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Productivity & Business · Finance, Billing & Accounting

Akaunting

Akaunting is accounting software for small businesses and freelancers, sold as Cloud plans or as a self-hosted app with a free one-company plan.

Our take: Akaunting handles the everyday books of a small business: invoices, expenses, bank accounts and reports, with a client portal on top.

Best forSelf-hosted bookkeeping
ReviewedPricing: Freemium
7.0 out of 105 criteria · see breakdown
Try AkauntingFree self-hosted; Cloud from $12/mo

Akaunting is accounting software for freelancers and small businesses, covering invoicing, expenses, bank accounts and reports. The self-hosted Standard plan is free for one company; hosted Cloud plans start at $12 a month, or $8 a month billed yearly.

The bottom line

A cheap, self-hostable option for simple books; check which tier holds the features you need.

Our score

Reviewed by the Conversion Gems editorial team. Hover a facet to focus it; click to pin.Tap a facet to focus it.

Community ratings

Shown for context only. Our score is independent.

Capterra
3.8 out of 5
20+ reviews
Trustpilot
1.7 out of 5
50+ reviews

2.4 / 5 aggregate · across 2 sources

Third-party ratings shown verbatim; aggregate weighted by review volume.

What it is, and why we rate it

One line each. Open a row for detail.

What it really isSource-available accounting software for small businesses, offered as hosted Cloud plans or as a self-hosted install.
Our takeAkaunting handles the everyday books of a small business: invoices, expenses, bank accounts and reports, with a client portal on top.
Its best card is the free self-hosted Standard plan, which few accounting tools offer. Since the 2023 licence change and the end of free Cloud, you pay for convenience, and bank feeds and double-entry only arrive on Premium.
Why we rate itA real free self-hosted plan and multi-company tiers at flat prices.
The catchNot open source since 2023, and core accounting features and apps cost extra.

Best / not good for

Best for
  • Freelancers who self-host
  • Small businesses with simple invoicing
  • Accountants managing several companies
Not good for
  • Anyone who wants a free cloud plan
  • Teams that need bank feeds on the cheapest tier
  • Users who cannot run a server (for the free plan)
Trade-offs

Friction report

Trade-offs to know before signing up.

  1. Time to value
    Minutes on Cloud; self-hosting needs a PHP server, a database and setup time.
  2. Scale breakpoint
    When you need bank feeds or double-entry (Premium) or more than 1,000 invoices on Standard.
  3. Walled garden
    Low: source code on GitHub under the BSL and self-hosting available; paid apps come only from Akaunting's store.
Still a fit?
If none of these block you, start on the free plan.
Try Akaunting

Akaunting plans and pricing

PlanCloud (monthly)Cloud (billed yearly)Self-hostedLimits
Standard$12/mo$8/moFree1 company, 1 user + 1 accountant, 1,000 invoices
Premium$36/mo$24/mo$72/yr or $756 lifetime10 companies, 10 users, 10,000 invoices; double-entry, bank feeds
Elite$84/mo$56/mo$168/yr or $1,764 lifetime30 companies, 30 users, 30,000 invoices; payroll, inventory, CRM apps on Cloud
Ultimate$218/mo$145/mo$684/yr or $7,224 lifetimeUnlimited companies, users and invoices; all 50+ apps on Cloud

From Akaunting's pricing and on-premise plans pages, checked 4 October 2026. Cloud plans bundle 4, 10, 30 or all apps; self-hosted plans include no apps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Akaunting still free?

Partly. The self-hosted Standard On-Premise plan is free for 1 company, 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices; you pay for your own hosting and any paid apps. The free Cloud plan ended in October 2023, and Cloud now starts at $12 a month or $8 a month billed yearly (checked 4 October 2026).

Is Akaunting open source?

Not in the strict sense any more. Since Akaunting 3.1 (October 2023) it uses the Business Source License, a source-available licence. The code is still on GitHub and you can still self-host it.

How much does Akaunting cost?

Cloud: Standard $12 a month ($8 billed yearly), Premium $36 ($24), Elite $84 ($56) and Ultimate $218 ($145). Self-hosted: Standard free, Premium $72 a year, Elite $168 a year and Ultimate $684 a year, with one-time lifetime options from $756 (checked 4 October 2026).

Can I self-host Akaunting?

Yes. You download it from akaunting.com and run it on a server with PHP 8.1 or higher, Node.js 18 or 20, a MariaDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQLite database and a web server such as Apache or Nginx. Self-hosted plans include no apps.

Is Akaunting good for accountants with many clients?

The Ultimate Cloud plan is aimed at accountants: unlimited companies, users and invoices plus all 50+ apps, for $218 a month or $145 a month billed yearly (checked 4 October 2026). Lower plans cap companies at 1, 10 or 30.

Akaunting alternatives

Other accounting and invoicing tools to compare:

Showing 1–3 of 4
Sources checked October 4, 2026: Akaunting Cloud pricing, Akaunting on-premise plans, Akaunting features, Akaunting 3.1 licensing announcement, Akaunting on GitHub.

Conversion Gems independently reviews every tool.

Tags

#Accounting#Invoicing#SelfHosted#SmallBusiness

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