Alternatives to hledger

Plain text accounting: double-entry bookkeeping in a text file you own, with command-line, terminal and web interfaces. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as hledger.

  • Ledger

    The original plain-text double-entry accounting tool for the command line.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    Ledger is the original BSD-licensed plain-text accounting tool, command-line only with a terse query syntax and no import tooling, unlike hledger's CSV rules.

  • Beancount

    Plain-text double-entry accounting with a strict, checkable ledger format.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    Beancount uses a stricter GPL-2.0 plain-text format with balance assertions checked on every parse, assuming a Python toolchain and pairing with Fava for a web view.

  • GnuCash

    Double-entry accounting for personal and small-business finances.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    GnuCash keeps double-entry accounting in a graphical desktop app with invoicing and scheduled transactions, trading plain-text data for a dated GUI.

  • KMyMoney

    Double-entry personal finance manager from the KDE community.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    KMyMoney is a graphical KDE double-entry finance manager with investment and loan handling and online price quotes, storing data outside plain text.

  • Paisa

    An open-source personal finance manager built on plain-text ledger files and double-entry accounting.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hosted

    Paisa builds a visual self-hosted dashboard on plain-text ledger files, adding investment tracking with market prices plus budgeting, credit card and tax views.

Also worth comparing

These listings name hledger as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Akaunting

    Accounting software for small businesses and freelancers, available online or self-hosted.

    FreemiumProprietaryWebSelf-hosted

    hledger keeps double-entry books in plain text files under GPL-3.0, with command-line, terminal and web interfaces, and expects you to import CSV files and write categorisation rules.

  • ezBookkeeping

    A lightweight self-hosted personal bookkeeping web app for recording and reviewing your own finances.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    hledger keeps personal accounts in a plain-text double-entry file with command-line, terminal and web interfaces, requiring double-entry knowledge.

  • Firefly III

    A self-hosted personal finance manager with budgets, categories, rules and a lot of reports.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxWebSelf-hosted

    hledger replaces the database with a plain-text double-entry ledger and command-line, terminal and web interfaces, using CSV import rules for categorisation.

  • Manager.io

    Accounting software for small businesses and personal bookkeeping, with a free desktop edition and a Cloud Edition.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinuxWeb

    hledger replaces a graphical program with plain-text double-entry files under GPL-3.0, used through command-line, terminal or web interfaces, with CSV import and rules.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.