The Best Invoice Maker Apps in 2026
Most invoice apps either charge too much or look terrible. Here's the honest breakdown.
The invoice app market is broken
"Invoice maker app" searches are up 900% in the last year. More people than ever are freelancing, side-hustling, or running small businesses — and they all need to send invoices. The problem? Most invoice apps are either overpriced accounting suites or free tools that look like they were built in 2010.
We looked at the most popular options so you don't have to waste your time (and money) figuring out which one actually works.
QuickBooks — $30-200/month
QuickBooks is an accounting platform that happens to include invoicing. It's powerful if you need double-entry bookkeeping, payroll, and tax filing. But if you just want to send an invoice, it's a 47-step onboarding process, a $30/month minimum, and constant upsell prompts.
Verdict: Great for businesses with CPAs. Overkill for solo professionals who just need to get paid.
Read our full QuickBooks comparison → →FreshBooks — $17-55/month
FreshBooks pioneered modern invoicing, but they've pivoted hard into full accounting. The cheapest plan limits you to 5 clients. FIVE. If you have more than 5 clients (and you do), you're paying $30-55/month. Their templates are functional but dated — they look like every other SaaS invoice from 2016.
Verdict: Decent if you need time tracking + invoicing in one tool. But $30/month for invoicing is steep when free alternatives exist.
Read our full FreshBooks comparison → →Invoicely — Free / $10/month
Invoicely is genuinely free for basic invoicing. The interface works. But the templates look like spreadsheets, there's no payment processing on the free tier, and brand customization is limited to dropping your logo in the corner. It sends invoices. It doesn't make them look good.
Verdict: Fine if you literally only care about price and don't mind sending generic invoices.
Read our full Invoicely comparison → →InvoiceCrafter — Free
Here's what we think an invoice app should be: free, beautiful, and fast. No signup required. No client limits. No upsells. Three hand-crafted templates that make your business look professional. One-click payment links built on Stripe so you get paid faster.
We built InvoiceCrafter because we were tired of choosing between "free but ugly" and "pretty but $30/month." It shouldn't cost money to send a professional invoice.
Comparison at a glance
| Feature | InvoiceCrafter | QuickBooks | FreshBooks | Invoicely |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $30+/mo | $17-55/mo | Free/$10 |
| Signup required | No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Beautiful templates | ✓ Yes | No | No | No |
| Payment links | ✓ Yes | Yes* | Yes* | No (free) |
| Client limits | Unlimited | Varies | 5-500 | Unlimited |
| Dark mode | ✓ Yes | No | No | No |
* QuickBooks and FreshBooks charge additional payment processing fees on top of Stripe rates.
The bottom line
If you need full accounting, QuickBooks or FreshBooks are legitimate tools. If you want free and don't care about design, Invoicely works. But if you want beautiful invoices that make your business look professional — for free — InvoiceCrafter is the only option that delivers both.