Best Open-Source Accounting Software 2026: 7 Options Compared

Open-source accounting software ranges from a desktop ledger that one person runs on a laptop to a web ERP that a whole company logs into, and the right pick depends on how much of the business you want inside it. GnuCash is a double-entry desktop program with no bank feeds or online invoicing. hledger and Beancount keep your books in plain text files, which suits people comfortable in a terminal and version control. LedgerSMB and Bigcapital are web applications with invoicing, customers and reports. ERPNext and Dolibarr go further, adding stock, orders and other business modules around the accounts. Licences vary, from GPL to AGPL, and the AGPL ones require you to publish changes if you offer the software as a service. The shared trade-off is responsibility: there is no vendor to call when a backup fails or a tax rule changes. Confirm that the software can produce the reports your accountant or tax office expects, and that it can export your complete ledger in an open format. Start with a copy of last quarter's transactions and reconcile them to your bank balance before you move over for real.

GnuCash

GPL double-entry accounting for Windows, macOS and Linux. It is a desktop program, so it has no built-in bank feeds or online invoicing.

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) (license source).

Best for: Individuals and tiny businesses who want a mature desktop ledger.

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

Bigcapital

AGPL-3.0 web accounting you host with Docker. Bigcapital Cloud is paid with a 14-day trial, so the open-source edition is the route if you want no subscription.

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) (license source).

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

Best for: Small companies wanting modern web accounting.

ERPNext

GPL-3.0 ERP whose README lists accounting for managing cash flow, plus order management, manufacturing and projects. Running it yourself takes real admin work; Frappe Cloud is the managed option.

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) (license source).

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

Best for: Growing businesses that need an ERP around the books.

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

LedgerSMB

GPLv2 web-based double-entry accounting with quotations, orders, invoices, projects, timecards and inventory. It needs Perl 5.38+, PostgreSQL 14+ and a web server.

Price: Free (Free self-hosted software; the repository page lists no price) (LedgerSMB pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. GPL-2.0 (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 571 GitHub stars · latest release 1.13.8 (Sep 11, 2026) · last commit Oct 26, 2026

Best for: Teams wanting a classic web ledger.

Dolibarr

GPL-3.0 or later ERP and CRM with customer and supplier invoices, payments, stock and a point-of-sale module. The README says a payroll module is not available yet.

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) (license source).

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

Best for: Small businesses wanting accounting plus CRM and stock.

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

hledger

GPL-3.0-or-later plain-text accounting with command-line, terminal, web and mobile interfaces. Your books are text files, so there is no point-and-click invoicing.

Price: Free (Free plain-text accounting; the project invites optional sponsorship) (hledger pricing, checked 2026-10-24).

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

Project activity: 4.8k GitHub stars · latest release 1.52.4 (Sep 10, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: People who like keeping books in version control.

Beancount

GPL-2.0-only double-entry bookkeeping from a text file, with reports and a web interface. The author accepts donations and the page lists no supported operating systems.

Price: Free (Free and open source; the author accepts voluntary donations) (Beancount pricing, checked 2026-10-24).

Platforms and license: Python. GPL-2.0-only (open source) (license source).

Project activity: 6.1k GitHub stars · last commit Aug 23, 2026

Best for: Developers who want strict plain-text accounting.

Which one to pick

• You are one person and want a desktop program with no server: GnuCash
• You want a web app with invoices that you can host yourself: Bigcapital
• You need stock, orders and accounting in one system: ERPNext
• You keep your books in git: hledger
• You want accounting, CRM and a POS module together: Dolibarr