Zoho Invoice Alternative (2026): Settle vs. Zoho Invoice

What Zoho Invoice costs, where it caps you, and when it is the better pick. Prices checked November 2, 2026.

Quick answer

Zoho Invoice is a free invoicing app from Zoho with quotes, recurring invoices, time tracking and a customer portal. Settle is a free iPhone app for solo contractors with no cap on estimates or invoices, where payments go to your own Stripe account. Choose Settle if you work alone on an iPhone. Stay with Zoho Invoice if you want a free invoicing tool on the web, Android, Windows or Mac, not only iPhone.

Side by side

	Settle	Zoho Invoice
Unlimited estimates and invoices	Free: $0, no document limit	Free, with a cap of 500 invoices a year, two users and three projects
Limits on lower plans	None on any plan. AI drafts: 3 free, then Pro	The pricing FAQ says up to 500 invoices a year, two users and three projects. No customer limit is listed on the page we checked
Free plan	Yes	Yes. The whole product is free; there is no paid tier on the pricing page. Documents carry "Powered by Zoho Invoice" branding
Card payment fee	Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢ paid to Stripe; Settle adds nothing	Set by the gateway you connect. With Stripe, Zoho's help page says Stripe's own pricing applies and Zoho adds no fee. Zoho's own gateway, Zoho Payments, lists 2.90% + 30¢ for domestic cards and 0.8% (capped at $5) for ACH
Payouts	Paid straight to your own Stripe account. Stripe sets payout timing and runs its own risk checks; Settle never holds the money	Through a payment gateway you connect: Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, Braintree, Zoho Payments and others. Zoho's help center says Zoho does not charge a fee for receiving online payments; the gateway may
Scheduling and dispatch	No	Not listed. Zoho's features page describes scheduling when an invoice is sent, not jobs or appointments
Platforms	iPhone only	Web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac

From each company's public pages, checked November 2, 2026. Confirm on Zoho Invoice's page before you buy.

Why contractors look for a Zoho Invoice alternative

The free plan has a yearly invoice cap and a user cap

Zoho Invoice's pricing FAQ says you can send up to 500 invoices a year, add up to two users and create at most three projects. That is plenty for many solo contractors, but it is a cap. Settle's free plan has no limit on estimates or invoices.

Source: Zoho Invoice pricing

It is a web product first

Zoho's mobile page calls the app a supplement to the web-based Zoho Invoice application, and says templates cannot be edited from the mobile app. Settle is built for the phone only, so everything is done from the jobsite.

"Menus that were easily identifiable are now hidden behind buttons."Zoho Invoice reviewer, App Store

Source: Zoho Invoice mobile apps

The path up is Zoho Books, a different product

When you outgrow it, Zoho's help page points to "Upgrade to Zoho Books", which moves all your Zoho Invoice data into a Zoho Books organization on a 14-day free trial. Settle has one paid tier, Pro, at $19.99 a month or $149.99 a year, and it only adds unlimited AI-written drafts.

Source: Upgrade from Zoho Invoice to Zoho Books

When Zoho Invoice is the better choice

You want a free invoicing tool on the web, Android, Windows or Mac, not only iPhone.
You bill by the hour. Time tracking, timesheet invoicing and billable expenses are built in.
You want recurring invoices, automatic payment reminders and a customer portal at no cost. Settle has none of those.
You want QuickBooks sync, a choice of payment gateways, or other Zoho apps such as CRM and Projects.

When Settle is not the right app

We would rather you know before you download:

iPhone only. There is no Android app and no web app.
No scheduling, dispatching, GPS or time tracking.
No QuickBooks sync. You can export everything to CSV.
One user per account. No crew or team logins.
Documents live on your phone. There is no sync between devices yet.
English only for now.
A new app from a small team. Most of the apps it competes with have been around for years.

How to switch from Zoho Invoice

There is no paid plan to cancel. To leave, delete the organization from the Manage Organizations page; Zoho's FAQ says that once it is deleted you cannot retrieve any of its data. Back up first: an admin goes to Settings, Data Management, Backup Data to export everything as a compressed file of CSVs, with the link emailed within about 30 minutes and valid for 30 days.

There is nothing to import into Settle. Open the app, tap the orange button, and describe your next job. Your own prices are remembered from what you send, so your old price list doesn't need to come along.

Questions

Is Settle a good alternative to Zoho Invoice?

Settle is a good alternative to Zoho Invoice if you work alone, use an iPhone, and want no cap on how many estimates and invoices you send. It is not a replacement if you need scheduling, dispatch, a crew login, QuickBooks sync, or an Android or web app.

How much does Zoho Invoice cost compared to Settle?

Zoho Invoice: Free, with a cap of 500 invoices a year, two users and three projects. Cheapest plan: Free. The pricing FAQ says up to 500 invoices a year, two users and three projects. No customer limit is listed on the page we checked. Settle's free plan sends unlimited estimates and invoices; Settle Pro is $19.99 a month or $149.99 a year and adds unlimited AI-written drafts. Prices checked November 2, 2026.

Can I export my data from Zoho Invoice before I switch?

Does Settle hold my money?

No. Customers pay through a link, and the payment goes to a Stripe account in your own name. Settle takes no cut and is never in the money path. Stripe sets payout timing and still runs its own identity and risk checks, as it does for any business.

Sources

Try Settle alongside Zoho Invoice.

Free on iPhone. Unlimited estimates and invoices. 7 days of Pro to try the voice drafts, and you cancel in two taps.

Download on the App Store

iPhone, iOS 17 or later. Questions? Text Nina: (818) 945-9686

A Zoho Invoice alternative for solo contractors