FreshBooks vs Invoice Ninja
FreshBooks
freshbooks.com
Invoice Ninja
invoiceninja.orgSide by side
| Figure | FreshBooks | Invoice Ninja |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4.60/mo | $3.33/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 6 |
| Spec score · Contractor Invoicing Software | 9.1 (#4) | 9.1 (#5) |
| API | The public API exposes FreshBooks data as JSON for web and desktop integrations and uses OAuth2 access tokens. | Pro and Enterprise plans provide REST API access; the v5 API uses the /api/v1 namespace and documents all API areas. |
| Company founding | FreshBooks says Mike McDerment founded the company in 2003. | Invoice Ninja says it launched in 2014 and is bootstrapped by three founders. |
| Founded | 2003 | 2014 |
| Integrations | FreshBooks App Store lists more than 100 partner integrations covering payments, payroll, scheduling, projects and other workflows. | Integrations include Zapier, Make, n8n, Pabbly, Integrately, Gmail and Microsoft email sending. |
| Licence | The service is proprietary: its terms grant limited access and prohibit modifying, redistributing or creating derivatives of FreshBooks content. | Invoice Ninja uses Elastic License 2.0; the official interpretation permits business use and modification but requires a commercial agreement for reselling it as a hosted service. |
| Payments | The pricing page lists card and ACH payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and buy now, pay later options. | Clients can pay invoices online through supported gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square, GoCardless, Authorize.net, and Mollie. |
| Purpose | FreshBooks describes itself as accounting software for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses. | Invoice Ninja provides invoicing and payment tools, expenses, time tracking, and projects for freelancers and small businesses. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | 4.7 out of 5 from 11K ratings | 4.6 out of 5 from 175 ratings |
| Rating on Capterra | 4.5 out of 5 from 4,529 reviews | 4.7 out of 5 from 166 reviews |
| Rating on G2 | 4.5 out of 5 from 981 reviews | 4.3 out of 5 from 22 reviews |
| Rating on GetApp | 4.5 out of 5 from 4,529 reviews | 4.7 out of 5 from 166 reviews |
| Rating on Software Advice | 4.5 out of 5 from 4,525 verified reviews | 4.7 out of 5 from 167 reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 3.7 out of 5 from 1,047 reviews | 2.8 out of 5 from 6 reviews |
| Security | FreshBooks states that browser traffic uses 256-bit SSL, data is firewalled and servers undergo regular vulnerability scans. | The hosted service states that data is encrypted in transit with TLS 1.2+ and at rest with AES-256, and that MFA is available. |
Plans
FreshBooks
- Lite$23 a month
- Plus$43 a month
- Premium$70 a month
- Lite$4.60 a month
- Plus$8.60 a month
- Premium$14 a month
- SelectPriced on request
Invoice Ninja
- FreeFree
- Self-hostedFree
- Ninja Pro$14 a month
- Enterprise$18 a month
- Self-hosting white-label$40 a year
- Premium Business$280 a year
In their own words
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is accounting software for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses. It creates invoices with tracked time and expenses, calculates taxes, and offers configurable payment options. Users can track time against clients and projects, then generate invoices from those records. Projects organize client work, team members, time, invoices, and expenses, and include profitability views. Listed payment options include card and ACH payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and buy now, pay later options. FreshBooks also offers recurring invoices, expense tracking, and a client portal. Its API uses OAuth2 for integrations and account automation. The service runs on the web and has iOS and Android apps, but some features, including reporting, are desktop-only. Mobile apps require iOS 15 or later or Android 7.0 or later. Lite costs $23 a month and includes five billable clients; Plus costs $43 a month and includes 50. Premium costs $70 a month and includes unlimited clients. Double-entry accounting is available on Plus, Premium, and Select. There is no free plan, and the listed trial lasts 30 days.
Invoice Ninja
Invoice Ninja brings invoicing, online payments, expenses, time tracking and project tools together for freelancers and small businesses. Users can create quotes and invoices, preview PDFs, manage products and request client e-signatures on quotes before converting them to invoices. Clients can pay through supported gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square, GoCardless, Authorize.net and Mollie. Projects include billable time tracking, Kanban boards and task management, with tracked work convertible to invoices. Apps are available for web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, and data syncs across devices. Integrations include automation services, REST API access and webhooks. The hosted Free plan is free and permits unlimited invoicing for up to five clients. Self-hosted software is free, but server hosting is separately paid. Ninja Pro costs $14 a month, billed monthly; Enterprise costs $18 a month, billed monthly, with price scaling by account users.