Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GnuCash VS Firefly III

Compare GnuCash VS Firefly III and see what are their differences

GnuCash logo GnuCash

A personal and small-business financial-accounting software, licensed under GNU/GPL and available for Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, BSD, and Solaris.

Firefly III logo Firefly III

Financial manager, it can help you keep track of expenses, income, budgets and everything in...
  • GnuCash Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-04
  • Firefly III Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-12

GnuCash features and specs

  • Open Source
    GnuCash is free and open-source software, which means there are no licensing fees, and the source code is available for anyone to review and modify.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    GnuCash is available for multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it versatile and accessible for a wide range of users.
  • Comprehensive Features
    The software includes a variety of features such as double-entry accounting, scheduled transactions, financial reports, and support for multiple currencies.
  • Community Support
    As an open-source project, GnuCash has a strong community of users and developers who contribute to its development and offer support through forums and mailing lists.
  • Customizability
    Due to its open-source nature, GnuCash can be customized to meet specific needs by those with technical expertise.

Possible disadvantages of GnuCash

  • User Interface
    The user interface can feel outdated and less intuitive compared to some commercial accounting software, which may pose a learning curve for new users.
  • Limited Mobile Support
    GnuCash does not have robust mobile app support; there is only a basic Android app, which might not meet the needs of users looking for full mobile functionality.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    The comprehensive features can make the software complex and challenging to learn for those who are new to accounting and bookkeeping.
  • Limited Third-Party Integration
    GnuCash has limited integration options with third-party applications and services, which could be a drawback for users who need seamless connectivity with other business tools.
  • Manual Updates
    Updates and new releases are not as frequent or automatic as some commercial software, requiring users to manually update the software periodically.

Firefly III features and specs

  • Open Source
    Firefly III is open-source software, which means it's free to use, modify, and distribute. Users can also contribute to its development on GitHub.
  • Self-Hosting
    Users have the option to self-host Firefly III, giving them full control over their financial data and ensuring privacy and security.
  • Feature-Rich
    Firefly III includes a wide range of features such as budgeting tools, asset tracking, and detailed reporting, which help users manage their finances comprehensively.
  • Customization
    The software can be extensively customized to fit individual needs, from custom fields to personalized reports and dashboards.
  • Community Support
    Being an open-source project, Firefly III has an active community that can offer support, share tips, and provide plugins or extensions.

Possible disadvantages of Firefly III

  • Technical Requirements
    Self-hosting Firefly III requires some technical knowledge, including server setup, maintenance, and possibly dealing with command line interfaces.
  • Installation Complexity
    The installation process can be complex for users who are not familiar with web server environments, databases, and related technologies.
  • Limited Third-Party Integrations
    Compared to some commercial financial management tools, Firefly III has fewer integrations with third-party services and financial institutions.
  • User Interface
    While functional, some users may find the user interface less polished or intuitive compared to commercial alternatives with more development resources.
  • Maintenance Overhead
    Self-hosting requires ongoing maintenance, including updates, backups, and security management, which can be a burden for some users.

GnuCash videos

Introduction to GnuCash - Free Accounting Software

More videos:

  • Review - GnuCash free software vs. Quicken & other accounting applications - Richard Cashin - 2018-09-20
  • Review - KMyMoney vs GNUCash

Firefly III videos

No Firefly III videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GnuCash and Firefly III)
Personal Finance
77 77%
23% 23
Accounting
85 85%
15% 15
Financial Planner
73 73%
27% 27
Finance
67 67%
33% 33

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GnuCash and Firefly III

GnuCash Reviews

11 Alternatives to QuickBooks in 2024
GNUCash’s strength is that it lets you do basically anything you want. Whether it’s budgeting, expense tracking, reporting, double-entry accounting, GNUCash probably already has the tools to do it. It’s also secure, malware free, cost-free, and the team behind it has consistently released new features since the project was first launched in 1997.
Source: www.bench.co
Best personal finance software of 2024
GnuCash is simple enough to be used for home finances, but flexible enough to be put to use by small businesses as well. While the software is easy to use, the fact that it's suitable for small business accounting is thanks to the inclusion of a number of extra features that you would not necessarily expect to find – support for payroll management and double-entry...
An open-source alternative to QuickBooks | Hacker News
One thing GnuCash doesn't currently do, but this Bigcapital apparently does, is inventory management.
My favorite open source tools for personal finance
GnuCash is a popular open source personal finance or small business accounting program for Linux users. It is a full-featured double-entry accounting system that supports multiple accounts, investments, and currency conversions. The app also provides a variety of helpful financial tools, including budgeting, reporting, invoicing, and more. GnuCash is a great choice for users...
Source: opensource.com
18 Best Free GnuCash Alternatives for Free Accounting
Spreadsheets is another great alternative to GnuCash that’s perfect for managing your financial data for free. What we like about this dedicated budgeting tools is that, it does not involve any complex formulas. It offers a peace of mind with the fact that there are any other who are using this tool so, you have got help with this when needed. Moreover, it does not store...
Source: thegeekpage.com

Firefly III Reviews

We have no reviews of Firefly III yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GnuCash should be more popular than Firefly III. It has been mentiond 38 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GnuCash mentions (38)

  • Intuits Mint is garbage this year, need other recs for tracking expenses.
    Https://gnucash.org/ is a pretty solid free and open source option. The catch being its UI probably isn't as refined as some other options, and I'm not sure how/if online banking connections work, so can be a bit manual. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Spending tracking app that meets my needs
    Could checkout https://gnucash.org/. Probably not as nice as a UI as some other options, but its quite robust in terms of tracking your finances. It has a budgeting feature, but I never used it. Worst case could use another app just for budgeting and GnuCash for general tracking of the current state of your accounts, and generating reports and such. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Are the GnuCash team all dead?
    As of today (2/22/2023), gnucash.org seems to be up and running. Do the young folks still use "woot" as an exclamation of delight or is that already passe??😄. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Are the GnuCash team all dead?
    I guess PART of my concern is that when you have a blank screen at gnucash.org for too long, it APPEARS to the outside world... People who might wish to consider using and supporting gnucash... that there is a problem that the organization is unable to handle and therefore the question arises "Are the team at gnucash competent or incompetent"? Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Are the GnuCash team all dead?
    I am a fan of Open Source projects and I've known about GnuCash for some time. I've started an online personal finance course that uses GnuCash, HOWEVER, the gnucash.org site seems to have been down for days or weeks lately. What's up. I thought the pandemic was over and the 'ronavirus was going into obscurity... Am I wrong? Did the team all die off? Are they not taking this seriously? OR... Is there actually... Source: almost 2 years ago
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Firefly III mentions (7)

  • GnuCash 5.9 Released
    I use Firefly III (https://firefly-iii.org). It's a self-hosted web app which is nice for me because I tend to use it from my phone most of the time. It does have a pretty extensive API, perhaps not as easy to do bulk edits as a text file, but should be fairly straightforward. It also has a rule system that could be used to do bulk edits too. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Looking for an app to track my finances that can automatically connect with my banking accounts. Any tips?
    Firefly is open source and free: https://firefly-iii.org. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • YNAB is Costly and Mint gives your data away.. Any alternatives that allow me to upload transactions (don't need sync), and auto categorize my transactions?
    I also use Firefly (https://firefly-iii.org). If you're comfortable self-hosting, it's a nice option. There are importer tools for things like YNAB or CSV files from your bank. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Budgeting Software for multiple currencies?
    I use Firefly III but it's self-hosted. It does support multiple currencies though. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Cheaper YNAB alternative?
    If you're tech savvy, I would recommend locally hosted Firefly III with parsers of PDF bank statements (it's Canada, most banks can't even properly export CSV with all transactions...) Https://firefly-iii.org/. Source: over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing GnuCash and Firefly III, you can also consider the following products

Mint - Free personal finance software to assist you to manage your money, financial planning, and budget planning tools. Achieve your financial goals with Mint.

HomeBank - Access Financial Services. Easy, fee-free banking for entrepreneurs Get the financial tools and insights to start, build, and grow your business.

Money Manager Ex - Money Manager Ex is a free, open-source, cross-platform, easy-to-use personal finance software.

YNAB - Working hard with nothing to show for it? Use your money more efficiently and control your spending and saving with the YNAB app.

Quicken - Stay in control of your monthly cash flows, budgets, and expenditures. Quicken provides a navigable interface where you can organize your debit, credit, and savings, and build good habits accordingly.

MoneyWallet - Advanced expense manager that allows you to track your expenses and plan budgets.