# GnuCash review (2026): is it any good? > Free double-entry accounting for home and small business use Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. GnuCash is free desktop accounting software for personal finances and small businesses, developed by volunteers and licensed under the GNU GPL. It uses double-entry bookkeeping with a checkbook-style register, and adds customer and vendor tracking, invoicing and bill payment for business use. Data is kept in XML files by default, with optional database storage. - **Category:** Accounting & Invoicing - **Made by:** The GnuCash Project - **Website:** https://gnucash.org - **Runs on:** Windows, macOS, Linux - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you want a phone or browser version, as it's desktop only. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, GnuCash is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | The full program under the GNU GPL; the project accepts voluntary donations. | Read from https://gnucash.org/ on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with GnuCash before buying. ## Key features - **Double-entry accounting:** Every transaction debits one account and credits others by an equal amount, so the books always balance. - **Checkbook-style register:** Enter transactions in a familiar register with split transactions, reconciliation marks and autofill. - **Small-business tools:** Customer and vendor tracking, jobs, invoicing, bill payment and tax and billing terms, plus a budgeting tool. - **Reports and graphs:** Includes balance sheet and profit and loss reports, bar charts, pie charts and scatter plots, all customizable. - **Bank statement reconciliation:** Compare entered transactions against a bank statement; QIF and OFX files can be imported with duplicate matching. - **Multiple currencies:** Accounts can be held in different currencies, with currency movements balanced under double-entry. ## Good for - People who want to keep personal and household accounts on their own computer - Small businesses that need basic invoicing and double-entry books at no cost - Users who want to move data in from Quicken QIF files ## Worth knowing - It is desktop software for Windows, macOS and Linux; there is no browser version or hosted option. - Storing data in SQLite, MySQL or PostgreSQL is described as experimental, with reports of data loss in some cases. - The features page says payroll is handled through accounts payable and receivable, not a payroll module. - Support comes from volunteers through mailing lists, a wiki and bug reports. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. GnuCash is a free double-entry accounting program for Windows, Mac and Linux, run from your own computer. Support comes from volunteers, there's no browser or phone version, storing data in SQLite, MySQL or PostgreSQL is marked experimental with reports of data loss, and payroll isn't a module. - **Value for money: A.** Free under the GNU GPL, with voluntary donations. A program anyone can download and run counts as free and substantial. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Free outright with no plan limits, so there's nothing to buy. - **Features: C.** Double-entry books, a checkbook-style register, small-business tools, reports and reconciliation. No payroll module, and the database backends are experimental. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. Double-entry takes learning, and help comes from mailing lists, a wiki and bug reports. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Windows, Mac and Linux only, with no web or phone version and no integrations listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from GnuCash's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among accounting and invoicing tools - GnuCash's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 56 of the 65 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade, and level with 5. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 61 of 65) and worst on ease of use (C, above 1). - GnuCash has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/accounting ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** GnuCash is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 56 of the 65 other accounting and invoicing tools we grade. - You could make: Invoicing and reports: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: Live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them. - You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows and Linux that stay in step with each other. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Bookkeeping, Invoicing, Reports, Open source ## Alternatives - [Manager.io](https://toolgpa.com/tools/manager-io): Free offline accounting for Windows, Mac and Linux, with a paid cloud. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gnucash-vs-manager-io) - [Akaunting](https://toolgpa.com/tools/akaunting): Open-source accounting you can host yourself or use in the cloud. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/akaunting-vs-gnucash) - [Wave](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wave): Free invoicing and bookkeeping for US and Canadian small businesses. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gnucash-vs-wave) - [Invoice Ninja](https://toolgpa.com/tools/invoice-ninja): Invoicing, expenses and time tracking with a free plan. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gnucash-vs-invoice-ninja) - [Zoho Books](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zoho-books): Online accounting from Zoho, with a free plan and six paid tiers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gnucash-vs-zoho-books) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://gnucash.org/ - https://gnucash.org/features.phtml - https://gnucash.org/donate.phtml Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/gnucash Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).