Top 5 Invoicing Tools for Freelancers Compared

Invoicing is a core activity for freelancers, and the tool you choose affects your cashflow, professionalism, and time spent on admin. This review compares five popular options: Wave, FreshBooks, QuickBooks Self-Employed, Bonsai, and PayPal Invoicing. Each has strengths depending on whether you value cost, automation, tax features, or client experience.

How we evaluated these tools

We used a mix of hands-on testing and feature comparison focusing on:

• Cost and pricing transparency
• Ease of creating and sending invoices
• Payment processing options and fees
• Reporting and tax-ready exports
• Client-facing experience
• Automation for recurring invoices and reminders

1. Wave

Wave is appealing because it offers a strong free tier for freelancers who want basic invoicing and bookkeeping without monthly fees. You can create branded invoices, set up recurring billing, and accept payments via card or bank transfer for fees.

• Pros: Free invoicing, basic accounting features, easy to use
• Cons: Payment fees for processing, limited advanced automation

Best for

New freelancers and low-volume contractors who want zero monthly costs.

2. FreshBooks

FreshBooks is built for service providers, with attractive invoice templates, time tracking, and built-in expense management. It handles recurring billing well and integrates with many payment processors.

• Pros: Clean interface, strong client experience, integrated time tracking
• Cons: Monthly fee and higher tiers can get expensive

Best for

Freelancers who bill hourly and want tight integration between time tracking and invoices.

3. QuickBooks Self-Employed

QuickBooks is known for accounting depth. The Self-Employed tier helps freelancers separate business expenses, estimate taxes, and prepare basic reports. It also integrates with TurboTax in some markets, simplifying filings.

• Pros: Strong expense categorization and tax features
• Cons: Not as polished for invoicing templates, can be overkill for some

Best for

Freelancers who need robust bookkeeping and tax preparation help.

4. Bonsai

Bonsai is a freelancer-first platform built around the contract-invoice-pay workflow. It offers contract templates, proposals, and invoicing with automated reminders. Bonsai aims to be a complete freelance business OS.

• Pros: All-in-one with contracts and proposals, sleek templates
• Cons: Monthly subscription required, fewer advanced accounting reports

Best for

Freelancers who want contracts and billing in one place and value workflow simplicity.

5. PayPal Invoicing

PayPal is ubiquitous and convenient for international clients. Invoicing via PayPal is straightforward and leverages the PayPal balance, though fees can be higher than integrated processors optimized for business deposits.

• Pros: Fast client familiarity, global reach
• Cons: Higher transaction fees and limited reporting

Side-by-side comparison

Here are the tradeoffs you need to weigh:

• Cost-sensitive: Wave wins for no monthly fees.
• Automation and contracts: Bonsai excels if you want a unified sales to invoice workflow.
• Accounting & taxes: QuickBooks is better for complex bookkeeping needs.
• Client familiarity: PayPal is universal and convenient.

Recommendation

If you want a single recommendation: choose based on your primary need. For most freelancers starting out, Wave or Bonsai will likely be the best combination of affordability and features. If you do significant hourly work and want time tracking plus invoicing, FreshBooks is excellent. For advanced bookkeeping and tax readiness, QuickBooks Self-Employed is the safe choice.

Quick tips for any tool

• Enable automated reminders to reduce late payments.
• Customize invoices with clear payment instructions and due dates.
• Keep a client-specific payment policy in your contract.
• Reconcile payments weekly so you always know what’s outstanding.

Good invoicing isn't glamorous, but it sustains your business. Pick one tool, learn it well, and make it part of your weekly routine.

Final note: We tested each tool in early 2026 and findings reflect the most common freelancer workflows. Pricing and features change, so always check the current provider pages before committing.