Invoice Ninja is a self-hosted invoicing and billing app for freelancers and small businesses that covers quotes, invoices, online payments, recurring billing, expenses, and time tracking from one panel. The codebase is source-available under the Elastic License 2.0, and teams that prefer not to manage a server can use the hosted Cloud plans instead.[1][2][3]
Quick verdict
Freelancers and small service businesses that want to own their billing data and invoice without per-client fees benefit most from Invoice Ninja. Its concrete strength is end-to-end billing workflow: branded quotes and invoices, more than 40 payment gateways, recurring schedules, a client portal, and task time tracking with project budgets. The material constraint is the free-tier client cap and licence scope: the free plan covers fewer than 5 clients, and the Elastic License 2.0 is source-available rather than an OSI-approved open-source licence. If you need self-hosted invoicing with payments and time tracking, choose Invoice Ninja; if full accounting books matter more than billing workflow, choose Akaunting instead.[1][2][3][4]
Key features
Branded quotes and recurring billing Design custom quotes and invoices, send them to clients, and schedule recurring bills for repeat work.[1][2]
40-plus payment gateways Collect cards, bank transfers, PayPal, and digital wallets, with deposits and partial payments supported.[1][2]
Time tracking with Kanban Track billable hours on tasks, organize work on Kanban boards, and invoice time against project budgets.[1][2]
Projects and expenses Run client projects with budgets and log expenses so project costs stay visible next to billings.[1][2]
Client portal Share invoices, documents, and statements through a portal where clients view records and pay, including subscriptions.[1][2]
Multi-company billing Operate multiple companies with separate users, settings, and currencies from one install.[1]
API and SDKs Connect custom workflows through the REST API with PHP, JavaScript, Dart, C#, and Python SDKs, plus incoming webhooks and Zapier.[1][2]
Native apps, self-host or Cloud Work from Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS apps; self-host with Docker or 1-click install, or use hosted Cloud plans.[1][2]
Who will love it
Hourly freelancers Time tracking, expenses, and invoicing run in one panel, so billable hours become invoices without a second tool.[1][2]
Data control Self-hosting with Docker or 1-click install keeps billing records on your own server under a source-available licence.[1][2][3]
Multi-brand operators Multi-company billing with separate users, settings, and currencies fits agencies and multi-brand owners.[1]
Who should avoid it
Free client cap The free plan covers fewer than 5 clients, so growing client lists must move to Pro or Enterprise.[1]
Licence scope The Elastic License 2.0 is source-available with a hosted-service limitation, which rules out some open-source policies.[1]
No free managed tier Self-hosting needs server administration, and the hosted alternative starts at $14 per month, so there is no managed free tier beyond the client-capped free plan.[1][2]
What the reports suggest
Three G2 reviewer reports for Invoice Ninja inspected on the reviews listing: one 5-star, one 4.5-star, and one self-hosting report titled Difficult upgrade process.
1 cited community source. Small inspected sample of three reviewer reports from one G2 listing page; counts are not a satisfaction or prevalence measure. No original Reddit report was accessible within the research budget, so forum experience remains a recorded gap.
Hosting control praised The inspected reviewers value hosting control and layout simplicity: one reviewer, a programmer, chose Invoice Ninja to host and tailor billing to their business, while another praises a basic-in-a-good-way layout. The full report's open-source wording differs from the verified Elastic-2.0 licence, so licence-sensitive readers should rely on the licence file rather than the review.[1]
Upgrade friction noted The critical note in the sample is a self-hosting reviewer report titled Difficult upgrade process, which aligns with the operator-owned maintenance cost of self-hosting. This reading rests on three G2 reports from one listing page, so it describes the sample rather than the whole user base.[1]
Deployment and fit
Self-host or Cloud Run Invoice Ninja on your own server with Docker or 1-click install, or choose hosted Cloud with monthly or yearly USD billing and a 30-day money-back guarantee. The PHP and Laravel backend supports MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or SQLite, with a REST API and SDKs for integrations.[1][2][3]
Apps and scale Native apps cover Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, and a $40-per-year white-label option removes Invoice Ninja branding from self-hosted installs. Enterprise plans scale from 1-2 users at $18 per month to 51-100 users at $300 per month.[1][2]
How people experience it
Exact excerpt
I can host it myself, and tailor change it to my business needs
5-star G2 review shown on the Invoice Ninja reviews listing, inspected October 2026.
Exact excerpt
The layout of InvoiceNinja is basic, in a good way
4.5-star G2 review shown on the Invoice Ninja reviews listing, inspected October 2026.
Questions worth asking
What is the best Invoice Ninja alternative for non-technical users?
If server administration is the blocker, hosted Invoice Ninja Cloud runs the same billing as a service from $14 per month, so no self-hosting is needed. If full accounting books matter more than billing workflow, Akaunting is the published catalogue alternative, though that choice was not separately researched this run.[1][2]
Is Invoice Ninja really no-code?
How much does Invoice Ninja cost per month?
The free plan covers fewer than 5 clients with unlimited invoicing. Pro costs $14 per month or $140 per year; Enterprise runs from $18 per month for 1-2 users to $300 per month for 51-100 users, billed monthly or yearly in USD. Prices checked October 11, 2026, and a 30-day money-back guarantee applies; self-hosted installs can add a $40-per-year white-label option.[1]
Can you self-host Invoice Ninja?
Sources and editorial review
Source research. Reviewed on October 11, 2026. Written by Sanjib Sah. AI assisted; reviewed by a human editor.
We have not run or tested this product.
Three G2 reviewer reports for Invoice Ninja inspected on the reviews listing: one 5-star, one 4.5-star, and one self-hosting report titled Difficult upgrade process. Small inspected sample of three reviewer reports from one G2 listing page; counts are not a satisfaction or prevalence measure. No original Reddit report was accessible within the research budget, so forum experience remains a recorded gap.
- Invoice Ninja homepage
official · Observed October 11, 2026
Official homepage: self-hosted invoicing positioning, quotes/invoices/payments/time-tracking features, 40-plus gateways, client portal, multi-company billing, native apps, self-host or hosted Cloud choice.
- Invoice Ninja features
official · Observed October 11, 2026
Official features page: quotes, invoices, payments, recurring, time tracking, projects, expenses, client portal, multi-company billing, Kanban, reports, API, integrations, white-label, Docker/1-click self-hosting.
- Invoice Ninja pricing plans
official · Observed October 11, 2026
Official pricing: Free plan for fewer than 5 clients with unlimited invoicing; Pro $14/month or $140/year; Enterprise $18/month (1-2 users) to $300/month (51-100 users); USD billing; 30-day money-back guarantee.
- invoiceninja/invoiceninja on GitHub
official · Observed October 11, 2026
Canonical invoiceninja/invoiceninja repository: Laravel backend, source-available, linked Flutter frontend and React admin portal, about 10,200 stars and 4,900 forks, database support, REST API with SDKs, Elastic licence section.
- invoiceninja/invoiceninja LICENSE
official · Observed October 11, 2026
Repository LICENSE file read in full: Elastic License 2.0 with hosted-service limitation and licence-key protections; source-available, not OSI-approved.
- Invoice Ninja reviews on G2
community · Observed October 11, 2026
G2 listing: 4.7/5 from 362 reviews; inspected reports praise self-hosting control and simple layout; one self-hosting report titled Difficult upgrade process. Two short labelled excerpts selected.
Compared with these products
No explicit proprietary baseline is recorded.