6 self-hosted options
Self-hosted alternatives to Wave
The best open-source alternative to Wave is Bigcapital (AGPL-3.0, 3,960 GitHub stars, Docker image). InvoicePlane stands out for a permissive MIT license, and InvoiceShelf stands out for the newest codebase (created January 2024).
Invoice Ninja and Akaunting are also listed but are source-available, so they come after the open-source picks.
About Wave: Accounting and invoicing software for small businesses, with paid add-ons for payments and payroll.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Bigcapital
bigcapitalhq/bigcapital
Financial accounting and inventory management software for small to medium businesses.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Accounting & InvoicingTypeScriptDockerStands out for its TypeScript codebase.
- Rank 2:
InvoicePlane
InvoicePlane/InvoicePlane
Manage quotes, invoices, payments and customers for your small business.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Accounting & InvoicingPHPStands out for a permissive MIT license.
- Rank 3:
InvoiceShelf
InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf
Track expenses, payments & create professional invoices & estimates (fork of Crater).
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Accounting & InvoicingPHPDockerStands out for the newest codebase (created January 2024).
At a glance
Wave alternatives compared
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.
| App | Stands out for | License | GitHub stars | Commits (12 mo) | Last commit | Docker image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bigcapital | its TypeScript codebase | AGPL-3.0 | 3,960 | 1,131 | Oct 25, 2026 | Yes |
| InvoicePlane | a permissive MIT license | MIT | 3,259 | 481 | Oct 26, 2026 | No |
| InvoiceShelf | the newest codebase (created January 2024) | AGPL-3.0 | 1,867 | 800 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| ERPSAAS | – | MIT | 1,476 | 6 | Mar 5, 2026 | No |
| Invoice Ninja | the most GitHub stars | source-available, Elastic License 2.0 | 10,323 | 2,259 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| Akaunting | – | source-available, BSL 1.1 | 10,216 | 589 | Oct 25, 2026 | No |
Full list
All 6 Wave alternatives
Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.
- 1
Bigcapital
Financial accounting and inventory management software for small to medium businesses.
Accounting & InvoicingDockerStands out for its TypeScript codebase. Bigcapital has 3,960 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,131 commits in the last year.
- 2
InvoicePlane
Manage quotes, invoices, payments and customers for your small business.
Accounting & InvoicingStands out for a permissive MIT license. InvoicePlane has 3,259 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 481 commits in the last year.
- 3
InvoiceShelf
Track expenses, payments & create professional invoices & estimates (fork of Crater).
Accounting & InvoicingDockerStands out for the newest codebase (created January 2024). InvoiceShelf has 1,867 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 800 commits in the last year.
- 4
ERPSAAS
Laravel and Filament accounting platform with double-entry accrual accounting, invoicing, bank connections and financial reports.
Accounting & InvoicingERPSAAS has 1,476 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 6 commits in the last year.
- 5
Invoice Ninja
Powerful tool to invoice clients online.
Source-availableAccounting & InvoicingDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars. Invoice Ninja has 10,323 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Elastic License 2.0 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 2,259 commits in the last year.
- 6
Akaunting
Accounting software designed for small businesses and freelancers.
Source-availableAccounting & InvoicingAkaunting has 10,216 GitHub stars, is source-available under the BSL 1.1 (not an open-source license) and had 589 commits in the last year.
Is there a free alternative to Wave?
Yes. 4 of the 6 apps on this page are open source; 2 are source-available. The open-source ones are free to self-host without per-user fees; source-available licenses add conditions such as user caps or limits on hosted use, so read them before you commit.
Can I self-host an alternative to Wave with Docker?
Yes. 3 of the 6 apps here publish a Docker image, including Bigcapital, InvoiceShelf and Invoice Ninja (source-available), so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose.
Which Wave alternative is the most actively developed?
Invoice Ninja (source-available) (source-available, Elastic License 2.0), with 2,259 commits in the last 12 months. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
How is this list ranked?
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.