Invoice Ninja alternatives: 4 open-source picks
Invoice Ninja costs $14/mo — $168 a year. These 4 alternatives replace it for $0, led by ERPNext, InvoiceShelf and Invoice Ninja. All 4 are open source. License, stars and last commit checked by hand on 2026-08-29. No trials, no crippled tiers.
Quotes, invoices, payments, expenses and a portal inside a much larger ERP than anyone ordered.
licenseGPL-3.0
runsyour machine or their cloud
installManaged Frappe Cloud signup, or the supported Frappe Docker/Bench deployment
dataSelf-hosted companies live in MariaDB site databases with site files and attachments on the server; managed-hosting data lives in the selected Frappe Cloud site.
the catch vs Invoice NinjaERPNext can issue and collect invoices but its much larger ERP interface is less polished for client portals, payment gateways, recurring billing, and solo-business onboarding.
setupSelf-hosting is an ERP deployment rather than a desktop install: Docker or Bench, MariaDB, Redis, workers, a reverse proxy, backups, upgrades, and country-specific accounting setup.
facts verified 2026-08-11
Invoices, estimates, expenses, payments and a client portal; the bill arrives as Docker maintenance instead.
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour server
installDeploy a stable tagged release with the official Docker Compose example
dataInvoices, estimates, customers, expenses, payments, and settings live in the configured application database, SQLite is available for a small install, with uploaded files in persistent server storage.
the catch vs Invoice NinjaInvoiceShelf has a smaller payment-gateway, mobile-app, integration, recurring-billing, and support ecosystem than Invoice Ninja, with a less mature current release line.
setupThe first obstacle is choosing a stable 2.x release rather than the default next/3.x alpha branch, then operating Docker, persistent storage, mail, HTTPS, backups, and upgrades.
facts verified 2026-08-11
Invoicing, quotes, expenses, and time tracking for freelancers who'd rather not pay monthly.
licenseElastic-2.0
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
Professional time tracking with invoicing, teams, and exports.
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour server
setupnot verified by us yet — check the repo README
facts verified 2026-08-29
What each one is, in full: ERPNext · Invoice Ninja · Kimai
last updated 2026-08-29 · no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
the usual suspects · recommended everywhere, rejected here
CraterStill widely recommended; last push August 2024 and the last release is four years old.
InvoicePlaneQuotes, invoices and payments are solid; expenses and a real client portal never show up.
SolidInvoiceQuotes, recurring invoices and payments are here; expense tracking and a client portal are not.
how to choose a Invoice Ninja alternative
Easiest to get running
Kimai — a one-click install, no server to maintain.
Most proven
ERPNext, with 37,700 GitHub stars — the largest community of the 4, which usually means more answers when something breaks.
Needs real ops to self-host
ERPNext is capable but expects someone to run a server, updates and backups. Budget for that before choosing it.
what you give up by leaving Invoice Ninja
- managed hosting
- upgrades
- backups
- support
- payment setup convenience
- reduced ops risk
None of the picks above covers all of it. The full verdict says which gaps matter.
Invoice Ninja alternatives at a glance
| tool | license | running it | platforms | stars | active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERPNext | GPL-3.0 | self-host, real ops | web, self-hosted | 37,700 | 2026-08 |
| InvoiceShelf | AGPL-3.0 | docker to self-host | web, self-hosted | 1,800 | 2026-07 |
| Invoice Ninja | Elastic-2.0 | docker to self-host | self-hosted, web | 9,000 | 2026-08 |
| Kimai | AGPL-3.0 | one-click install | self-hosted, web | 4,000 | 2026-08 |
why people still pay for Invoice Ninja
They pay because billing software is boring and should not break on invoice day. If none of that applies to you, any pick above saves $168 a year.
questions about switching from Invoice Ninja
Is there an open-source alternative to Invoice Ninja?
Yes: ERPNext, InvoiceShelf, Invoice Ninja and 1 more. Every tool on this page is open source: no trials, no crippled tiers.
Can open source really replace Invoice Ninja?
Our verdict is YES. ERPNext (38k stars), Invoice Ninja (9k stars), Kimai (4k stars) are mature open-source replacements for Invoice Ninja — self-host with real ops work and stop paying $14/mo. The full verdict, and what you give up by switching, is at caniopensourceit.online/invoice-ninja.
What is the easiest open-source Invoice Ninja alternative to set up?
Kimai — a one-click install, no server to maintain.
What is the most popular open-source Invoice Ninja alternative?
By GitHub stars, ERPNext (37,700). Invoice Ninja is next with 9,000.
