Ghostfolio vs Portfolio Performance
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Ghostfolio
Open-source wealth and portfolio tracker
VS
Portfolio Performance
Open-source desktop tool for tracking investment portfolio performance
| Feature | Ghostfolio | Portfolio Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | EPL-1.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,340 | ★ 4,075 |
| First released | 2021 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Personal Capital, Sharesight | Sharesight, Personal Capital |
What are Ghostfolio and Portfolio Performance?
Ghostfolio
Ghostfolio is an open-source wealth management application for tracking stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. It provides portfolio analysis, performance charts, and asset allocation insights.
- Multi-asset portfolio tracking
- Performance and allocation charts
- Dividend and fee analysis
- REST API access
Portfolio Performance
Portfolio Performance is a free, open-source Java desktop application for calculating the performance of an investment portfolio of stocks, ETFs, and funds. It provides true time-weighted returns, risk metrics, and multi-currency support.
- True time-weighted returns
- Multi-currency portfolios
- Detailed performance charts
- Quote import from many sources
Ghostfolio vs Portfolio Performance: key differences
Ghostfolio is written in TypeScript, while Portfolio Performance is built with Java. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Ghostfolio versus EPL-1.0 for Portfolio Performance. Portfolio Performance is the more established project (first released 2012), while Ghostfolio arrived in 2021. Ghostfolio has the considerably larger community, at 9,340 GitHub stars versus 4,075. Ghostfolio lists first-class Docker deployment; Portfolio Performance does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Ghostfolio if…
- Clean, focused dashboard
- Supports many asset classes
Watch out for
- Requires manual or imported data
- No automatic broker sync
Choose Portfolio Performance if…
- Accurate performance calculations
- Rich analytics
Watch out for
- Desktop only
- Steeper learning curve
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghostfolio or Portfolio Performance better?
Neither is universally better. Ghostfolio has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ghostfolio and Portfolio Performance free and open-source?
Yes. Ghostfolio is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Portfolio Performance under EPL-1.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ghostfolio and Portfolio Performance with Docker?
Ghostfolio: yes. Portfolio Performance: check the project docs for container support.