Invoicing app or full bookkeeping
Decide first how much you need. If you send a few invoices a month and your accountant does the rest, an invoicing app is enough: you create quotes and invoices, track who has paid and export the list at year end. Zoho Invoice, Invoice Ninja, Zervant, Invoicely and InvoicePlane focus on this.
If you do your own books, you need bookkeeping software with accounts, bank records and reports like profit and loss. Wave, Zoho Books, GnuCash, Frappe Books and Dolibarr cover that. GnuCash, for example, lists double-entry accounting, customer and vendor tracking, invoicing and bill payment.
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Free plan limits compared
Hosted free plans are limited by invoices, clients, users or revenue. These are the numbers from the vendors' pricing pages:
| Software | Free plan limit |
|---|---|
| Wave | Unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records; bank import and late payment reminders are Pro features |
| Zoho Books | Revenue up to US$50K a financial year, 1 user plus 1 accountant, 1,000 invoices a year |
| Zoho Invoice | 500 invoices a year, 2 users, 3 projects |
| Invoice Ninja | Up to 5 clients with unlimited invoicing |
| Zervant | 5 customers and 5 invoices a month, unlimited estimates |
| Invoicely | 5 invoices a month, 3 saved clients |
Card payments cost extra even on a free plan. Wave lists 2.9% + US$0.60 per credit card transaction when you accept online payments.
Check that it works in your country
Accounting depends on local tax rules, so check the country first:
- Wave says it serves small business owners in the US and Canada.
- FreeAgent is free under its UK pricing for customers with a business current account at NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank, or a Mettle account with at least one transaction a month.
- Zervant lists its Free plan in the pricing for Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
- Zoho runs regional editions; the Zoho Invoice page lists editions for 18 countries plus a Global edition.
Whatever you use, check your numbers. Work out the tax on a sale with the sales tax calculator or the VAT calculator, and see what you keep with the profit margin calculator.
Open source and self-hosted options
Open source accounting has no subscription, but you install and update it yourself. GnuCash and hledger run as programs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Frappe Books, ERPNext, Dolibarr and InvoicePlane run on a server and open in the browser.
Invoice Ninja is a middle case: its code is source-available under the Elastic License, and removing its branding from a self-hosted copy costs US$40 a year. Keep regular backups of any self-hosted books, because nobody else has a copy.
How we checked
On 2026-10-22 we opened each vendor's own pricing page or the project's own site, without signing up, and wrote down the free plan limits exactly as stated. Some tools are missing because their pricing page could not be read or the free terms were unclear on that day. This list is not tax or legal advice; ask your accountant which software they accept.
Frequently asked questions
Is there completely free accounting software for a small business?
Yes. Wave's Starter plan includes unlimited invoices and bookkeeping records in the US and Canada, and Zoho Books has a free plan for businesses with revenue up to US$50K a year. GnuCash, Frappe Books, Dolibarr and hledger are free open source programs you install yourself.
What is the best free invoicing software for freelancers?
It depends on how many clients you have. Zoho Invoice allows 500 invoices a year with no stated client limit. Invoice Ninja allows unlimited invoices for up to 5 clients, and Zervant 5 customers and 5 invoices a month. InvoicePlane is free open source software you host yourself.
Do free accounting apps charge fees?
Plans can be free while payments cost money. Wave lists 2.9% + US$0.60 per credit card transaction when you accept online payments. FreeAgent says optional add-ons may still be chargeable for bank customers who get it free.
Can I use free accounting software outside the US?
Yes, but check the country. Wave serves the US and Canada, FreeAgent is free only under its UK pricing with certain banks, and Zervant lists its Free plan for eight European countries. Open source tools you install yourself are another option; Frappe Books, for example, sets up a country-specific chart of accounts.
Is GnuCash good for a small business?
GnuCash describes itself as personal and small-business financial accounting software. Its feature list includes double-entry accounting, customer and vendor tracking, invoicing, bill payment and reports. It is free under the GNU GPL and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and BSD.