Cashew Self-Host vs Beancount
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?
Cashew Self-Host
Self-hosted sync server for personal budgeting
VS
Beancount
Double-entry bookkeeping in plain text with a query language
| Feature | Cashew Self-Host | Beancount |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Dart | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,533 | ★ 5,881 |
| First released | 2022 | 2008 |
| Replaces | YNAB, Mint | QuickBooks, Xero |
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)
Choose Beancount if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Mature project with 5.9k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Cashew Self-Host or Beancount better?
Neither is universally better. Beancount 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 Beancount free and open-source?
Yes. Cashew Self-Host is licensed under MIT and Beancount under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cashew Self-Host and Beancount with Docker?
Cashew Self-Host: yes. Beancount: check the project docs for container support.