The best invoice software for a freelancer depends on what else you need. For free: Zoho Invoice or Invoice Ninja. For full accounting: FreeAgent, Xero or QuickBooks. For proposals and contracts: Bonsai or HoneyBook. To keep your own invoices and just get the follow-up done: Babara, free for 3 invoices. Prices checked 25 October 2026.
This comparison is ours: we make Babara, which is in the list. Every other fact is dated and links to the vendor’s own page.
| Tool | Price with automatic reminders | Where invoices come from | Reminders | Also worth knowing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babara (us) | Free for 3 invoices at a time; Solo $12 / €12 / £10 a month for 15; Pro $29 / €29 / £25 unlimitedSource: babara.app/pricing | Standalone: type the invoice or drop its PDF. No accounting software neededSource: babara.app | Six steps from a heads-up to a final notice, in English, German or French, plus five languages translated by AISource: babara.app | Client pay page (pay, promise a date, ask, “not me”); reads email replies and waits for promised datesSource: babara.app | Freelancers and small studios who want the client’s side handled without accounting software. |
| FreshBooks | UK Lite £16 a month regular price (£8 for 3 months shown), 5 clients; Plus £30. US Lite $23, Plus $43. Automated late payment reminders are ticked on every plan, Lite includedSource: freshbooks.com/en-gb/pricing | Invoicing and accounting software: reminders work on FreshBooks invoicesSource: freshbooks.com/en-gb/pricing | Automated late payment reminders (Lite, Plus, Premium and Select) and scheduled late feesSource: freshbooks.com/en-gb/pricing | No free plan; 30-day trial, no card. Lite covers 5 billable clients, Plus up to 50Source: freshbooks.com/en-gb/pricing | Service businesses that want invoicing, time tracking and reminders in one place. |
| Zoho Invoice | Free (“forever-free”): 2 users, 3 projects, 500 invoices a year; no paid plan listedSource: zoho.com/uk/invoice/pricing | Invoicing software: reminders work on Zoho invoicesSource: zoho.com/uk/invoice/pricing | Automated payment reminders on the free planSource: zoho.com/uk/invoice/pricing | Free email and voice support 24/5Source: zoho.com/uk/invoice/pricing | Anyone who wants free invoicing with reminders and stays under 500 invoices a year. |
| Invoice Ninja | Pro $14 a month or $140 a year (auto late-payment reminder emails listed on Pro); Free up to 5 clientsSource: invoiceninja.com/pricing-plans | Invoicing software (also open source): reminders work on its own invoicesSource: invoiceninja.com/pricing-plans | Auto late-payment reminder emails (Pro)Source: invoiceninja.com/pricing-plans | Enterprise from $18 a month for 1–2 usersSource: invoiceninja.com/pricing-plans | Freelancers who want a low-cost invoicing app with reminders. |
| Wave | Pro $19 a month or $190 a year; automated late payment reminders are listed on Pro; Starter is freeSource: waveapps.com/pricing | Invoicing and accounting software: reminders work on Wave invoicesSource: waveapps.com/pricing | Automated late payment reminders (Pro)Source: waveapps.com/pricing | Prices in US or Canadian dollars only. Wave’s invoicing page also ties reminders to its online payments, so free Starter users with Wave Payments may get them; which page applies is unverifiedunverifiedSource: waveapps.com/pricing | North American small businesses that want free accounting with paid extras. |
| Bonsai | Invoicing starts on Essentials: $25 per user a month, or $19 billed yearly (Basic, $15 / $9, doesn’t list Invoices & Payments). Prices shown in $ only; 7-day trialSource: hellobonsai.com/pricing | Business suite: proposals, contracts, projects and invoices made in BonsaiSource: hellobonsai.com/pricing | Invoicing page: “Automatically send payment reminders to clients for overdue invoices”. The pricing page names no plan for remindersunverifiedSource: hellobonsai.com/invoicing | Clients pay by “credit cards, bank transfers, and more”; the pricing FAQ mentions card and ACH feesSource: hellobonsai.com/pricing | Freelancers who want proposals, contracts, projects and invoicing in one suite. |
| HoneyBook | Starter $29 a month billed yearly; the monthly-billed price and GBP prices aren’t shown on the page. 30-day trial, no cardunverifiedSource: honeybook.com/pricing | Client-flow platform: proposals, contracts and invoices made in HoneyBookSource: honeybook.com/pricing | Automatic payment reminders are on by default (except milestone due dates); no plan limit mentioned. SMS reminders on Essentials and upSource: HoneyBook help: payment reminders | Cards and ACH (1.5%); the page shows two different card fees (2.7% + 10¢ and 2.9% + 25¢)Source: honeybook.com/pricing | US creative and event freelancers who sell with proposals, contracts and payment schedules. |
| FreeAgent | UK only. Sole trader £19 a month excl. VAT (£9.50 for 6 months shown), or £190 a year. Free with a NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank business account, or Mettle with a transaction a monthSource: freeagent.com/pricing | Accounting software: reminders work on invoices raised in FreeAgentSource: freeagent.com/pricing | “Automated invoices and reminders” (the page doesn’t describe the setup)Source: freeagent.com/pricing | Clients can pay through Tyl by NatWest, Stripe, GoCardless and PayPalSource: freeagent.com/pricing | UK sole traders who want their books and tax in one place, especially NatWest, RBS or Mettle customers who get it free. |
| Xero | UK Ignite £18 a month excl. VAT (quotes and 20 invoices; 90% off for 6 months shown for new customers), Grow £39. US: cheapest is Early $27 a month, 20 invoicesSource: xero.com/uk/pricing-plans | Accounting software: reminders work on invoices raised in XeroSource: Xero Central: How invoice reminders work | Three default reminders when switched on, up to five; replies go to the user who turned them onSource: Xero Central: How invoice reminders work | Whether reminders are on every plan (including Ignite in the UK and Early in the US) is unverifiedunverifiedSource: xero.com/uk/pricing-plans | Businesses already doing their books in Xero. |
| QuickBooks Online | UK Simple Start £16 a month + VAT. Sole Trader Plus was £10 on 27 September 2026; we couldn’t re-confirm it or the current discount (prices load by script)unverifiedSource: quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/plus | Accounting software: reminders work on invoices raised in QuickBooksSource: QuickBooks help (UK) | Up to three automatic reminders, up to 90 days before or after the due date, on Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, Advanced and Sole TraderSource: QuickBooks help (UK) | Each reminder’s email template can be editedSource: QuickBooks help (UK) | Sole traders and small businesses already on QuickBooks. |
| Square Invoices | US: Square Free ($0) ticks automatic payment reminders; Plus $49 a month per location. UK £0 / Plus £20 and Ireland €0 / Plus €20, but which UK and Irish plan includes reminders is unverifiedunverifiedSource: squareup.com/us/en/invoices/pricing | Invoicing inside Square: reminders work on Square invoicesSource: squareup.com/gb/en/invoices | Automatic payment reminders (US plan table: Free, Plus and Premium)Source: squareup.com/us/en/invoices/pricing | Online card fees: UK 2.5%, Ireland 2.5% + VAT, US 3.3% + 30¢ on Free. UK and Irish free plan: unlimited invoices, estimates and contractsSource: squareup.com/ie/en/invoices | Freelancers who also take card payments in person, or want free invoicing with reminders. |
| PayPal invoicing | No monthly fee with a business account; you pay a fee on each payment (US cards 2.99% + $0.49). Optional US Invoicing Subscription $14.99 a monthSource: paypal.com/us/business/paypal-business-fees | Invoices made in PayPalSource: paypal.com/us/business/accept-payments/invoice | US page: “recurring invoices and automatic reminders”. UK page: “schedule payment reminders”Source: paypal.com/uk/business/accept-payments/invoice | UK fees page shows the commercial rate, 2.9% + 30p; the exact invoice rate isn’t namedunverifiedSource: paypal.com/uk/business/accept-payments/invoice | Freelancers whose clients already pay by PayPal, for occasional invoices. |
| Stripe Invoicing | No monthly fee: Starter 0.4% per paid invoice, Plus 0.5%, on top of Stripe’s card fees (UK cards 1.5% + 20p, US 2.9% + 30¢)Source: stripe.com/invoicing/pricing | Invoices made in Stripe (dashboard or API)Source: docs.stripe.com/invoicing/send-email | Automatic reminders before, on or after the due date for recurring invoices; reminders for unpaid one-off invoices sit under “Advanced invoicing features”Source: docs.stripe.com/invoicing/send-email | Bacs Direct Debit 1% in the UK (£4 cap); ACH Direct Debit 0.8% in the US ($5 cap)Source: stripe.com/gb/pricing | Developers and freelancers who already bill through Stripe. |
Three things, mostly: a clean invoice you can send in a minute, a way for the client to pay online, and follow-up when they don’t. Everything else (proposals, time tracking, bookkeeping, tax) is a bonus you only need some of the time.
If your accountant already works in Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent, invoicing there keeps your books in one place. If you have no accountant and a handful of clients, a lighter tool is usually enough.
Zoho Invoice is free for up to 500 invoices a year, reminders included. Invoice Ninja is free for 5 clients, with automatic reminders on Pro. Wave Starter is free for US and Canadian businesses, with reminders listed on Pro ($19 a month). Square’s free plan covers invoices, and its US plan table ticks automatic reminders on Free. FreeAgent is free for UK customers of NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle.
FreshBooks, Bonsai and HoneyBook have trials rather than free plans. PayPal and Stripe charge per payment instead of a monthly fee. Babara is free for 3 invoices chased at a time.
Babara is invoicing plus the chasing: quotes and invoices, six reminders from a heads-up 3 days before the due date to a final notice 21 days late, and a pay page where the client can pay, promise a date, say they’ve paid or ask a question. It reads replies: a clear promise sets the date, anything unclear pauses and asks you. It never marks an invoice paid on its own. Clients pay into your own Stripe or PayPal, and Babara takes 0%.
Babara isn’t accounting software. If you need bookkeeping, VAT returns or a tax return in the same app, FreeAgent, Xero or QuickBooks is the better fit.
We read each vendor’s own pricing, product and help pages on 25 October 2026 and linked every fact. Prices are the regular price; offers are noted separately. Euro prices appear only where the vendor publishes them.
We couldn’t confirm these, so they are marked unverified: QuickBooks UK’s Sole Trader Plus price, which Xero plans include reminders, HoneyBook’s monthly-billed price, which Square UK and Irish plan includes reminders, PayPal UK’s invoice fee and whether Wave Starter with online payments gets reminders. We make Babara, one of the tools listed. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@babara.app.
Before you start
Consider the awkward part handled
Quote it, sign it, invoice it, get paid. Babara handles the follow-up.
Start freeYour clients won’t know what hit them. (A very polite email.) Free for your first 3 invoices.