Beancount Import vs Lago

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?
FeatureBeancount ImportLago
CategoryBudgeting & FinanceBudgeting & Finance
LicenseGPL-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguagePythonGo
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM256 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentsource, binarydocker, kubernetes, source
GitHub stars★ 469★ 10,308
First released20182022
ReplacesMintStripe Billing, Chargebee

Why pick each one

Choose Beancount Import if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Written in Python
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Beancount Import details

Choose Lago if…

  • Powerful for SaaS billing
  • Developer-friendly
Lago details

Frequently asked questions

Is Beancount Import or Lago better?

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

Are Beancount Import and Lago free and open-source?

Yes. Beancount Import is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Lago under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Beancount Import and Lago with Docker?

Beancount Import: check the project docs for container support. Lago: yes.

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