Free invoicing in Spain: limits and how to choose (2026)
Free-plan limits of Alegra, Contasimple, Frihet and the AEAT VeriFactu app, per each provider's and the AEAT's pages, 9 October 2026.
Key takeaways
- On 9 October 2026 the published free plans available in Spain are 10 invoices a month (Alegra Gratis), 12 documents per calendar year (Contasimple Básico) and up to 999 invoices a month plus 5 OCR scans and 30 AI messages (Frihet Free).
- Several providers do not publish IGIC/Canarias support, multi-currency, OCR or mobile app details in a comparable form on the Spanish pricing pages checked: where a fact is not stated explicitly, the cell is «—».
- Each figure is sourced from the provider's own pricing or official documentation page, opened on 9 October 2026, and is cited under the table.
- The AEAT's free VeriFactu application runs in a real environment (issued invoices have tax consequences) and supports IVA, IPSI and IGIC as configurable tax codes.
- Check what happens after the trial, the cost of the full workflow and the export before moving your records.
Contents
A free invoicing plan works in Spain only if it covers your busiest month. The figures published by each provider on 9 October 2026 are 10 invoices a month (Alegra Gratis), 12 documents a year (Contasimple Básico) and up to 999 invoices a month (Frihet Free).
This article compares three commercial products with a documented free plan — Alegra, Contasimple and Frihet — plus the AEAT’s free VeriFactu application. The figures come from each provider’s own pages, opened today, and are cited under the table. Where a page does not publish a fact explicitly, the cell is “—” and the note explains why.
Editorial disclosure: Frihet publishes this Journal and is one of the products compared. We have a commercial interest in your choosing it. This is a review of pricing pages and official documentation opened today, not an independent trial: we have not timed tasks or tested these providers’ support for this article.
What we compare and on what basis
We opened the official pages on 9 October 2026. The selection is not meant to cover the entire market — it lets us contrast the access models documented by three products with a free plan and the AEAT’s official option. The unit of measure changes per provider (invoice, document, record), so each cell is read with its native criterion.
The scope is Spain, including in translated editions. We do not transfer terms between country-specific websites or assume the reader’s language determines the country of the business.
Comparison by criterion
| Option | Free-plan limit | VeriFactu | IGIC/Canary Islands | Multi-currency | OCR | Mobile app | First paid plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alegra, Spain | 10 monthly invoices and 1 user [1] | Included on the free plan (“Verifactu Disponible”) [1] | — [1] | — [1] | — [1] | — [1] | First paid plan: 100 invoices/month and 2 users; price depends on billing period, see its page [1] |
| Contasimple Básico | 12 documents per calendar year (invoices, expenses, quotes or delivery notes), 1 user and 5 MB of virtual disk [2] | — on the comparison table of its pricing page on 9-Oct-2026 (the top menu has a dedicated “VeriFactu” section) [2] | Yes — its own “IGIC Canarias” page documents a configurable tax rate for the Spain–Canary fiscal region; advertises an automated Modelo 420 (the page does not state which plan) [3] | — [2] | 5 trial reads; additional reads billed [2] | Yes — “App Móvil” listed on Básico [2] | €10.95/month annual (€12.95/month quarterly), ex. VAT — Profesional plan (500 documents/year, 50 products) [2] |
| Frihet Free | Up to 999 invoices a month, 5 OCR scans, 30 AI messages and 1 user [4] | Yes for peninsular Spain (XML submission to AEAT with SHA-256 hash chain on every plan); not applied in production to invoices with IGIC/Canary Islands [5] | Yes — the pricing page notes “Precios sin impuestos (IVA/IGIC)”; VeriFactu only operates in peninsular VAT territory [4][5] | Yes — 170+ currencies on every plan [4] | 5 scans/month on Free; 50 on Pro; 200 on Premium; unlimited on Enterprise [4] | Yes — web app installable as a PWA on iOS and Android [6] | €9/month ex. VAT — Pro plan [4] |
| AEAT VeriFactu application | No invoice limit (aimed at low-volume invoicing) [7] | Yes — it is the basis of the application [7] | Yes — the product-import schema includes “Código IVA/IPSI/IGIC” and a configurable “Tipo Impositivo” [8] | — [7] | — [7] | Official web app (the “APP AEAT” is separate and only validates the invoice QR) [7] | Not applicable (official free application) |
“—” = not published explicitly on the page consulted on 9-Oct-2026.
Notes
[1] Alegra, Spain — https://www.alegra.com/es/gestion/precios/, consulted 9-Oct-2026. Literal text on the Gratis plan: “0 EUR 10 Facturas mensuales, 1 Usuario con acceso / Verifactu Disponible, Facturas, albaranes, presupuestos Disponible, Gastos y seguimientos de cobros Disponible, Reportes Básicos Disponible, Soporte correo Disponible / Soporte teléfono No disponible / Reportes Financieros No disponible / Bancos No disponible / Control de inventarios No disponible”. The first paid plan appears on the same page with “100 Facturas mensuales, 2 Usuarios con acceso”; the page has a “Mensual / Anual 50% OFF” toggle, so we do not quote a price. The page omits specific information on IGIC/Canarias, non-EUR currencies, OCR and a mobile app, which is reflected as “—” in the table.
[2] Contasimple — https://www.contasimple.com/precios/, consulted 9-Oct-2026. Literal text on the Básico plan: “0 €/mes Gratis de por vida — 1 usuario / App Móvil / Gestión de cobros y pagos / 12 documentos/año / 5 Productos / 1 remesa / Factura electrónica / Presentación de Impuestos / OCR 5 lecturas de prueba / Disco virtual 5 MB / Clientes 10 / Proveedores 10”. The first paid plan (Profesional) appears as “12,95 €/mes o 10,95 €/mes pago anual — IVA no incluido — 500 documentos/año — 50 Productos — 12 remesas”. On the comparison table of that page, VeriFactu is not listed as a ✓/“—” feature per plan on 9-Oct-2026; the top menu does include a dedicated “VeriFactu” section.
[3] Contasimple — IGIC Canary Islands — https://www.contasimple.com/programa-facturacion-autonomos-gratis/factura-con-igic-canarias/, consulted 9-Oct-2026. Literal text: “Paso 1: Regístrate gratis en Contasimple e introduce tus datos fiscales y ajusta las tasas de IGIC según las necesidades de tu negocio con la región fiscal España – Canarias”; “Al emitir una factura, el sistema incluirá automáticamente el IGIC Canarias. Solo tendrás que seleccionar el tipo impositivo correspondiente o indicar si se trata de una factura exenta de IGIC”; “Declara el IGIC con el Modelo 420 automatizado: Rellena y presenta automáticamente el Modelo 420 de la Agencia Tributaria del IGIC Canario con Shine Contasimple”.
[4] Frihet — https://www.frihet.io/en/pricing, consulted 9-Oct-2026. Page subtitle: “Empieza gratis con hasta 999 facturas al mes. Pro desde 9 €/mes y Premium desde 29 €/mes. Sin permanencia, cancela cuando quieras” (the Spanish source page is quoted here for accuracy; the equivalent English text appears on /en/pricing). Literal text on the Free plan: “Hasta 999 facturas al mes / 30 mensajes de IA al mes / OCR de gastos con IA / Dashboard financiero / Multi-moneda (170+) / VeriFactu incluido / Crear cuenta gratis”. Comparison table: “Facturas/mes — 999 / Ilimitadas / Ilimitadas / Ilimitadas”, “Escaneos OCR/mes — 5 / 50 / 200 / Ilimitados”, “Multi-moneda (170+) — ✓ / ✓ / ✓ / ✓”, “VeriFactu incluido — ✓ / ✓ / ✓ / ✓” for Free, Pro, Premium and Enterprise respectively.
[5] Frihet — VeriFactu — https://www.frihet.io/en/pricing, consulted 9-Oct-2026. Literal text from the FAQ “¿Está VeriFactu incluido en todos los planes?”: “Sí, también en Free. Frihet incluye cadena hash SHA-256, numeración secuencial, inmutabilidad de campos críticos, envío XML a la AEAT y subida de certificado digital. No existe un sello oficial de certificación: Frihet publica la declaración responsable del productor en su página legal.” Frihet submits VeriFactu records to AEAT for peninsular VAT territory; in production it does not apply VeriFactu to invoices with IGIC/Canarias. This is NOT a statement about AEAT — it clarifies the scope of Frihet itself.
[6] Frihet — PWA — https://www.frihet.io/, consulted 9-Oct-2026. The application is a PWA installable on iOS and Android; the homepage marketing texts include “17 idiomas, PWA instalable, email nativo y seguridad de verdad” and a section titled “PWA Instalable” (the Spanish source is quoted for accuracy; the equivalent English text appears on the homepage).
[7] AEAT VeriFactu free application — https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/ayuda/consultas-informaticas/presentacion-declaraciones-ayuda-tecnica/aplicacion-gratuita-verifactu-aeat.html, consulted 9-Oct-2026. Literal text from the root page: “No existe límite de facturas, ni anual, ni mensual, ni semanal.”; the application is aimed at low-volume invoicing. The two pages consulted: the one above and .../aplicacion-gratuita-verifactu-aeat/emision-facturas.html (the latter holds the real-environment quote). The fields “Número de serie”, “Número de factura” and “Fecha de expedición” are generated automatically. Literal text: “¿Se pueden emitir facturas de prueba? La aplicación de facturación publicada por la AEAT en su Sede electrónica funciona en un entorno real y las facturas que se cumplimenten y emitan desde dicha aplicación serán reales y tienen trascendencia tributaria.” The invoicing application is accessible through the “Gestiones” URL; the “APP AEAT” is a separate app that only validates the invoice QR.
[8] AEAT — Management tools — https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/ayuda/consultas-informaticas/presentacion-declaraciones-ayuda-tecnica/aplicacion-gratuita-verifactu-aeat/herramientas-gestion-aplicacion.html, consulted 9-Oct-2026. Literal text about the product-import file schema: “ID#Descripción#Precio Unitario#Concepto Descuento#Importe Descuento#Código IVA/IPSI/IGIC#Código Clave Régimen#Código de Calificación Operación u Operación Exenta#Tipo Impositivo#Tipo Recargo de Equivalencia”. The “Tipo Impositivo” field is configurable.
If you invoice from the Canary Islands (IGIC)
If your activity is in the Canary Islands, the indirect tax is IGIC, not VAT. The 2026 rates for domestic operations are 0 %, 1 % (specific to petroleum, refining derivatives and gas), 3 %, 5 %, 7 % (general), 9.5 %, 15 % and 20 %. In a free program you should be able to:
- Set the fiscal region to “España – Canary Islands” and pick the right rate when issuing.
- Apply exemptions and non-subject operations with their legal cause in the invoice, not just “remove the IGIC”.
- Cover Modelo 420 (IGIC) as well as 303, if you operate both on the peninsula and in the Canary Islands.
- Handle cross-border operations correctly. A sale of goods from peninsular Spain to the Canary Islands is an export for VAT purposes and carries no peninsular VAT; the entry into the Canary Islands is then taxed under IGIC. A sale of goods from the Canary Islands to the EU or to peninsular Spain is also an export — the Canary Islands are outside the EU VAT territory, so there is no intra-community operation from the islands and no OSS applies there.
The facts above are tax positions verifiable today; claims about each competitor’s capabilities are limited to what is verified in the table above.
The AEAT: check the workflow, do not assume it
The AEAT documentation describes customer, product and serial number management with import and export options. Its issuing guide warns that the application runs in a live environment and that issued invoices have tax consequences. Do not use that application to issue fictional examples; use the external testing portal if you want to practise.
A selection exercise you can repeat
Before you import everything, prepare a small set of fictional data. Work through these tasks, note the result and save the date.
- Issue an invoice with two line items in the format your client needs. Check editable fields and numbering series.
- Walk through correcting an error and check the traceability between the original and corrected documents.
- Record an expense, review its supporting document and see which steps consume an allowance or require a paid feature.
- Export a small sample. Open the files and check amounts, dates, series, contacts and links to supporting documents. Downloading PDFs does not prove you can migrate the whole dataset.
- Confirm what you can view or export after downgrading or cancelling. Save the provider’s answer and the date you checked.
Keep a four-column worksheet: task, expected result, observed result and plan condition. If you work with an accountant, ask them to validate the export sample before moving your historical records.
When paying may make sense
Compare the cost of the first paid plan with the work that stays outside the software. As a purely hypothetical example, 10 minutes of duplicated work each week adds up to roughly 8.7 hours a year. At €20/hour, that is around €173 per year. This calculation does not prove that any program saves that time: it just identifies what is worth measuring in your case.
When asking for a price, separate monthly or annual billing, taxes, introductory offers, renewal, users, document capture, exports and integrations. Ask for the cost of the full workflow you just described.
To clarify what you need, see the ERP vs. online accounting comparison and the invoicing mistakes that cost you money. If Frihet matches your case, start with its current limits and the same workflow-and-exit exercise proposed here. If another product fits your tasks, volume and accountant better, that is a sufficient reason to choose it.
Was this article helpful?
FAQ
What is the actual cap on each free plan?
Figures verified on 9 October 2026: Alegra Gratis, 10 monthly invoices and 1 user; Contasimple Básico, 12 documents per calendar year and 1 user; Frihet Free, up to 999 invoices a month, 5 OCR scans and 30 AI messages. The AEAT VeriFactu application is an official free tool and its page states: «No existe límite de facturas, ni anual, ni mensual, ni semanal.» (no limit on invoices; aimed at low-volume invoicing).
Which programs include VeriFactu on the free plan?
Alegra's free plan lists «Verifactu Disponible» on its pricing page. Frihet publishes «VeriFactu incluido» as a Free feature and ships the records to AEAT with a SHA-256 hash chain for peninsular VAT territory — in production, Frihet does not apply VeriFactu to invoices with IGIC/Canarias. On Contasimple, the comparison table on the pricing page does not list VeriFactu as a ✓/«—» per plan on 9-Oct-2026, although the top menu has a dedicated «VeriFactu» section.
What should I check if I invoice from the Canary Islands (IGIC)?
That the program supports the IGIC rates in force in 2026 (0 %, 1 %, 3 %, 5 %, 7 % general, 9.5 %, 15 % and 20 %) and lets you set the fiscal region to «España – Canarias». If you operate both in peninsular Spain and the Canary Islands, remember that a delivery of goods from peninsular Spain to the Canary Islands is an export for VAT purposes (no peninsular VAT) and is then taxed at entry into the islands under IGIC; selling goods from the Canary Islands to the EU or peninsular Spain is also an export — the Canary Islands are outside the EU VAT territory, so there is no intra-community operation from the islands and no OSS applies there.
Can I use this comparison for a business in another country?
The selection and figures refer to Spain. Reading the article in another language does not change that scope: check the provider's offer for the country where your business operates before deciding.
