8 self-hosted options
Open-source alternatives to FreshBooks
The best open-source alternatives to FreshBooks are Invoice Ninja, InvoiceShelf and InvoicePlane.
About FreshBooks: Invoicing, expense and time-tracking software for freelancers and small service businesses.
Every option below is free to self-host and ranked by GitHub stars, so you can move off FreshBooks without giving up the features you rely on.
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Invoice Ninja
invoiceninja/invoiceninja
Powerful tool to invoice clients online.
Accounting & InvoicingPHPDocker - Rank 2:
InvoiceShelf
InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf
Track expenses, payments & create professional invoices & estimates (fork of Crater).
Accounting & InvoicingPHPDocker - Rank 3:
InvoicePlane
InvoicePlane/InvoicePlane
Manage quotes, invoices, payments and customers for your small business.
Accounting & InvoicingPHP
Why switch
Why teams move off FreshBooks
Self-hosting is not only about saving money. These are the reasons people make the switch.
Own your data
Your data lives on a server you control, not on FreshBooks's infrastructure. No surprise policy changes and no lock-in.
No per-seat pricing
Open-source alternatives to FreshBooks are free to run for as many users as your server can handle. A small VPS often costs less than a single subscription.
Customize and extend
Read the code, add plugins, connect it to your own tools and automate it through open APIs. When you need a feature, you can build it or fund it.
Full ranking
All 8 FreshBooks alternatives
Ranked by GitHub stars. Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.
- 1
Invoice Ninja
Powerful tool to invoice clients online.
Accounting & InvoicingDocker - 2
InvoiceShelf
Track expenses, payments & create professional invoices & estimates (fork of Crater).
Accounting & InvoicingDocker - 3
InvoicePlane
Manage quotes, invoices, payments and customers for your small business.
Accounting & Invoicing - 4
SolidInvoice
Open source invoicing and quote application.
Accounting & Invoicing - 5
Invobook
Laravel and Filament app for time tracking, invoice generation and project and client management.
Accounting & Invoicing - 6
Invoicerr
Invoicing for freelancers and small companies with quotes, invoices, payments, client portal and e-invoice formats such as Factur-X, UBL and Peppol.
Accounting & InvoicingDocker - 7
Rachoon
Self-hosted invoicing for freelancers and small businesses with quotes, clients, payment tracking, multi-currency and PDF export.
Accounting & InvoicingDocker - 8
Akaunting
Accounting software designed for small businesses and freelancers.
Accounting & Invoicing
What is the best open-source alternative to FreshBooks?
Invoice Ninja is the most popular open-source alternative to FreshBooks, with 10,223 GitHub stars. InvoiceShelf and InvoicePlane are also strong choices. Compare features, license and recent activity to find the best fit for your team.
Is there a free alternative to FreshBooks?
Yes. All 8 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can run a FreshBooks replacement without per-user fees. You only pay for the server, and a small VPS is usually enough for personal use or a small team.
Can I self-host an alternative to FreshBooks?
Yes. Invoice Ninja, InvoiceShelf and Invoicerr ship a Docker image, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose in a few minutes. Your data then stays on hardware you control.
How do I migrate from FreshBooks?
Start by exporting your data from FreshBooks, then check the import options of the app you pick, since many projects ship importers for popular formats. Run both side by side for a week before you switch so nothing is lost.