Fava vs hledger-web
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Fava
Web interface for Beancount plain-text accounting
VS
hledger-web
Web interface for hledger plain-text accounting
| Feature | Fava | hledger-web |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,579 | ★ 4,730 |
| First released | 2016 | 2010 |
| Replaces | QuickBooks, GnuCash | QuickBooks, Quicken |
What are Fava and hledger-web?
Fava
Fava is a web interface for the Beancount plain-text, double-entry accounting system. It provides charts, balance sheets, income statements, and queries on top of plain-text ledger files.
- Web UI for Beancount
- Interactive charts and reports
- Powerful query language
- Plain-text ledger backend
hledger-web
hledger-web is the web interface for hledger, a robust plain-text, double-entry accounting tool. It allows browsing, adding, and reporting on transactions stored in plain-text journal files.
- Plain-text journal files
- Add and edit transactions in browser
- Balance and register reports
- Fast Haskell core
Fava vs hledger-web: key differences
Fava is written in Python, while hledger-web is built with Haskell. Licensing differs — MIT for Fava versus GPL-3.0 for hledger-web. Hledger-web is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Fava. Hledger-web is the more established project (first released 2010), while Fava arrived in 2016. Fava lists first-class Docker deployment; hledger-web does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Fava if…
- Great for plain-text accounting fans
- Version-controllable data
Watch out for
- Requires learning Beancount syntax
- Not beginner-friendly
Choose hledger-web if…
- No database needed
- Data is plain text and portable
Watch out for
- CLI knowledge helps
- Minimal UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Fava or hledger-web better?
Neither is universally better. hledger-web has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Fava and hledger-web free and open-source?
Yes. Fava is licensed under MIT and hledger-web under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fava and hledger-web with Docker?
Fava: yes. hledger-web: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Fava or hledger-web?
hledger-web has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Fava. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.