FreshBooks vs Zoho Invoice vs Invoice Simple: which fits a freelancer
FreshBooks, Zoho Invoice, and Invoice Simple are three different products. This page uses USD monthly list prices checked on 1 November 2026: FreshBooks Lite $23 for 5 clients, Zoho Invoice $0 with a 500-invoice year, Invoice Simple Essentials $6.99 for 3 invoices a month. PortaFact Solo is $5/mo with unlimited quotes and invoices. 14-day trial, no card.
These three names are not the same kind of tool
A US or UK freelancer comparing FreshBooks, Zoho Invoice, and Invoice Simple is usually trying to leave Word. The names are not interchangeable, and a single best-of list hides the difference.
FreshBooks is accounting software that also sends invoices. The public Lite plan meters billable clients. Zoho Invoice is a free invoicing product with a yearly invoice cap, a user cap, and a project cap. Invoice Simple is a phone-first invoicing app that sells a monthly invoice cap, then a higher plan when that cap is too small.
This page uses one currency: US dollars. Every figure below is a monthly list price published on the vendor's own pricing page on 1 November 2026. Yearly totals are not mixed into the same list. FreshBooks was also showing a four-month introductory discount; the amounts here are the non-discounted monthly figures on that same page. Recheck the live page before you pay. Prices move.
This is not a second Invoice2go comparison. That article already has its own URL.
Start with the week, not the logo
The job, for one freelancer or a two-person studio, is still a short path:
1. Save the client once (name, email, how they want to be billed).
2. Write the quote while the scope is still fuzzy.
3. Convert that quote to an invoice when the deposit, the milestone, or the retainer is due. Do not retype the lines.
4. Send a link the client can reopen later, or hand to the person who actually pays.
5. If it stays open, remind from that same invoice. A reminder does not make the client pay.
Expenses, a profit-and-loss report, and a bookkeeping ledger are a different product. A project plan is a different product. If you need the books, say so before you compare invoice caps. If you need the path above, a client limit or a three-invoice month is the thing that sends you back to Word.
What each public price actually buys
Checked on 1 November 2026. Monthly list price, USD only.
FreshBooks, freshbooks.com/pricing, Monthly selected
• Lite — $23/mo. The card says you can send invoices to 5 clients. The help text on that page says the client limit counts active and archived clients until you delete one.
• Plus — $43/mo. Send invoices to 50 clients. The card also lists estimates, proposals, client retainers, tax-time reports, accounting reports, and accountant access.
• Premium — $70/mo. Send invoices to unlimited clients, with the same accounting shape as Plus.
• Select — no monthly dollar amount was published in the price block. The card describes unlimited clients and two included team-member accounts.
• An extra team member is listed at $11/mo. That is a seat on top of the plan, not a cheaper way to send invoices.
The page also showed an introductory discount for four months. Those promo amounts are not in the list below.
Zoho Invoice, zoho.com/invoice/pricing
• The page prices the product at $0 and calls it free for small businesses.
• The FAQ on that same page caps a free account at 500 invoices a year, 2 users, and 3 projects.
• Invoices include Powered by Zoho Invoice branding.
• Quotes, recurring invoices, payment reminders, and a customer portal are listed on the free product. A reminder still does not collect the invoice.
• No paid Zoho Invoice tier was priced on that page. If you outgrow the caps, they point you to a larger Zoho product. This page does not invent that price.
Invoice Simple, invoicesimple.com/pricing, stated in USD
• Essentials — $6.99/mo. Up to 3 invoices a month. The card lists online payments and read receipts. Due date reminders are not in that list.
• Plus — $14.99/mo. Up to 10 invoices a month. Due date reminders start on this plan.
• Premium — $21.99/mo. Unlimited invoices a month, plus deposits and client signatures.
A yearly price is also on that page. It is not copied into the monthly list.
One list, one currency
USD per month, list price, 1 November 2026. Not a yearly total. Not the FreshBooks four-month introductory discount.
• FreshBooks Lite — $23 — 5 billable clients
• FreshBooks Plus — $43 — 50 billable clients
• FreshBooks Premium — $70 — unlimited billable clients
• Zoho Invoice — $0 — up to 500 invoices a year, 2 users, 3 projects
• Invoice Simple Essentials — $6.99 — 3 invoices a month
• Invoice Simple Plus — $14.99 — 10 invoices a month
• Invoice Simple Premium — $21.99 — unlimited invoices a month
• PortaFact Solo — $5 — unlimited quotes and invoices, one owner
• PortaFact Agency — $10 — a second person and client projects
PortaFact's $5 and $10 are the subscription you pay to PortaFact through Paddle. They are not what your client pays on an invoice. If you turn on card checkout for a client invoice, that money is the sale. It is a different bill from the Solo or Agency subscription.
Read the cap, not only the first dollar. Lite at $23 is cheap next to Premium at $70 until the sixth client. Zoho at $0 is the lowest number until invoice 501 or project 4. Invoice Simple at $6.99 fits a quiet month and stops at the fourth invoice.
When FreshBooks, Zoho Invoice, or Invoice Simple still wins
Stay on FreshBooks if you want the books in the same login: expenses, tax-time reports, accountant access, and card or bank-transfer collection on the invoice. Five clients on Lite is a real ceiling. You do not fix a sixth active client by sending fewer PDFs. You move to Plus at $43/mo, or you delete a client to free a slot. PortaFact does not replace a double-entry ledger, and this page will not pretend it does.
Stay on Zoho Invoice if $0, 500 invoices a year, two users, and three projects are honestly enough, and you can live with Zoho branding on the invoice. Past those caps, this page will not guess a Zoho Books price.
Stay on Invoice Simple if a phone-first invoice app is the point and three or ten invoices a month matches the work, or you will pay $21.99/mo for unlimited. Due date reminders are a Plus feature there, not an Essentials feature. A reminder still does not make the client pay.
Choose PortaFact if the pain is the client cap, the yearly cap, or the monthly invoice cap, and the job is quote, invoice, portal, follow-up. Not if you need a full accounting suite this week.
How PortaFact sits next to that list
PortaFact is invoicing software for US and UK freelancers and small agencies who are still in Word, email, and WhatsApp.
• Solo is $5/mo. One owner, unlimited quotes and invoices, reminders, and a client portal. No five-client ceiling and no three-invoices-a-month ceiling.
• Agency is $10/mo. Members and client projects. Buy it when a second person actually sends invoices. Stay on Solo while you invoice alone.
• The client portal is a link. The client can pay, promise a date, or ask a question. They do not need a PortaFact account.
• WhatsApp can carry that link. You, the owner, open WhatsApp and send it. That is a wa.me handoff, not an automatic WhatsApp sender inside PortaFact.
• A reminder leaves from the invoice on a cadence you set. It does not guarantee that the client pays.
• Web and Android, same account.
14-day trial, no card. The PortaFact subscription is separate from what a client pays on an invoice.
Who this comparison is for
• Freelancers comparing FreshBooks Lite because five clients is already tight
• Owners who found Zoho Invoice at $0 and need the 500-invoice year written down before they start
• Anyone on Invoice Simple Essentials who will send a fourth invoice this month
• A small studio that wants a second seat at $10/mo, not an $11 FreshBooks seat added on top of a $23 plan
If you already live in FreshBooks reports, stay. If 500 Zoho invoices a year is enough, stay. If you invoice alone, the freelancers page is the closer fit and Solo is the plan. If a second person sends the invoice, the agencies page is the closer fit.
