Cashew Self-Host vs Firefly III

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?
FeatureCashew Self-HostFirefly III
CategoryBudgeting & FinanceBudgeting & Finance
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageDartPHP
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 4,533★ 24,254
First released20222016
ReplacesYNAB, MintMint, YNAB

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)
Cashew Self-Host details

Choose Firefly III if…

  • Powerful budgeting features
  • Strong API for automation
Firefly III details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cashew Self-Host or Firefly III better?

Neither is universally better. Firefly III 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 Cashew Self-Host and Firefly III free and open-source?

Yes. Cashew Self-Host is licensed under MIT and Firefly III under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cashew Self-Host and Firefly III with Docker?

Cashew Self-Host: yes. Firefly III: yes.

Related comparisons