Akaunting vs hledger-web
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Akaunting
Free open-source accounting software online
VS
hledger-web
Web interface for hledger plain-text accounting
| Feature | Akaunting | hledger-web |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,133 | ★ 4,730 |
| First released | 2017 | 2010 |
| Replaces | QuickBooks, Xero | QuickBooks, Quicken |
What are Akaunting and hledger-web?
Akaunting
Akaunting is a free, open-source accounting software for small businesses and freelancers. It handles invoicing, expense tracking, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting with a modular app store.
- Double-entry accounting
- Invoicing and billing
- App store for extensions
- Multi-company support
hledger-web
hledger-web is the web interface for hledger, a robust plain-text, double-entry accounting tool. It allows browsing, adding, and reporting on transactions stored in plain-text journal files.
- Plain-text journal files
- Add and edit transactions in browser
- Balance and register reports
- Fast Haskell core
Akaunting vs hledger-web: key differences
Akaunting is written in PHP, while hledger-web is built with Haskell. Hledger-web is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Akaunting. Hledger-web is the more established project (first released 2010), while Akaunting arrived in 2017. Akaunting has the considerably larger community, at 10,133 GitHub stars versus 4,730. Akaunting lists first-class Docker deployment; hledger-web does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Akaunting if…
- Full accounting feature set
- Extensible via apps
Watch out for
- Many features are paid apps
- Reporting could be deeper
Choose hledger-web if…
- No database needed
- Data is plain text and portable
Watch out for
- CLI knowledge helps
- Minimal UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Akaunting or hledger-web better?
Neither is universally better. Akaunting has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Akaunting and hledger-web free and open-source?
Yes. Akaunting is licensed under GPL-3.0 and hledger-web under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Akaunting and hledger-web with Docker?
Akaunting: yes. hledger-web: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Akaunting or hledger-web?
hledger-web has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Akaunting. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.