3 jobs · 14 apps
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.
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.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly
Top picks
- Rank 1:
InvoiceShelf
InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf
Track expenses, payments & create professional invoices & estimates (fork of Crater).
Accounting & InvoicingPHPDockerInvoiceShelf 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.
- Rank 2:
Invio
kittendevv/Invio
Minimal self-hosted invoicing: create an invoice, share a secure link with the client and get paid, with no client login needed.
Accounting & InvoicingTypeScriptDockerInvio has 1,187 GitHub stars, uses the Unlicense license, ships a Docker image and had 253 commits in the last year.
- Rank 3:
Invoicerr
invoicerr-app/invoicerr
Invoicing for freelancers and small companies with quotes, invoices, payments, client portal and e-invoice formats such as Factur-X, UBL and Peppol.
Accounting & InvoicingTypeScriptDockerInvoicerr 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.
1 of 3 · 6 picks
Simple invoicing
- 1
InvoiceShelf
Track expenses, payments & create professional invoices & estimates (fork of Crater).
Accounting & InvoicingDockerInvoiceShelf 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.
- 2
Invio
Minimal self-hosted invoicing: create an invoice, share a secure link with the client and get paid, with no client login needed.
Accounting & InvoicingDockerInvio has 1,187 GitHub stars, uses the Unlicense license, ships a Docker image and had 253 commits in the last year.
- 3
Invoicerr
Invoicing for freelancers and small companies with quotes, invoices, payments, client portal and e-invoice formats such as Factur-X, UBL and Peppol.
Accounting & InvoicingDockerInvoicerr 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.
- 4
Rachoon
Self-hosted invoicing for freelancers and small businesses with quotes, clients, payment tracking, multi-currency and PDF export.
Accounting & InvoicingDockerRachoon 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.
- 5
InvoicePlane
Manage quotes, invoices, payments and customers for your small business.
Accounting & InvoicingInvoicePlane has 3,151 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 388 commits in the last year; it replaces FreshBooks and Wave.
- 6
SolidInvoice
Open source invoicing and quote application.
Accounting & InvoicingSolidInvoice has 976 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,274 commits in the last year; it replaces FreshBooks.
2 of 3 · 5 picks
Invoicing with accounting
- 1
Invoice Ninja
Powerful tool to invoice clients online.
Source-availableAccounting & InvoicingDockerInvoice 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.
- 2
Akaunting
Accounting software designed for small businesses and freelancers.
Source-availableAccounting & InvoicingAkaunting 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.
- 3
Bigcapital
Financial accounting and inventory management software for small to medium businesses.
Accounting & InvoicingDockerBigcapital 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.
- 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 9 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and Xero.
- 5
IDURAR
Node.js and React ERP/CRM for invoices, quotes, payments and customer management.
ERP & InventoryIDURAR 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.
3 of 3 · 3 picks
Usage-based and subscription billing
- 1
Lago
Metering and usage-based billing.
Accounting & InvoicingDockerLago has 10,657 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 174 commits in the last year.
- 2
Meteroid
Pricing and billing platform for usage-based and subscription businesses that meters usage and generates invoices.
Accounting & InvoicingDockerMeteroid has 1,308 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 275 commits in the last year.
- 3
Kill Bill
Subscription billing & payments platform. Have access to real-time analytics and financial reports.
Accounting & InvoicingDockerKill Bill has 5,783 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 201 commits in the last year.
What is the best free, open source invoice generator?
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.
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.
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