Zoho Invoice vs Joist

Two invoicing & payments tools side by side. Prices are the starting plan a small business would pick, in USD.

Compare	Zoho InvoiceZoho	JoistJoist
In one line	Free invoicing with quotes, time tracking, and a client portal	Estimates and invoices from your phone, built for contractors
Starting price	Free for 2 users	From $8.34/mo
Six-person team	$0/mo	$8.34/mo
On $10,000 of card sales	Your own card processor	$367/mo
Plans	Free; up to 500 invoices/yr and 2 users; card fees from your payment provider	Billed yearly: Basics $8.34/mo (5 documents/mo); Pro $14.17 (unlimited); Elite $26.67; Run $58.33 introductory. Monthly $10/$17/$32. Cards 3.49% + 49¢, ACH 1% capped at $15
Pricing model	Free	Free trial
Free trial	—	14 days
Users	Up to 2	Solo and small crews
Both connect to	QuickBooks Online
Also connects to	No others on record55+ listed by the vendor	No others on record
Team size	Just me · 2–10 people	Just me · 2–10 people
Available in	US · UK · CA · AU	US · CA
Phone support	Every plan	None listed
Live chat	None listed	Plans not stated
Support hours	Email: 24/5 · Phone: 24/5	Not published
Incidents posted	Zoho has a public status page. Status page	We found no public status page for Joist.
Capterra score	4.7 / 5 from 823 reviews	4.2 / 5 from 90 reviews
Trustpilot score	Not listed	4.5 / 5 from 76 reviews
Fit: Retail shop	35	10
Fit: Restaurant or café	25	5
Fit: Service business	88	55
Fit: Agency or studio	85	10
Fit: Trades or contractor	80	95
Fit: Online store	35	5
Why people pick it	Free with no invoice fees Time tracking included	Estimate to invoice to payment from a phone Cheap entry plan
Where it falls short	500 invoices a year cap Two users only	Basics caps you at 5 documents a month Card fees of 3.49% + 49¢
	Visit Zoho Invoice ↗	Visit Joist ↗

Six-person prices are what a team of six would pay on the published plans; "Not listed" means those plans don't cover six. Card sales costs include the plan price and card fees at US rates, at a $500 average sale. How we calculate prices