KipBill vs Holded: The Complete Comparison for Freelancers & Small Business (2026)

Holded is one of the most popular business management platforms in Spain. It offers invoicing, accounting, CRM, project management, and inventory — all in one place. For growing SMEs with complex needs, it can be a solid choice.

But if you are a freelancer, consultant, or small business that primarily needs to create invoices, send quotes, track expenses, manage payments, and handle tax compliance — Holded might be far more than you need. And far more expensive.

KipBill is not a simple invoicing tool. It is a complete invoicing and financial management platform with multi-user support up to 100 users, accounting reports, online payments, withholding tax (IRPF), recurring invoices, client portal, full REST API, and an AI assistant with 45+ tools. Let us compare them honestly.

Pricing: €0 vs €29/month

This is the most significant difference. Holded's cheapest plan starts at €29/month (€348/year). Even with their occasional 50% first-quarter discount, you are looking at over €250 in your first year.

KipBill's pricing:

A freelancer paying Holded's basic plan (€29/month) could use KipBill Pro for an entire year and still save over €280.

Full Feature Comparison: KipBill vs Holded

Multi-User: Up to 100 Users with Tiered Roles

KipBill supports up to 100 users per account with three permission levels:

• Admin: Full control over invoicing, settings, users, and data
• Editor: Can create and edit invoices, quotes, expenses, and clients
• Viewer: Read-only access — perfect for your accountant or tax advisor

This means your accountant or tax advisor can access KipBill directly with a viewer or admin role, download reports, and review your data in real time — no more emailing spreadsheets every quarter.

Holded also offers multi-user, but starting at €29/month plus €10/month per additional user. KipBill Pro at €5/month includes multi-user with no extra per-user charge.

Accounting Reports

KipBill includes four complete financial reports:

1. Profit & Loss (P&L) — Revenue vs expenses by period, with margins and trends
2. Tax report — Breakdown by tax rate, perfect for quarterly VAT returns
3. Income report — Detailed invoicing analysis by client, period, and status
4. Aging report — Overdue invoice analysis with days past due

All exportable to CSV. Your accountant can download them directly from their viewer account.

The difference with Holded: Holded offers full double-entry accounting with chart of accounts, balance sheet, and automatic bank reconciliation. KipBill does not have double-entry accounting — but for 90% of freelancers and small businesses, KipBill's four reports cover exactly what they need.

Withholding Tax (IRPF): Critical for Spanish Freelancers

If you are a freelancer in Spain, withholding tax (IRPF) is part of your life. Every invoice to another business must include the corresponding withholding (typically 15%, or 7% in the first three years).

KipBill supports IRPF natively — even on the free plan. Set your default withholding percentage and it appears automatically on every invoice. The tax report breaks down applied withholdings for your quarterly declaration.

Holded also supports IRPF, but remember: starting at €29/month. KipBill gives you this for free.

AI Assistant: 45+ Tools That Holded Does Not Have

This is where KipBill stands apart from every competitor in the market.

KipBill includes an AI assistant with 45+ tools that understands natural language in 12 languages:

• Create invoices by voice: "Create an invoice for Maria, web design €3,500, 21% VAT, 15% withholding" — done in seconds
• Create quotes by chat: "Quote for Garcia Construction, bathroom renovation €8,200 with reduced VAT"
• Create credit notes: "Credit note for invoice 2026-042"
• Log expenses: "Expense of €45 at restaurant with client, 10% VAT"
• Scan receipts with AI: Take a photo — AI extracts every line item with per-item tax detection
• Upload files: Send an Excel or CSV and the AI interprets it automatically
• Ask questions: "How much did I invoice this quarter?" "What invoices are overdue?" "Who is my biggest client?"

Holded has Smart Scan for receipt digitization, but no conversational AI assistant. You cannot create invoices by speaking. You cannot ask questions about your business.

Online Payments: Collect Directly with Stripe Connect

KipBill integrates online payments via Stripe Connect from the Pro plan (€5/month). Your clients get a direct payment button on the invoice and can pay by card instantly.

Additionally:

• Payment links on every invoice
• Partial payments — record payments on account
• Status tracking — pending, partially paid, paid, overdue
• Multiple methods — bank transfer, card, PayPal, cash
• Full bank details — account holder name, IBAN, and SWIFT on every invoice

Holded also offers online payments, but starting at €29/month.

Client Portal: Professional Self-Service

KipBill offers a client portal where your clients can view invoices and quotes, download PDFs, pay pending invoices online, and accept quotes. The portal adapts to each client's language and currency. You can use your custom domain on the Pro plan.

Recurring Invoices and Auto-Reminders

KipBill supports recurring invoices (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly) and automatic overdue reminders from the Starter plan (€3/month).

Holded also offers recurring invoices, but starting at €29/month.

Full REST API

For businesses with automation needs, KipBill offers a complete REST API (v1) covering invoices, quotes, expenses, products, clients, and credit notes. Available from the Pro plan (€5/month).

What KipBill Does Better Than Holded

There are areas where KipBill clearly outperforms Holded:

• Price — KipBill delivers more functionality for less money. Pro at €5/month vs Holded at €29/month with similar invoicing capabilities
• AI assistant with 45+ tools — Create invoices, quotes, expenses, and credit notes by voice or chat. Holded has nothing comparable
• Smart receipt scanning — Extracts every line item with individual tax rates. Holded's Smart Scan only captures basic totals
• 12 native languages — Interface, invoices, and client portal in 12 languages. Holded supports 4
• 30+ currencies with per-client configuration — Each client can have their own currency and language. Ideal for international billing
• 25 industry-specific templates — Professional designs tailored to each industry (photography, construction, legal, restaurant...). Holded offers generic templates
• Client groups — Group clients with shared defaults (currency, language, payment terms). Holded does not have this
• Custom SMTP — Send invoices from your own email server. Holded does not offer this
• Custom domain for portal — Your client portal on yourdomain.com. Holded does not have this
• Email open tracking — Know when your client opens the invoice. Holded does not show this
• WhatsApp sharing — Send invoices and quotes via WhatsApp with one click. Holded does not have this
• Withholding tax from the free plan — Holded includes it but starting at €29/month

What Holded Does Better

Let us be honest. Holded offers features that KipBill does not:

• Full double-entry accounting — chart of accounts, balance sheet, journal entries
• CRM with sales pipeline — lead tracking, deal stages, forecasting
• Project management with time tracking — task boards, timer, project profitability
• HR and payroll module — employee management, payroll integration
• Automatic bank reconciliation — matching bank transactions with invoices and expenses

If your business needs an all-in-one ERP covering double-entry accounting, CRM, projects, HR, and bank reconciliation — Holded is a comprehensive solution.

But if you need professional invoicing with financial reports, online payments, multi-user, withholding tax, client portal, and AI assistance — KipBill delivers all of this at a fraction of the price.

VeriFactu Compliance

Important for businesses in Spain. Starting in 2027, all invoicing software must comply with VeriFactu.

• Holded: Already VeriFactu compliant
• KipBill: VeriFactu is our top priority, with implementation planned before the 2027 deadline. The technical architecture (SHA-256 hash chain, AEAT XML format, QR codes, automatic submission) is already designed.

Who Should Choose What

Choose Holded if:

• You need full double-entry accounting with balance sheet
• You need CRM with sales pipeline
• You need project management with time tracking
• You need HR/payroll module
• You need automatic bank reconciliation
• Budget is not a concern (€29-159/month)

Choose KipBill if:

• You need professional invoicing with financial reports (P&L, tax, aging)
• You want AI-powered invoice creation (45+ tools, voice and chat)
• You need multi-user with roles (admin, editor, viewer) — your accountant can access directly
• You need withholding tax (IRPF) for invoicing in Spain
• You want to collect online with Stripe Connect
• You need recurring invoices and auto-reminders
• You work with international clients (12 languages, 30+ currencies)
• You want a professional client portal with custom domain
• You need a REST API for automations
• You want to start free and scale up to 100 users

The Bottom Line

Holded is a powerful ERP for businesses that need double-entry accounting, CRM, projects, and HR in one place. But for the vast majority of freelancers and small businesses, it is overkill — and overpriced.

KipBill is a complete invoicing and financial management platform: unlimited invoices, quotes, credit notes, AI-powered expenses, P&L and tax reports, multi-user up to 100, withholding tax, online payments, recurring invoices, client portal, REST API, e-signatures, 25 industry templates, 12 languages, and 30+ currencies. All starting at €0/month.

The AI assistant with 45+ tools is a differentiator that no competitor offers. And with plans from €0/month, there is no reason not to try it.

Try KipBill free — no credit card required →