Tillage vs Invoice NinjaThe self-hosted invoicing alternative
Updated . Every Invoice Ninja fact links to its source.
Tillage
Invoice Ninja
Monthly price
$0, unlimited users, quotes and invoices
Free for 5 clients; Pro $14/mo; free to self-host
Online payment fees
Your client can cover them
Bring your own gateway; no Invoice Ninja fee mentioned
Margin on quotes
Variance buffer and profit margin on every line
No markup or margin controls found
The short answer
Invoice Ninja is source-available invoicing you can use hosted or run on your own server, with quotes, time tracking, expenses and 15+ payment gateways. Tillage is managed, free invoicing built for agencies, with margin on every quote, contracts generated from approved quotes, and nothing to host or maintain. If you want to self-host and control every setting, Invoice Ninja is a strong choice. If you’d rather not run servers, Tillage is free without the setup.
Choose Tillage if
- YesYou want free invoicing with nothing to host or update
- YesYou have more than 5 clients and don’t want to pay for Pro
- YesYou need contracts and variance and profit margin on quotes
Choose Invoice Ninja if
- YesYou want to self-host and own your data on your own server
- YesYou need a specific gateway like GoCardless or BTCPay
- YesYou need purchase orders, vendors or EU e-invoicing (PEPPOL)
Tillage vs Invoice Ninja, feature by feature
| Feature | Tillage | Invoice Ninja |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | Yes$0, unlimited users, quotes and invoices | YesFree for 5 clients; Pro $14/mo; free to self-host |
| Online payment fees | YesStripe 2.9% + 30¢ (cards) or 0.8% capped at $5 (ACH), plus 1% capped at $50 per invoice | YesBring your own gateway; no Invoice Ninja fee mentioned |
| Pass fees to clients | YesBoth Stripe and platform fees, set team-wide | YesFees per gateway and method, with gross-up |
| Quotes and estimates | YesHours × rate, or itemized with units and sections | YesQuotes clients approve in the portal |
| Variance and profit margin on quotes | YesVariance buffer and profit margin on every line | NoNo markup or margin controls found |
| Contracts with e-signatures | YesGenerated from approved quotes | PartlyE-signed quotes; DocuNinja e-signatures rolling out |
| Deposits and milestone payment schedules | YesPercentages triggered by signing, dates or milestones | YesDeposits and payment schedules |
| Recurring invoices and retainers | YesWeekly, monthly, quarterly, every six months or yearly | YesWith auto-bill |
| Client pages with no login | YesSecure links to approve, sign and pay | PartlyClient portal; logins enabled by default |
| Time tracking | NoNot a time tracker | YesTimer, tasks and projects |
| Full accounting and bookkeeping | NoUse alongside your accounting software | PartlyP&L and bank sync on Enterprise; no ledger |
| QuickBooks or Xero sync | NoComing soon: QuickBooks Online, Xero, Mercury and Puzzle | PartlyQuickBooks Online push sync; no Xero |
| AI quote drafting | YesDrafts line items, hours and rates with your OpenAI or Claude key | NoNone found |
| Claude and ChatGPT through MCP | YesQuotes, contracts and invoices | PartlyREST API on Pro and up; community-built MCP only |
Invoice Ninja pricing
Hosted annual plans are 10× the monthly price. 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans.
- Free (hosted)
- $01 user, up to 5 clients, Invoice Ninja branding, no API
- Pro (hosted)
- $14/mo, or $140/yr1 user, unlimited clients, API, reminders, no branding
- Enterprise (hosted)
- From $18/mo for 1–2 users$32 for 3–5 users, $54 for 6–10. Permissions, bank sync, e-invoicing
- Self-hosted
- FreeAll Pro and Enterprise features under the Elastic License 2.0. White-label license $40/yr
- Tillage, for comparison
- $0/month with unlimited users1% when paid online, capped at $50 per invoice. Your client can cover it. See pricing
Where Invoice Ninja is better
No tool is right for everyone. Here is where it may suit you better.
Self-hosting
Run every paid feature free on your own server under the Elastic License 2.0, with full data ownership and native apps on every platform.
Gateway choice
More than 15 gateways, including GoCardless and BTCPay, each with its own surcharge settings.
Breadth
Purchase orders, vendors, bank sync, EU e-invoicing (PEPPOL), multi-currency and US sales tax.
Migration importers
Imports directly from FreshBooks, Invoice2go, invoicely, Wave and Zoho.
Where Tillage is better for agencies
Free for a whole team, nothing to host
Hosted Invoice Ninja is free for one user and 5 clients, then $14 a month or more. Self-hosting is free but you run the server. Tillage is free and managed, with unlimited users and clients.
Margin on every quote
Invoice Ninja quotes price what you enter. Tillage applies your variance buffer and profit margin to every line.
Contracts from approved quotes
Invoice Ninja’s DocuNinja e-signatures are still rolling out. Tillage generates contracts from approved quotes with your template blocks and variables.
Built for agency quoting
Invoice Ninja is a general invoicing tool. Tillage is built around agency work: hours × rate quotes, AI drafting and payment schedules that start when a contract is signed.
Recent Invoice Ninja changes
2026
Invoice Ninja introduced DocuNinja for e-signatures on invoices, quotes and documents. Its site still marks it as coming soon.
Switching from Invoice Ninja
- 1
Export clients and invoices from Invoice Ninja as CSV, or take a full JSON backup.
- 2
Import clients into Tillage and recreate your products as services with variance and margin.
- 3
Connect Stripe in Tillage and choose whether clients cover the fees.
- 4
Rebuild payment schedules and recurring invoices as Tillage schedules and retainers.
Related guides and tools
Best free invoicing software
How the free plans compare, and where each one sets its limits.
Invoicing software for agencies
Quotes, contracts and payment schedules in one free tool.
Quoting software with margin
Hours × rate quotes with your margin built in.
Billing schedules
Deposits, milestones and retainers without copying invoices.
Sources
Checked Oct 7, 2026. Pricing and features change, so if something here is out of date, email support@tillage.ai and we will fix it.
Tillage vs Invoice Ninja questions
Isn’t Invoice Ninja free too?
Self-hosted Invoice Ninja is free if you run your own server. The hosted free plan is limited to one user and 5 clients. Tillage is free and hosted, with unlimited users and clients.
Is Invoice Ninja open source?
It’s source-available under the Elastic License 2.0. You can self-host it, but you can’t offer it to others as a hosted service.
Can both pass fees to clients?
Yes. Invoice Ninja sets fees per gateway and payment method, and you’re responsible for checking surcharge laws. Tillage passes Stripe and platform fees to your clients.
Can I move from Invoice Ninja to Tillage?
Yes. Export clients and invoices as CSV, import clients into Tillage, and rebuild your services and schedules once.
