By Lee, founder of leodesign
Short answer: Indy and Leostu both have a usable free plan, but they suit different people. Indy is a broad freelancer workspace (proposals, contracts, invoices, project portals, forms, tasks, calendar, time tracker, file storage) with online payments through Stripe and PayPal. Leostu is a focused order desk for designers: one order becomes a bilingual contract and invoice, signed on the client's phone with no account, with your own bank and QR wallet details (WeChat Pay, Alipay, DuitNow, PayNow and more) on the invoice. If you want an all-round workspace, pick Indy. If you work with clients in Asia and mainly need signed terms and paid deposits, Leostu fits better and costs less.
What each tool is built for
Indy (weareindy.com) lists proposals, contracts, invoices, project portals, forms, files, tasks, a calendar and a time tracker. Its invoices page lists payment options including Stripe (credit, debit, bank transfer), PayPal, Zelle, wire transfer and direct deposit, global currency support, deposits, late fees and recurring invoices, and says Indy charges no additional fees of its own on online card payments. Pro adds an AI digital assistant for writing contracts and proposals, a branded client portal, templates, recurring invoice series, Zapier, Google Calendar sync, white labeling and Gmail integration.
Leostu does less, on purpose. You create an order and get a contract and an invoice from it. The client receives one link and an access code, reads, and signs by hand on their phone. You get an email when they sign. Leostu then tracks deposit and balance, shows who still owes you, and gives you ready-made reminders.
Pricing, as listed on 2 Nov 2026
As listed on weareindy.com on 2 Nov 2026:
- Free: $0. Proposals, contracts, invoices and clients limited to 3 per month (the FAQ says up to 3 clients in the CRM and 3 invoices, contracts and proposals each month, with no rollover), plus projects, calendar, forms, tasks, time tracker and 10GB of storage.
- Pro Bundle: $12.50/month, billed $300 every 2 years. The page also offers monthly and 1-year billing; the page's own summary mentions $25/month, but I could not read the 1-year figure, so check weareindy.com/pricing. 7-day free trial.
Leostu Free allows up to 3 active orders at a time, and orders that are fully paid stop counting, so a steady stream of small jobs can stay free as long as clients pay. It adds a small "Made with Leostu" line and has no API. Leostu Pro is $3.75/month, billed yearly at $45 (25% less than monthly), with a 14-day trial and no card required. You can pay by card, or one-off with Alipay or WeChat Pay; prices are also shown in HKD, CNY, MYR and SGD. See Leostu pricing.
Side-by-side comparison
| Leostu | Indy | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan limit | 3 active orders at a time; paid orders don't count | 3 proposals, contracts, invoices per month; 3 clients |
| Cheapest Pro price listed | $3.75/mo billed yearly ($45) | $12.50/mo billed $300 every 2 years |
| Pro trial | 14 days, no card | 7 days |
| Online payment processing | No: client pays you directly | Stripe and PayPal connections |
| Payment methods on invoice | Bank, WeChat Pay, Alipay, DuitNow, PayNow, PayPal and more, with QR codes | Stripe, PayPal, Zelle, wire, direct deposit |
| Contract in English and Chinese | Yes, same order | Not listed |
| Client signs without an account | Yes, link + access code | Check Indy's site |
| Proposals, tasks, time tracker, files | No | Yes |
| Recurring invoices | No | Yes (Pro) |
| Team features | No | Check Indy's site |
Where Indy is genuinely stronger
- Breadth for the price. Proposals, project portals, forms, tasks, a calendar, a time tracker and generous file storage all live in one place.
- Online payments. Indy connects to Stripe and PayPal for card and bank payments, and lists Zelle, wire and direct deposit as manual options.
- Recurring invoices and automations, useful for retainers and monthly clients.
- Proposals and an AI writing assistant on Pro.
- File delivery. Pro includes 1TB of storage, handy if you send large files through the same tool.
Where Leostu fits better
- Asian payment methods, front and centre. Leostu puts your own bank details and QR codes for WeChat Pay, Alipay, DuitNow, PayNow, PayPal and more on the invoice. The money goes straight to you and never passes through Leostu.
- English and Chinese for the same order. Contracts can be generated in both languages, RMB documents show the amount in Chinese words, and reminders follow the document's language.
- Deposit and balance as first-class steps. Choose a 30%, 40%, 50% or 60% deposit, or payment in full; deposit and balance get separate invoices and separate reminders (polite or direct, showing days elapsed).
- No-account signing with a clear record. Signer name, hand-drawn signature, time, IP and a contract fingerprint, plus a flag if the contract is changed after signing. Access codes lock after repeated wrong tries.
- A free plan shaped around active work, not a monthly count.
- Five document styles (Classic, Gallery, Letter, Swiss, Riso) that print cleanly to PDF. For a designer, how the invoice looks is part of the brand.
The limits, plainly: Leostu doesn't process payments, has no proposals, time tracking, recurring invoices or team features, and its signature is not a CA-certified e-signature. How much legal weight it carries depends on your jurisdiction, and this is not legal advice.
Leostu's AI plan (new in November 2026)
Leostu now has an AI plan with Leo, an assistant built for the order desk. You drag in up to four client chat screenshots or quote photos, and Leo drafts the order: client, line items, amount, deposit and due date. If the screenshot has no price, it asks you rather than making one up. Anything that changes your data (a new order, an edit, a payment) appears as a card first, and nothing is saved until you confirm. You can also ask it "who still owes me?" or "what came in this month?".
The AI plan is US$9 a month billed yearly ($108), or $12 month to month, and includes everything in Pro, with 600 messages a month. The Pro trial includes 30 AI messages. AI can misread a screenshot, so check amounts and dates before confirming. See pricing.
Who should pick which
Pick Indy if you want one free-to-start workspace for proposals, projects, tasks, files and invoices, and your clients pay by card or PayPal.
Pick Leostu if you are an independent designer or small studio working with clients in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China or nearby; your clients pay by bank transfer or a local QR wallet; you want bilingual contracts; and your real problem is deposits and final payments.
Try the documents first with no sign-up: the design contract generator and the designer invoice generator run right in your browser. When you want everything linked to one order, start on Leostu's free plan.