Akaunting vs ZipBooks
We give Akaunting a 2.2 GPA and ZipBooks a 2.4, out of 4.0. ZipBooks grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Akaunting
Open-source accounting you can host yourself or use in the cloud
ZipBooks
Browser-based invoicing and bookkeeping with a free starter plan
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAkauntingFair | 2.4GPAZipBooksFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe cheap prices leave out the main bits. Self-hosting is free or $72 a year and Standard Cloud is $8 a month, but double-entry and bank feeds start on Premium Cloud at $24 a month yearly, about this category's middle. | CSmarter is $15 a month, right at the cheaper quarter of accounting tools, with recurring billing, several bank accounts and time tracking. But reconciling accounts and locking finished books need Sophisticated at $35, above the dearer quarter at $31.10. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe open-source edition is free, but you run it on your own server, and it's 1 company, 1 user plus an accountant and 1,000 invoices, with no double-entry reports or bank feeds. Cloud plans have a trial of unstated length. | BStarter is free for good: unlimited invoices, customers and vendors, card payments through Square or PayPal, basic reports and 1 connected bank account. One person could live on that. Recurring invoices, reminders and time tracking need Smarter. |
| Features | CInvoices, bills, sales tax, currencies and reports in the core, with double-entry, bank feeds, payroll, inventory and projects as apps. The listing's own notes say the free and cheapest plans go without the ledger and bank feeds. | CInvoices and quotes in 100+ currencies, bank transactions sorted by learned rules, cash or accrual reports, 1099 tracking, time tracking and payroll through Gusto. The listing names the gaps: the phone app is gone, and some bank connections outside the US may not sync. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You either sign up for the cloud version or set up your own server, then choose which apps to add before the books are complete. That's a learning curve. | CNo store rating on record, as there's no app. Rules that learn how you sort transactions save some clicking, but there's still a bank to connect and bookkeeping to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no phone or desktop app. What lifts it is the connections: Shopify, Stripe and Google, plus bank feeds in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. | BWeb only, since ZipBooks discontinued its phone app and points you to the browser. What lifts it is the connections: Square, PayPal, Stripe, Gusto and Slack. |
| Best for | open-source books you can host yourself | free invoicing and simple books in a browser |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Akaunting and ZipBooks. How we grade
Price against what you get
Akaunting starts at $6 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. ZipBooks starts at $15 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Akaunting starts $9 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 2 score higher than Akaunting for less, and 3 score higher than ZipBooks for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Akaunting starts at $72 per year, self-hosted. ZipBooks starts at $15 per month, billed monthly.
- Akaunting is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- ZipBooks also covers time tracking.
At a glance
| Akaunting | ZipBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $72 per year, self-hosted | $15 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Standard On-Premise: the free, open-source edition you host yourself, for 1 company, 1 user plus 1 accountant and 1,000 invoices, with forum support. Apps cost extra. | Starter plan: unlimited invoices, customers and vendors, card payments through Square or PayPal, basic reports and 1 connected bank account. Free with no time limit. |
| Free trial | Free trial of each cloud plan; the length is not stated | 30-day free trial of the paid features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Akaunting | ZipBooks |
| Price read from | akaunting.com | zipbooks.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Akaunting
- Businesses that want to own and host their accounting data
- Accountants managing books for many small companies
- Teams outside the US, with translations in 50+ languages
ZipBooks
- Freelancers who want free invoicing with basic books
- Small service businesses that bill for time
- Bookkeepers who manage several client accounts from one dashboard
Worth knowing
Akaunting
- The free self-hosted edition and Standard Cloud lack double-entry reports and bank feeds; those come from Premium Cloud or as paid apps.
- Self-hosted plans include no apps at all; Elite and Ultimate On-Premise cost $168 and $684 a year before any apps.
- Payroll, inventory, projects and estimates need Elite Cloud or separate app purchases on lower plans.
- The free self-hosted edition is supported only through the community forum; ticket support comes with the paid plans.
ZipBooks
- There is no mobile app: ZipBooks discontinued it and its help center points phone users to the browser.
- The free plan connects 1 bank account; team members need Smarter, which allows 5, and unlimited users need Sophisticated.
- The Accountant plan for bookkeeping firms is priced by number of clients on a separate page, with no figure in its page text.
- ZipBooks is in English only, and its help center says some bank connections outside the US may not sync.
Key features
Akaunting
- Invoices, bills and payments
- Unlimited customers, vendors and products, recurring payment reminders, sales tax calculation and multiple currencies on every plan.
- Double-entry accounting
- Chart of accounts, general ledger, balance sheet, trial balance and manual journals come with the Double-Entry app, included from Premium Cloud.
- Bank feeds
- Connect bank accounts in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe to import transactions; included from Premium Cloud.
- App store
- 50+ apps add payroll with payslips, inventory, projects, CRM, expense claims and more. Self-hosted plans include no apps, so each is bought.
- Multiple companies
- Run the books of several businesses from one account: 10 on Premium, 30 on Elite and unlimited on Ultimate.
- Self-hosting
- Install it on your own server with the source code available, and Akaunting says it collects none of your financial data.
ZipBooks
- Invoices and quotes
- Custom invoices and quotes with taxes, discounts and over 100 currencies. Recurring invoices, auto-billing and payment reminders start on Smarter.
- Online payments
- Customers pay invoices by card through a connected Square, PayPal or Stripe account.
- Bookkeeping with auto-categorizing
- Bank transactions land in one list and are categorized by learned rules, with custom categories and 1099 tracking for vendors.
- Tags and reports
- Income statement and balance sheet on cash or accrual basis. Sophisticated adds tags by location or project and reports built on them.
- Time tracking and projects
- Track time live or by hand at fixed or hourly rates and pull the entries onto invoices, from the Smarter plan.
- Payroll through Gusto
- Payroll is handled by Gusto, which connects to ZipBooks as an integration.
Plans
Akaunting
Standard On-Premise$0
Free and open source, hosted on your own server. 1 company, 1 user plus 1 accountant, 1,000 invoices and forum support.
Premium On-Premise$72
per year, self-hosted
Hosted on your own server. 10 companies, 10 users, 10,000 invoices and ticket support. Apps are bought separately. $756 as a one-time lifetime license.
Standard Cloud$8
per month, billed yearly
$12 billed monthly. Hosted by Akaunting for 1 company, 1 user plus 1 accountant and 1,000 invoices, with 4 apps included.
Premium Cloud$24
per month, billed yearly
$36 billed monthly. 10 companies, 10 users and 10,000 invoices, adding double-entry, bank feeds, expense claims, roles and a client portal.
Elite Cloud$56
per month, billed yearly
$84 billed monthly. 30 companies, 30 users and 30,000 invoices, adding estimates, payroll, projects, inventory, CRM, receipt scanning, Shopify and Stripe.
Ultimate Cloud$145
per month, billed yearly
$218 billed monthly. Unlimited companies, users and invoices, and all 50+ apps, including budgeting, purchase orders, point of sale and 1099 tools.
ZipBooks
Starter$0
Unlimited invoices, customers and vendors, Square or PayPal payments, basic reports and 1 bank account.
Smarter$15
per month, billed monthly
Adds recurring invoices with auto-bill, automatic reminders, saved line items, several bank accounts, time tracking and 5 team members.
Sophisticated$35
per month, billed monthly
Adds tagging by location, project or custom field, reconciliation, locked books, document sharing, tag-based reports and unlimited users.
Ways to pay less
Akaunting
- Annual discount
4 months free with yearly cloud billing
Yearly billing brings Standard Cloud from $12 to $8 a month, Premium from $36 to $24, Elite from $84 to $56 and Ultimate from $218 to $145.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime licenses for the self-hosted plans
Pay once instead of yearly: $756 for Premium On-Premise, $1,764 for Elite and $7,224 for Ultimate.
ZipBooks
No public discounts listed.
