The best invoicing software for freelancers: FreshBooks vs Bonsai vs Wave vs Zoho Invoice

For a freelancer, invoicing isn't paperwork. It's how you get paid. The right tool makes it easy for clients to pay quickly, reminds them when they don't, and keeps a clean record for tax time. The wrong one charges you a percentage of every payment for features you don't use.

There are good free options, and paid ones that earn their price by doing more than send invoices. This guide compares four of the most popular with freelancers and explains which kind of freelancer each suits.

The four side by side

Published prices on the day we checked.

Zoho Invoice

Zoho Invoice is free for small businesses, with no subscription. The free plan allows up to 500 invoices a year, up to two users and up to three projects, with limits that reset each year from the date you created your account. It covers estimates, invoices, recurring invoices, payment reminders, time tracking and a client portal, and connects to Zoho Books if you later want full accounting.

Best for: freelancers who want professional invoices and reminders for free, and send fewer than about 40 invoices a month. Watch for: the 500-invoice and three-project limits.

Wave Starter

Wave's free Starter plan has unlimited estimates, invoices and bookkeeping records, plus a mobile app for invoicing on the go. Online card payments cost 2.9% plus $0.60, or 3.4% plus $0.60 for American Express.

The Pro plan, at $19 a month or $190 a year, adds automatic bank import, receipt capture, automated late payment reminders, branding and more than one user, and lowers card fees to 2.9% with no fixed fee for your first 10 card transactions a month.

Best for: freelancers who send many invoices and want free basic bookkeeping alongside. Watch for: card fees, and manual bank entry on the free plan.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks was built for freelancers and service businesses, and its invoicing shows it: clear, client-friendly invoices, estimates, time tracking, expenses and payment reminders.

Lite, at $23 a month, covers invoicing and expenses for up to 5 billable clients. Plus, at $43, raises the limit to 50 clients and adds proposals, retainers, double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access. Premium, at $70, removes the client limit and adds project profitability. Team members cost $11 a month each.

FreshBooks Payments charges 2.9% plus $0.30 for cards and 1% for bank transfers.

Best for: freelancers who want invoicing and real accounting in one tool. Watch for: client limits on Lite and Plus.

Bonsai

Bonsai is built around the whole client workflow rather than the invoice alone. Its Essentials plan, at $25 per user a month or $19 billed annually, includes proposals, contracts, invoices, payments, forms, scheduling, a client portal and expense tracking, alongside the time tracking, task management and CRM in its Basic plan.

Premium, at $39 a month or $29 annually, adds project insights, a deals pipeline, profitability reports and integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Zapier, Calendly and Google. Bonsai's Basic plan, at $15 a month, doesn't include invoicing, so Essentials is the real starting point for a freelancer.

Best for: freelancers and small studios who win work with proposals and contracts. Watch for: per-user pricing as you add people, and accounting handled through integrations rather than built in.

What it really costs to get paid

The subscription is often the smaller cost. Payment processing fees come out of every invoice paid by card.

On a $2,000 invoice:

• By card through FreshBooks: about $58.30 (2.9% plus $0.30).
• By card through Wave Starter: about $58.60 (2.9% plus $0.60).
• By bank transfer through FreshBooks: $20 (1%).

A freelancer billing $8,000 a month, all by card, pays roughly $230 a month in card fees, far more than any subscription. Encouraging clients to pay by bank transfer, and putting your bank details on the invoice, can save thousands a year. Many freelancers offer card payment as a convenience and bank transfer as the default.

Features that matter for freelancers

• Deposits and retainers. Ask for a deposit before work starts. FreshBooks supports retainers on Plus and above.
• Recurring invoices for monthly clients.
• Automatic reminders for overdue invoices. They do the awkward chasing for you.
• Time tracking that turns hours straight into invoice lines, if you bill by the hour.
• Proposals and contracts that convert into a project and an invoice, if you win work by proposal.
• Several currencies, if you have clients abroad.
• Tax reports, so year-end income totals are a download, not a project.

A good invoice, whatever the tool

Software helps, but the content of the invoice decides how fast you're paid.

• Your business name, address and contact details, and the client's.
• A unique invoice number and the invoice date.
• A clear description of the work, the period it covers and the amount.
• Payment terms, such as "due in 14 days," and the due date.
• How to pay, with bank details and a payment link.
• Any late fee your contract allows.

Send it the day the work is done or the milestone is hit, not at the end of the month. Invoices sent promptly are paid promptly.

Getting paid faster

The tool matters less than a few habits that every one of these apps supports.

• Ask for a deposit. A third to a half up front on a new client's first project removes most of the risk, and filters out clients who won't pay.
• Use short terms. "Due in 14 days" gets paid sooner than "net 30," and "due on receipt" sooner still for small amounts.
• Turn on automatic reminders. A polite reminder three days before and after the due date recovers most late payments without an awkward conversation.
• Offer more than one way to pay. Bank transfer as the default, card as a convenience.
• Invoice at milestones. On longer projects, bill in stages rather than waiting until the end.

Clients abroad

If you invoice clients in other countries, check two things. First, whether the tool can invoice in the client's currency, since some clients prefer it. Second, how you'll receive the money, because international card and bank payments can lose several percent to conversion fees. Many freelancers give overseas clients the details of a multi-currency account, such as Wise Business, so the client pays locally and you convert at a lower cost. Our comparison of Wise, Airwallex and Payoneer works through the fees.

When an invoice goes unpaid

Most late invoices are paid after a reminder or two. For the rest, escalate calmly.

1. Send a final reminder with the amount, the original due date and any late fee your contract allows.
2. Call or message the person who hired you, not only accounts payable.
3. Pause further work until the overdue invoice is settled.
4. For larger amounts, a letter from an attorney or a small claims filing is often enough to prompt payment.

A clear contract and a deposit make every one of these steps easier.

Contracts protect your invoice

An invoice is only as enforceable as the agreement behind it. A short contract setting out the scope, the price, the payment terms and who owns the work makes it far easier to collect when a client is slow. Bonsai builds contracts into its workflow, and the other tools let you attach your own. Our guide to the LLC operating agreement covers a different document, but the principle is the same: write it down while everyone agrees.

Taxes and 1099s

Clients who pay you $2,000 or more for services in a year, for payments made after December 31, 2025, generally send you a Form 1099-NEC. Payments made by card or through a payment platform are usually reported on Form 1099-K by the processor instead. Your invoicing tool's income reports are the easiest way to check those forms against what you actually received.

Switching tools later

Moving between invoicing tools is easier than moving accounting software, because the history that matters is short: open invoices, client details and your income totals for the year. Export a client list and a year-end income report before you switch, finish collecting open invoices in the old tool, and start every new invoice in the new one. Keep the old account, or a full export, for your tax records.

How to choose

1. Fewer than 500 invoices a year and no need for accounting? Zoho Invoice.
2. Many invoices and basic bookkeeping, free? Wave Starter, moving to Pro when manual entry gets old.
3. Invoicing plus full accounting? FreshBooks Plus.
4. Proposals and contracts first? Bonsai Essentials.

If you also need to decide on accounting software, our comparison of QuickBooks, Xero and FreshBooks and our guide to free accounting software cover the rest.