Expensify, Frappe Books, and Invoice Ninja tackle different pieces of small business finance: Expensify automates employee expense reports and reimbursement,…
Freemium / Open Source · From Free (self-hosted or up to 5 clients); hosted Pro from $14/month
Best for: Freelancers and agencies who prioritize client invoicing, quotes, and online payments across 40-plus gateways
At a Glance
Expensify
Frappe Books
Invoice Ninja
Primary category
Accounting
Accounting
Accounting
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium / Subscription (per active member)
Open Source / Free
Freemium / Open Source
Starting price
Free for individuals; Collect plan starts at $5 per member per month
Free
Free (self-hosted or up to 5 clients); hosted Pro from $14/month
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Yes
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
Mac, Windows
Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standout Differences
Expensify is the only one built for expense reimbursement
SmartScan receipt capture, multi-level approval workflows, and the Expensify Card give it purpose-built expense management that neither Frappe Books nor Invoice Ninja documents.
Expensify
Frappe Books is the only fully offline, account-free option
All Frappe Books data lives locally in SQLite with no login and no internet connection needed, a privacy-first design that Expensify's cloud platform and Invoice Ninja's hosted plans don't match.
Frappe Books
Invoice Ninja leads on client payment collection
Support for more than 40 payment gateways and a client portal make Invoice Ninja the strongest of the three for getting client invoices paid online.
Invoice Ninja
Only Frappe Books and Invoice Ninja handle double-entry bookkeeping
Frappe Books and Invoice Ninja both work from a ledger-style or invoicing data model, while Expensify is explicitly an expense and reimbursement workflow layered on top of, not a replacement for, an accounting system.
Frappe Books, Invoice Ninja
Expensify and Invoice Ninja both offer a genuinely free tier
Expensify's free plan covers individuals with 25 SmartScans per month, and Invoice Ninja's free plan covers self-hosting or up to 5 hosted clients, while Frappe Books is free in its entirety with no tiers at all.
Expensify, Invoice Ninja, Frappe Books
Feature-by-Feature
Core Workflow
Feature
Expensify
Frappe Books
Invoice Ninja
Double-entry bookkeeping and general ledger
Unavailable
Available
Unavailable
Receipt scanning and OCR expense capture
Available
Unavailable
Limited
Client invoicing and online payments
Unavailable
Limited
Available
Multi-level approval workflows
Available
Unavailable
Not documented
Deployment and Extras
Feature
Expensify
Frappe Books
Invoice Ninja
Offline, account-free operation
Unavailable
Available
Unavailable
Self-hosting option
Unavailable
Available
Available
Corporate card and reimbursement
Available
Unavailable
Unavailable
Free tier available
Available
Available
Available
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Expensify
Free (Individual) — Free N/A
Collect — $5 per member per month Monthly, no annual commitment
Control (Annual with Card) — $9 per active member per month Annual commitment, requires Expensify Card usage
Control (Annual, no Card) — $18 per member per month Annual commitment
Control (Pay-Per-Use) — $36 per member per month Month-to-month, no annual commitment
Frappe Books
Free (Open Source) — Free N/A
Invoice Ninja
Free (Hosted or Self-Hosted) — Free N/A
Ninja Pro — $14/month or $140/year Monthly or annual
Enterprise — $18-$300/month (by user count) Monthly
Premium Business — Custom (from $280/year) Annual
Pros & Cons
Expensify
Pros
Genuinely free tier for individuals with 25 SmartScans per month and no team features required
Long track record as the pioneer of automated receipt scanning, with a mature and reliable OCR engine
Simpler interface and setup than legacy enterprise tools like SAP Concur
Bundled corporate card, travel booking and bill pay reduce the need for separate point solutions
Cons
Collect plan charges per member added to a workspace regardless of whether that member submits expenses that month
Control plan's full feature set (SSO, payroll integrations, custom rules) requires the higher-priced annual commitment
Stock price has declined substantially since its 2021 IPO, reflecting increased competition from card-led spend platforms like Ramp and Brex
Advanced compliance and enterprise integrations are gated behind the Control tier, which can be costly for larger teams without the Expensify Card
Frappe Books
Pros
Completely free with no subscription, seat limits, or feature paywalls
Works fully offline, which suits users who want privacy and independence from cloud outages
Clean, modern interface built with Vue.js, unusual for free accounting software
Open-source codebase on GitHub that can be audited, self-hosted, or extended by developers
Data stored locally, giving users full ownership and easy backup or migration
Cons
No native multi-user or team collaboration support within the desktop app
No built-in payroll or advanced ERP modules found in sibling product ERPNext
No official mobile app for on-the-go invoicing or bookkeeping
Relies on community and GitHub-based support rather than dedicated customer service
Local-only data storage means users are responsible for their own backups and device security
Invoice Ninja
Pros
Free, unlimited self-hosted version with no artificial feature caps
Affordable hosted plans compared to FreshBooks or QuickBooks
Supports 40-plus payment gateways and multi-currency invoicing
Native desktop and mobile apps alongside the web app
Bootstrapped company with a long track record and stable pricing
Cons
Self-hosting requires technical setup with a PHP/Laravel server and database maintenance
The Elastic License v2 restricts reselling or offering it as a hosted service to others
Interface feels less polished than some modern SaaS competitors
Free hosted plan is capped at just 5 clients
Advanced features like bank sync and e-invoicing credits are reserved for higher tiers
Use Cases
Choose Expensify: Teams and individuals who need automated receipt scanning and structured expense report reimbursement
Choose Frappe Books: Solo freelancers and micro-businesses who want a completely free, offline desktop bookkeeping app with no account required
Choose Invoice Ninja: Freelancers and agencies who prioritize client invoicing, quotes, and online payments across 40-plus gateways
Expensify
Freelancer and sole proprietor expense tracking — Individuals use the free Expensify tier to photograph receipts, automatically extract expense data and export records for tax filing without needing a paid team plan.
Small business expense approval and reimbursement — Small teams use the Collect plan to give employees a simple way to submit receipts, route them through basic approval workflows and get reimbursed without heavy IT setup.
Enterprise-grade spend control and compliance — Larger organizations use the Control plan's multi-level approvals, ERP and payroll integrations, custom policy rules and SSO to manage spend across departments while meeting compliance requirements.
Frappe Books
Freelancer invoicing and bookkeeping — Solo consultants and freelancers use Frappe Books to send invoices, track payments, and generate profit and loss statements without paying for cloud accounting software.
Small retail bookkeeping — Small shop owners use the built-in Point of Sale module alongside double-entry accounting to manage day-to-day sales and inventory-linked transactions.
Privacy-focused offline accounting — Businesses that prefer to keep financial records off third-party servers use Frappe Books for fully local, self-managed bookkeeping.
Invoice Ninja
Freelance and consultant billing — Freelancers and consultants bill clients directly with recurring invoices and online payments.
Agency time and billing management — Small agencies track billable time and expenses across client projects and invoice accordingly.
Self-hosted, privacy-focused billing — Privacy-conscious businesses self-host their billing data instead of using a third-party SaaS provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do these three tools actually compete with each other?
Only partially. Expensify focuses on expense reports and reimbursement, Frappe Books on offline bookkeeping, and Invoice Ninja on client invoicing. Many small businesses use more than one together rather than picking a single winner.
Which tool is best for a freelancer who just wants to get paid?
Invoice Ninja is the strongest fit, with support for more than 40 payment gateways and a client portal for online payments, features Expensify and Frappe Books do not offer.
Can Frappe Books track and reimburse employee expenses like Expensify?
No. Frappe Books is a single-user, offline desktop bookkeeping app with no documented approval workflow, receipt OCR, or reimbursement rails, which are Expensify's specialty.
Is Frappe Books really free with no subscription at all?
Yes. The entire application, including accounting and reporting features, is available at no cost with no tiers, seats, or upsells, since it runs entirely offline with no hosted backend to fund.
Which tool works without an internet connection?
Frappe Books is the only one of the three designed to run fully offline, storing data locally in SQLite. Expensify and Invoice Ninja's hosted features both require an internet connection.