Bigcapital Review, Pricing & Features

Bigcapital is open-source accounting and inventory software, self-hosted free or as paid cloud plans. Compare features, pricing, pros, cons and FAQs.

Category
Accounting
Pricing
Freemium, from Free (self-hosted); $20/month (cloud)
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 18, 2026
Free PlanFree TrialAPIOpen SourceFreemiumSelf-Hosted

Overview

Bigcapital is an open-source accounting and inventory management platform created by developer Ahmed Bouhuolia as an alternative to proprietary tools like QuickBooks, Xero, and Wave. It is released under the AGPL-3.0 license and developed openly on GitHub, and can be run either as free self-hosted software or as a paid hosted 'Bigcapital Cloud' product.

The platform targets small and medium businesses that want full double-entry bookkeeping, inventory tracking, and financial reporting without the licensing cost — or, for self-hosters, without the data-ownership tradeoffs — of larger proprietary accounting suites.

Key Features

Core accounting features include sales and purchase invoicing, estimates, and a full suite of financial reports (balance sheet, P&L, cash flow, general ledger, journal, AR/AP aging). Inventory tracking covers stock levels, costs, and related expenses, while bank synchronization automatically categorizes transactions to simplify reconciliation.

Multi-currency support with real-time exchange rate conversion, custom user roles, vendor credits, and multi-branch/warehouse tracking are available on higher cloud tiers, alongside the option to self-host the entire platform for free with unlimited users and transactions.

Pricing

Self-hosting Bigcapital's open-source code is free with no user or transaction limits. For businesses that prefer a managed option, Bigcapital Cloud offers four tiers — Capital Basic, Essential, Plus, and Big — ranging from roughly $20 to $60 per month, with a discount for annual billing and unlimited user seats on every tier.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

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

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bigcapital free?

Yes, the self-hosted, open-source version is free with unlimited users and transactions. A paid Bigcapital Cloud option is also available starting around $20/month for those who don't want to self-host.

What license does Bigcapital use?

Bigcapital is released under the AGPL-3.0 open-source license.

Can Bigcapital replace QuickBooks or Xero?

For core bookkeeping, invoicing, inventory, and reporting needs it's designed as a direct alternative, though it has a smaller integration ecosystem and no built-in tax filing.

Does Bigcapital support multiple currencies?

Yes, it supports multi-currency transactions with real-time exchange rate conversion.

How much does Bigcapital Cloud cost?

Cloud plans range from roughly $20/month (Capital Basic) to $60/month (Capital Big), with a discount for annual billing.

Comparisons

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