Best for
Best for freelancers and small businesses that want open-source invoicing with a free or self-hosted option and a wide choice of payment gateways.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Accounting & Invoicing Comparison
Invoice Ninja vs. Zoho Invoice
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for freelancers and small consultancies that need to quote, track billable time and chase invoices without paying for a full accounting package.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Invoice Ninja | Zoho Invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; Ninja Pro from $14 / month The free plan covers up to five clients with unlimited invoicing. Ninja Pro is $14 / month billed monthly ($140 / year) and adds a REST API, custom templates, US sales tax and financial reports. A free self-hosted option is also available. US pricing. | Free There is no paid tier. The free plan covers up to 2 users, 500 invoices per year and 2 organisations under one Zoho account, and adds a Zoho Invoice line to documents. |
| Free trial | Not stated | Free plan; no paid tier |
| Users | Not stated | Up to 2 users on the free plan |
| API | Yes, a full REST API on the Pro and Enterprise plans, plus Zapier, Make and n8n | Yes, a REST API on the free plan, limited to 1,000 requests per day, 100 requests per minute and 5 concurrent calls |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) or self-hosted | Cloud (SaaS), with apps for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac and a Chrome extension |
| Invoicing and quotes | Yes, invoices and quotes with real-time PDF preview, a product library, deposits and partial payments, multiple currencies and languages, and e-signature approval that auto-converts a quote to an invoice | Yes, professional invoices and custom quotes that convert to invoices, recurring invoices, a client portal for viewing and paying, and payment collection by card, ACH and e-wallet through integrated gateways |
| Bookkeeping and bank feeds | Bank transaction import via Yodlee or GoCardless on the Enterprise plan | No, Zoho Invoice covers billing and payment collection rather than bookkeeping; bank reconciliation and the general ledger sit in Zoho Books |
| Expenses and receipts | Yes, log and categorize expenses, manage vendors and purchase orders, and mark expenses billable to re-invoice clients | Yes, expenses are recorded and converted into billable line items on an invoice |
| Tax and compliance | US sales tax calculation by state on the Pro plan, with tax rates set per line item or per invoice | Yes, taxes are calculated automatically from the tax authorities and rates defined for the organisation |
| Payroll | No, the product covers invoicing, expenses, time tracking, payments and taxes; there is no payroll module | No |
| Reports and exports | Yes, profit and loss, invoice, payment and expense reports and client statements, with CSV export | Yes, a dashboard and business reports covering accounts receivable ageing, top customers, product performance and expenses |
| Integrations and API | Yes, a full REST API on the Pro and Enterprise plans, plus Zapier, Make and n8n | Yes, a REST API covering invoices, estimates, recurring invoices, contacts, expenses, projects, payments, credit notes, items, taxes and time tracking, plus integration with Zoho CRM |
| AI features | No | stated Yes |
| Deployment | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Community forum | Not stated |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | more entries Stripe, PayPal, Square, GoCardless, Zapier | Zoho CRM, Zoho Books |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Invoice Ninja Free; Ninja Pro from $14 / month Zoho Invoice Free
- Deployment Invoice Ninja Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise Zoho Invoice Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
- Hosting Invoice Ninja Cloud (SaaS) or self-hosted Zoho Invoice Cloud (SaaS), with apps for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac and a Chrome extension
- AI features Invoice Ninja No Zoho Invoice Yes
- API Invoice Ninja Yes, a full REST API on the Pro and Enterprise plans, plus Zapier, Make and n8n Zoho Invoice Yes, a REST API on the free plan, limited to 1,000 requests per day, 100 requests per minute and 5 concurrent calls
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Invoice Ninja
Strengths
- Open source with a free self-hosted option
- Free cloud plan for up to five clients with unlimited invoicing
- More than 20 payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square and GoCardless
- Client portal with online quote approval by e-signature
Limitations
- Bank transaction import is limited to the Enterprise plan
- The REST API and custom templates begin on the paid Pro plan
- Automatic sales tax calculation is US-focused
Zoho Invoice
Strengths
- Genuinely free rather than a trial, with no paid tier to upgrade to
- REST API included on the free plan, with a 1,000-request daily allowance
- Time tracking and expenses convert straight into invoiced line items
- Client portal lets customers view invoices, pay and respond to quotes
Limitations
- Billing only: no bank reconciliation, no general ledger and no payroll
- Capped at 2 users, 500 invoices per year and 2 organisations
- Documents carry a Zoho Invoice line
- Outgrowing the limits means moving to a different Zoho product
Plans
Pricing
Invoice Ninja
- Free $0 Up to five clients with unlimited invoicing, four templates, online payments, recurring invoices, expenses and the client portal.
- Ninja Pro $14 / month Billed monthly ($140 / year). Unlimited clients, removes branding, 11 templates, a REST API, US sales tax, financial reports and custom email.
- Enterprise $18 / month From $18 / month for one to two users, scaling to $300 / month for 51 to 100 users. Adds account users with permissions, bank account sync, file attachments and e-invoicing.
- Premium Business Not stated From $280 / year. Adds a developer concierge, priority support, an invoice design service, data migration help and custom reports.
Zoho Invoice
- Free $0 The only plan. Up to 2 users, 500 invoices per year and 2 organisations under one Zoho account. Includes invoices and quotes, recurring invoices, payment gateways, expenses, time tracking, the client portal, tax calculation, reports and the REST API. Documents carry a Zoho Invoice line.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Invoice Ninja
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Zoho Invoice
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Invoice Ninja https://invoiceninja.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-08
Zoho Invoice https://www.zoho.com/invoice/ · checked against the official source on 2026-09-05
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.