Khata Billing is purpose-built for Indian small businesses. Its clean interface lets you create a GST invoice in under 60 seconds — no training needed. The free plan covers everything a small business needs: unlimited invoices, customer management, and PDF export.

Best for: Retailers, traders, freelancers, and service businesses.
Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start from ₹299/month.
Standout feature: Auto CGST/SGST/IGST split based on delivery state.

Zoho Invoice is completely free and one of the most feature-packed options available. It supports multi-currency, client portals, project billing, and time tracking — well beyond basic invoicing.

Best for: Consultants and service businesses with international clients.
Pricing: 100% Free.
Standout feature: Client portal where customers can view and pay invoices online.

Vyapar has become one of India's most downloaded billing apps, especially popular among traders and kirana store owners. It works offline too — great for areas with unreliable internet.

Best for: Traders, retailers, and offline businesses.
Pricing: Free basic plan. Paid from ₹1,499/year.
Standout feature: Works fully offline with data sync when connected.

Tally is the undisputed leader for businesses that need full accounting alongside billing. GST returns, balance sheets, P&L statements — Tally handles it all. The downside is the learning curve and cost.

Best for: Medium-sized businesses needing accounting + billing together.
Pricing: Starts at ₹18,000 one-time or ₹1,800/month (cloud).
Standout feature: Complete accounting suite with direct GSTR filing.

Marg ERP is highly popular in the pharma distribution and FMCG space. It handles batch numbers, expiry tracking, and distributor billing — features that generic billing tools miss.

Best for: Pharma distributors, FMCG wholesalers.
Pricing: Starts at ₹7,200/year.
Standout feature: Batch and expiry management for regulated industries.

Busy is a popular choice for wholesale and distribution businesses. It supports multi-godown inventory, party-wise outstanding, and detailed GST reports.

Best for: Wholesalers, distributors, and large traders.
Pricing: Starts at ₹9,000/year.
Standout feature: Multi-godown inventory with inter-branch transfers.

QuickBooks offers a clean experience especially suited for service businesses and consultants. It integrates with banks for automatic reconciliation and has strong reporting.

Best for: Service businesses, agencies, and consultants.
Pricing: Starts at ₹750/month.
Standout feature: Bank feed integration for automatic transaction matching.

Clear (formerly ClearTax) combines billing with direct GST filing. You can create invoices and push them directly to the GST portal without switching tools.

Best for: Businesses that want billing and GST filing in one place.
Pricing: Starts at ₹2,999/year.
Standout feature: Direct GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filing from within the app.

ProfitBooks is a cloud accounting tool with strong manufacturing modules — bill of materials, production orders, and job costing alongside GST billing.

Best for: Small manufacturers and job work businesses.
Pricing: Free for 1 user. Paid from ₹1,000/month.
Standout feature: Bill of materials and production tracking for manufacturers.

InvoiceAsap is designed for businesses that invoice on the go — plumbers, electricians, contractors, and delivery services. Create and send invoices from the field instantly.

Best for: Field service businesses, contractors, delivery operators.
Pricing: Free plan available. Paid from ₹500/month.
Standout feature: GPS location tagging on invoices and mobile signature capture.

With so many options, here's a simple framework to decide:

• Just starting out / tight budget? → Khata Billing (free) or Zoho Invoice (free)
• Retail / kirana / offline store? → Vyapar
• Need full accounting? → Tally Prime
• Pharma or FMCG? → Marg ERP
• Wholesale / distribution? → Busy Accounting
• Service business? → QuickBooks or Zoho Invoice
• Want billing + GST filing together? → ClearTax / Clear