PayPal Invoicing vs Simple Invoices

PayPal Invoicing9.3Visit SISimple Invoices5.9Visit

Higher score PayPal Invoicing #2 in Invoicing Software 9.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit PayPal

vs

SI Simple Invoices #35 in Invoicing Software 5.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Try Simple Invoices

• PayPal Invoicing fits best

  Small businesses already using PayPal

• Simple Invoices fits best

  Self-hosters needing flexible payment and export options

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Side by side

Feature	PayPal Invoicing 9.3/10 Visit ↗	SISimple Invoices 5.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.3	5.9
Ranking	#2 in Invoicing Software	#35 in Invoicing Software
Best for	Small businesses already using PayPal	Self-hosters needing flexible payment and export options
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Integrations	2 integrations	9 integrations
Features PayPal Invoicing 4/5 · Simple Invoices 4/5
Recurring invoices	✓	✓
Online payments	✓	✓
Payment reminders	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Multi-currency invoicing	✓	✓
Client portal	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Included team users	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Free invoice creation and sending with no subscription fee Recurring billing, reminders, estimates, and payment tracking QuickBooks and Xero synchronization plus CSV batch invoicing	Recurring invoices support daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly schedules Online payments, multi-currency invoices, and customer portals are included Exports include PDF, XLSX, DOCX, and HTML print view
Cons	Transaction fees apply when customers pay Platform coverage is limited to web and API Transaction rates vary by payment method, currency, and location	Requires server installation through Docker or a PHP and database stack Self-hosting places deployment responsibility on the business Managed, ready-to-use hosting is not its primary model
Our verdict	PayPal Invoicing is a digital invoicing service for freelancers, consultants, service professionals, contractors, and small businesses. It supports creating, customizing, sending, and tracking invoices, with recurring invoices, automatic… Read the review →	Simple Invoices is a free, open-source, self-hosted web application for creating, sending, and managing invoices. It suits businesses that want to operate their own invoicing system and keep invoice data on their server. The application… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• PayPal Invoicing — where it wins

  • Free invoice creation and sending with no subscription fee
  • Recurring billing, reminders, estimates, and payment tracking
  • QuickBooks and Xero synchronization plus CSV batch invoicing

  Where it doesn't

  • Transaction fees apply when customers pay
  • Platform coverage is limited to web and API
  • Transaction rates vary by payment method, currency, and location

• Simple Invoices — where it wins

  • Recurring invoices support daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly schedules
  • Online payments, multi-currency invoices, and customer portals are included
  • Exports include PDF, XLSX, DOCX, and HTML print view

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires server installation through Docker or a PHP and database stack
  • Self-hosting places deployment responsibility on the business
  • Managed, ready-to-use hosting is not its primary model

• PayPal Invoicing9.3/10 · Free plan

  A free invoicing option for small businesses already using PayPal.

  Visit PayPalFull verdict →
• SISimple Invoices5.9/10 · Free plan

  A flexible self-hosted invoicing system with recurring billing, payments, and broad exports.

  Try Simple InvoicesFull verdict →