What is Bigcapital used for?

Bigcapital is open-source accounting and inventory software for small businesses, offered as a hosted cloud service or self-hosted with Docker. It is a good fit for small business bookkeeping, replacing QuickBooks or Xero and inventory-aware accounting.

Is Bigcapital open source?

Yes. Bigcapital is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at bigcapitalhq/bigcapital and is written mainly in TypeScript.

Yes. Bigcapital is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available, with paid plans from $20 per month.

Can I self-host Bigcapital?

Yes. Bigcapital can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Bigcapital an alternative to?

Bigcapital is an open-source alternative to QuickBooks, Xero, Wave and FreshBooks. Other open-source alternatives to QuickBooks include Akaunting, GnuCash and Invoice Ninja.

Is Bigcapital actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Bigcapital was on 28 September 2026, and the latest release is v0.25.42, published on 23 September 2026. The project has 3.9k stars on GitHub.

Bigcapital: open-source alternative to QuickBooks, Xero

About Bigcapital

Bigcapital is accounting and inventory software for small and medium businesses. It aims to keep business finances in one place and automate accounting processes, producing financial statements and reports to support decisions. The project is positioned as an independent alternative to QuickBooks, Xero and Wave.

Repository topics cover double-entry accounting, invoicing, bills, expenses, payments and inventory management. The README describes multiple ways to get started: use Bigcapital Cloud, or self-host the open-source edition on your own servers with Docker. It is written in TypeScript and gives teams the ability to inspect and adapt the code.

Bigcapital is available under the AGPL license for self-hosting, while the vendor runs the managed cloud version. It suits freelancers, small companies and bookkeepers who want accounting control without per-user subscriptions to a closed platform.

Key features

Double-entry accounting engine
Invoicing, bills and expenses
Inventory tracking and management
Financial statements and reports
Self-hosting with Docker
Managed Bigcapital Cloud option

Good fit for

→Small business bookkeeping
→Replacing QuickBooks or Xero
→Inventory-aware accounting

Built with: TypeScript
Tags: accounting; invoicing; inventory; bookkeeping; self-hosted; quickbooks-alternative; finance; typescript

Bigcapital: questions and answers

What is Bigcapital used for?: Bigcapital is open-source accounting and inventory software for small businesses, offered as a hosted cloud service or self-hosted with Docker. It is a good fit for small business bookkeeping, replacing QuickBooks or Xero and inventory-aware accounting.
Is Bigcapital open source?: Yes. Bigcapital is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at bigcapitalhq/bigcapital and is written mainly in TypeScript.
Is Bigcapital free?: Yes. Bigcapital is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available, with paid plans from $20 per month.
Can I self-host Bigcapital?: Yes. Bigcapital can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Bigcapital an alternative to?: Bigcapital is an open-source alternative to QuickBooks, Xero, Wave and FreshBooks. Other open-source alternatives to QuickBooks include Akaunting, GnuCash and Invoice Ninja.
Is Bigcapital actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Bigcapital was on 28 September 2026, and the latest release is v0.25.42, published on 23 September 2026. The project has 3.9k stars on GitHub.