Invoice Ninja invoiceninja.comFree alternatives to Invoice Ninja
Invoice Ninja costs $14/mo on the Pro plan, or $168 a year. Here are 3 free and open-source options, what each one does, and what you give up compared with paying.
01At a glance
| Alternative | Type | Where it runs | Works on |
|---|---|---|---|
| InvoiceShelf | Open source | You host it | Web, Your server |
| ERPNext | Open source | Hosted or self-hosted | Web, Your server |
| Zoho Invoice | Free | Hosted for you | Web, iPhone, Android |
02Each alternative, in detail
Invoices, estimates, expenses, payments and a client portal; the bill arrives as Docker maintenance instead.
Versus paying: InvoiceShelf has a smaller payment-gateway, mobile-app, integration, recurring-billing, and support ecosystem than Invoice Ninja, with a less mature current release line.
Setup: Deploy a stable tagged release with the official Docker Compose example
Watch for: The first obstacle is choosing a stable 2.x release rather than the default next/3.x alpha branch, then operating Docker, persistent storage, mail, HTTPS, backups, and upgrades.
1,800 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)
invoiceshelf.com →Quotes, invoices, payments, expenses and a portal inside a much larger ERP than anyone ordered.
Versus paying: ERPNext can issue and collect invoices but its much larger ERP interface is less polished for client portals, payment gateways, recurring billing, and solo-business onboarding.
Setup: Managed Frappe Cloud signup, or the supported Frappe Docker/Bench deployment
Watch for: Self-hosting is an ERP deployment rather than a desktop install: Docker or Bench, MariaDB, Redis, workers, a reverse proxy, backups, upgrades, and country-specific accounting setup.
37,700 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)
frappe.io →Quotes, time, expenses, payments and a portal for free; Zoho still keeps an annual invoice ceiling.
Versus paying: Zoho Invoice is easier to adopt but the free service caps annual invoices, users, and projects and retains Zoho branding, making it less flexible than a paid Invoice Ninja account.
Setup: Hosted signup or the official mobile/desktop app
zoho.com →03Invoice Ninja's own free plan
The free plan covers up to 5 clients with unlimited invoicing.
The same invoicing stack on your own server; billing is free, the license is source-available, and removing its branding costs extra.
04What you give up by leaving Invoice Ninja
- managed hosting
- upgrades
- backups
- support
- payment setup convenience
- reduced ops risk
They pay because billing software is boring and should not break on invoice day.
05Questions
Is there a free alternative to Invoice Ninja?
Yes. This page compares 3: InvoiceShelf, ERPNext and Zoho Invoice. 2 of them are open source, so you can run them yourself.
How much does Invoice Ninja cost?
$14/mo on the Pro plan (monthly), which is $168 a year. Free plan: The free plan covers up to 5 clients with unlimited invoicing. Prices checked Aug 11, 2026.
What do you give up with a free alternative to Invoice Ninja?
Most often: managed hosting, upgrades, backups and support. Each alternative on this page lists its own gap under “Versus paying.”
Can AI build me my own version of Invoice Ninja?
Bot. Invoice Ninja is open source, so the hosted subscription can be replaced by self-hosting if you can handle ops, updates, payment config, and backups.
Prices change; confirm on the vendor's site before you decide.
Get new verdicts in your inbox.
One short email when new verdicts land: what AI can now do for you, and what it still gets wrong. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.