How does the 7-day free trial work?

You sign up, connect (or create) a Stripe account, and you're in. After 7 days you're charged the monthly or annual rate for the plan you chose. Cancel anytime before day 8 — no charge, no questions asked.

Do I need my own Stripe account?

You can use your own Stripe account (recommended — keep your existing payment history and payout schedule) or create one during signup. Bank transfer is also available with no Stripe fees.

What payment methods are supported?

Two options: (1) Card payments via Stripe — cards, ACH (US), SEPA (EU), Faster Payments (UK), Apple Pay, Google Pay. Stripe takes their standard processing fee (1.5% + 20p UK, 2.9% + 30¢ international). (2) Bank transfer — your IBAN / sort code / routing number appears on every invoice, client transfers manually, no fees.

How much does Invosi cost?

Starter is $7/mo USD. Pro is $12/mo with up to 5 companies and 1,000 invoices / month. Scale is $25/mo with unlimited everything. All paid plans include a 7-day free trial. Same price worldwide — your card network handles the FX conversion.

Is there a free plan?

After the 7-day free trial ends, your account falls back to a Free tier with 1 company and 5 invoices / month. You can keep using Invosi for occasional invoicing forever — upgrade only when you need more.

FreshBooks vs Wave vs QuickBooks: the real cost (2026)

Every "free" invoicing tool I tried as a freelancer made its money somewhere. The headline price was $0, but the actual monthly cost was $50-100+ once you added the add-ons I actually needed. This post is the post I wish I had read 3 years ago. I calculated the effective monthly cost of FreshBooks, Wave, QuickBooks, Square, and Invoicely for a freelancer doing $5,000/month in invoice volume. The results surprised me.

Why "free" is the most expensive pricing tier

Pricing pages are designed to hide the total cost. They show $0/month, then reveal 1.3% Stripe fees in small text, then upsell you on multi-currency ($10/mo) and team seats ($15/mo) once you are already set up. The fix: always calculate the effective monthly cost (plan + per-tx fees + add-ons you actually need), not the headline price.

The comparison (assumptions: $5k/mo volume, 10-15 clients, 1 accountant seat, multi-currency)

Wave: $0/month + 1.3% on every transaction. Multi-currency is a $10/month add-on. Effective monthly cost: $0 + 1.3% × $5,000 = $65, or $75 with multi-currency.

FreshBooks: $19/month + 0% Stripe fee. Accountant as a team member is $15/month. Multi-currency and time tracking are included. Effective monthly cost: $19 + $15 = $34.

QuickBooks: $30/month for Simple Start (0% Stripe fee) but multi-currency and VAT require the Plus plan at $60/month. Accountant seat is $30/month. Effective monthly cost: $90 at Plus with accountant.

Square Invoices: $0/month for the basic plan, 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. Multi-currency requires the Plus plan at $29/month. Effective monthly cost: $0 + 2.9% × $5,000 = $145, or $174 with Plus.

Invoicely: $9.99/month for the Pro plan, 0% Stripe fee. Multi-currency requires the Business plan at $19.99/month. No team multi-user support. Effective monthly cost: $10, or $20 with multi-currency.

The summary table

Wave: $75/mo effective. FreshBooks: $34/mo effective. QuickBooks: $90/mo effective. Square: $174/mo effective. Invoicely: $20/mo effective. These are MY costs based on MY volume. Your numbers will differ. The point is: the effective monthly cost is often 2-10x the headline price.

Hidden costs nobody mentions

Wave: 1.3% on every payout. If you do $20k/month, that is $260/month in fees. More than most paid tools. Wave is genuinely free for users with very low volume (<$1k/month). Above that, the math stops working.
FreshBooks: per-seat fees add up fast. $19/month is for one user. Add an accountant = $34. Add a part-time assistant = $49. Add a second freelancer = $64.
QuickBooks: the "Plus" plan is required for multi-currency. If you invoice in more than one currency, you need Plus at $60/month + accountant at $30 = $90/month. QuickBooks is a great accounting tool. It is not a great freelancer tool.
Square: 2.9% + 30¢ is brutal. $5k/month in volume is $145/month in fees, vs $75 on Stripe. Square makes sense if you have a physical retail store. For a freelancer with online-only invoices, it is expensive.
Invoicely: missing team multi-user. The Business plan ($19.99) is required for multi-currency, and the tool does not support team multi-user at all.

What each one is actually best for (honest)

Wave: best for freelancers in US/Canada with very low volume (<$1k/month). Not for anyone doing more than $2k/month, or anyone outside North America (multi-currency is poor).
FreshBooks: best for freelancers and small agencies in North America/UK with $2-20k/month who want polished invoicing + light accounting. Not for anyone who hates per-seat fees.
QuickBooks: best for small businesses with 1-10 employees who need full accounting + payroll + tax filing. Not for solo freelancers, or anyone doing less than $5k/month.
Square: best for US businesses with physical retail + online sales. Not for anyone outside the US, or anyone who does more than $5k/month in online-only invoices.
Invoicely: best for solo freelancers who want the cheapest option and do not need multi-user. Not for anyone with a team.

When to switch tools

Switch if your effective monthly cost is more than 1% of your invoice volume.
Switch if you are paying for features you do not use (most freelancers are).
Switch if your current tool charges per-seat and you have more than 2 seats.
Switch if you invoice in more than 2 currencies and your current tool does not support it well.
Switch if your current tool does not send automatic reminders (you will save 5-10 hours/month).
Do NOT switch if your effective cost is <2% of invoice volume, you are happy with your tool, or you do not have time to migrate (use parallel-run for 1 month).

Frequently asked

Is Wave really free?

Wave is free for the basic plan, but charges 1.3% on every Stripe payout. If you do $5,000/month in invoice volume, that is $65/month in fees. Plus, multi-currency support is a $10/month add-on that is not in the free plan. Wave is genuinely free for users with very low volume (<$1k/month).

How much does FreshBooks cost per month?

FreshBooks starts at $19/month for the Lite plan (one user). Adding an accountant as a team member is $15/month extra. The effective cost for a solo freelancer with one accountant is $34/month. Adding more team members adds $15/month per seat.

Is QuickBooks worth it for a freelancer?

QuickBooks is a great accounting tool but a poor fit for solo freelancers. The Simple Start plan is $30/month but does not include multi-currency or VAT — you need the Plus plan at $60/month. Add an accountant seat at $30/month and the effective cost is $90/month. QuickBooks makes sense for businesses with 1-10 employees who need full accounting + payroll. For solo freelancers, it is overkill and overpriced.

What is the cheapest invoicing tool?

For a solo freelancer with no team, Invoicely at $9.99/month is the cheapest paid option. Wave is "free" but the 1.3% Stripe fee adds up. Invosi at $7/month is the cheapest option that includes multi-currency, VAT, and a client portal with no add-ons required.

Do I need a paid invoicing tool?

If you invoice more than 5 clients per month, yes — the time saved on automated reminders, multi-currency, and recurring invoices pays for the tool in the first month. If you invoice fewer than 5 clients per month, a free tool (Wave) works, but you will pay 1.3% on every Stripe payout. The break-even point is usually around $500/month in invoice volume.

Written by Daniel Mercer.