Best Free Accounting Software 2026: 8 Options Compared

Free accounting software comes in two forms. Hosted products such as Wave and Zoho Books give you invoicing and bookkeeping in the browser at no cost, within limits or with fees on payments. Self-run products such as GnuCash, Manager, Bigcapital, ERPNext, Odoo and Dolibarr are free to download, but you carry setup, backups and updates. Wave's Starter plan is $0 for invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping, with card payments costing 2.9% plus $0.60 a transaction, so the price shows up when customers pay online. Zoho Books is free while annual revenue stays under $50K and caps you at 1,000 invoices a year. Manager's desktop edition has no time limit but is single-user. GnuCash is a double-entry desktop program that suits sole traders and households who are comfortable with accounting terms. Bigcapital, ERPNext and Odoo are the choices when you want inventory and other business modules next to the ledger. Pick based on how you get paid and who touches the books. If an accountant needs access, a hosted product is easier to share. If you want ownership and no usage cap, run your own. Whatever you choose, test a data export first, because moving a ledger later costs more than any subscription you are avoiding.

Wave

Starter plan at $0 for invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records; card payments cost 2.9% plus $0.60 a transaction. Pro is $19 a month billed monthly.

Price: Free (Starter plan at $0 for invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records; card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 a transaction); paid from $19 per month, billed monthly (Pro; $190 billed annually) (Wave pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.

Best for: Freelancers and micro-businesses.

Worth knowing: Pricing is shown in USD and CAD; online payment processing is for US customers and needs approval.

Compare: Wave alternatives

Zoho Books

Free plan while annual revenue stays under $50K, with 1 user plus an accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year. Standard is $15 per organization per month billed annually.

Price: Free (Free plan while annual revenue stays under $50K: 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year); paid from $15 per organization/month, billed annually (Standard; $20 billed monthly) (Zoho Books pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.

Best for: Small businesses that may grow into Zoho.

Compare: Zoho Books alternatives

Manager

Free desktop edition with no time or usage limits but single-user. Check the license terms before relying on it commercially.

Price: Free (Desktop edition with no time or usage limits but single-user) (Manager pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. License not stated on the download page.

Best for: One-person bookkeeping on a desktop.

GnuCash

Double-entry accounting program for Windows, macOS and Linux with no price on its site. Powerful for household and sole-trader books, with a learning curve and no built-in invoicing portal.

Price: Free (double-entry accounting program with no price on its site) (GnuCash pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. GNU GPL (open source).

Best for: Sole traders who understand double entry.

Worth knowing: It is a desktop program, so it has no built-in bank feeds or online invoicing.

Bigcapital

Open-source edition (AGPL-3.0) is free to self-host with Docker. The hosted cloud has a 14-day trial and no free plan, with Capital Basic from $20 a month.

Price: Free (open-source edition is free to self-host with Docker; Bigcapital Cloud has a 14-day trial and no free plan); paid from $20 per month (Capital Basic, cloud) (Bigcapital pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source).

Project activity: 4k GitHub stars · latest release v0.25.45 (Oct 23, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Teams that can self-host a modern accounting app.

ERPNext

GPL-3.0 ERP with accounting, free to self-host; Frappe Cloud is the managed route. A big system if you only need a ledger.

Price: Free (Free to self-host; Frappe Cloud is the managed option) (ERPNext pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. GPL-3.0 (open source).

Project activity: 40.7k GitHub stars · latest release v15.124.1 (Oct 22, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Companies that need ERP modules too.

Worth knowing: Its Accounting module covers recording transactions through financial reporting. Running it yourself means handling hosting, upgrades and backups.

Odoo

The One App Free plan on Odoo Online allows unlimited users but one app, so accounting alone can be free. Community edition is LGPL-3.0 for self-hosting.

Price: Free (One App Free plan on Odoo Online, unlimited users) (Odoo pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted. LGPL-3.0 (Community edition) (open source).

Project activity: 55.4k GitHub stars · last commit Oct 28, 2026

Best for: Small teams starting with one Odoo app.

Compare: Odoo alternatives

Dolibarr

GPL-3.0-or-later ERP and CRM with accounting features, free to download; commercial cloud hosting is sold separately. Needs PHP and a database to self-host.

Price: Free (Free software; commercial cloud hosting is sold separately) (Dolibarr pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web (self-hosted), Windows, Linux. GPL-3.0 or later (open source).

Project activity: 7.8k GitHub stars · latest release 24.0.1 (Sep 7, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Small firms wanting invoices, stock and ledger together.

Worth knowing: Needs PHP and MariaDB, MySQL or PostgreSQL; DoliWamp, DoliDeb, DoliRpm and Docker packages exist.

Which one to pick

• You invoice clients and want hosted software now: Wave
• Your revenue is under $50K and an accountant needs access: Zoho Books
• You are a sole trader who likes double-entry on a desktop: GnuCash
• You want to self-host with no seat caps: Bigcapital