Invoice Simple Alternatives and the Catch Each One Adds

Invoice Simple’s Essentials plan allows 3 invoices a month for $6.99 a month; unlimited starts at $21.99 on Premium (both verified 7 October 2026). Wave, Zoho Invoice, Invoice Ninja and Square Invoices all drop the 3-invoice cap at $0 a month as of 7 October 2026, but each adds a different catch: card fees, a 500-invoices-a-year ceiling, or a five-client limit.

🗓️ Pricing verified 7 October 2026. Software pricing changes frequently — confirm on the vendor’s site before purchasing.

How many invoices does Invoice Simple allow?

The invoice cap on Invoice Simple’s Essentials plan is 3 a month, and the list price is $6.99 a month, per Invoice Simple’s pricing page on 7 October 2026.

What each plan allows

Why other sites show different prices

GetApp (listing last updated March 2026) and a Pronto Invoice comparison still print $4.99 and $19.99 for Essentials and Premium. Invoice Simple’s own page showed $6.99 and $21.99 on 7 October 2026, and we have not established when, or whether, the prices changed. Our pricing article breaks down each plan.

Which invoicing tools have no 3-invoice cap?

As of 7 October 2026, four tools lift the invoice cap on a $0 plan: Wave, Zoho Invoice, Invoice Ninja and Square Invoices.

The four that lift the cap

• Wave charges a fee on each card payment instead of a monthly price.
• Zoho Invoice limits invoices per year rather than per month.
• Invoice Ninja limits how many clients the free plan holds.
• Square Invoices also charges a fee on each card payment.

The next section gives every rate and limit with its date.

Alternatives that still cap at 3 invoices

Yes: Bookipi’s free plan allows up to 3 invoices a month, per Bookipi’s pricing page on 7 October 2026, so it keeps the cap you are trying to leave.

What do the free alternatives charge instead?

Wave and Square charge the same $2.78 on a $75 card payment; below that size Square costs less, above it Wave does (rates read on 7 October 2026).

Cap and fee table

Invoice Ninja’s payments page lists gateways, including Stripe, PayPal and Square; check the gateway’s own fee before comparing.

Wave or Square: where the card fees cross

On $75, Wave charges 2.9% × $75 + $0.60 and Square charges 3.3% × $75 + $0.30; both come to $2.775. This is the site’s calculation from rates read on 7 October 2026.

On $200: Wave $6.40 (2.9% × $200 + $0.60), Square $6.90 (3.3% × $200 + $0.30), and Invoice Simple on US PayPal $7.47 (3.49% × $200 + $0.49, per Invoice Simple’s PayPal fee article on 7 October 2026), a PayPal rate, not a card rate.

🔍 Why It Works This Way: A flat fee weighs most on small payments, so the lower flat part wins below the crossover.

Zoho’s cap is yearly, not monthly

Zoho Invoice’s free plan has a yearly cap of 500 invoices, about 41.7 a month (500 ÷ 12), per Zoho’s pricing page on 7 October 2026.

What else do the free plans limit?

On 7 October 2026 the free plans differ on users, projects, clients and phone apps, not only on invoice count.

Limits beyond invoice count

• Zoho Invoice’s free plan limits users and projects, per Zoho’s pricing page on 7 October 2026.
• Invoice Ninja’s Free plan limits clients, per its pricing page on 7 October 2026.
• Wave Starter lists unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records, per Wave’s pricing page on 7 October 2026.
• Square’s pricing page states unlimited invoices and no monthly fee; we did not check it for user or client limits.

Mobile apps

• Wave’s pricing page lists mobile app access on Starter.
• Zoho’s mobile apps page lists iOS and Android apps.
• Invoice Ninja’s apps page lists iOS and Android apps.

All three pages were read on 7 October 2026. We did not check Square’s app.

Which Invoice Simple alternative suits you?

Match the catch to how you bill, and weigh staying put first.

If you send a few invoices a month

Stay on Invoice Simple. The cap costs nothing until you reach the Essentials limit, and a move has its own costs, covered in the last section.

If you take card payments on small invoices

Square costs less on small payments but more on large ones; Wave is the reverse. The crossover is in the table section above.

If you bill many clients

Invoice Ninja’s free plan stops at its client limit, so it fits a short client list. For high, steady volume, check Zoho Invoice’s yearly cap above; Wave and Square have no invoice cap but charge on every card payment.

✅ Do This: Open the pricing page of the tool you are leaning toward, set its limit and fee against your own payment sizes and client count, and sign up only if the catch fits.

What does switching from Invoice Simple cost you?

🛟 Back This Up First: Export what you need from Invoice Simple before you cancel or delete anything, and check that the export covers it before you rely on it.

Export before you cancel

Invoice Simple’s help article on exporting a summary describes invoice and expense summaries as PDF, XLSX or CSV files, read on 7 October 2026. It does not mention clients or templates. Our export guide covers the steps, and our cancellation guide covers ending the plan.

What to re-create in the new tool

Check whether your clients, saved items, templates and payment settings carry over, because the export article does not say they do. Keep the old exports until the new tool’s totals match yours.

🧾 Not Tested: We have not opened an account with any tool named here. Every limit and fee comes from vendor pages read on 7 October 2026; no tool’s behavior in use was tried.

FAQ

Choose by the catch you can live with

Choose by the catch, not the sticker price: card fees, a yearly invoice ceiling or a client limit. Every price on this page is dated 7 October 2026. Sign up with the tool whose catch fits, or stay put, and see whether Invoice Simple is worth it at all first.