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hledger
What it is
hledger is free accounting software for tracking money, investments, cryptocurrencies, time, and other countable items in human-readable plain-text data. It provides multi-currency double-entry accounting and generates balance sheet, income statement, and cashflow reports, including multi-period reports. Users can work through command-line, terminal, or web interfaces; its web UI can also serve a JSON API. hledger imports CSV and can output text, HTML, CSV, JSON, or SQL, and it interoperates with Ledger and Beancount formats. It supports bank feeds, automated reconciliation, and inventory tracking, but not invoice creation. The software runs locally and offline, keeping its plain-text data under the user's control. Its web app normally runs locally and is accessible only from the user's machine. Official release binaries are listed for Linux x64, Mac x64 and arm64, and Windows x64; there are no official Linux ARM binaries. hledger is Free Software under GNU GPLv3+ with no purchase price or monthly fees.
For and against
For
- Free Software with no purchase price or monthly fees.
- Provides multi-currency double-entry accounting.
- Generates balance sheet, income, and cashflow reports.
- Runs locally and offline.
Against
- Invoice creation is not supported.
- No official Linux ARM binaries are provided.
- The web app normally works only from the user's machine.
- Mobile platforms are listed as web only.
The verdict
hledger offers a broad accounting workflow built around local plain-text files and several interfaces. Consider its invoice limitation and platform details before choosing it.
Who it suits
hledger can suit technical or non-technical users managing personal, business, or institutional accounting. It is a fit for people comfortable working with plain-text records and local interfaces.
Plans and prices
Free software
Core hledger software · local files · CLI, terminal and web interfaces
Read 15 Oct 2026 · hledger.org
hledger
Free Software · no purchase price or monthly fees
Read 8 Oct 2026 · hledger.org
On the record
- Accounting
- It provides multi-currency double-entry accounting using plain-text files.hledger.org · read 8 Oct 2026
- API documentation
- The web API has a basic OpenAPI specification and Haskell Haddock type documentation.hledger.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Automated reconciliation
- Yeshledger.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Bank-data workflow
- Bank data is generally imported through downloaded CSV files and rules rather than direct bank connections.hledger.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Bank feeds
- Yeshledger.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Data model
- Financial data is stored in human-readable text journals that users can edit, version-control and audit.hledger.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- Documentation includes beginner material, a quick start, complete manuals, tutorials, cookbook pages, offline help and developer specifications.hledger.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Double-entry accounting
- Transactions must balance, and hledger checks syntax, balancing and balance assertions when reading files.manpages.debian.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Financial reports
- Built-in reporting includes balance sheets, income statements, cashflow, budgets, registers and multi-period summaries.hledger.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Import formats
- hledger reads journal, timeclock, timedot, CSV, SSV, TSV and rules files, detecting formats from extensions.manpages.debian.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Imports and exports
- It supports CSV import and output to text, HTML, CSV, JSON, or SQL, and can interoperate with Ledger and Beancount formats.hledger.org · read 8 Oct 2026
- Install platforms
- Official binaries are supplied for Linux x64, macOS x64 and arm64, and Windows x64; packages and source builds cover additional systems.hledger.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- hledger can interoperate with Ledger files and commands and convert to or from Beancount format.hledger.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Interfaces
- The project provides command-line, terminal UI and browser-based interfaces, with hledger-web supporting journal browsing and data entry.hledger.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Inventory and lots
- The 2.0 preview line adds lot tracking and capital-gains calculation, with related cost-basis features.hledger.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Inventory tracking
- Yeshledger.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Invoice creation
- Nohledger.org · read 20 Sep 2026
- Licence
- hledger is free software released under GNU GPL version 3 or later.manpages.debian.org · read 15 Oct 2026
