Hourbun vs Zoho Invoice
Looking for a Zoho Invoice alternative with no cap on projects or invoices? Hourbun tracks your time and invoices each client in its own currency, for a freelancer or a team.
By Fred Wu, maker of Hourbun · Checked · Report a mistake
The short answer
Hourbun gives a freelancer or a team unlimited projects and invoices, a currency for each client, and rates by client, project, task and person, from $15 a month. Zoho Invoice is free, but it stops at 2 users, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year, and it invoices only in the base currency of the organization. It fits a freelancer with very few projects.
Why switch
Why teams pick Hourbun over Zoho Invoice
- No limit on projects or invoices: Zoho Invoice stops at 3 projects and 500 invoices a year, and points to Zoho Billing, a separate paid product, for more.
- Room for a team: the Team plan of Hourbun is $99 a month for up to 30 people, and Zoho Invoice allows 2 users and has no paid plan.
- A currency for each client or project: Zoho Invoice invoices only in the base currency of the organization.
- Hourly rates by client, project, task and person: Zoho Invoice sets one rate type for each project.
Head to head
At a glance
| Fact | Hourbun | Zoho Invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Duo, a month | $15 Duo | Not offered |
| Free plan | None | Free for good: up to 2 users, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year |
| Free trial | 14 days, with no card | None |
| Client invoices | Yes | Yes |
| Online payment | Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account | Yes |
| Desktop or mobile apps | No A web app with a layout for phones | Yes |
Same work, two prices
What you'd pay each month
Hourbun
- One flat price per workspace
- Duo up to 2 seats · Team up to 30
- 14-day free trial, no card
Zoho Invoice
- Free, with no paid plan
- Up to 2 users, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year
- For more, Zoho Billing is a separate paid product
| Example | Hourbun | Zoho Invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Solo freelancer 1 person · 5 clients | $15 Duo | Not offered |
| Duo 2 people · 8 clients | $15 Duo | Not offered |
| Small studio 5 people · 15 clients | $99 Team | Not offered |
| Agency 10 people · 30 clients | $99 Team | Not offered |
| Larger team 25 people · 60 clients | $99 Team | Not offered |
- USD list prices, billed monthly
- Before tax and payment fees
- Highlight = lower price
- Checked 10 November 2026
Pricing details (7)
- Invoices show "Powered by Zoho Invoice" branding.
- Up to two organizations for one Zoho Invoice account.
- Zoho deletes an organization and its data when no one opens it for 180 days, after several reminders.
- Zoho Invoice has no paid plan. For more users, projects or invoices, Zoho points to Zoho Billing, a separate paid product that this page does not compare.
- Zoho Invoice adds no fee to online payments; the payment gateway charges its own fees.
- Each usage example below has more than three projects, so no Zoho Invoice offer holds it. Work with up to two users and three projects fits the free plan.
- The usage of each example: Solo freelancer: 1 person · 5 clients · 6 projects · 5 tasks · 6 invoices and $7.5k invoiced a month. Duo: 2 people · 8 clients · 10 projects · 8 tasks · 10 invoices and $16k invoiced a month. Small studio: 5 people · 15 clients · 20 projects · 10 tasks · 20 invoices and $40k invoiced a month. Agency: 10 people · 30 clients · 40 projects · 15 tasks · 40 invoices and $90k invoiced a month. Larger team: 25 people · 60 clients · 80 projects · 20 tasks · 80 invoices and $220k invoiced a month.
Feature by feature
Features
- Yes
- Partly
- No
- Only the rows that we could check on a page of Zoho Invoice
| Feature | Hourbun | Zoho Invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Time tracking | ||
| Timer | Yes | Yes |
| Weekly timesheet grid | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Yes | Yes |
| Billable and non-billable time | Yes | Yes |
| Hourly rates by client, project, task and person | Yes | Partly One rate type for each project: by project, task or person |
| Calendar view | No | Yes |
| Desktop or mobile apps | No A web app with a layout for phones | Yes |
| Browser extension | No | Yes |
| Invoicing and payments | ||
| Invoices from tracked time | Yes | Yes |
| Invoice lines of your own (a fixed fee, a product) | Yes | Yes |
| Recurring invoices | Yes | Yes |
| Estimates or quotes that a client accepts online | Yes | Yes |
| Credit notes | Yes | Yes |
| Expenses with receipts, billed with a markup | Yes | Yes |
| A currency for each client or project | Yes | No |
| Exchange rates between currencies | No | No |
| A tax on each line, and a second tax | Yes | Yes |
| Invoices in your client's language | Yes | Yes |
| Email reminders of late invoices | Yes | Yes |
| Online payment of an invoice | Yes By card or bank debit, into your own Stripe account | Yes |
| No fee of the app on online payments | Yes Only the fees of Stripe | Yes |
| Projects and reports | ||
| Project budgets in hours or money | Yes | Yes |
| Fixed-fee projects | Yes | Yes |
| Reports with a CSV export | Yes | Yes |
| Team | ||
| Team roles | Yes Member, manager, admin and owner | Yes |
| Integrations and data | ||
| Accounting sync | Partly Xero, one way: issued invoices and credit notes, and their payments if you choose | Partly QuickBooks Online, in the US, UK, Canada and UAE editions of Zoho Invoice |
| QuickBooks | No | Yes |
| A public API | No | Yes |
| Project-tool integrations (Asana, Jira and others) | No | Partly Zoho Projects only, among its own integrations |
| Import from any app by CSV, with past invoices and expenses | Yes Time, clients and projects too; a format guide with a prompt for an AI agent | Yes Customers, quotes, invoices, payments, credit notes, expenses and timesheets |
| Data export and account deletion | Yes A whole workspace as CSV files with receipts, for the owner and admins; your account as JSON | Yes |
Which one fits
Hourbun or Zoho Invoice?
Choose Hourbun if
- You run more than three projects, or send more than 500 invoices a year.
- Your team has more than two people.
- You bill clients in more than one currency.
- You want rates by client, project, task and person, not one rate type for each project.
Where Zoho Invoice is better
- Free, with no subscription, for up to 2 users, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year.
- Apps for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, and a Chrome extension with a timer.
- More than 10 payment gateways with no fee from Zoho, a client portal, a QuickBooks Online sync and a public API.
Switching
Switch from Zoho Invoice to Hourbun
Hourbun imports a CSV of time entries from any app. Export your Zoho Invoice data as CSV files, upload a CSV of your time, check the columns and the people that Hourbun proposes, and see a preview before anything is added. Your clients, projects, expenses and past invoices can come too: give the Hourbun format guide and your Zoho Invoice exports to an AI agent, and upload the files that it makes. The 14-day trial of Hourbun needs no card.
Questions
Questions and answers
Is Zoho Invoice free?
Yes. Zoho Invoice is free for up to 2 users, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year, with "Powered by Zoho Invoice" branding, and it has no paid plan. Hourbun starts at $15 a month, with no limit on projects or invoices and a 14-day trial with no card.
What can I do when I outgrow Zoho Invoice?
Beyond the limits of Zoho Invoice, Zoho points to Zoho Billing, a separate paid product. Hourbun has no limit on projects or invoices: a plan limits only its seats, $15 a month for up to 2 people and $99 for up to 30.
Can Zoho Invoice invoice clients in other currencies?
No. Zoho Invoice invoices only in the base currency of the organization, and Zoho points to Zoho Billing for more currencies. Hourbun sets a currency for each client or project.
Does Zoho Invoice or Hourbun charge a fee on online payments?
Neither adds a fee. Zoho Invoice leaves the fees to the payment gateway, and Hourbun takes payments into your own Stripe account, with only the fees of Stripe.
Can I move from Zoho Invoice to Hourbun?
Yes. Hourbun imports a CSV of time entries from any app, with the clients, projects, tasks and people that it names, after a preview. Your Zoho Invoice invoices and expenses can come too, in files of the Hourbun format guide that an AI agent can make from your exports.
Sources
- From the pages of Zoho Invoice, unless a source says otherwise
- A feature that we could not check has no row
- Prices change: check the pricing page of Zoho Invoice
All sources (26)
- Zoho Invoice pricing
- Zoho Invoice features
- Zoho Invoice: accept online payments
- Zoho Invoice apps
- Zoho Invoice integrations
- Help: Logging time
- Help: Creating a project
- Help: Manage timesheet views
- Help: Chrome extension for timesheets
- Help: Charging the customer
- Help: Keyboard shortcuts
- Help: Accepting quotes
- Help: Preferences
- Help: Creating invoices
- Help: Taxes
- Help: Reminders
- Help: Report functions
- Help: Users and roles
- Help: QuickBooks Online integration
- Help: Zoho Projects integration
- Zoho Invoice API documentation
- Help: Data backup
- FAQ: Can I invoice my customers in a different currency?
- FAQ: How do I upgrade to a paid plan?
- FAQ: What happens to the data of an unused organization?
- Zoho Invoice help: Migrate to Zoho Invoice from other software
Zoho Invoice is a trademark of Zoho Corporation, and Hourbun is not affiliated with it.