Crater vs Cashew Self-Host
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?
Crater
Free invoicing and expense tracking app
VS
Cashew Self-Host
Self-hosted sync server for personal budgeting
| Feature | Crater | Cashew Self-Host |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | AAL | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Dart |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,338 | ★ 4,533 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | FreshBooks, Invoicely | YNAB, Mint |
Why pick each one
Choose Cashew Self-Host if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Crater or Cashew Self-Host better?
Neither is universally better. Crater has the larger community, while Cashew Self-Host is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Crater and Cashew Self-Host free and open-source?
Yes. Crater is licensed under AAL and Cashew Self-Host under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Crater and Cashew Self-Host with Docker?
Crater: yes. Cashew Self-Host: yes.