Billebly vs Mollie Invoicing: which is right for freelancers?

Mollie is a large European payments company (Amsterdam-based, serving merchants across the EU and UK) whose invoicing tool is one feature layered on top of its payment processing, built to help existing Mollie merchants turn a payment link into a proper invoice. Billebly is built the other way around: a client and billing workflow first, with Stripe underneath handling the actual money movement. This comparison is for freelancers and consultants deciding whether they need a payments company's invoicing add-on or a dedicated billing tool built around clients and time.

The headline difference: Mollie Invoicing exists to support a payments account that already processes transactions. Billebly exists to run the client-to-invoice-to-payment loop as the main product, with no payments account required first.

Quick comparison

What is Mollie?

Mollie (mollie.com) is a major European payment service provider founded in the Netherlands, processing payments for businesses across the EU and UK through a wide range of local and international methods: cards, iDEAL, SEPA Direct Debit, Bancontact, Klarna, PayPal, and more. Invoicing is a feature within the broader Mollie dashboard rather than a standalone product: merchants who already process payments through Mollie can generate and send invoices, set up recurring billing, and issue e-invoices in the UBL/PEPPOL format used for B2B and B2G compliance in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, where electronic invoicing mandates are increasingly common.

Mollie doesn't charge a separate subscription for invoicing. Its revenue comes from per-transaction processing fees, which vary by payment method and typically include a small percentage plus a fixed component for card payments, and a lower flat fee for local bank methods like iDEAL. The invoicing feature itself has no client relationship management, no time tracking, and no dashboard oriented around clients, since it's designed around transactions rather than a client-and-work workflow.

What is Billebly?

Billebly is a free invoicing and payments tool for freelancers, coaches, and consultants, built around the part of the job that actually determines whether you get paid: a client list, one-off and recurring invoices, time tracking that becomes invoice line items automatically, and a dashboard showing paid, pending, and overdue amounts. It's deliberately built as a billing-and-payment workflow first, so there's a client record behind every invoice rather than a payment link with paperwork attached. Payments run through Stripe underneath, which keeps setup simple while still supporting cards, iDEAL, SEPA, Klarna, Amazon Pay, and bank transfers depending on the client's location.

Billebly vs Mollie: key differences

The clearest structural difference is what each tool is built around. Mollie Invoicing is an add-on to a payments account: it exists to turn a transaction into a paper trail. Billebly is built around a client relationship first, so a client list, logged hours, and invoice history all live in one place rather than being reconstructed from a transaction list.

That client-and-billing-workflow-first structure is the main practical gap on Mollie's side: Mollie Invoicing has no client list at all, since it's built on top of a payment link rather than a client record. Time tracking is absent too, so hourly work has nowhere to flow into an invoice automatically.

Billebly's side of the tradeoff is narrower now than it used to be: every invoice already generates an EN 16931 UBL 2.1 e-invoice automatically, emailed alongside the PDF. What it doesn't do is transmit that XML over the Peppol network itself, which is a specific requirement for some B2B and B2G billing in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, and Mollie is built for exactly that need. Freelancers and consultants without a Peppol-network delivery obligation get a compliant e-invoice either way; those who need Peppol delivery specifically should treat that as the deciding factor.

Features comparison

Pricing comparison

Mollie: no subscription fee for the core account or invoicing feature. Cost is per-transaction and varies by payment method, typically a small percentage plus a fixed fee for card payments, and a lower flat fee for local methods like iDEAL. Check Mollie's current pricing page for exact rates by method and country, since they vary and change over time.

Source: Mollie's pricing page (opens in a new tab).

Billebly: free, no tiers. A 0.5% platform fee on payments actually processed, plus Stripe's standard processing rate (roughly 1.5% + €0.25 for cards, less for bank methods like iDEAL/SEPA). No monthly minimum, and you choose whether you or the client absorbs the platform fee.

Both tools share the same basic shape: no subscription, cost tied to transactions. The practical difference is what that cost buys. With Mollie, it buys broad payment-method coverage and Peppol network delivery layered onto a transaction. With Billebly, it buys a client-centered workflow (a client list, time tracking, and a payment status dashboard) built around the invoice rather than around the transaction.

Invoicing and billing

Both support one-off and recurring invoices, and both generate a compliant UBL-format e-invoice alongside every invoice: Billebly builds an EN 16931 UBL 2.1 file automatically and emails it with the PDF, while Mollie can additionally push that file over the Peppol network for automated processing by business and government recipients that require delivery through it. Billebly's invoicing also leans on the client relationship: quotes convert directly into invoices once accepted, and logged time against a client pulls straight onto an invoice as billable line items, neither of which Mollie Invoicing offers.

Where Mollie pulls ahead: Peppol network delivery for B2B/B2G billing in NL/BE/DE, and the broadest payment-method coverage of the two. Where Billebly pulls ahead: a client list and time tracking built directly into the same flow, so invoicing starts from "who is this for and what did I do" rather than from a transaction record.

Payments

Mollie processes payments directly as a licensed payment service provider, supporting a wide range of methods (cards, iDEAL, SEPA, Bancontact, Klarna, PayPal, and more) at per-transaction rates that vary by method and merchant volume. Billebly processes through Stripe, adding a flat 0.5% platform fee on top of Stripe's rate, supporting cards, iDEAL, SEPA, Klarna, Amazon Pay, and bank transfers depending on the client's location. Mollie's method coverage is broader in some markets, particularly for local European methods beyond iDEAL and SEPA; Billebly's coverage is intentionally focused on the methods most relevant to freelance and consulting clients.

Ease of use

Mollie's dashboard is built primarily for merchants managing payment volume, with invoicing as a secondary feature inside that view. Setting up Peppol delivery correctly involves some configuration, since the delivery requirements are regulatory, not just cosmetic.

Billebly's setup has no equivalent configuration step: add a client, build an invoice, send a link, check the dashboard. There's no transaction-first interface to navigate, because the whole product is organized around clients and invoices from the start.

Which is better for freelancers?

A freelancer or consultant who invoices businesses or government clients in the Netherlands, Belgium, or Germany and needs that e-invoice delivered specifically over the Peppol network will get real, necessary value from Mollie. A freelancer, coach, or consultant without that Peppol-delivery requirement, who logs time against client work and wants a client list alongside billing, will find Mollie Invoicing's lack of a client record and time tracking a real gap, and Billebly closer to the actual job, while still getting a compliant EN 16931 e-invoice on every invoice.

Which is better for small businesses?

Mollie's broader payment infrastructure and multi-method support suit a small business already built around processing volume across several payment methods and markets. Billebly is built for a single operator by design, with a client list and invoice-and-payment workflow sized for one person's client roster rather than high transaction volume across a team. For a freelancer, coach, or one-person consultancy, that focus is exactly the point: one client list, one invoice flow, nothing extra to configure.

Who should choose Mollie?

A freelancer, consultant, or small business that needs its e-invoices delivered over the Peppol network for B2B or B2G compliance in the Netherlands, Belgium, or Germany, or that already processes payments through Mollie and wants invoicing bundled into the same account.

Who should choose Billebly?

A freelancer, coach, or consultant without a Peppol-delivery requirement who wants a client list, time tracking, and a payment status dashboard built directly into the invoicing flow, without a subscription and without needing a broader payments account first, while still getting a compliant EN 16931 UBL 2.1 e-invoice automatically on every invoice.

Is Billebly a good Mollie alternative?

For the client-and-billing workflow, yes: if what you actually need is a client record, time tracking that becomes invoice line items, and a clear view of what's paid and outstanding, Billebly does that job more directly than a payments account's invoicing add-on, and it already generates a compliant EN 16931 UBL 2.1 e-invoice for every invoice. For Peppol network delivery specifically, no, that's Mollie's strength and Billebly doesn't transmit over Peppol itself, so anyone with an active B2B/B2G Peppol-delivery requirement in NL/BE/DE should stay with Mollie or pair Billebly with a Peppol-delivery tool.

Mollie alternatives

Mollie competes with other European payment service providers like Adyen, Stripe, and Klarna's own merchant tools, each with different invoicing features layered on top of payment processing. If the appeal is specifically e-invoicing compliance or broad local payment-method coverage, those are worth comparing directly. If the appeal was mainly "invoicing bundled with payments" but the daily need is closer to "track clients, log time, and get paid," a client-first tool like Billebly is worth trying alongside or instead of a payments account's invoicing feature.

Final verdict

For most freelancers and consultants, the daily bottleneck isn't e-invoicing compliance, it's keeping track of clients, logging hours against the right one, and knowing what's been paid. Billebly does exactly that for free, with a client list and time tracking built directly into the invoicing flow, which Mollie's invoicing add-on doesn't offer at all, and it already generates a compliant EN 16931 UBL 2.1 e-invoice automatically on every invoice. If you have an active Peppol-network delivery requirement for B2B or B2G billing in the Netherlands, Belgium, or Germany, that's a genuine, non-negotiable reason to use Mollie, or pair Billebly with a Peppol-delivery tool. Everyone else billing clients without that specific delivery requirement will likely find Billebly's client-first workflow a better daily fit.