If you’re tired of chasing down payments or waiting for them, this is the best app for freelancers and content creators to get paid without question. With little to no fees, it’s also the best alternative to Paypal for freelancers.
As of February 1st, I received this email from Lumanu. “We wanted to inform you that on February 28th, 2023, we will no longer support the ability to send invoices to companies outside of the Lumanu Network. Please know that this decision was not made lightly, and we apologize for any inconvenience this adjustment may cause.” Now they will only support the ability to send invoices to companies using the Lumanu Network.
Moving forward, we will only support the ability to request and receive payments from companies that are Lumanu users themselves
You might think that the best app for freelancers is the one that helps us find work or provides us with the tools to do our work.
But in my humble opinion, the best app for freelancers, content creators and really anyone who is self-employed is the one that helps us get paid!
Dealing with getting paid can be such a hassle though.
Have you experienced any of these hassles with invoicing a client or brand?
- Hassle #1: Invoicing in itself can be confusing, tedious and/or time consuming.
- Hassle #2: Clients and brands don’t pay on time so you have to add chasing down a client on your to-do list (on top of finding new business, managing your time and working), which even risks damaging your relationship with them.
- Hassle #3: You need to get paid now but your client won’t pay you for another 30 (or even 60) days!
Discover how to solve all these issues with just one app for freelancers.
Disclaimer: I personally discovered and used Lumanu on my own. Since I loved the tool so much, I reached out to write this post in collaboration with them. Insight and experiences are my own. Also, this post may contain affiliate links. Purchases made through genuinely recommended links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Why This is the Best App for Freelancers
Lumanu is absolutely the best app for freelancers and content creators because it solves so many issues. They include but are not limited to:
- making the invoicing process hassle-free,
- reducing and/or eliminating the fees you pay to receive money from clients and brands and
- allowing you to get your money the day that you invoice.
Lumanu even helps chase down your payment for you when a client or brand is late to pay it! They’re like your very own manager.
Let’s go into four ways that Lumanu works for you.
Note: For the purposes of this blog post, “client” can mean both a client for a freelancer or brand for a content creator. After all, if you’re a content creator, a brand is ultimately your client.
#1 Invoice Easily With the Best Invoice App for Freelancers
If you’re looking for the best invoicing software for freelancers, skip the software and jump right to the app, Lumanu.
There are so many ways that Lumanu helps you as a freelancer or content creator, but at the very core of its app is a simple way to invoice your client.
There’s already a template set up for you within the app so all you have to do is add:
- The recipient’s information (email, name and company),
- The description of your work and much you want to get paid*,
- The payment due date and
- A PO number if the client/brand wanted it on the invoice.
Once you click Send Payment Request, the client will get your invoice and Lumanu will keep track of it for you so you get paid on time.
*Did you notice how it says No Fees?! Yup, even on a $2,000 invoice, Lumanu does not charge any fees. This is why it’s the best alternative to PayPal for freelancers and content creators, which we’re going to talk about in the next section.
#2 Save Money on Fees With the Best Alternative to PayPal for Freelancers and Content Creators
Getting paid for a job you spent a lot of time on can be discouraging after PayPal fees get taken out. They add up pretty quickly.
According to PayPal’s Terms of Service, you CANNOT add a PayPal fee as a line item on your invoice according to their No Surcharges clause (as of June 29, 2021).
You can compensate for the fees by increasing your total rate by how much your PayPal fees would’ve been, or you can just use Lumanu, which has zero fees.
I repeat– Lumanu has zero fees if you send an invoice through their site.
Let’s break it down into numbers.
PayPal | Lumanu |
$2000 Invoice | $2000 Invoice |
Less: $60.04 in Fees | Less: $0 in Fees |
You Get: $1939.96 | You Get: $2,000 |
Getting paid in full is one of many reasons why Lumanu is the best app for freelancers.
- Using PayPal: If you had a $2,000 invoice sent to a client on PayPal, you would pay 2.9% + $0.30 in fees, which is $60.04. You would get $1939.96 or essentially $1940.00 after fees.
- Using Lumanu: If you send a $2,000 invoice to a client wtih Lumanua, you pay $0 in fees. You would get paid a full $2,000.
Can you see why Lumanu is the best PayPal alternative for freelancers? It gets better though so keep reading.
#3 Get Paid The Same Day You Invoice
If you’re tired of waiting 30-60 days to get paid by your client, Lumanu’s newest feature, EarlyPay, allows you to get paid the same day that you send the invoice. This is yet another reason why this is the best alternative to PayPal for freelancers.
That means with Lumanu, you have two options to receive payments.
- Option 1- You can invoice your client as usual and get paid in 30-60 days, whatever the terms on your invoice is.
- The fee for this is $0 (regardless of invoice amount).
- Option 2- You can invoice your client as usual and Lumanu will deposit money into your bank on the same day.
- Earlypay is subject to a small variable fee in order to cash out instantly.
To get paid early with option #2, you’ll have to make sure your phone number is your Profile Settings.
After you send your invoice via Lumanu as usual, Luna, Lumanu’s texting assistant, will send you a text giving you an offer to get paid immediately.
Then if you say yes, you’ll get your payment right away into your bank account.
If you say no, then you’ll get your payment in 30-60 days or whatever net date your contract states. There’s no obligation at all to get paid early. It’s just a convenient feature Lumanu added.

By the way if you’re curious, Lumanu’s able to do this because they basically front you the money out of their own pocket. Then Lumanu gets paid when the client pays off the invoice!
From a client’s perspective, there is no absolutely no difference in how they pay. In 30 days, they make a payment to the invoice you sent them via Lumanu.
#4 Never Worry About Not Being Paid
Why I really think this is the best app for freelancers is because Lumanu will chase down late payments for you!
Simple invoicing and getting paid early is really nice and all, but the worst thing that can happen from a gig is that you do a ton of hard work and the client or brand pays you super late or never pays you at all.

If for some awful reason, your client decides not to pay you or pays late, you don’t have to waste your time emailing multiple times to remind them. Lumanu will actually pick up the phone and call them for you.
Besides ensuring that you’ll always get paid, having Lumanu call on your behalf means that you won’t potentially strain your relationship with your client once money comes in the picture.
How to Get Early Access to Lumanu
Doesn’t Lumanu sound like the best app for freelancers?
To get early access to Lumanu, sign up for Lumanu with my link here. Not only is this a useful invoicing app but since there will be an awesome expensing tool, which will help with tax deductions for bloggers and influencers.
For other tools for content creators, check out this blog post.

Want to learn more? You can find more helpful blog posts here, get consistent page views to your blog with my SEO course, or follow me on social media to get daily tips:
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Until next time,
Sarah Chetrit
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