March 2026 · 6 min read

THEBRICKBOOK VS BOOKIPI: WHICH FREE INVOICE APP IS BETTER FOR TRADIES?

If you've searched for a free invoice app on the App Store, you've probably come across Bookipi. It's a polished invoicing app built by a Sydney-based team, and it's earned over 800,000 users worldwide. So how does it stack up against TheBrickBook for Australian tradies and solo operators?

Let's break it down honestly.

WHAT IS BOOKIPI?

Bookipi is a global invoicing app that lets you create invoices, estimates, and purchase orders from your phone. It's well-designed, has solid reviews, and offers some genuinely useful features like AI-powered invoice creation and tap-to-pay.

The catch? Bookipi's free plan limits you to 3 invoices per month. If you're a working tradie doing 3+ jobs a week, you'll hit that limit in the first few days. To go unlimited, you'll need to pay $9.99/month ($120/year).

WHAT IS THEBRICKBOOK?

TheBrickBook is a free iOS app built specifically for Australian tradies and solo operators. It combines job tracking, expense logging, a built-in timer, invoicing, and a real hourly rate calculator in one app. There's no paid tier, no invoice limits, and no feature gating.

Where Bookipi is primarily an invoicing tool, TheBrickBook is a profit clarity tool that also does invoicing. It's designed to answer the question: "What did I actually earn on that job?"

HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON

WHERE BOOKIPI WINS

Credit where it's due. Bookipi has some genuine advantages:

• Multi-platform: Bookipi runs on iOS, Android, and web. TheBrickBook is currently iOS only.
• Proposals and estimates: If you send formal proposals to clients before starting work, Bookipi handles this well.
• Tap-to-pay: You can accept card payments directly through the app, which is handy for tradies who deal with homeowners.
• AI features: Bookipi can generate invoices from photos or voice notes, which is a clever touch.
• Global reach: Bookipi supports multiple currencies and tax systems. If you work internationally, it's more flexible.

WHERE THEBRICKBOOK WINS

• Actually free: No invoice limits. No paywall after your third invoice of the month. Everything is included.
• Job tracking: TheBrickBook tracks the entire job lifecycle, not just the invoice at the end. You log the job, track time, add expenses, and see your profit.
• Real hourly rate: This is the big one. TheBrickBook automatically calculates what you actually earned per hour after expenses. Bookipi tells you what you invoiced. TheBrickBook tells you what you kept.
• Built for tradies: TheBrickBook is designed for sole traders in Australia. ABN, GST, and job types are baked in from the start, not bolted on to a global template.
• Simplicity: No feature overwhelm. You open the app, log a job, track it, invoice it. Done.

THE 3-INVOICE LIMIT PROBLEM

This is the dealbreaker for most tradies. If you're doing even modest volume — say, 4 jobs a week — that's 16+ invoices a month. Bookipi's free plan gives you 3. You'll be forced onto the $9.99/month plan before the first week is over.

THE REAL QUESTION: INVOICING VS PROFIT TRACKING

The fundamental difference between these two apps is what they're trying to solve.

Bookipi helps you send invoices. It does that well. The invoices look professional, you can customise them, and you can accept payments directly.

TheBrickBook helps you understand your profit. It tracks the full picture — time, expenses, revenue — and shows you what you actually earned. The invoice is just the output at the end.

If all you need is a way to send a nice-looking invoice, Bookipi is a solid choice (if you're willing to pay for unlimited). But if you want to know whether a job was actually worth doing, TheBrickBook gives you that answer.

OUR RECOMMENDATION

For Australian tradies and solo operators, TheBrickBook is the better choice. You get unlimited invoicing, job tracking, expense logging, and real hourly rate — all for free. It's built for exactly how you work.

If you need proposals, tap-to-pay, or Android support, Bookipi is worth considering. But for the core question every tradie needs answered — "what am I actually earning?" — TheBrickBook is the tool that answers it.