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7 jobs · 14 apps

Best open source software for freelancers

For a freelancer, a self-hosted stack starts with Odoo for invoicing, Frappe HR for time tracking and Twenty for clients.

A freelancer's toolkit of self-hostable apps for invoicing, time tracking, clients, scheduling and files, ranked with the freelancer profile.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Odoo

    odoo/odoo

    Free open source ERP system.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    ERP & InventoryPythonDocker

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (17,454). Odoo has 55,380 GitHub stars, uses the LGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 17,454 commits in the last year; it replaces NetSuite and SAP Business One.

  2. Rank 2:

    ERPNext

    frappe/erpnext

    ERP system to help you run your business.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    ERP & InventoryPythonDocker

    Stands out for the longest track record (since 2011). ERPNext has 40,687 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 10,424 commits in the last year; it replaces NetSuite and SAP Business One.

At a glance

Open source software for freelancers compared

Each section takes the top-ranked apps in one catalog category, scored on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits; an app appears only once. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 10 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
Odoothe most commits in the last 12 months (17,454)LGPL-3.055,38017,454Oct 28, 2026Yes
ERPNextthe longest track record (since 2011)GPL-3.040,68710,424Oct 28, 2026Yes
Frappe HR–GPL-3.08,9702,970Oct 27, 2026Yes
Ever Gauzy–AGPL-3.08,6355,783Oct 28, 2026Yes
Twentythe most GitHub starsAGPL-3.059,9659,000Oct 28, 2026Yes
Krayin–MIT24,071535Oct 21, 2026Yes
Cal.diy–MIT49,4551,968Oct 27, 2026Yes
Rallly–AGPL-3.05,3291,711Oct 28, 2026Yes
Gitea–MIT58,7381,909Oct 28, 2026Yes
Plane–AGPL-3.061,588771Oct 27, 2026Yes

1 of 7 · 2 picks

Invoicing and accounting

  1. 1

    Odoo

    Free open source ERP system.

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (17,454). Odoo has 55,380 GitHub stars, uses the LGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 17,454 commits in the last year; it replaces NetSuite and SAP Business One.

  2. 2

    ERPNext

    ERP system to help you run your business.

    Stands out for the longest track record (since 2011). ERPNext has 40,687 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 10,424 commits in the last year; it replaces NetSuite and SAP Business One.

2 of 7 · 2 picks

Time tracking

  1. 1

    Frappe HR

    Complete HRMS solution with over 13 different modules right from employee management, onboarding, leaves, to payroll, taxation, and more.

    Frappe HR has 8,970 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,970 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday.

  2. 2

    Ever Gauzy

    Open business management platform for collaborative, on-demand and sharing economies (ERP/CRM/HRM/ATS/PM).

    Ever Gauzy has 8,635 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,783 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday.

3 of 7 · 2 picks

Clients (CRM)

  1. 1

    Twenty

    A modern CRM offering the flexibility of open source, advanced features, and a sleek design.

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Twenty has 59,965 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 9,000 commits in the last year; it replaces Salesforce and HubSpot.

  2. 2

    Krayin

    CRM solution for SMEs and Enterprises for complete customer lifecycle management.

    Krayin has 24,071 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 535 commits in the last year; it replaces Salesforce and HubSpot.

4 of 7 · 2 picks

Scheduling

  1. 1

    Cal.diy

    Online appointment scheduling system.

    Cal.diy has 49,455 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,968 commits in the last year; it replaces Calendly.

  2. 2

    Rallly

    Create polls to vote on dates and times (alternative to Doodle).

    Rallly has 5,329 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,711 commits in the last year; it replaces Calendly.

5 of 7 · 2 picks

Projects and tasks

  1. 1

    Gitea

    Git with a cup of tea! Painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, including Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry and CI/CD.

    Gitea has 58,738 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,909 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab.

  2. 2

    Plane

    Track issues, epics, and product roadmaps in the simplest way possible (alternative to JIRA, Linear and Height).

    Plane has 61,588 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 771 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana.

6 of 7 · 2 picks

File sharing

  1. 1

    qBittorrent

    Free cross-platform bittorrent client with a feature rich Web UI for remote access.

    qBittorrent has 41,180 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 510 commits in the last year.

  2. 2

    slskd

    A modern client-server application for the Soulseek file sharing network.

    slskd has 4,210 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,249 commits in the last year.

7 of 7 · 2 picks

Passwords

  1. 1

    Vaultwarden

    Lightweight Bitwarden server API implementation written in Rust.

    Vaultwarden has 69,807 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 217 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitwarden and 1Password.

  2. 2

    Bitwarden

    Password manager with a webapp, browser extension, and mobile app.

    Bitwarden has 20,499 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,729 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitwarden and 1Password.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is it worth self-hosting as a freelancer?

If you already pay for several per-user tools, one small VPS can run invoicing, time tracking and file sharing for a few dollars a month. Keep backups off the server, since you are your own IT department.

Is Odoo free?

Yes. Odoo is open-source software released under the LGPL-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?

13 of the 14 apps here publish Docker images, including Odoo, ERPNext and Frappe HR, 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.

How is this list ranked?

Each section takes the top-ranked apps in one catalog category, scored on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits; an app appears only once. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

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