InvoicePlane vs Bigcapital
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted crm & business apps options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
InvoicePlane
Self-hosted invoicing and quote management application
VS
Bigcapital
Open-source accounting and financial management
| Feature | InvoicePlane | Bigcapital |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | CRM & Business Apps | CRM & Business Apps |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,142 | ★ 3,907 |
| First released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Replaces | FreshBooks, QuickBooks | QuickBooks, Xero |
What are InvoicePlane and Bigcapital?
InvoicePlane
InvoicePlane is a free, open-source application for managing quotes, invoices, clients, and payments for freelancers and small businesses. It supports recurring invoices, payment tracking, and customizable templates.
- Quote and invoice management
- Client and payment tracking
- Recurring invoices
- Customizable templates
Bigcapital
Bigcapital is an open-source financial accounting software for small and medium businesses. It handles bookkeeping, invoicing, inventory, and financial statements.
- Double-entry accounting
- Invoicing and billing
- Inventory tracking
- Financial reports and statements
InvoicePlane vs Bigcapital: key differences
InvoicePlane is written in PHP, while Bigcapital is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for InvoicePlane versus AGPL-3.0 for Bigcapital. InvoicePlane is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Bigcapital. InvoicePlane is the more established project (first released 2014), while Bigcapital arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose InvoicePlane if…
- Easy to deploy
- Good for freelancers
Watch out for
- No full accounting
- Basic reporting
Choose Bigcapital if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is InvoicePlane or Bigcapital better?
Neither is universally better. Bigcapital has the larger community, while InvoicePlane is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are InvoicePlane and Bigcapital free and open-source?
Yes. InvoicePlane is licensed under MIT and Bigcapital under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run InvoicePlane and Bigcapital with Docker?
InvoicePlane: yes. Bigcapital: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, InvoicePlane or Bigcapital?
InvoicePlane has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Bigcapital. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.