InvoicePlane vs InvoiceShelf
InvoicePlane
invoiceplane.com
InvoiceShelf
invoiceshelf.comSide by side
| Figure | InvoicePlane | InvoiceShelf |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 2 |
| Spec score · Accounts Receivable Software | 8.2 (#5) | 8.4 (#2) |
| Spec score · Invoicing software | 7.9 (#51) | 8.8 (#17) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| License | InvoicePlane code is released under an MIT-style license, while the product name and logo remain protected trademarks. | InvoiceShelf is released under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3.0. |
| Payments | The site's feature description lists PayPal and Stripe as online payment providers; the version 1.6 wiki says Stripe is the only provider supported by default. | The application records partial and full payments and tracks outstanding balances. |
| Public API | The official documentation and development pages describe web installation, templates, payment gateways and GitHub contribution workflows but do not publish a general REST API or SDK. | A REST API is documented with Sanctum personal access tokens and company-scoped headers. |
| Recurring invoices | Recurring invoices can run weekly, monthly, quarterly, every six months or yearly, using a daily cron request. | Yes |
| Support | Support is community-provided, with the forum and Discord listed as community channels; the project says it offers no 24/7 support, SLA, or paid help. | The product page lists community support on Discord and links to GitHub Discussions for installation help. |
| System requirements | The documented stack is MySQL 5.5 or MariaDB, Apache 2.4 or Nginx 1.20, PHP 8.0–8.1 and listed PHP extensions including mbstring, mysqli, openssl and xml. | The download page specifies PHP 8.3 or 8.4, Nginx or Apache, and MySQL 8+, MariaDB 10.4+, PostgreSQL 13+, or SQLite 3.35+. |
| What it does | InvoicePlane is a self-hosted application for quotes, invoices, client records and payments. | InvoiceShelf is a self-hosted web application for invoices, estimates, payment tracking, expenses, and customer records. |
Plans
In their own words
InvoicePlane
InvoicePlane is a free, self-hosted open source application for managing quotes, invoices, clients, and payments. It supports a billing workflow from quotes through invoices to payment, with invoice tracking, recurring invoices, and a customer payment portal. Client records can hold contact details, notes, and custom fields; basic project and task management is also available. Users can select themes, set amount formats, and modify email and PDF templates. Starting with version 1.6.2, the application supports creating eInvoices that can comply with European Union standards. The feature description lists PayPal and Stripe as online payment providers, while the version 1.6 wiki identifies Stripe as the only provider supported by default. InvoicePlane runs on web-server or shared hosting. Listed requirements include MySQL 5.5 or later or equivalent MariaDB, Apache 2.4 or later or Nginx 1.20 or later, and PHP 8.0 through 8.1. The homepage lists version 1.7.2 for server download. Support is community-provided through the forum and Discord; the project says it offers no paid help, service-level agreement, or 24/7 support.
InvoiceShelf
InvoiceShelf is a free, open-source, self-hosted web application for invoices, estimates, payment tracking, and expense management. It supports branded documents, custom fields, tax rules, multiple currencies, and PDF templates. Recurring invoices can be generated for retainers, subscriptions, and repeat customers, while reports cover sales, taxes, overdue balances, and profit. Customers can view invoices, estimates, and payments in a private portal without creating a separate account. Users can record partial and full payments; the homepage lists Stripe checkout for online card payments. The application also supports payment reminders, remote file storage through listed drivers such as Dropbox, Amazon S3, and DigitalOcean Spaces, and backups from its interface. Backups can include everything, only the database, or only files. It advertises a REST API and module system, while webhooks are marked as coming soon. Hosting requires PHP 8.3 or 8.4, Nginx or Apache, and a supported database. The free plan is listed as free and includes unlimited invoices and customers.