Invoice Ninja vs Miru
Invoice Ninja
invoiceninja.comMiru
miru.soSide by side
| Figure | Invoice Ninja | Miru |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $3.33/mo | $0.83/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 4 |
| Spec score · Time Billing Software | 9.1 (#4) | 9.0 (#6) |
| API | A REST API is available on Pro and Enterprise plans under the /api/v1 namespace. | Miru exposes a REST API with CRUD operations for time entries, invoices, clients, projects, expenses and payments using bearer-token authentication. |
| Client portal | Clients receive a branded portal for invoices, payments, documents, saved payment methods and e-signature or approval workflows. | A client portal lets customers view invoice information and pay through secure links without creating a Miru account. |
| Integrations | Invoice Ninja connects to Zapier, Make, Pabbly, n8n, Integrately, Gmail, MSN, QuickBooks, Slack, Mailchimp, Yodlee and GoCardless. | Official pages identify Stripe payments, QuickBooks Online export or sync, SMTP email, CSV and PDF export, Zapier, Make and n8n connectivity. |
| Invoicing | Users can create branded invoices and quotes with product libraries, customizable templates, custom numbering, deposits, partial payments and bulk emailing. | Miru generates invoices from tracked hours, supports line items, taxes, discounts and branded PDFs, and emails invoices to clients. |
| Licence | The source code is distributed under Elastic License 2.0, which permits business use and modification but restricts competing hosted resale; it is source-available rather than OSI open source. | The project is released under the MIT licence and the hosted feature set is stated to be present in the open-source version. |
| Maker | LinkedIn lists Invoice Ninja as privately held, founded in 2014, headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, with 2–10 employees. | Miru is built and open-sourced by Saeloun, a Ruby on Rails consultancy with 50+ engineers that says it ships from India. |
| Payments | The service supports one-click client payments, recurring billing, ACH or bank transfers and gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square, GoCardless, Authorize.net and Mollie. | Clients can pay invoices through Stripe Checkout, after which Miru records the invoice as paid. |
| Security | Invoice Ninja states that its hosted platform has SOC 2 certification, PCI-DSS and GDPR compliance, TLS 1.2+ in transit, AES-256 at rest, MFA, role-based access and audit logging. | The security page says hosted data is encrypted at rest and in transit, with TLS 1.3 connections and AES-256 encryption for stored data. |
| Self-hosting | Self-hosted deployments are offered through manual server installation, Docker or Podman, Cloudron, Softaculous, Elestio and YunoHost. | The self-hosting documentation covers Docker, environment variables, PostgreSQL, email delivery and Linux production deployment. |
| Support | The company says customers can email the co-founders for support and also points users to community forums, Slack, and Discord. | The hosted plan includes priority email support, self-hosted users get community support on Discord, and the managed plan lists monitoring and support. |
| Time tracking | Built-in timers record billable work, and completed tasks can be converted into invoice lines. | The product supports browser timers, manual entries, weekly approvals and member-specific rates. |
Plans
Invoice Ninja
- FreeFree
- Ninja Pro$14 a month
- Enterprise$18 a month
- Self-hosting white-label$40 a year
- Ninja Pro$140 a year
- Premium BusinessPriced on request
- Premium Business$280 a year
Miru
- Self-hostedFree
- Miru Cloud$1 a month
- Miru Cloud Annual$10 a year
- Managed Miru$1,000 a month
In their own words
Invoice Ninja
Invoice Ninja provides invoicing, payments, expenses, time tracking, and project tools for freelancers and small businesses. It supports recurring invoices, automatic billing, quotes, and 11 customizable invoice templates. Clients can pay invoices through gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square, and GoCardless. Users can track billable time, manage projects with Kanban boards, and record expenses and vendors. Integrations include Zapier, Make, Pabbly Connect, and n8n; REST API access is available on Pro and Enterprise plans. Browser, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android apps sync data across devices. The source-code-available product can also be deployed on a user's own server, which Invoice Ninja describes as free to self-host. For hosted use, the company says its platform completed a SOC 2 examination and lists TLS 1.2+ encryption in transit, AES-256 encryption at rest, and MFA availability. The free plan costs nothing and includes five clients, unlimited invoicing, and 11 templates. Ninja Pro costs $14 a month, and Enterprise costs $18 a month, with Enterprise pricing scaled by account users.
Miru
Miru is open-source software for teams that bill by the hour, combining time tracking, invoicing, expenses, payments, and reporting. Users can record time with timers or manual entries, submit work for weekly approval, and set rates for each team member. Invoices can be generated from approved or tracked work and include expenses, taxes, and discounts. Reports cover paid, pending, overdue, and projected revenue, plus project and team analytics. Miru supports a client portal and expense billing, but not recurring invoices. Integrations include Stripe, Google Calendar, SMTP email, CSV and PDF export, CSV import, REST API, CLI, Zapier, Make, and n8n. It can export clients, invoices, and recorded payments to QuickBooks Online through a one-way sync. The local-first desktop timer syncs with Miru and runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows; iOS and Android apps are in beta. Customers can self-host the MIT-licensed Rails app, but must manage operations, backups, upgrades, and security maintenance. The self-hosted plan is free. Miru Cloud is $1 a month, billed Or $10/member/year.; hosted data is encrypted at rest and in transit.