5 Best Self-Hosted Invoicing Apps You Can Run on Your Own Server

A quick overview of the best self-hosted invoicing apps that give you full control over your billing, data, and customization—perfect for freelancers and growing businesses.

Published: 2026-01-03

Invoicing is one of the few business functions where self-hosting is an easy call. The data is sensitive, the workflow rarely changes, and the commercial alternatives charge a recurring fee per seat for what is fundamentally a database, a PDF generator, and a payment link. Running it yourself means your client list and revenue history stay on infrastructure you control.

The five applications below cover the realistic range, from a single-purpose invoicing tool to a full ERP that happens to invoice. They are ordered by how much system you are taking on, not by preference — the right pick depends almost entirely on whether you want an invoicing app or an accounting platform.

Before you choose: invoicing tool or ERP?

This is the decision that matters, and getting it wrong is the usual source of regret.

An invoicing tool does quotes, invoices, clients, and payment tracking. It installs in an afternoon, has a small surface area to maintain, and will never do your inventory. If invoicing is genuinely the job, this is the correct scope.

An ERP treats invoicing as one module beside accounting, inventory, purchasing, and CRM. It is substantially more to run and to learn, and it pays off only if you will actually use the other modules. Installing an ERP to send twelve invoices a month is a decision you will be maintaining for years.

A useful test: write down the reports you want in two years. If they involve stock levels, purchase orders, or payroll, start with an ERP. If they are "who owes me money and how much", start with an invoicing tool.

1. InvoicePlane — the minimal option

InvoicePlane does invoices, quotes, clients, and payments, and deliberately stops there. It is a PHP and MySQL application with no ERP ambitions, which is exactly its appeal: there are no unused modules to configure around and very little to break.

Best for: freelancers and single-person businesses who want invoicing and nothing else.

Trade-off: the same focus that makes it simple makes it a dead end if your requirements grow. There is no inventory, no purchasing, and no accounting ledger — if you later need those, you are migrating rather than enabling a module.

2. Invoice Ninja — the full-featured invoicing platform

Invoice Ninja sits a level above InvoicePlane in scope without becoming an ERP. Alongside invoices and quotes it covers projects, time tracking, expenses, recurring billing, and a client portal, and it documents integration with a wide range of payment gateways. It is a PHP application, self-hostable via Docker or a conventional LAMP setup.

Best for: freelancers and small agencies who bill for time, need recurring invoices, or want clients to have a portal rather than an email attachment.

Trade-off: it is a larger application than InvoicePlane, so there is more to update and more configuration surface. The project also offers a hosted plan alongside the self-hosted edition, so when reading its documentation it is worth confirming which edition a given feature belongs to.

3. Akaunting — accounting-first, invoicing included

Akaunting approaches the problem from accounting rather than billing. The core is free and open source, covering invoices, bills, expenses, banking, and reporting, with additional capability distributed as apps through its own marketplace.

Best for: small businesses that want their invoicing to sit inside a proper double-entry ledger rather than alongside one.

Trade-off: the app marketplace is where the open-core boundary sits. Several capabilities people expect as standard — certain payment gateways, some automation — are paid extensions. Check the specific features you need against the free core before committing, because the answer changes over time.

4. Dolibarr — the modular middle ground

Dolibarr is an ERP and CRM built so that you enable only the modules you want. Start with invoicing and customers, and turn on purchase orders, stock, or HR later without reinstalling. It is a long-established PHP and MySQL project with an unusually forgiving installation process for software of its scope.

Best for: small businesses that know they will outgrow pure invoicing but do not want to deploy a full ERP today.

Trade-off: modularity has an interface cost. Dolibarr's UI reflects its long history and breadth, and it feels more utilitarian than Invoice Ninja or Akaunting. You are trading polish for range.

5. ERPNext — the full platform

ERPNext, built on the Frappe framework in Python, is a complete ERP: accounting, inventory, manufacturing, CRM, HR, and projects, with invoicing as one part of the accounting module. It is the most capable option here by a wide margin and the most demanding to run.

Best for: businesses that genuinely need an ERP and would rather self-host than subscribe to a commercial suite.

Trade-off: resource requirements and operational overhead are meaningfully higher than the others, and there is a real learning curve — ERPNext expects you to model your business in its terms. Choosing it purely for invoicing means carrying that cost for a feature the other four provide in an afternoon.

What to check before you install

• Payment gateways in your country. This is the most common blocker. Gateway support varies by application and by region, and a tool that cannot take payment the way your clients pay is not a candidate regardless of its other merits.
• Tax handling. VAT, GST, and sales tax rules differ enough that generic support is not the same as correct support. Confirm your jurisdiction is handled before migrating live data.
• Backups, from day one. This is billing data. Whichever you choose, the database backup schedule matters more than any feature comparison on this page.
• Export path. Check that you can get invoices and clients out in a standard format. It is the difference between switching later and being stuck.
• Update cadence. A self-hosted billing app is internet-facing and holds financial records. Look at how actively the project ships security updates, and be honest about whether you will apply them.

Choosing quickly

If you want invoicing and nothing more, take InvoicePlane. If you bill for time or need recurring invoices and a client portal, take Invoice Ninja. If you want a real ledger underneath, take Akaunting and verify the free core covers your gateways. If you expect to add purchasing or stock within a couple of years, start with Dolibarr. Choose ERPNext only if you are adopting an ERP on its own merits — not to send invoices.

Last updated: 2026-07-26