Zoho Invoice
Free planZoho's invoicing app for freelancers and small firms, with quotes, recurring invoices and a client portal.
Best for freelancers and two-person businesses that send up to about 40 invoices a month
Facts checked November 4, 2026
The short answer
Zoho Invoice is free, and the free plan is the whole product: quotes, recurring invoices, automatic reminders, time tracking, expenses and a portal where clients pay. A freelancer or a two-person business can run its billing on it for years without paying Zoho anything, though the payment gateway you connect still takes its fee. The limits are firm: two users, three projects and 500 invoices a year, with "Powered by Zoho Invoice" on your invoices. There is no paid Zoho Invoice plan, so a business that outgrows it moves to another Zoho product or another vendor, and it handles invoicing only, so you still need accounting software or an accountant at tax time.
Choose it if
- You send fewer than 500 invoices a year and want quotes, reminders and a client portal without a monthly fee
- You bill by the hour and want logged time and billable expenses to drop straight onto the invoice
- You invoice the same clients every month and want recurring invoices that charge a saved card automatically
- You invoice clients abroad and need invoices in their language and currency
- You already use Zoho CRM, Bigin or Zoho Projects and want invoices to sit beside those records
Skip it if
- Three or more people need to log in, since the free plan stops at two users
- You need bookkeeping as well as invoicing, where Zoho Books or Wave fit better
- Clients must not see another company's name on your invoices, because Zoho adds "Powered by Zoho Invoice" branding
- Most of your revenue comes from subscriptions with trials, plan changes and failed-payment retries, which Zoho Billing is built for
- You may leave the account untouched for six months or more, since Zoho deletes data from accounts inactive for over 180 days after warning you
Main features
Quotes that become invoices
You send a quote with an expiry date, and the client accepts or comments on it in the portal. Once they accept, Zoho Invoice can turn the quote into an invoice automatically, and you can add a signature step through Zoho Sign.
Recurring invoices and auto-charge
Set an invoice to repeat weekly, monthly or on another interval. If the client has saved a card, Zoho Invoice charges it on each cycle so you don't have to chase the payment.
Automatic payment reminders
Zoho Invoice emails clients when an invoice is due or overdue, and you can attach a statement listing everything they still owe.
Client portal
Clients log in to see their invoices, quotes and timesheets in one place. They can accept quotes and make full, partial or bulk payments from the same screen.
Time tracking and projects
Log hours against a project or task, by timer or by hand, and bill by project or task rate. Unbilled hours and expenses wait in a list until you add them to an invoice.
Expenses and mileage
Record and categorize expenses, mark them billable to a client, and bill mileage. The Android and Windows apps let you photograph a receipt and attach it.
Other languages and currencies
Zoho says invoices can go out in more than 10 languages. You can add foreign currencies and either enter exchange rates yourself or fetch them automatically from Open Exchange Rates.
Online payments
Connect a gateway and clients pay by card, ACH bank transfer or e-wallet. Zoho's help center lists eight gateways, including Zoho Payments, Stripe, PayPal, Square, Braintree and Authorize.Net.
Reports
About 30 built-in reports cover sales, receivables aging, top customers, taxes and expenses. For anything custom you connect Zoho Analytics.
Users and roles
Invite your second user with a role rather than sharing a password, limit them to certain customers, and deactivate them without deleting their history.
Pricing
Checked November 4, 2026 on Zoho's US pricing page. Zoho Invoice has a single free plan and no paid tier. Zoho charges no fee for online payments; the gateway you connect, such as Stripe or PayPal, charges its own.
Free
$0
2 users, 2 organizations, 3 projects, 500 invoices a year, quotes, recurring invoices, reminders, time and expense tracking, client portal and reports
Reviews
Write a reviewNo reviews yet. If you use Zoho Invoice, yours would be the first.
Alternatives to Zoho Invoice
| Product | Choose it instead if | Starts at |
|---|---|---|
| Zoho Billing | Most of your income is subscriptions and you need trials, plan changes and dunning on failed payments | $39 a month billed yearl... |
| FreshBooks | You want a paid invoicing and accounting tool with a 30-day free trial, from $23 a month at the regular price | $23 a month (Lite) |
Questions people ask
Is Zoho Invoice really free?
Yes. Zoho's US pricing page lists one plan at $0 with no time limit and no paid tier above it. The free plan allows two users, two organizations, three projects and 500 invoices a year. Payment gateways still charge their own processing fees.
What happens when I need more than 500 invoices a year?
Zoho Invoice has no paid plan to upgrade to. The pricing page asks businesses that outgrow it to contact Zoho's product experts and recommends Zoho Billing for growing businesses. If you need accounting as well as invoicing, Zoho Books is the other route, and its US free plan allows 1,000 invoices a year for businesses with revenue up to $50,000.
Can I remove the Zoho Invoice branding?
The pricing page says invoices include "Powered by Zoho Invoice" branding and does not mention a way to turn it off.
Which payment gateways work with Zoho Invoice?
Zoho's help center lists Zoho Payments, Stripe, PayPal, Square, Braintree, Authorize.Net, CSG Forte and Verifone. Zoho doesn't charge a fee for online payments, but each gateway takes its own. Zoho stores only the last four digits of a customer's card.
What is the difference between Zoho Invoice and Zoho Books?
Zoho Invoice covers quotes, invoices, payments, time and expenses. Zoho Books is Zoho's accounting software, for when you want your books kept in the same place. Books has a US free plan for one user plus an accountant while yearly revenue stays at or below $50,000, and its Standard plan costs $15 per organization a month billed yearly or $20 billed monthly.
Will Zoho delete my account if I don't use it?
Zoho says it deletes the data of accounts that have been inactive for more than 180 days, within the following 20 days. It notifies you first, and logging in or making a backup stops the deletion. If you only invoice once or twice a year, set a reminder to log in.
Does Zoho Invoice have a mobile app?
Yes. There are apps for iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows (marked beta), plus Apple Watch and Android watch support for checking invoices and tracking time. A Chrome extension lets you create invoices from the browser.
Sources we checked 11
- zoho.com/us/invoice/pricing for free plan and limits (2 users, 2 organizations, 3 projects, 500 invoices a year), no paid tier, branding, Zoho Billing recommendation, 24/5 email and phone support, 180-day inactivity deletion checked November 4, 2026
- zoho.com/us/invoice for feature overview, payment methods (card, ACH, e-wallet), sending by email, SMS and WhatsApp, platforms, support contacts checked November 4, 2026
- zoho.com/us/invoice/features for quotes, recurring invoices, auto-charge, portal, time tracking, expenses and mileage, 10+ languages, about 30 reports, users and roles checked November 4, 2026
- zoho.com/us/invoice/integrations for integrations count (55+) and named integrations checked November 4, 2026
- zoho.com/us/invoice/help/settings/online-payments.html for supported payment gateways, no Zoho fee on online payments, card storage checked November 4, 2026
- zoho.com/us/invoice/help/settings/currencies.html for foreign currencies and automatic exchange rates checked November 4, 2026
- zoho.com/us/invoice/mobile-apps for iOS, Android, Windows (beta), Mac and watch apps, receipt capture checked November 4, 2026
- zoho.com/aboutus.html for company founded as AdventNet in 1996; Zoho Invoice launched in 2008 checked November 4, 2026
- zoho.com/us/books/pricing for Zoho Books free plan limits and Standard price, for FAQ and alternatives checked November 4, 2026
- freshbooks.com/pricing for FreshBooks Lite regular price and lack of a free plan, for alternatives checked November 4, 2026
- waveapps.com/pricing for Wave free Starter plan with unlimited invoices, for alternatives checked November 4, 2026