Akaunting vs SHKeeper

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?
FeatureAkauntingSHKeeper
CategoryBudgeting & FinanceBudgeting & Finance
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguagePHPPython
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 10,041★ 606
First released20172026
ReplacesQuickBooks, Xero

Why pick each one

Choose Akaunting if…

  • Full accounting feature set
  • Extensible via apps
Akaunting details

Choose SHKeeper if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Written in Python
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
SHKeeper details

Frequently asked questions

Is Akaunting or SHKeeper 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 SHKeeper free and open-source?

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

Can I run Akaunting and SHKeeper with Docker?

Akaunting: yes. SHKeeper: check the project docs for container support.

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