Firefly III vs Lightning Terminal
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?
Firefly III
Self-hosted personal finance manager
VS
Lightning Terminal
The easiest way to manage channel liquidity
| Feature | Firefly III | Lightning Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | free |
| Language | PHP | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, one-click |
| GitHub stars | ★ 24,254 | ★ 593 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Mint, YNAB | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Lightning Terminal if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Firefly III or Lightning Terminal better?
Neither is universally better. Firefly III has the larger community, while Lightning Terminal is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Firefly III and Lightning Terminal free and open-source?
Yes. Firefly III is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Lightning Terminal under free. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Firefly III and Lightning Terminal with Docker?
Firefly III: yes. Lightning Terminal: yes.