hledger-web vs Hospitable Ledger
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | hledger-web | Hospitable Ledger |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Haskell | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary, source | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,730 | ★ 6,043 |
| First released | 2010 | 2003 |
| Replaces | QuickBooks, Quicken | QuickBooks, Quicken |
What are hledger-web and Hospitable Ledger?
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
Hospitable Ledger
Ledger is the original command-line, double-entry plain-text accounting tool. It reads human-readable journal files and generates balance sheets, registers, and reports with powerful query options.
- Command-line accounting
- Plain-text journal files
- Powerful reporting queries
- No database required
hledger-web vs Hospitable Ledger: key differences
Hledger-web is written in Haskell, while Hospitable Ledger is built with C++. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for hledger-web versus BSD-3-Clause for Hospitable Ledger. Hospitable Ledger is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for hledger-web. Hospitable Ledger is the more established project (first released 2003), while hledger-web arrived in 2010.
Why pick each one
Choose hledger-web if…
- No database needed
- Data is plain text and portable
Watch out for
- CLI knowledge helps
- Minimal UI
Choose Hospitable Ledger if…
- Extremely portable data
- Scriptable and version-controllable
Watch out for
- CLI only
- Steep learning curve
Frequently asked questions
Is hledger-web or Hospitable Ledger better?
Neither is universally better. Hospitable Ledger has the larger community, while hledger-web is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are hledger-web and Hospitable Ledger free and open-source?
Yes. hledger-web is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Hospitable Ledger under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run hledger-web and Hospitable Ledger with Docker?
hledger-web: check the project docs for container support. Hospitable Ledger: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, hledger-web or Hospitable Ledger?
Hospitable Ledger has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for hledger-web. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.