Best open-source finance tools, ranked by real installs (Oct 2026)
If you are shopping for finance software you can actually own, this guide walks the shortlist.
Rather than a flat list, we ranked these 7 tools by how many times people actually started them on PickYour.App.
This week's ranking
| # | App | Category | Installs | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Actual Budget Local-first envelope budgeting — fast, private, syncs across your devices | Finance | 4 100 | €0.023/hr |
| 2 | Akaunting Free accounting platform — invoicing, expenses, clients, inventory & a big app store | Finance | 3 300 | €0.046/hr |
| 3 | Bigcapital Open-source accounting & inventory — invoices, bills, bank sync, financial statements | Finance | 1 700 | €0.046/hr |
| 4 | Frappe Books Free desktop-class accounting app — invoicing, ledgers, taxes & reports with a modern UI | Finance | 1 500 | €0.023/hr |
| 5 | Money Manager Ex Simple personal finance manager — accounts, payees, budgets and clean reports | Finance | 1 300 | €0.018/hr |
| 6 | GnuCash Double-entry accounting for personal and small-business use — invoices, lots, reports | Finance | 1 100 | €0.023/hr |
| 7 | hledger Reliable, plain-text double-entry accounting with a web UI and strong CLI | Finance | 980 | €0.018/hr |
What each one is good at
Actual Budget
Teams pick Actual Budget when they need plan spending by category. Plan for 1 vCPU and 2 GB of RAM. Best for individuals and couples serious about budgeting. Start here if you want the safe pick.
Akaunting
Teams pick Akaunting when they need send invoices. Plan for 2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM. Typical users: small businesses and freelancers worldwide. If the top pick feels heavy, this is the usual alternative.
Bigcapital
Bigcapital covers invoice customers without demanding a manual. Spec: 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 50 GB disk. Typical users: small businesses graduating from spreadsheets. Newer to the catalog, climbing steadily.
Frappe Books
Teams pick Frappe Books when they need create invoices. Plan for 1 vCPU and 2 GB of RAM. Typical users: freelancers and small shops needing honest accounting. Lesser known, often a better fit for smaller teams.
Choosing a server
Every app in this list runs on our Pay as you go plan. The heaviest spec here wants 2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM — about €0.046 per hour, billed only while the server is on. Pick an app above to see its exact sizing.
Generated 2026-10-22 from live catalog data · all guides