Zoho Invoice

Zoho Invoice is a feature-rich, free-to-start invoicing application part of the extensive Zoho ecosystem of business software. It stands out for offering a remarkably powerful free plan for up to 5 customers, making it a top choice for new freelancers and very small businesses. It provides professional invoice creation, time tracking, expense logging, project billing, and client portals.

For businesses embedded in the Zoho ecosystem (CRM, Books, Projects), the integration is seamless, creating a unified workflow. Its automation features, called 'Blueprints,' allow you to create custom workflows for invoice approval and status changes. It supports multi-currency and multi-language invoices, catering to global freelancers. Compared to standalone invoicing tools, its deep ties to Zoho Books (accounting) and Zoho CRM provide a clear growth path.

Compared to other free options like Wave, it offers more sophisticated project/time tracking and automation. It's ideal for cost-conscious users who need more than basic invoicing and may already use or consider other Zoho apps.