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Free, just getting started: Wave. Its Starter plan is $0 with unlimited invoices and estimates; Wave charges 2.9% + $0.60 per card payment.
Established freelancer who bills time: FreshBooks. Time tracking and invoicing in one app, with automated late payment reminders. The Lite plan covers 5 billable clients, Plus covers 50.
Project-based work (designers, consultants): HoneyBook. Its plans bundle proposals, contracts, invoices and payments, and a client portal.
Contracts plus invoicing in one tool: Bonsai. Invoices, proposals and contracts start on its Essentials plan; Bonsai says its contract templates are vetted by contract attorneys.
What we would not do: keep hand-formatting Word or Excel invoices once you invoice regularly. Each of the four apps automates the parts a template cannot.
This is a research-based buying guide, not a hands-on test. We compared each vendor's published pricing and plan features, read on the pricing pages linked below on 17 October 2026. We looked at five things: how quickly you can get from “client said yes” to an invoice, recurring billing, payment options, tax-time reporting, and price.
Each tool below fits a different freelancer profile: free for starting out (Wave), time tracking plus invoicing (FreshBooks), a project bundle for creative work (HoneyBook), and contracts plus invoicing plus bookkeeping (Bonsai). Buying tools that overlap (one for invoices, another for contracts, another for bookkeeping) is how you end up paying several subscriptions for one job.
What we left off: QuickBooks, PayPal Invoicing, Stripe Invoicing and Square Invoices. We have not compared their current plans for this guide, so we make no claims about them here.
Starter plan $0 · 2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction (Starter) · Unlimited invoices · checked 17 Oct 2026 on waveapps.com/pricing
Wave’s Starter plan is $0 and, per its pricing page, lets you create unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records, accept online payments (2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction, 3.4% + $0.60 per Amex transaction), invoice from the mobile app and manage cash flow and customers in one dashboard. Wave makes money on payment processing, its Pro plan ($19 USD a month billed monthly) and paid bookkeeping services.
Where it wins for freelance work: no up-front cost and unlimited invoices on the free plan.
Where it loses: Wave lists automated late payment reminders under the Pro plan, not Starter. Wave’s pricing page does not list contracts or proposals; if you need those, look at HoneyBook or Bonsai.
Pricing tip: start on Starter, and move to Pro only if you want the features Wave lists for it, such as automated late payment reminders.
Lite $23/mo (5 clients) · Plus $43/mo (50 clients) · Premium $70/mo (unlimited clients), USD regular prices before any promotion · 30-day trial · checked 17 Oct 2026 on freshbooks.com/pricing
FreshBooks is the paid pick for freelancers who bill time. Its pricing page lists time tracking, recurring invoices, scheduled late fees, automated late payment reminders, expense receipt scanning, mileage tracking and tax-time reports, and lets you give your accountant access.
Where it wins: time tracking and invoicing in one app, with reminders that go out automatically.
Where it loses: the Lite plan caps you at 5 billable clients, so if you have more clients you need Plus (50 clients). Check the plan comparison for which features sit on which tier before you pay.
Pricing tip: start on the 30-day trial and pick the tier by your client count: Lite for up to 5 billable clients, Plus for up to 50, Premium for unlimited.
Starter $29/mo; Essentials $49/mo and Premium $109/mo shown as 25% off a limited-time offer (regular $59 and $129), all billed yearly · Built for project-based work · checked 17 Oct 2026 on honeybook.com/pricing
HoneyBook fits work that is project-based with discrete deliverables: designers, photographers, consultants, studios. Per its pricing page, even the Starter plan includes unlimited clients and projects, invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, a calendar and a client portal; Essentials adds a scheduler, automations and a QuickBooks Online integration.
Where it wins: proposal, contract, invoice and payment in one client-facing flow, so you are not stitching several tools together.
Where it loses: the product is built around the project pipeline. If your work is mostly hourly or retainer billing, a time-tracking tool such as FreshBooks may fit better.
Pricing tip: compare Starter with Essentials; the scheduler and automations are on Essentials and above.
Basic $15, Essentials $25, Premium $39 per user/month billed monthly (lower when billed annually); invoices and payments start on Essentials · checked 17 Oct 2026 on hellobonsai.com/pricing
Per its pricing page, Bonsai’s Basic plan covers time tracking and projects; invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, forms, scheduling, a client portal and expense and income tracking come in at Essentials. Bonsai says its contract templates are “vetted by contract attorneys” and that its bookkeeping tracks business expenses and deductions (Bonsai bookkeeping page).
Where it wins: contracts, proposals and invoicing in one tool, with bookkeeping alongside.
Where it loses: Bonsai prices per user, and invoicing starts on Essentials, so a solo freelancer cannot invoice on the cheapest plan.
Pricing tip: Essentials is the lowest tier with invoicing; compare the plan feature lists on Bonsai’s pricing page before paying for more.
| App | Starting price (checked 17 Oct 2026) | Best for | Late payment reminders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Starter $0 (2.9% + $0.60 per credit card transaction) | Starting out | Listed on Pro ($19/mo) |
| FreshBooks | Lite $23/mo, Plus $43/mo (USD, before promotions) | Freelancers who bill time | Listed (automated) |
| HoneyBook | Starter $29/mo billed yearly | Project-based (design, photo, consulting) | See plan comparison |
| Bonsai | Essentials $25/user/mo billed monthly (first tier with invoicing) | Contracts + invoicing in one tool | See plan comparison |
If you're starting from zero or moving off Excel templates, ramp through these in order — not all at once:
Many freelancers start with a Word or PDF template they made themselves. It works for the first few invoices. Then these problems tend to show up:
The Freelancer’s AI Toolkit on Kindle: 200 prompts for proposals, client emails and invoices.
See the book — $9.99 →Can I deduct invoicing software as a business expense? In many countries business software is a deductible business expense, but the rules differ by country, so check with your tax adviser and keep the receipts.
Should I issue invoices in my client's currency or mine? It depends on what you agreed with the client. If you invoice in a foreign currency, check before you subscribe that the app supports that currency on your plan, and convert to your own currency at the bank-deposit step.
How do I handle clients who don't pay on time? Use automatic reminders if your plan has them. FreshBooks lists automated late payment reminders, and Wave lists them as a Pro plan feature. Check the plan comparison before you rely on it.
Do freelancers need to register for VAT to invoice? Depends on country. NL freelancers under €20K/year qualify for the small-business scheme (KOR). EU varies by country; UK threshold is £90K; US has no national VAT but state sales tax may apply for services. Verify with your local tax adviser before invoicing internationally.
What about cryptocurrency payments? Skip them for now. None of the four apps' pricing pages list crypto payments, and the tax compliance for crypto income adds overhead.
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