Akaunting vs Crater Self-Hosted Invoicing
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?
Akaunting
Free open-source accounting software online
VS
Crater Self-Hosted Invoicing
Open-source invoicing for freelancers and businesses
| Feature | Akaunting | Crater Self-Hosted Invoicing |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,041 | ★ 1,784 |
| First released | 2017 | 2023 |
| Replaces | QuickBooks, Xero | FreshBooks, Wave |
Why pick each one
Choose Crater Self-Hosted Invoicing if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is Akaunting or Crater Self-Hosted Invoicing 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 Crater Self-Hosted Invoicing free and open-source?
Yes. Akaunting is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Crater Self-Hosted Invoicing under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Akaunting and Crater Self-Hosted Invoicing with Docker?
Akaunting: yes. Crater Self-Hosted Invoicing: yes.