InvoiceCharlie vs Invoice Ninja
InvoiceCharlie compared with Invoice Ninja: the free plans, paid plans, apps and how much each asks of you before your first invoice.
Written by us, about a competitor — read it that way.
Everything below about Invoice Ninja is taken from what they publish themselves, checked on 18 October 2026. Prices and plans change; check theirs before deciding. Their pricing page.
Where Invoice Ninja is the better choice
- Free forever for up to 5 clients, with no limit on invoices — if you only ever bill a handful of clients, that is hard to beat.
- Native apps for desktop (macOS, Windows, Linux) and phones, according to its pricing FAQ.
- Many payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Square, GoCardless and more), and an open-source edition you can host yourself.
Where InvoiceCharlie is the better choice
- No client limit: the free allowance is invoices, not clients, and paid use is per invoice with a monthly cap.
- Very little to set up — built for people who want to send an invoice in a minute and get on with the job.
- Invoices in your client's language and an AI assistant that drafts invoices from a sentence or voice note.
Side by side
| InvoiceCharlie | Invoice Ninja | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 10 invoices, any number of clients | No invoice limit, up to 5 clients |
| Paid entry plan | $1 an invoice, capped at $12/month — or $99/year | Ninja Pro, $14 a month or $140 a year |
| Native apps | Web app (installable) | Desktop and mobile |
| Self-hosting | No — we run it for you | Yes, open-source edition |
Invoice Ninja's pricing page lists a Free plan (forever free, up to 5 clients, unlimited invoicing), Ninja Pro at $14 a month or $140 billed annually, Enterprise from $18 a month, and Premium Business from $280 a year, with a 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans.
Which should you pick?
If you bill five or fewer clients, or want to host it yourself, Invoice Ninja's free plan is excellent. If you have more clients than that and want the simplest possible setup, per-invoice pricing with a monthly cap will usually suit you better.
Try it on one real invoice
The fastest way to know is to send one. It takes about a minute and costs nothing.
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