Comparison
Simple Invoice vs PayPal Invoicing
Free local Simple Invoice against PayPal Invoicing: transaction fees, payment collection, layout control, records, data location and offline use.
Simple Invoice
A free single-document invoice generator that runs entirely in your browser: no account, data kept locally, block-based templates, PDF and JSON export, and share links.
PayPal Invoicing
The invoicing tool inside a PayPal Business account: hosted, free to create and send invoices, charging PayPal's transaction fee when a client pays through the invoice by PayPal balance or card.
PayPal Invoicing is the invoicing tool many freelancers already have without looking for one: it comes with a PayPal Business account, costs nothing to send, and clients recognise the name. The invoice is a payment request first — the client clicks through and pays from a PayPal balance or card, and PayPal takes its transaction fee. Simple Invoice is a document tool: a free, browser-based generator that produces a numbered, formatted PDF and leaves payment to whatever details you print on it.
This page compares the two for someone deciding how to bill clients. Product facts on this page were checked against the vendor's own product pages in September 2026. Details change — verify before deciding.
Side by side
| Criterion | Simple Invoice | PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| Account required | Yes: None — open the app and start | No: PayPal Business account required |
| Where your data lives | Yes: Your browser's local storage; JSON export any time | Partly: PayPal's servers, under your account |
| Price | Yes: Free, every feature included | Partly: Free to create and send; transaction fee when paid through PayPal |
| Invoice numbering & totals | Yes: Pattern-based counter; totals, taxes and discounts calculated | Yes: Automatic numbering; totals, tax and discounts calculated |
| Templates & layout control | Yes: Twelve block types, six presets, typefaces, colours, paper size | Partly: A few templates with logo and colour |
| PDF export | Yes: Vector PDF via the print dialog; explicit pagination | Yes: Download as PDF |
| Send by email from the app | No: Attach the PDF or send a share link yourself | Yes: Sent by PayPal, or shared as a link |
| Online payments | No: Bank details or your own payment link on the invoice | Yes: PayPal balance, cards and other methods, for a fee |
| Recurring invoices | No: No recurring workflow; edit one document at a time | Yes: Recurring invoice series |
| Accounting / bookkeeping | No: Not included; no ledger or status tracking | No: Transaction history and reports only |
| Multi-device sync | No: Move a JSON file or share link manually | Yes: Web and the PayPal mobile app |
| Works offline | Yes: After first load; nothing depends on a server | No: Hosted; needs a connection |
Familiar to clients, tied to one payment route
PayPal Invoicing's strength is that clients know what to do with it. The email arrives from a name they trust, the button pays, and for small or international jobs where a bank transfer would be slow or awkward, that is genuinely convenient. The corresponding limit is that the invoice is built around PayPal as the payment route. Clients who prefer to pay by bank transfer can still do so, but the tool is not designed for it. Simple Invoice is neutral: the payment details block holds bank details, a PayPal.Me or other link, or both, and the document does not care which the client uses.
The fee question
Sending a PayPal invoice is free; being paid through it is not. PayPal's transaction fee applies to each payment, higher for cross-border and currency conversion, and on a freelancer's larger invoices it is a noticeable share of revenue. Simple Invoice charges nothing because nothing passes through it — the client pays you directly. Whether the fee is worth paying depends on your clients: consumers and small overseas clients often value the PayPal button; businesses paying by transfer do not need it. How to invoice international clients covers the currency and transfer choices that decide this.
The invoice as a document
PayPal's templates are functional — logo, colour, standard fields — and the layout is PayPal's. Simple Invoice treats the document as the product: blocks are chosen, ordered and configured, saved as a template, and applied to every invoice; six presets, several typefaces, colour and table styles and paper size cover most tastes. Currency and date formatting follow an ISO code and locale per invoice. The PDF is generated by the browser's print engine with explicit page breaks. If clients' accounts departments have requirements about what an invoice must show and how, the local tool meets them more easily. What to include on an invoice lists what belongs on it.
Records and ownership
In PayPal, invoice history lives in your account on PayPal's servers, alongside transaction history — convenient, backed up, and subject to PayPal's account terms and any holds or reviews the platform applies. In Simple Invoice, everything is in your browser's local storage on your device, exportable as JSON, with no third party able to see, hold or restrict it. That is more private and puts backups in your hands: export after each batch of invoices and keep the file somewhere safe. Neither is accounting software; both leave bookkeeping to something else.
Choosing
If your clients are individuals or small overseas businesses who pay happily by PayPal and you accept the fee for the convenience, PayPal Invoicing is a reasonable default you already have. If your clients pay by bank transfer, or you want a document you control with no fee and no account, Simple Invoice is the better fit — and a PayPal link in the payment details block keeps the card option open. Local-first vs cloud invoicing apps explains the wider trade-off behind that choice.
When PayPal is the better choice
- Your clients prefer to pay by PayPal or card and value a payment button they recognise.
- You send small invoices to many individuals or overseas clients where bank transfers are awkward.
- You want invoices sent and reminders handled from the app, with automatic paid status.
- You already run your business through a PayPal Business account and want invoices in the same place.
The verdict
PayPal Invoicing is a payment request with an invoice attached; Simple Invoice is an invoice with payment details attached. If collecting card or PayPal payments from clients who expect that route is the priority, PayPal's tool is convenient and free to send, with a fee when paid. If a well-designed, free, private document is the priority and clients pay by transfer, Simple Invoice does it with no account and no fee. Both can appear on the same invoice: design it in Simple Invoice and include a PayPal link among the payment details.
Questions
Does Simple Invoice take a fee when I am paid?
No. Nothing passes through the app; the client pays you directly by whatever details you print on the invoice. PayPal charges its transaction fee on payments made through a PayPal invoice.
Can I accept PayPal on a Simple Invoice?
Yes. Put your PayPal link in the payment details block alongside bank details. The client pays through PayPal if they choose; record the payment in your own system.
Where is the invoice history kept?
PayPal keeps invoice history in your account on its servers. Simple Invoice keeps only the current document in browser storage; export its PDF or JSON before replacing it.
Can either send recurring invoices?
PayPal can set up a recurring invoice series. Simple Invoice has no schedule or duplication workflow; you prepare and number one document at a time.
Keep reading
Product names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are shown for identification only. Product facts were checked against each vendor's own pages in September 2026 and may have changed since — verify before deciding.
Try it against your current way of working
One invoice is enough to tell whether this fits.