Best Commercial Invoice Template & Generator in 2026: 6 Tools Compared
Updated for 2026 · 6 tools tested & scored · independently reviewed
For a one-off or occasional shipment on any carrier, a free no-signup generator that fills the customs fields and prints in a minute wins on value. If you're already booking with FedEx or UPS, their own forms auto-populate from the shipment and are worth using. If you need duties and taxes calculated (landed cost), a platform like Zonos does far more than any template — at a price and setup to match.
A commercial invoice is the document customs actually reads — miss the origin, the Incoterm, or a clear HS-coded description and your shipment sits at the border. The tools that make one range from free browser generators to carrier-locked forms to enterprise duty-and-tax platforms, and the right pick depends on whether you're shipping with one carrier, need landed-cost math, or just want a compliant page in a minute. We lined up six options against the same job — produce a customs-ready commercial invoice for a small cross-border shipment — and scored each on what matters, so you can choose by your actual constraint.
🔬 How we tested
We drafted the same small international shipment — two line items, a shipper and consignee in different countries, an Incoterm, and HS codes — in each tool, then judged whether the output carried every field customs expects and how long it took from blank page to a printable document. Six criteria, weighted to reflect what keeps a shipment moving:
🏆 The ranking
| # | Tool | Customs-compliance / completeness | Any-carrier flexibility | Ease / speed | Price | No-signup | Print / PDF | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Commercial Invoice TemplateOursBest free / any-carrier | 8.5 | 9.5 | 9.0 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 9.5 | 9.2 |
| 2 | Excel / Word templateFree but manual | 4.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 6.0 | 6.8 |
| 3 | Wise invoice generatorFree, not customs-specific | 3.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 6.6 |
| 4 | ZonosBest for duty & tax | 10.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 6.4 |
| 5 | UPS commercial invoice formBest if shipping UPS | 8.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 6.1 |
| 6 | FedEx Ship Manager formsBest if shipping FedEx | 8.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 |
Scores out of 10, weighted by the rubric above. Full criteria columns visible on desktop.
📋 The tools, reviewed
Commercial Invoice Template
OursBest free / any-carrier9.2/10A free browser generator that lays out a customs-ready commercial (or proforma) invoice — shipper and consignee blocks, Incoterms, country of origin, HS-coded line items, and currency-explicit totals — with no account and nothing to install. It wins on price, carrier-independence, and speed; it does not calculate duties or taxes, so for full landed-cost math you'll want a platform like Zonos alongside it.
- ✓Free, no signup to make an invoice
- ✓Carrier-agnostic — works for any FedEx, UPS, DHL, air, or sea shipment
- ✓Guides the customs fields (origin, Incoterms, HS notes) so brokers don't bounce it
- ✓Print, save as PDF, or export CSV/Excel; commercial and proforma in one click
- –Does not calculate duties, taxes, or landed cost
- –Not tied to a carrier's booking system, so shipment data is typed once here
- –Newer, smaller brand than the carrier and enterprise names
Excel / Word template
Free but manual6.8/10A downloadable spreadsheet or document template is free, offline, and works for any shipment — but it's a blank grid that assumes you already know which customs fields to include and formats nothing for you. Fine if you ship rarely and don't mind checking each field by hand; slow and error-prone at any volume.
- ✓Free and works for any carrier
- ✓Fully offline — nothing typed leaves your machine
- ✓Editable to your own layout
- –No guidance — easy to omit origin, Incoterms, or HS codes
- –Manual typing and totals every time; no proforma toggle
- –You handle formatting and printing yourself
Wise invoice generator
Free, not customs-specific6.6/10Wise offers a clean, free invoice generator with multi-currency support, but it's built for billing clients — not for clearing customs. It lacks the shipper/consignee, Incoterms, country-of-origin, and HS-code fields a commercial invoice needs, so you'd be adapting a payment document to a job it wasn't designed for.
- ✓Free and quick to fill
- ✓Strong multi-currency handling
- ✓Polished, professional output
- –No customs fields (Incoterms, origin, HS codes, consignee)
- –Aimed at invoicing for payment, not declaring goods
- –Nudges you toward a Wise account
Zonos
Best for duty & tax6.4/10Zonos is a cross-border platform that calculates duties, taxes, and full landed cost and can generate the accompanying customs paperwork — genuinely more than a template does, and the honest reason to reach past a simple generator when you need the numbers. That power comes with account setup and pricing built for merchants and higher volume, not a one-off shipment.
- ✓Full duty, tax, and landed-cost calculation
- ✓Carrier-agnostic and built for cross-border commerce
- ✓Generates compliant customs documentation
- –Account and setup required — not a quick one-off tool
- –Priced for merchants/volume, not a single shipment
- –Overkill if you only need the invoice itself
UPS commercial invoice form
Best if shipping UPS6.1/10If you're already booking the shipment through UPS, its commercial invoice auto-populates from the shipment details you've entered and pairs with UPS Paperless Invoice — so the data isn't retyped and the fields UPS requires are covered. The catch is it only makes sense inside UPS's own shipping flow; it's not a general tool for any carrier.
- ✓Auto-populates from a UPS shipment you're booking
- ✓Covers the customs fields UPS requires
- ✓Paperless Invoice transmits copies electronically
- –Locked to UPS shipments only
- –Assumes you're booking through UPS with an account
- –Not useful for other carriers or standalone invoices
FedEx Ship Manager forms
Best if shipping FedEx6.0/10FedEx Ship Manager can generate a commercial invoice that auto-populates from the international shipment you're creating, filling the fields FedEx requires with no separate typing. Like the UPS form, it's only convenient when you're already inside FedEx's booking flow with an account — it isn't a carrier-neutral way to make an invoice.
- ✓Auto-populates from a FedEx international shipment
- ✓Covers FedEx's required customs fields
- ✓Prints the copies that travel with the package
- –Tied to FedEx shipments and a FedEx account
- –No use for other carriers or a standalone document
- –Only helpful once you're booking through FedEx
❓ FAQ
What does a commercial invoice need to include?
Shipper and consignee names and addresses, an invoice number and date, precise per-line goods descriptions (specific enough for an officer who's never seen your product), quantities and unit values, a currency-stated total, country of origin (where goods were made), the Incoterm with its named place, and HS codes where known. Vague descriptions, missing origin, or values that don't match the payment are the usual reasons customs holds a shipment.
What are Incoterms and which do I put on the invoice?
Incoterms are three-letter terms that define who pays each leg of the shipment and where risk passes from seller to buyer — EXW (buyer handles everything), FOB (you get goods onto the vessel), CIF (you cover freight and insurance to the destination port), DDP (you deliver duty-paid). State the term you agreed with the buyer plus the named place, e.g. 'FOB Shanghai' or 'DDP Chicago', because customs reads your declared value in light of it.
Do I need HS codes on a commercial invoice?
Customs classifies goods by HS (Harmonized System) code, and including at least the 6-digit code speeds clearance and heads off broker queries. Put it in the line description or an HS-notes field. If you're unsure of the code, your freight forwarder or customs broker can confirm it.
What's the difference between a proforma and a commercial invoice?
A proforma is the pre-shipment version — a committed offer used for quotes, letters of credit, and import permits, issued before the goods move and labeled PROFORMA. The commercial invoice is the final document that travels with the shipment and that customs uses to assess duties. They carry the same fields, so the commercial invoice should match the proforma closely; a good generator lets you switch between the two without retyping the line items.
Disclosure: Commercial Invoice Template is our own product, so we scored it against every alternative on the same rubric and ranked it #1 only on the axis it genuinely leads — a free, no-signup, any-carrier way to produce a customs-ready commercial invoice in a minute. We don't calculate duties or taxes: for full landed-cost math, a platform like Zonos does more, and we've said so. If you're already booking with FedEx or UPS, their own forms auto-populate from the shipment and are worth using — our edge is being carrier-agnostic and account-free for any shipment. Prices and features were current as of 2026 and can change.