Best free invoicing apps for UK small businesses
Quick Reference
Direct Answer
The best genuinely free invoicing app for a UK small business in 2026 is Zoho Invoice: no monthly fee and up to 500 invoices a year. If you already take card payments, Square Invoices and SumUp Invoices send unlimited invoices free and charge 2.5% only when an invoice is paid online. Wave and Bokio are no longer realistic UK options.
Summary
Seven free invoicing options for UK small businesses, limits verified July 2026: Zoho Invoice (free, 500 invoices a year), Square Invoices (unlimited, 2.5% when paid online), SumUp Invoices (unlimited, 2.5% online), Invoice Ninja (free to 5 clients), Tide (3 a month free), PayPal (2.9% + 30p when paid), Stripe Invoicing (0.4% per paid invoice). Bokio UK closed 7 July 2026; Wave prices only in USD/CAD.
This Page Covers
Real free-tier limits and pay-when-paid fees for invoicing apps available to UK businesses in 2026, and which fits merchants who also take card payments.
Not Covered Here
Full accounting suites (Xero, QuickBooks, Sage are paid products) and bespoke enterprise billing.
The seven free options compared
Every limit and fee below was read from the vendor's own UK page in July 2026. Two names you may expect are missing for a reason: Bokio closed to UK users on 7 July 2026, and Wave prices only in US and Canadian dollars with no stated UK availability.
| App | Free tier | Free-tier limits | Fee when an invoice is paid online | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Invoice | Completely free | 2 users, 3 projects, 500 invoices a year, "Powered by Zoho Invoice" branding | None of its own; card payments go through a connected gateway at that gateway's rates | Pure invoicing with no strings |
| Square Invoices | Free plan, £0 a month | Unlimited invoices, estimates and contracts | 2.5% per invoice paid online by card | Merchants already taking payments with Square |
| SumUp Invoices | Free | Unlimited invoices and quotes | 2.5% when paid online through SumUp | SumUp card machine users |
| Invoice Ninja | Free forever plan | Up to 5 clients, unlimited invoices, 4 templates | Depends on the payment gateway you connect | Freelancers with a handful of regular clients |
| Tide Invoicing | Free with a Tide business account | 3 invoices and quotes a month on the free tier | None of its own; £5.99 + VAT a month for unlimited invoices (Invoice Assistant) | Tide business banking customers |
| PayPal Invoicing | Free to create and send | No monthly or setup fees; pay only when you get paid | 2.9% + 30p when paid (UK domestic commercial rate) | Occasional invoices where customer trust matters |
| Stripe Invoicing | No monthly fee | Pay per paid invoice only | 0.4% per paid invoice (Starter) plus Stripe processing fees (1.5% + 20p standard UK cards) | Online businesses already running on Stripe |
Verified against each vendor's UK pricing page, July 2026. Vendors change free-tier limits without notice; check the vendor's page before committing your billing to it.
How each one earns its keep
Zoho Invoice is the outlier: genuinely 100% free, no card details at signup and no paid tiers, with the free plan capped at 2 users, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year. Zoho gives it away to pull businesses into its wider paid suite. If all you need is professional invoices and payment reminders, start here.
Square Invoices is free with unlimited invoices, estimates and contracts, and charges 2.5% when an invoice is paid online by card; a £20 a month Invoices Plus tier adds automation. If you already run a Square Terminal, invoices land in the same account and reporting as your in-person takings. See the Square processor profile and Square fees breakdown.
SumUp Invoices is free for unlimited invoices and quotes, with online payment at SumUp's 2.5% remote rate; Invoices Plus adds customisation at £8 a month excluding VAT (the equivalent of £7 + VAT a month on the annual plan). The natural pick alongside a SumUp Solo. See the SumUp processor profile and SumUp fees breakdown.
Invoice Ninja is free forever for up to 5 clients with unlimited invoicing, recurring invoices and partial payments included; paid plans (from $14 a month, priced in US dollars) lift the client cap. The 5-client cap makes it a freelancer tool rather than a shop tool.
Tide Invoicing comes free with a Tide business account but caps the free tier at 3 invoices and quotes a month; Invoice Assistant at £5.99 + VAT a month makes it unlimited with automated late-payment reminders. Worth it mainly if you already bank with Tide; see the Tide processor profile.
PayPal Invoicing has no monthly or setup fees; you pay only when you get paid, at PayPal's UK domestic commercial rate of 2.9% + 30p. The priciest per payment on this page, but PayPal's name still converts hesitant payers. Note for card readers: PayPal's in-person product is Zettle, and Zettle Invoice itself is closed to sellers who signed up after 8 May 2023, so PayPal Invoicing is the route new sellers actually get. See the PayPal Zettle profile and Zettle fees breakdown.
Stripe Invoicing charges no monthly fee, just 0.4% per paid invoice on the Starter plan (0.5% on Plus) on top of Stripe's processing fees of 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards. The strongest pick for online-first businesses already on Stripe. See the Stripe processor profile and Stripe fees breakdown.
The merchant angle
If you take card payments, your card provider probably invoices free.
Square, SumUp, Stripe and PayPal all bundle free invoicing with their payment accounts, so the right invoicing app is usually decided by the right card-payment deal, not the other way round. MerchantHQ compares 50+ UK providers on the all-in cost for your volume and trade, then stays your named account team.
Get matched in 2 minutesWhat changed in 2026
- Bokio UK closed on 7 July 2026. The formerly popular free bookkeeping and invoicing tool can no longer be accessed by UK users; its site directs account questions to support for refunds and data exports.
- Zettle Invoice is closed to new sellers. Zettle's 2.5% invoicing (and its QR codes) are available only to sellers who signed up before 8 May 2023, and payment links are temporarily unavailable to new sellers. New PayPal-ecosystem businesses should use PayPal Invoicing instead.
- Wave remains US and Canada priced. Wave's plans are listed only in USD and CAD with no stated UK availability, so it does not make our UK list.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free invoicing app for a UK small business?
Zoho Invoice is the strongest genuinely free pick in 2026: no monthly fee, no processing tie-in, up to 500 invoices a year on the free plan. If you already take card payments, the better answer is usually your payment provider's own free invoicing (Square Invoices or SumUp Invoices, both free with unlimited invoices), because invoices, card takings and settlement then live in one account.
What does "free" actually mean with invoicing apps?
Two different models. Genuinely free software (Zoho Invoice, Invoice Ninja's free plan) charges nothing and makes money on paid upgrades. Pay-when-paid apps (Square, SumUp, PayPal, Stripe) are free to send unlimited invoices but take a percentage when a customer pays the invoice online by card, from 2.5% at Square and SumUp to 2.9% + 30p at PayPal. If your customers pay by bank transfer instead, both models cost you nothing.
Is Wave invoicing free in the UK?
Wave is not a realistic option for UK businesses in 2026: its plans are priced only in US and Canadian dollars and the company does not state UK availability. Bokio, another previously free UK option, closed to UK users on 7 July 2026. Zoho Invoice is the closest genuinely free UK-available replacement for either.
Can I take card payments through a free invoicing app?
Yes, and that is exactly how most of them stay free. Square Invoices and SumUp Invoices let the customer pay the invoice online by card for 2.5%, PayPal for 2.9% + 30p, and Stripe Invoicing for 0.4% per paid invoice plus standard Stripe processing. If you also take payments in person, it usually pays to use the invoicing app from the same provider as your card machine so settlement and reporting stay in one place.
Do free invoicing apps limit how many invoices I can send?
Some do. Zoho Invoice caps the free plan at 500 invoices a year, Invoice Ninja at 5 clients (invoices unlimited), and Tide at 3 invoices a month unless you add Invoice Assistant at £5.99 + VAT a month. Square Invoices, SumUp Invoices, PayPal and Stripe put no meaningful cap on how many invoices you send; they charge only when an invoice is paid online.
Sources
Free-tier limits and fees verified July 2026 against: zoho.com/uk/invoice/pricing, squareup.com/gb/en/invoices/pricing, sumup.com/en-gb/invoices and sumup.com/en-gb/pricing, invoiceninja.com/pricing-plans, tide.co/features/invoicing, paypal.com/uk/business/accept-payments/invoice and the PayPal UK merchant fees page, stripe.com/gb/invoicing/pricing, bokio.co.uk (closure notice), waveapps.com/pricing, zettle.com/gb/pricing.
Reviewed by Oliver Mackman. Last reviewed: 2026-07-14.