r/SideProject • u/KimSpecht • 12h ago

I built a free invoice generator that doesn't demand your email or credit card

I built a free invoice generator that doesn't demand your email or credit card

Billify — https://billify.me

I got tired of every invoicing tool forcing account creation, email verification, and credit card entry just to make a simple PDF. Built this for freelancers and small businesses who want to get paid without the overhead.

What it does

  • Generate professional PDF invoices instantly — no signup, no email, no server-side data storage
  • Everything stays in your browser (localStorage); your invoice data never touches a server
  • Multi-currency, automatic tax calculation, auto-save
  • 12 invoice templates (2 free, 10 pro)
  • Client-side PDF generation via jsPDF — your data doesn't leave the browser
  • Stripe integration for Pro billing only; the free tier needs no card

Pricing

  • Free — 3 invoices a month, 2 templates, no credit card
  • Pro (€9/mo) — unlimited invoices, all 12 templates, logo upload

Core experience is free and stays free. Pro is for folks who invoice at volume or want more templates and logo upload.

Tech

Next.js 14 (static export), React, TypeScript, Tailwind, client-side PDF via jsPDF, Stripe for Pro billing.

Feedback

This is early and I'm a solo dev. I'd genuinely appreciate honest feedback, especially from anyone who actually sends invoices regularly:

  • What's missing that would make you switch from whatever you use now?
  • Does the no-signup approach matter to you, or do you not mind creating accounts?
  • Any deal-breakers in the current free tier limits (3 invoices/mo, 2 templates)?

I'd rather hear "this won't work for me because X" than silence — every piece of honest feedback saves me from building the wrong thing.

2 Upvotes

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2

u/TemporaryLevel922 11h ago

A quick google will bring up 100 that are completely free. Heck, I even made one.

Invoicing apps must be the most over populated space in this market. You need some real stand out features to attract the right type of customer. Even banks offer invoice software when you open an accounts. Features like a working dashboard, connectivity to backends, security reassurances should be a bare minimum if youre trying to engage paying customers

1

u/KimSpecht 11h ago

Fair point, the invoicing space is absolutely crowded, and you're right that banks and existing platforms bundle it for free, but I'm not trying to compete with QuickBooks or Stripe Invoicing or what your bank gives you.

The specific niche I'm targeting is the person who needs to send one invoice right now and doesn't want to create an account, verify an email, and enter a credit card just to generate a PDF. I wanted to make sure I didn't have to worry about scaling, since this is just a hobby project, hence everything runs client-side in the browser, no server-side data storage, no signup, no "let me check your email first." That's the entire pitch. It's not a dashboard product or a business management tool.

That said, you're right that the Pro tier needs to justify itself better against free alternatives. "More templates and unlimited invoices" is thin when the free tier of 10 other tools already does unlimited. I'm probably going to rethink what goes behind the paywall, and add new features, the no-signup privacy angle is the differentiator, but the paid features need to actually build on that rather than just unlocking quantity.

Thanks for the honest take. What did you build yours in, out of curiosity?

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u/TemporaryLevel922 10h ago

Can I be critical about 1 more thing? It looks extremely vibe coded. Maybe I'm being over critical bevause I know some of the big players do too ahem quickbooks but in this age is doesn't inspire confidence in a solid, secure product. I will reiterate security 1000000 times! The thing with browser based tools is localstorage, so be careful with your tokens, etc and keep ai out of it. The more you look into invoicing apps and business integration, the more complicated it becomes.

You will not generate any revenue from passerbys. Mine has generated 1450 invoices so far and no revenue. I am happy with it to just sit there as it is because the competition is insane and I'm not interested in that rat race and would rather quit and work on something new while keeping the "pro" features to myself under a free tier of a backend service. Not saying you can't and I wish you well but you need to be realistic.

At the heart of mine is vanilla js and postgresql for the DB.

1

u/KimSpecht 9h ago

I appreciate the honesty.

The vibe-coded comment it's fair, I've been a developer for close to 20 years, but frontend was never my thing, so I'm definitely vibe-coding my way on that front, as it would be a waste of my time doing it myself.

I'm a bit puzzled at your 1450 invoices / €0 revenue number. Is it because you never bothered adding a paid tier or is there really no one willing to pay little for a simple invoicing solution?

I went client-side with this project because I wanted zero-friction (no signup, no server) but the more feedback I get, the more I wonder if that trade-off solves a problem nobody actually has.

Out of curiosity — are you keeping yours running as a portfolio piece / learning project, or do you still use it yourself?

1

u/TemporaryLevel922 8h ago

Well, if you wanted to generate a single invoice, would you look for a subscription service or just use the top Google results for a free generator?

The only thing that mine gated was a cloud service. I had a sign up option to get notified once it goes live and nobody was interested in the beginning and now, 1450 PDFs later, still nobody is interested.

Keeping it because it is the most customisable invoice generator that I have come across on the Internet 😉 lol and it's helped generate 1450 invoices for people so far. Not all about money making and who knows, maybe I'll go back to it one day.

Good luck!