an honest comparison

Billbooks vs Refrens

Refrens is a capable invoicing and accounting platform popular in India, with a free tier and strong GST features. The free plan stops at 15 documents, and reconciliation starts at its ~$21 tier. Billbooks is unlimited and flat.

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At a glanceBillbooksRefrens
Flat monthly price $7.95 Free / $11+
Free tier 30-day trial 15 documents
Scheduler Included Not offered
Reconciliation Basic $21 tier

Unlimited from day one, or a free-document cap

Refrens is a capable invoicing and accounting platform, popular in India, with a free tier and strong GST features. The free plan stops at 15 documents, though, and bank reconciliation only starts at its roughly $21 a month Accounts tier. Billbooks gives you unlimited invoices at a flat $7.95.

  Billbooks Refrens
Monthly price $7.95/mo flat Free, or from ~$11/mo
Free tier 30-day trial 15 documents
Invoices Unlimited Unlimited on paid plans
Bank reconciliation Included on Basic Accounts tier (~$21/mo)
Appointment scheduler Not offered
Digital signatures Metered add-on
Automatic follow-ups on quotes
QR code to pay yes (UPI)
Multi-currency invoicing Paid plans

Refrens pricing as of August 2026 (en-us list prices; underlying pricing is INR and varies by region): Free (15 documents, 2 users), Accounts Lite about $11/month (unlimited documents), Accounts about $21/month (adds bank reconciliation and accounting), rising to Operations about $88/month; no card needed for the free tier. Per Refrens documentation, it does not offer a native client-booking scheduler; e-signatures are a usage-based add-on; it does include automatic reminders on invoices and quotes and a UPI payment QR code. Billbooks includes reconciliation, a scheduler, and e-signatures on the Basic plan. Sources: refrens.com premium, billbooks.com/pricing.

Why people pick Billbooks for invoicing

Unlimited invoices, no free-doc cap

Billbooks does not cap documents. The Refrens free plan stops at 15, and unlimited needs a paid plan.

Reconciliation on the entry plan

Bank reconciliation is included on Basic. On Refrens it starts at the roughly $21 a month Accounts tier.

A native scheduler included

Client booking is built in, which Refrens does not offer, and e-signatures are included rather than a metered add-on.

Where Refrens may suit you better

To be straight with you: Refrens has a permanent free tier, deep India GST and e-invoicing features, UPI QR payments, full double-entry accounting on higher plans, and a built-in business network for finding work. That is a wide footprint. Billbooks is for people who want unlimited invoicing with reconciliation, a scheduler, and e-signatures included at one flat price, without a free-document cap.

Unlimited invoicing, reconciliation included, flat price.

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Billbooks pricing, in full view

Unlimited invoices and reconciliation on one flat plan.

Trial
For 30 days
$0 /month
 
Get Started
1 User
5 Clients
100 Items
10 Expenses
5 Invoices
5 Estimates
3 Projects
Most popular
Basic
For freelancers
$7.95 /month
 
Start FREE (30 Days)
2 Users
100 Clients
500 Items
Unlimited Expenses
Unlimited Invoices
Unlimited Estimates
50 Projects
Multiple Organizations
Standard
For small business
$14.95 /month
 
Start FREE (30 Days)
5 Users
500 Clients
1000 Items
Unlimited Expenses
Unlimited Invoices
Unlimited Estimates
500 Projects
Multiple Organizations
Custom

A plan built for high-volume transactions or business models that do not fit the mold.

Contact Sales
API integration
Self hosted
Custom workflows
Custom reporting
Custom payment gateways
WhatsApp integration
QR codes
Custom templates
Private SMTP
Integrate with your system

What people say about Billbooks

Real reviews from people who send their own invoices

★★★★★

“I used to hate sending invoices and payment reminders. I never imagined a boring, cumbersome task could be this intuitive and fun.”

Zhang Wei
Entrepreneur

★★★★★

“I used to waste hours on invoicing. With Billbooks it is all done before my coffee gets cold, so I focus on growing my store.”

Jenna Carter
Boutique owner

★★★★★

“We are always on the move, and Billbooks keeps our billing just as fast and reliable. No training needed, just invoices out and money in.”

Derrick Simmons
Logistics Manager

You’ll love sending invoices from our app

An app so good you will want to get tasks done instead of putting them off. Stay on track and keep your cashflow going.

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Billbooks mobile app

Questions

Refrens has a free plan. Why pay for Billbooks?

Refrens free is capped at 15 documents, and reconciliation only starts at its roughly $21 a month Accounts tier. Billbooks gives you unlimited invoices plus reconciliation, a scheduler, and e-signatures on a flat $7.95 plan.

How does the pricing compare?

Billbooks Basic is $7.95 a month with unlimited invoices. Refrens is free up to 15 documents, then about $11 a month for unlimited documents, with reconciliation and accounting from about $21 a month.

Does Billbooks do everything Refrens does?

Both cover invoices, quotes with follow-ups, recurring billing, multi-currency, and a payment QR code. Billbooks adds a native scheduler and includes e-signatures rather than metering them. Refrens is stronger on India GST depth and its business network.

Is Refrens better for India GST?

For statutory GST e-invoicing and a business network, Refrens has more depth. Billbooks focuses on fast, unlimited invoicing with the workflow included at a flat price.

Can I switch from Refrens?

Yes. Set up clients and start invoicing in minutes, with a 30-day free trial and no credit card required.

Unlimited invoicing, nothing metered

30-day free trial. No credit card required.

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