hledger-web vs Invoice Ninja
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Invoice Ninja
Open-source invoicing and billing platform
| Feature | hledger-web | Invoice Ninja |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Elastic-2.0 |
| Language | Haskell | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,730 | ★ 10,106 |
| First released | 2010 | 2014 |
| Replaces | QuickBooks, Quicken | FreshBooks, QuickBooks |
What are hledger-web and Invoice Ninja?
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
Invoice Ninja
Invoice Ninja is a free, open-source platform for invoicing, billing, payments, and time tracking. It serves freelancers and small businesses with quotes, recurring invoices, and client portals.
- Invoices, quotes, and payments
- Client self-service portal
- Time and expense tracking
- Recurring billing automation
hledger-web vs Invoice Ninja: key differences
Hledger-web is written in Haskell, while Invoice Ninja is built with PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for hledger-web versus Elastic-2.0 for Invoice Ninja. Hledger-web is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Invoice Ninja. Hledger-web is the more established project (first released 2010), while Invoice Ninja arrived in 2014. Invoice Ninja has the considerably larger community, at 10,106 GitHub stars versus 4,730. Invoice Ninja lists first-class Docker deployment; hledger-web does not.
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 Invoice Ninja if…
- Comprehensive billing features
- Many payment gateway integrations
Watch out for
- License not OSI-approved
- Setup can be involved
Frequently asked questions
Is hledger-web or Invoice Ninja better?
Neither is universally better. Invoice Ninja has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are hledger-web and Invoice Ninja free and open-source?
Yes. hledger-web is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Invoice Ninja under Elastic-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run hledger-web and Invoice Ninja with Docker?
hledger-web: check the project docs for container support. Invoice Ninja: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, hledger-web or Invoice Ninja?
hledger-web has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Invoice Ninja. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.