# Best open source invoice generators and invoicing apps > To create and send invoices, the best self-hosted picks are InvoiceShelf for simple invoices and quotes, Invoice Ninja (source-available) for invoicing with full accounting and Lago for subscription billing. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job from apps whose own description or topics match it, and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best free, open source invoice generator? | | Picks | 14 | | Top pick | InvoiceShelf (1,846 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/invoice-generators | Self-hosted invoicing apps create invoices and quotes, track payments and keep client data on your own server. The first section is simple invoicing for freelancers and small businesses; the others add full accounting or usage-based billing. ## Simple invoicing - [InvoiceShelf](https://appsgit.com/apps/invoiceshelf) (1,846 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP, Docker): InvoiceShelf has 1,846 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 733 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and FreshBooks. - [Invio](https://appsgit.com/apps/invio) (1,187 stars, Unlicense, TypeScript, Docker): Invio has 1,187 GitHub stars, uses the Unlicense license, ships a Docker image and had 253 commits in the last year. - [Invoicerr](https://appsgit.com/apps/invoicerr) (727 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Invoicerr has 727 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,220 commits in the last year; it replaces FreshBooks. - [Rachoon](https://appsgit.com/apps/rachoon) (977 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Rachoon has 977 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 130 commits in the last year; it replaces FreshBooks. - [InvoicePlane](https://appsgit.com/apps/invoiceplane) (3,151 stars, MIT, PHP): InvoicePlane has 3,151 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 388 commits in the last year; it replaces FreshBooks and Wave. - [SolidInvoice](https://appsgit.com/apps/solidinvoice) (976 stars, MIT, PHP): SolidInvoice has 976 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,274 commits in the last year; it replaces FreshBooks. ## Invoicing with accounting - [Invoice Ninja](https://appsgit.com/apps/invoice-ninja) (10,223 stars, Elastic-2.0, source-available, PHP, Docker): Invoice Ninja has 10,223 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Elastic License 2.0 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 2,002 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and Xero. - [Akaunting](https://appsgit.com/apps/akaunting) (10,159 stars, BUSL-1.1, source-available, PHP): Akaunting has 10,159 GitHub stars, is source-available under the BSL 1.1 (not an open-source license) and had 518 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and Xero. - [Bigcapital](https://appsgit.com/apps/bigcapital) (3,921 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Bigcapital has 3,921 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,005 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and Xero. - [ERPSAAS](https://appsgit.com/apps/erpsaas) (1,476 stars, MIT, PHP): ERPSAAS has 1,476 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 9 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and Xero. - [IDURAR](https://appsgit.com/apps/idurar) (8,854 stars, AGPL-3.0, JavaScript): IDURAR has 8,854 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 18 commits in the last year; it replaces Zoho Books and Odoo. ## Usage-based and subscription billing - [Lago](https://appsgit.com/apps/lago) (10,657 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go, Docker): Lago has 10,657 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 174 commits in the last year. - [Meteroid](https://appsgit.com/apps/meteroid) (1,308 stars, AGPL-3.0, Rust, Docker): Meteroid has 1,308 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 275 commits in the last year. - [Kill Bill](https://appsgit.com/apps/kill-bill) (5,783 stars, Apache-2.0, Java, Docker): Kill Bill has 5,783 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 201 commits in the last year. ## How this list was made - Apps were picked by hand from the appsgit catalog for each job, then checked against the snapshot: unknown or archived projects and projects with no commit in two years are dropped automatically. - Inside each section the curated order is kept, most broadly useful first; an app appears only once on the page. - Stars, license, Docker and activity facts come from the GitHub API as of October 2026. - Source-available apps are labelled; they are not open source, so read their licenses before commercial use. ## FAQ ### Is there a free invoice generator I can self-host? Yes. InvoiceShelf, Invio, Invoicerr and Rachoon are self-hosted invoicing apps, and Invoice Ninja and Akaunting add accounting (both are source-available, so read their licenses before commercial use). ### Is InvoiceShelf free? Yes. InvoiceShelf is open-source software released under the AGPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan. ### Can I run this stack with Docker? 9 of the 14 apps here publish Docker images, including InvoiceShelf, Invio and Invoicerr, so most of the stack can run side by side with Docker Compose on one server. Size the server for the heaviest app and add off-site backups. ## Related questions - [What is the best open source accounting software?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-accounting-software) - [What is the best open source alternative to AnyDesk and TeamViewer?](https://appsgit.com/best/remote-desktop) - [What is the best open source alternative to Microsoft Visio?](https://appsgit.com/best/diagram-and-flowchart-tools) - [What is the best open source alternative to Excel and Access?](https://appsgit.com/best/spreadsheet-and-database-apps) - [What is the best open source OCR software?](https://appsgit.com/best/ocr-tools) - [What is the best open source software?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software) - [What are the most popular self-hosted apps on GitHub?](https://appsgit.com/best/most-starred-self-hosted-apps) - [Which open source self-hosted projects are growing the fastest?](https://appsgit.com/best/fastest-growing-open-source-projects) ## See also - [All accounting & invoicing apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/accounting-invoicing) - [All ERP & inventory apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/erp-inventory) - [Open-source alternatives to QuickBooks](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/quickbooks) - [Open-source alternatives to FreshBooks](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/freshbooks) - [Open-source alternatives to Wave](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/wave) - [Open-source alternatives to Xero](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/xero) - [Open-source alternatives to Zoho Books](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/zoho-books) - [Open-source alternatives to Sage Accounting](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/sage) - [Akaunting vs Invoice Ninja](https://appsgit.com/compare/akaunting-vs-invoice-ninja) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/invoice-generators Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly. Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.