Every correspondence you send out has to look professional. Popular full service accounting solutions like Intuit and Freshbooks can cost well into the thousands, and when you’re bootstrapping or working with minimal outside capital, every dollar counts.

Every online invoicing tool listed on this page is completely free. You’ll find that most will offer “upgrade” options for value-added services like sending email reminders, tracking, and saving/downloading your invoices for future reference.

Generally the self-hosted tools like Simple Invoices, Fusion Invoice, and other open source freebies you can find on SourceForge, come with a very complete back-end, but they’re also less newbie friendly and any problems that arise may require extensive “Googling” to remedy.

Billable

I really like the way Billable’s free invoice template is formatted. Looks really professional, and includes a tax/VAT calculator. You can print or download (in PDF) each invoice you make. This mobile friendly app is still in its infancy, but great if you just want something that’s simple and professional. Like Free Invoice Maker, this is one of the simplest ways to create something that looks professional while staying on-budget. There’s no option to upload a logo into your invoice which is a bit of a bummer.

Free Invoice Maker

This one’s about as free as you’re going to find anywhere. You create the invoice on site, then download (in PDF format) to your computer where you can then send it off to your client. The API isn’t going to blow your socks off, but it’s a simple 3-step process to create and download a professional-looking invoice. There’s no paid upgrade options currently offered, nor an option to upload a company logo. Since there’s no sign up required, don’t expect advanced options like saving templates or tax-amount preferences either.

Invoice-o-Matic

This site’s the king among the completely free invoicing API’s that have no apparent ulterior motive for letting you use their software. No upgrade options, yet the site offers a really smooth user experience. A drop down settings box allows you to set currency and tax preferences. All the options for creating a professional invoice are offered here except, surprise – a logo upload option! No sign up is required, so you can’t track or save your invoices, but you can download a PDF copy to your PC or smartphone.

Mr. Biller

With a name like “Mr. Biller” how could I resist listing this one? This software allows you to upload your own logo, send quotes, and deliver official invoices to your customers free of charge. The one caveat is that you have to be a paid member ($35 per annum) in order to track and even download your invoices. Aside from the lack of tracking and saving ability, you can use any of their other features at zero cost. The site’s also mobile friendly if you do all your business from a smartphone.

Wave Invoicing

This site has a really polished interface. You can upload a logo of your own, track and download your invoices, include a “Pay Now” button, and many other extras. You do need to sign up for the service with an email address and sign in every time you use it. Since your email is required, it’s a given that you’ll receive promos for their other paid accounting, investing and finance products. However, you can expect a really clean experience, mobile-friendly working environment, and great support – all for free!

CurdBee

CurdBee offers 128-bit encryption when you connect to their site. You can create and send an unlimited number of invoices to your clients, but there is one big catch: they put “Created by CurdBee” at the bottom of each invoice when using their free version. You can upload and download freely from the site, save invoices to your account, and send bills out in any currency you wish. They’ve got everything covered when compared to other free options, and offer upgrade options such as the ability to add multiple payment gateways, receive sms alerts to your phone, and itemize several separate services on a single invoice.

Invoice Machine

There are loads of options to use with Invoice Machine. This is a full-service software that’s only free for up to 3 invoices per month, but you can use all their features for those 3 alloted freebies. They’ve got a really slick interface and allow you to track everything you send and payments that are received. All the info’s displayed on your dashboard. There are also limitless customization options, including colors, fonts, pictures and logos.

PayPal

Using PayPal to create free invoices is really the smartest free choice. Their free invoice preparation tools are the best in the business – at least when it comes to free apps. You can upload your own logo, save invoices to use as templates for further transactions, EVERYTHING is saved. The fact that PayPal does save everything is why some folks don’t want to use it though. If you’re a conspiracy-theorist, simply don’t use them as a payment processor, or are doing something in a “grey area”, take a look at the other options above.