Bigcapital vs Invoice Ninja

Bigcapital is open-source accounting and inventory software (AGPL-3.0) focused on financial reporting, multi-currency, and stock management, free to self-host…

Best for Bigcapital: Bigcapital fits a business that needs real accounting output (financial reporting, inventory tracking, multi-currency support) and either wants to self-host for free under AGPL-3.0 or pay from $20/month for a hosted version with a 14-day trial.
Best for Invoice Ninja: Invoice Ninja fits a freelancer or service business that wants to start invoicing for free (5 clients, unlimited invoices), collect payments through gateways like Stripe or PayPal, and track time and projects on Kanban boards.

At a Glance

 BigcapitalInvoice Ninja
Primary categoryAccountingAccounting
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium / Open Source
Starting priceFree (self-hosted); $20/month (cloud)Free (self-hosted or up to 5 clients); hosted Pro from $14/month
Free planYesYes
Free trialYesNot documented
PlatformsNot documentedWeb, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresNot documentedNot documented
Public APIYesYes

Key Differences

Accounting Depth

Bigcapital: Bigcapital documents real-time financial reporting, inventory tracking, and multi-currency accounting with live exchange rates as core features.

Invoice Ninja: Invoice Ninja's documented features center on invoicing, payments, time tracking, and expense/vendor tracking, without formal financial reporting, inventory, or multi-currency support listed.

Businesses that need P&L, balance sheet, or inventory valuation reports need software that documents those capabilities.

Open-Source License Terms

Bigcapital: Bigcapital is released under AGPL-3.0, which requires releasing your modifications if you deploy a modified version over a network, with a commercial license available as an exemption.

Invoice Ninja: Invoice Ninja's open-source self-hosted version is available via GitHub, but the facts don't specify which license governs it.

Businesses planning to modify and redeploy the source code need to understand the licensing obligations before doing so.

Entry Cloud Pricing

Bigcapital: Bigcapital's cheapest hosted cloud plan, Capital Basic, is $20/month.

Invoice Ninja: Invoice Ninja's cheapest paid hosted plan, Ninja Pro, is $14/month ($140/year).

Budget-conscious buyers comparing entry-level paid pricing will find Invoice Ninja's hosted tier cheaper to start.

Free Plan vs. Free Trial

Bigcapital: Bigcapital's hosted cloud version offers only a 14-day free trial, not a perpetual free hosted tier; free use requires self-hosting instead.

Invoice Ninja: Invoice Ninja offers a perpetually free hosted plan with 5 clients and unlimited invoicing, with no time limit.

A business wanting ongoing free hosted access without managing a server gets that from Invoice Ninja but not from Bigcapital's cloud offering.

Payment Collection and Client Portal

Bigcapital: Bigcapital's documented features do not mention online payment gateway integrations or a client-facing payment portal.

Invoice Ninja: Invoice Ninja documents native integrations with Stripe, PayPal, Square, and GoCardless plus a client portal for viewing invoices and paying online.

Businesses that want clients to pay invoices online directly need documented payment gateway support.

Feature-by-Feature

Core Accounting

FeatureBigcapitalInvoice Ninja
Multi-currency accountingAvailableNot documented
Inventory trackingAvailableNot documented
Real-time financial reportingAvailableNot documented
Budgeting and cost-center analysisAvailableNot documented

Invoicing & Payments

FeatureBigcapitalInvoice Ninja
Recurring invoicingAvailableAvailable
Online payment gatewaysNot documentedAvailable
Client portalNot documentedAvailable
Time tracking with Kanban boardsNot documentedAvailable

Deployment & Pricing

FeatureBigcapitalInvoice Ninja
Free self-hosted optionAvailableAvailable
Perpetual free hosted planUnavailableAvailable
Entry paid cloud priceAvailableAvailable

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Bigcapital

Capital Basic — $20/month monthly (annual discount available)
Capital Essential — $40/month monthly (annual discount available)
Capital Plus — $55/month monthly (annual discount available)
Capital Big — $60/month monthly (annual discount available)

Invoice Ninja

Free (Hosted or Self-Hosted) — Free N/A
Ninja Pro — $14/month or $140/year Monthly or annual
Enterprise — $18-$300/month (by user count) Monthly
Premium Business — Custom (from $280/year) Annual

Pros & Cons

Bigcapital

Pros

  • Free, unlimited self-hosting option for teams wanting full data ownership
  • Significantly cheaper cloud tiers than comparable QuickBooks/Xero plans
  • Covers a genuinely complete double-entry accounting workflow, not just invoicing
  • Open-source codebase allows customization and community auditing

Cons

  • Smaller integration ecosystem than established players like QuickBooks or Xero
  • Self-hosting requires technical setup and ongoing server maintenance
  • No built-in tax filing or professional bookkeeper network
  • Smaller company/team than incumbent accounting vendors, which may affect long-term support depth

Invoice Ninja

Pros

  • Free, unlimited self-hosted version with no artificial feature caps
  • Affordable hosted plans compared to FreshBooks or QuickBooks
  • Supports 40-plus payment gateways and multi-currency invoicing
  • Native desktop and mobile apps alongside the web app
  • Bootstrapped company with a long track record and stable pricing

Cons

  • Self-hosting requires technical setup with a PHP/Laravel server and database maintenance
  • The Elastic License v2 restricts reselling or offering it as a hosted service to others
  • Interface feels less polished than some modern SaaS competitors
  • Free hosted plan is capped at just 5 clients
  • Advanced features like bank sync and e-invoicing credits are reserved for higher tiers

Use Cases

Choose Bigcapital: Bigcapital fits a business that needs real accounting output (financial reporting, inventory tracking, multi-currency support) and either wants to self-host for free under AGPL-3.0 or pay from $20/month for a hosted version with a 14-day trial.
Choose Invoice Ninja: Invoice Ninja fits a freelancer or service business that wants to start invoicing for free (5 clients, unlimited invoices), collect payments through gateways like Stripe or PayPal, and track time and projects on Kanban boards.
Need both: A small business could plausibly self-host Bigcapital for its core bookkeeping, inventory, and financial reporting while using Invoice Ninja separately for client-facing invoicing workflows like e-signed quotes and time-tracked billing, though this would mean maintaining two overlapping billing surfaces rather than a clean split.

Bigcapital

  • Self-hosted bookkeeping for SMBs — Technically capable small businesses self-host Bigcapital for free to keep full control of financial data.
  • Affordable cloud accounting — Businesses that want managed hosting choose a Bigcapital Cloud tier as a lower-cost alternative to QuickBooks or Xero.
  • Inventory-heavy operations — Businesses tracking stock across multiple branches use inventory and multi-warehouse features on higher tiers.

Invoice Ninja

  • Freelance and consultant billing — Freelancers and consultants bill clients directly with recurring invoices and online payments.
  • Agency time and billing management — Small agencies track billable time and expenses across client projects and invoice accordingly.
  • Self-hosted, privacy-focused billing — Privacy-conscious businesses self-host their billing data instead of using a third-party SaaS provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bigcapital's cloud version free?

No, the hosted cloud version offers only a 14-day free trial; ongoing free use requires self-hosting the open-source version under AGPL-3.0.

Which is better for inventory-heavy businesses?

Bigcapital documents dedicated inventory tracking (from its Capital Essential plan, $40/month), a feature Invoice Ninja does not document.

What license governs self-hosting each tool?

Bigcapital is licensed under AGPL-3.0 with a commercial license option; Invoice Ninja's self-hosted version is open source via GitHub but its specific license isn't specified in the available facts.

Does either offer time tracking?

Invoice Ninja documents time tracking and Kanban-style project boards; Bigcapital does not document a time-tracking feature.

Which is cheaper to start with a paid hosted plan?

Invoice Ninja's Ninja Pro starts at $14/month, while Bigcapital's Capital Basic cloud plan starts at $20/month.

Do both support multi-currency?

Bigcapital documents multi-currency support with live exchange rates on its Capital Essential plan; Invoice Ninja's facts do not mention multi-currency support.

Read the full Bigcapital review · Read the full Invoice Ninja review