Akaunting vs Fulcrum

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureAkauntingFulcrum
CategoryBudgeting & FinanceBudgeting & Finance
LicenseGPL-3.0free
LanguagePHPC++
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, one-click
GitHub stars★ 10,041★ 488
First released20172022
ReplacesQuickBooks, Xero

Why pick each one

Choose Akaunting if…

  • Full accounting feature set
  • Extensible via apps
Akaunting details

Choose Fulcrum if…

  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • One-click install on common self-host platforms
  • Written in C++
Fulcrum details

Frequently asked questions

Is Akaunting or Fulcrum better?

Neither is universally better. Akaunting has the larger community, while Fulcrum is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Akaunting and Fulcrum free and open-source?

Yes. Akaunting is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Fulcrum under free. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Akaunting and Fulcrum with Docker?

Akaunting: yes. Fulcrum: yes.

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