- Invoicing: Create, manage, and track professional invoices with payment reminders and automation for efficient billing.
- Expense Tracking: Record and categorize expenses, attach receipts, and monitor spending for accurate budgeting.
- Bank Reconciliation: Sync bank accounts to automatically match transactions, reducing errors and saving time.
- Financial Reporting: Generate customizable reports like profit and loss, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
- Multi-Currency Support: Handle transactions in multiple currencies with automatic exchange rate updates for global businesses.
- Tax Management: Calculate taxes, generate tax reports, and ensure compliance with local regulations.
- Client Portal: Provide clients secure access to view invoices, make payments, and communicate directly.
- Multi-Company Management: Manage finances for multiple businesses within a single Akaunting account.
- App Store Integration: Access 50+ apps for extended functionality, like e-commerce or payment gateway integrations.
- Open-Source Customization: Modify the software’s code to tailor features to specific business needs.
- Cloud-Based Access: Access financial data anytime, anywhere via web browsers or mobile apps.
- General Ledger: Centralize all financial transactions for accurate record-keeping and reporting.
- Accounts Payable/Receivable: Track payments owed to suppliers and monitor customer payments efficiently.
- Multi-Language Support: Use the software in over 15 languages for global accessibility.
- Open API: Integrate with third-party tools like WooCommerce, Stripe, or Mailchimp for enhanced functionality.
Akaunting
Akaunting helps small businesses manage invoicing, expense tracking, bookkeeping, and financial reporting online.
Updated July 27, 2026
Akaunting Overview
Akaunting is a free, open-source, cloud-based accounting software designed for small businesses and freelancers. It offers tools for invoicing, expense tracking, bookkeeping, and financial reporting, with features like multi-currency support, bank reconciliation, and a client portal.
Built with modern technologies like Laravel, it ensures privacy and scalability. Users can manage multiple companies, automate tasks, and access 50+ apps via its App Store, all with no hidden fees.
Key Features
Pricing
The self-hosted, open source edition of Akaunting is free to download and run on your own server. The plans below are for the cloud edition hosted on akaunting.com.
| Plan Name | Monthly Price (Monthly Billing) | Monthly Price (Annual Billing)* | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Cloud | $12 | $8 | 1 Company, 1 User (+1 Accountant), 1,000 Invoices, 4 Apps Included (from their App Store), Ticket Support, Unlimited Customers, Vendors, Reports, Products/Services, Multiple Currencies |
| Premium Cloud | $36 | $24 | 10 Companies, 10 Users, 10,000 Invoices, 10 Apps Included, includes all Standard features plus Double-Entry, Bank Feeds, Expense Claims, Roles & Permissions, Client Portal |
| Elite Cloud | $84 | $56 | 30 Companies, 30 Users, 30,000 Invoices, 30 Apps Included, includes Premium features plus Estimates (Quotes), Payroll, Projects, Inventory, CRM, Receipt Scanning, Shopify & Stripe integrations |
| Ultimate Cloud | $218 | $145 | Unlimited Companies, Users, Invoices, All Apps Included — plus Budgeting, Credit & Debit Notes, Sales & Purchase Orders, POS, Custom Fields, Auto-Scheduled Reports, and all 50+ apps available |
*Annual billing is paid 12 months upfront and works out to four months free compared with paying monthly.
Pricing source: https://akaunting.com/pricing
Pros
| Competitor | Pros of Akaunting |
|---|---|
| QuickBooks | The self hosted edition is open source and free, so Akaunting can run on your own server with no license fee. Hosted, the Standard cloud plan is $12 a month, or $8 a month billed yearly, against $38 a month for the cheapest QuickBooks Online plan. Unlimited customers, vendors, products and reports come even on that entry plan, and the interface stays far lighter than QuickBooks. |
| Xero | Akaunting Premium at $36 a month, or $24 billed yearly, covers 10 separate companies and 10 users under one subscription. Xero’s US plans run $25 to $90 a month for a single set of books, so 10 entities mean 10 subscriptions. The screens stay sparse, which suits people who found Xero’s menus and bank feed behavior heavier than they wanted. |
| Zoho Books | One Ultimate subscription at $218 a month, or $145 yearly, gives you unlimited companies, unlimited users, unlimited invoices and every one of the 50+ store apps. Zoho Books prices per organization instead, from $20 a month for Standard with three users, then $3 for each extra user. For anyone carrying a lot of small entities, Akaunting’s model is easier to reason about. |
| FreshBooks | FreshBooks Lite at $23 a month caps you at five billable clients and charges $11 a month per team member. Akaunting Standard keeps customers, vendors, products and reports unlimited and allows up to 1,000 invoices. For plain bookkeeping rather than client billing, there is less to configure and less to count. |
| Wave | Self hosting means the data stays on your own server and remains usable indefinitely at no cost; Wave is cloud only, with a free Starter tier and a $19 a month Pro plan. Wave also takes 2.9% plus $0.60 per card payment on Starter, while Akaunting leaves the payment gateway choice to you through its app store. Multiple currencies are included from the entry plan up. |
Cons
| Competitor | Cons of Akaunting |
|---|---|
| QuickBooks | Double entry accounting and bank feeds are missing from the $12 Standard plan; both begin at Premium, which costs $36 a month or $24 billed yearly. QuickBooks Online includes connected bank feeds and tax automation from its $38 Simple Start tier without extra purchases. In Akaunting, advanced functions arrive as separately bought apps, and the bill grows with them. |
| Xero | Standard allows one user plus an accountant and 1,000 invoices, so a two person team already has to move up a tier. Xero charges no per user license fee on any plan and connects to over 1,000 apps, against Akaunting’s 50+ store, of which only four are included at entry level. Reporting depth also favors Xero once you need more than profit and loss. |
| Zoho Books | Zoho Books answers by email, voice and chat on paid plans and ships mobile apps; Akaunting support is ticket based on every cloud tier. Zoho’s free plan covers businesses under $50K in revenue, something Akaunting only matches if you self host and maintain the server yourself. Users also report bugs after updates and slow replies when they ask for help. |
| FreshBooks | Projects sit in Akaunting’s Elite plan at $84 a month, or $56 yearly, and time tracking is not part of the product at all. FreshBooks builds time tracking and project billing into its core product from $23 a month. A service business billing by the hour will find Akaunting bare. |
| Wave | Wave keeps invoicing, payments and bookkeeping free, adds payroll from $25 a month and receipt scanning for $11, so a very small business can run on almost nothing. Akaunting puts Payroll in Elite at $84 a month and meters how many store apps each tier includes, from four on Standard to 30 on Elite. Updates breaking things remains a recurring complaint. |
Reviews
- Trustpilot Review (Rating: 1.8/5): Several reviewers slam Akaunting for “fraud advertising and misleading” claims around “Free Accounting Software for Small Businesses,” arguing that double-entry accounting requires a paid plan. One user reported getting charged 5 TIMES a year after canceling and removing a debit card, while another described a buggy Payroll module and a denied refund, calling the experience a “bait-and-switch” and warning others to stay away.
- Reddit r/selfhosted: A self-hosting user discovered that several apps “don’t even run on the self-hosted version” and felt misled about what was actually free. One commenter criticized the fact that “double entry accounting, the most basic and critical of features, is an up charge,” while another claimed the company stopped offering a purchased backup and restore app but kept charging without issuing a refund.
- G2 Review (Rating: 1.8/5): Feedback highlights a user-friendly interface and affordable access for small businesses that want cloud-based invoicing and expense tracking without deep accounting knowledge. At the same time, Akaunting receives criticism for inconsistent customer support, which some say undermines the overall experience.
- Software Advice Review (Rating: 3.9/5): One self-employed reviewer found Akaunting easy to install and configure and said it helped manage accounts without hiring an in-house accountant. Another user reported serious issues with the paid Payroll module in a self-hosted setup, cited buggy features and poor documentation, and warned that downloading the on-premise module voided any refund rights even when the software failed to perform as advertised.
- Capterra Review (Rating: 3.9/5): A reviewer described it as “very easy to use” and valued the free version for straightforward income and expense reporting, noting that the system can expand with additional features as needs grow.
