Invoice Ninja

Invoice Ninja provides invoicing and payment tools alongside expenses, time tracking and project management for freelancers and small businesses. Users can create quotes and invoices, preview PDFs, manage products, request client e-signatures on quotes and convert quotes into invoices. Clients can pay online through supported gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square, GoCardless, Authorize.net and Mollie. Project tools include billable time tracking, Kanban boards and task management, with tracked work convertible to invoices. The apps cover web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, with data syncing across devices. Integrations include Zapier, Make, Pabbly, n8n, Integrately, REST API access and webhooks. The hosted Free plan is free and includes up to five clients with unlimited invoicing. Self-hosted software is free, but server hosting is separately paid. Ninja Pro is $14 a month, billed monthly; Enterprise is $18 a month, billed monthly, with price scaling by account users. Hosted data is stated to be encrypted in transit and at rest, and MFA is available.

Invoice Ninja brings quotes, payments, expenses and project tracking together, with hosted and self-hosted options. The hosted Free plan caps clients at five, while self-hosted users manage their own server security and hosting costs.

It suits freelancers and small businesses that need quotes, invoicing, online payments and project-time billing. Organizations can choose the hosted service or self-host, with self-hosted users responsible for securing their own server environment.

Overview

Invoice Ninja is an invoicing and business-management app for freelancers and small businesses. It suits operators who want to connect quotes and payments with tracked project work, rather than keep those tasks in separate tools. Its strongest case is breadth: hosted Free is generous on invoices, while self-hosting removes stated client and invoice caps at the cost of managing a server.

Key features

Quotes, billing, and payments

Users can build quotes and invoices, manage products, preview PDFs, and send quotes for e-signature before turning them into invoices. Estimates, recurring invoices, and payment requests support more than one-off billing. Clients can pay online through gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square, GoCardless, Authorize.net, and Mollie; that makes the Free plan useful for getting paid without first upgrading.

Projects, time, and expenses

Billable time tracking, task management, and Kanban project boards connect work to billing: tracked time can be converted into invoices. Vendors and expenses are also supported. This combination is a practical fit for service businesses that bill for labor, though the provided feature set does not establish specialized tools for any particular trade.

Integrations and security

Zapier, Make, Pabbly, n8n, Integrately, REST API access, and webhooks provide routes for automation and custom connections. Hosted accounts use TLS 1.2+ in transit and AES-256 at rest, with MFA available. The hosted platform says it has completed a SOC 2 examination and identifies PCI-DSS and GDPR compliance; its SOC 2 report is available to customers and prospective customers under NDA.

Self-hosting keeps invoices, client records, and financial data on the user's server, but also makes that user responsible for securing the environment. The code is under Elastic License v2: business use and modification are permitted, while commercial resale or providing it as a managed service to others requires a separate agreement.

Pricing

The hosted Free plan costs nothing, billed Forever free. It includes up to five clients, unlimited invoicing, 11 professional invoice templates, online payments, projects, time tracking, vendors, and expenses. That is a capable starting point for a solo operator with a small client roster; the five-client ceiling is the main reason a growing practice would need to move up.

Self-hosted costs nothing, free to download and self-host; server hosting is separately paid. It has no stated client limits, invoice caps, or feature paywalls. It can suit someone who wants control over where financial data resides, but the apparent zero software price does not include hosting or the work of securing and maintaining a server.

Ninja Pro costs $14 a month, billed monthly, or $140 billed annually. It adds unlimited clients and invoices, API access, custom invoice designs, automatic reminders, reports, and 10 interlinked companies. It fits a business that has outgrown the Free client cap or needs reporting and automation; annual billing lowers the listed total compared with twelve monthly payments.

Enterprise costs $18 a month, billed monthly, with price scaling by account users. It supports up to 100 account users and adds user permissions, bank sync, e-Invoicing and PEPPOL, 250 PEPPOL credits, and document uploads. It is the relevant tier for teams needing account controls or PEPPOL workflows, but the per-user price scaling matters as a team grows.

Premium Business is from $280/year, with custom pricing. It includes Pro and Enterprise features, a developer concierge, direct priority support, invoice design service, data migration assistance, and custom reports. It is for businesses needing that additional service, not simply a larger invoice allowance. Community forums and documentation are listed for all plans; direct priority support is for paid plans. There is no free trial.

Platforms

Invoice Ninja offers web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android apps, with data syncing across devices. API access is also listed as a platform. The wide app coverage helps users move between desktop and mobile, while self-hosting remains an option for those prepared to run their own server.

Who it's for

Invoice Ninja is best suited to freelancers and small businesses that want estimates, client billing, online payment, expenses, and billable project time in one product. The hosted Free plan works for a small client base; Pro is the straightforward step up for unlimited clients, and Enterprise is more appropriate when team permissions or PEPPOL matter. It is less suitable for a user who wants self-hosting without server responsibility or a hosted free tier without a five-client limit.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Unlimited invoices on the hosted Free plan make it useful for ongoing billing, provided the business serves no more than five clients.
• Pro: Quotes, e-signature, online payments, billable time, projects, and expenses cover a connected service-business workflow.
• Pro: Self-hosting has no stated client or invoice caps and keeps financial data on the user's server.
• Con: Hosted Free's five-client cap can force an upgrade even when invoice volume is manageable.
• Con: Self-hosting shifts security and hosting responsibility to the user, so it is not a hands-off alternative to the hosted service.
• Con: Enterprise pricing scales by account users, making the $18 a month starting figure insufficient to predict a larger team's cost.

Alternatives

For a broader contractor-focused shortlist, see Contractor Invoicing Software. Contractor+ may suit users who want a free-forever plan with basic CRM and up to five estimates or invoices per month, rather than Invoice Ninja's unlimited hosted Free invoicing.

InvoiceGo is an iOS alternative with a free download and separately priced in-app purchases. Billdr may fit an iOS user seeking job cards, GST calculations, PDF invoices, cloud sync, and revenue reports within a free plan capped at three jobs. Bookipi offers a free plan capped at three invoices and three eSignatures per month, a fit for users whose needs stay within those quotas.

Invoice Plus is worth considering for a mobile-first user who needs offline use and basic expense tracking on a free plan capped at 10 invoices monthly. Invoicely has a free plan capped at five monthly invoices and three saved clients, with PayPal as its only payment option. Just Invoice offers a no-account guest generator for unlimited invoice PDFs, with business and client details re-entered each time. Zoho Invoice is another free option, with a stated limit of two users, three projects, and 500 invoices per year for Indian businesses.

Verdict

Choose Invoice Ninja if you want invoicing tied to project time, expenses, and online payments, with the choice of hosted plans or self-hosting. The hosted Free plan is compelling for a business with five or fewer clients, and Pro removes that ceiling. Look elsewhere if your priority is a free hosted plan without a client cap, or if you want self-hosted privacy without taking on server security and hosting.