quote first | Docs only |
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Good fit if
- You need estimates plus free bookkeeping (Wave is the pick)
- Your revenue is under $50K and a customer portal helps (Zoho Books is the pick)
- You quote five clients or fewer (Invoice Ninja is the pick)
- You want to host it and let customers log in (InvoiceShelf is the pick)
- You want a small PHP app and no accounting (InvoicePlane is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You need paid-tier features, uptime guarantees or support that these free plans leave out
Estimate software turns a price quote into a document the customer can accept, and then, ideally, into an invoice without re-typing. Most free options come as part of invoicing or accounting tools instead of as a standalone product. Wave includes estimates in its free Starter plan, and Zoho Books free includes quotes up to 1,000 invoices a year while revenue stays under $50K. Invoice Ninja's hosted free plan covers up to five clients and handles quotes alongside invoices. Self-hosted choices, InvoiceShelf, InvoicePlane and LedgerSMB, have no client cap but need a server. When comparing, check how an accepted estimate converts: does it create the invoice with the same line items, or do you copy it by hand? Also check customization, since trades and agencies often need terms, deposits and optional line items that basic templates lack. Mobile access matters for on-site quoting, and not every free plan has an app. Finally, confirm that sending an estimate by email shows your branding on the free tier rather than the vendor's. Create one realistic quote with a deposit and two options, send it to yourself, and convert it to an invoice to see how many steps it takes.
Wave
Starter is $0 and includes estimates alongside invoices, bills and bookkeeping records. Card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 a transaction.
Price: Free (Starter plan at $0 for invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records; card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 a transaction); paid from $19 per month, billed monthly (Pro; $190 billed annually) (Wave pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.
Best for: Freelancers who want estimates and bookkeeping together.
Worth knowing: Pricing is shown in USD and CAD; online payment processing is for US customers and needs approval.
Compare: Wave alternatives
Zoho Books
The Free plan includes quotes, with 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year, free while revenue is under $50K. It also lists a customer portal and recurring invoices.
Price: Free (Free plan while annual revenue stays under $50K: 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year); paid from $15 per organization/month, billed annually (Standard; $20 billed monthly) (Zoho Books pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Small businesses under the revenue cap.
Compare: Zoho Books alternatives
Invoice Ninja
Hosted free plan for up to 5 clients, covering invoices and quotes. Source-available under the Elastic License rather than OSI open source.
Price: Free (hosted plan for up to 5 clients, described as free forever) (Invoice Ninja pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. Elastic License (source-available, not OSI open source).
Best for: Few-client freelancers.
InvoiceShelf
AGPL-3.0 self-hosted app with estimates, invoices, payments, recurring invoices and a customer portal. Version 3.x is an alpha preview; 2.x is the supported production release.
Price: Free (Free self-hosted software; the repository page lists no price or hosting costs) (InvoiceShelf pricing, checked 2026-10-24).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 1.9k GitHub stars · latest release 2.4.7 (Oct 21, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Self-hosters who want estimates with a portal.
InvoicePlane
MIT-licensed self-hosted app for quotes and invoices with client records and payment tracking. You run a PHP server.
Price: Free (Free self-hosted software; the repository page lists no price) (InvoicePlane pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 3.3k GitHub stars · latest release v1.7.2 (Aug 28, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Simple quotes on your own server.
LedgerSMB
GPLv2 web accounting that handles quotations, ordering and invoicing, with PDF emailing. It needs Perl and PostgreSQL.
Price: Free (Free self-hosted software; the repository page lists no price) (LedgerSMB pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. GPL-2.0 (open source).
Project activity: 571 GitHub stars · latest release 1.13.8 (Sep 11, 2026) · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Best for: Accounting-led teams that quote first.
Which one to pick
- You need estimates plus free bookkeeping: Wave
- Your revenue is under $50K and a customer portal helps: Zoho Books
- You quote five clients or fewer: Invoice Ninja
- You want to host it and let customers log in: InvoiceShelf
- You want a small PHP app and no accounting: InvoicePlane
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Wave, Zoho Books, Invoice Ninja, InvoiceShelf, InvoicePlane, LedgerSMB: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-24: Wave, Zoho Books, Invoice Ninja, InvoiceShelf, InvoicePlane, LedgerSMB. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.