Best Free Invoice Generators 2026: 8 Options Compared

Best free Invoice Generators compared: Invoice Generator, Zoho Invoice, Invoice Ninja, Wave and 4 more, with free-plan limits, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 24, 2026.

•3 min read•Accounting & Payments

Editorial illustration: Best Free Invoice Generators 2026: 8 Options Compared

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Quick comparison

ToolPricePlatformsBest forTested
Invoice GeneratorFree (Create and download invoice PDFs free with no signup; unlimited invoices advertised)WebOne-off invoicesDocs only
Zoho InvoiceFree (Free: 2 users, 3 projects, 500 invoices per year, Zoho Invoice branding on invoices)WebFreelancers with recurring clientsDocs only
Invoice NinjaFree (hosted plan for up to 5 clients, described as free forever)Web, Self-hostedSmall client listsDocs only
WaveFree (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)WebInvoices plus basic accountingDocs only
Zoho BooksFree (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, AndroidSmall businesses that want bookkeepingDocs only
SquareFree (Free plan with no monthly fee; in-person 2.6% + 15¢, online 3.3% + 30¢, keyed-in 3.5% + 15¢)Web, iOS, AndroidInvoices linked to card paymentsDocs only
ManagerFree (Desktop edition with no time or usage limits but single-user)Windows, macOS, LinuxOne-person accounting on your computerDocs only
BigcapitalFree (open-source edition is free to self-host with Docker; Bigcapital Cloud has a 14-day trial and no free plan); paid from $20 per month (Capital Basic, cloud)Web, Self-hostedSelf-hosted accountingDocs only

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Good fit if

  • You need one invoice in two minutes (Invoice Generator is the pick)
  • You bill the same clients each month (Zoho Invoice is the pick)
  • You also want bookkeeping (Wave is the pick)
  • You want to host your own accounting (Bigcapital is the pick)

Not ideal if

  • You need paid-tier features, uptime guarantees or support that these free plans leave out

An invoice generator needs to do one thing well: produce a clear PDF with your details, line items and tax. Invoice Generator advertises free invoice PDFs with no signup, which is the fastest route for a single invoice. If you invoice monthly, a tool that remembers clients saves time. Zoho Invoice is free for two users, three projects and up to 500 invoices a year, with Zoho branding on the invoices. Invoice Ninja's hosted free plan covers up to 5 clients and can also be self-hosted. Wave's Starter plan is free for invoices, estimates and bookkeeping, but card payments cost 2.9% plus $0.60 a transaction. Square gives a free plan with processing fees on payments, and Zoho Books is free while annual revenue stays under $50K, with one user plus an accountant. Manager.io's desktop edition is single-user and unlimited, and Bigcapital is a self-hosted AGPL option. The trade-off is branding and fees against control. Free invoicing tools usually earn money from payment processing, so you pay when clients use cards. Bank transfer links usually cost nothing. Keep a copy of every PDF outside the tool, and check that your invoices carry the tax details your country requires.

Invoice Generator

Create and download invoice PDFs free with no signup, with unlimited invoices advertised. No client list or recurring billing is mentioned.

Price: Free (Create and download invoice PDFs free with no signup; unlimited invoices advertised) (Invoice Generator pricing, checked 2026-10-24).

Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.

Best for: One-off invoices.

Worth knowing: No paid tier mentioned; a Developer API link exists.

Zoho Invoice

Free plan: 2 users, 3 projects, 500 invoices a year, with Zoho branding on invoices. No paid prices on the page.

Price: Free (Free: 2 users, 3 projects, 500 invoices per year, Zoho Invoice branding on invoices) (Zoho Invoice pricing, checked 2026-10-24).

Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.

Best for: Freelancers with recurring clients.

Invoice Ninja

Hosted free plan covers up to 5 clients; the software can also be self-hosted. Covers invoices, quotes, projects and time tracking.

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: Small client lists.

Wave

Starter plan is $0 for invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping. Card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60; Pro is $19 a month.

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: Invoices plus basic accounting.

Worth knowing: Pricing is shown in USD and CAD; online payment processing is for US customers and needs approval.

Compare: Wave alternatives

Zoho Books

Free plan while annual revenue stays under $50K: 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year. Standard is $15 a month.

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 that want bookkeeping.

Compare: Zoho Books alternatives

Square

Free plan with no monthly fee; in-person payments 2.6% + 15 cents and online 3.3% + 30 cents. Good if you already take card payments.

Price: Free (Free plan with no monthly fee; in-person 2.6% + 15¢, online 3.3% + 30¢, keyed-in 3.5% + 15¢) (Square pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.

Best for: Invoices linked to card payments.

Compare: Square alternatives

Manager

Desktop edition has no time or usage limits but is single-user. Multi-user and remote access need the cloud edition, which is not free.

Price: Free (Desktop edition with no time or usage limits but single-user) (Manager pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. License not stated on the download page.

Best for: One-person accounting on your computer.

Bigcapital

AGPL-3.0 open-source edition is free to self-host with Docker. The cloud edition has a 14-day trial and no free plan; Capital Basic is $20 a month.

Price: Free (open-source edition is free to self-host with Docker; Bigcapital Cloud has a 14-day trial and no free plan); paid from $20 per month (Capital Basic, cloud) (Bigcapital pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source).

Project activity: 4k GitHub stars · latest release v0.25.45 (Oct 23, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Self-hosted accounting.

Which one to pick

  • You need one invoice in two minutes: Invoice Generator
  • You bill the same clients each month: Zoho Invoice
  • You also want bookkeeping: Wave
  • You want to host your own accounting: Bigcapital

Limits of this review

Docs-only for Invoice Generator, Zoho Invoice, Invoice Ninja, Wave, Zoho Books, Square, Manager, Bigcapital: 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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Sources

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: Invoice Generator, Zoho Invoice, Invoice Ninja, Wave, Zoho Books, Square, Manager, Bigcapital. 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.

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