Question 1

Is Invoice Ninja really free?

Accepted Answer

Two models. (1) Forever Free hosted plan: 20 clients, unlimited invoices, basic features, genuinely free. (2) Self-hosted open-source: free forever if you can run a PHP/Laravel server. Paid hosted plans ($10-$30+/mo depending on tier) add features like proposals, deeper customization, and remove the 20-client cap. Invoice Ninja's free tier is one of the most generous in the industry, especially for the self-host crowd.

Question 2

Why pick Issueable over Invoice Ninja?

Accepted Answer

(1) No-signup free preview vs Invoice Ninja's account-required free tier. (2) Better-designed PDF templates out of the box (12 themes vs Invoice Ninja's smaller selection). (3) Pay-per-document option, useful for one-off invoicers. (4) Simpler tool with less learning curve. The trade-off: Invoice Ninja's feature depth in the paid tiers (recurring invoices, client portal, proposals, time tracking, expenses) is broader.

Question 3

Should I self-host Invoice Ninja?

Accepted Answer

If you're a developer comfortable with PHP / Laravel / MySQL and value full data ownership / customization / no SaaS subscription, yes, Invoice Ninja's self-host option is a solid choice. Most users find that running their own server (security patches, backups, uptime, SSL renewal) isn't worth the savings. For non-developers, paid hosted Invoice Ninja or Issueable is the lower-friction path.

Question 4

What does Invoice Ninja have that Issueable doesn't?

Accepted Answer

Recurring invoices (paid tier), client portal, proposals as a separate document type, time tracking, expense tracking, project tracking, broader integration ecosystem (Zapier, payment processors, more), self-hosted option for total data ownership, and a substantially deeper feature set on paid plans. Invoice Ninja is closer to FreshBooks territory than Issueable.

Question 5

What does Issueable have that Invoice Ninja doesn't?

Accepted Answer

Better-designed default themes (Issueable's 12 themes are designed by us, including premium options like executive and studio), no-signup preview, magic-link auth, US/CA tax model split (5 generators with kind-aware accent), and a substantially simpler UX for users who only want clean documents and no SaaS suite.

Question 6

Is Invoice Ninja open source?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the self-host version is open source under a custom license (commercial use allowed; you can modify and run it yourself). The hosted version uses the same codebase but managed by Invoice Ninja. Issueable is closed-source, hosted only. If open-source is a hard requirement (audit ability, government use, internal corporate IT policy), Invoice Ninja is the right pick.

Question 7

Can I use both?

Accepted Answer

Sure, though it's unusual. Some Invoice Ninja users issue Issueable PDFs for clients who specifically want a more polished design and use Invoice Ninja for the heavy lifting (recurring invoices, accounting integration, etc.). Most pick one or the other based on whether design polish or feature depth matters more.

Feature	Issueable	Invoice Ninja
No-signup free preview	Yes	No (account required)
Free hosted tier	Free preview	Forever Free (20 clients)
Self-host option	No	Yes (open source)
Visual themes	12 designed themes	Multiple, less polished
Pay-per-document	$0.99 per PDF	N/A
Recurring invoices	Not yet	Yes (paid tier)
Client portal	No	Yes
Proposals as a doc type	No (use quotes)	Yes
Time tracking	No	Yes
Open source	No	Yes
Mobile app	PWA only	Native iOS / Android

Looking for an Invoice Ninja Alternative?

Side-by-Side Comparison

Issueable vs Invoice Ninja FAQ