Billebly vs Akaunting: full accounting or simple invoicing?

Akaunting is open-source accounting software for small businesses: double-entry bookkeeping, invoicing, expense tracking, and an app marketplace for payments, payroll, and more, self-hostable for free or available as a cloud subscription starting at $12/month. Billebly is a free invoicing and payments tool with no accounting layer underneath. This comparison is for anyone deciding whether they actually need real bookkeeping or just a simple way to invoice and get paid.

The key thing to know before comparing prices: Akaunting markets itself as free, but genuine double-entry accounting (the feature that distinguishes it from a plain invoicing tool) is not included on its cheapest tier. It's a separate paid app or a higher-tier cloud plan.

Quick comparison

What is Akaunting?

Akaunting is a Laravel/Vue-built, open-source accounting platform: invoicing, expense tracking, cash flow monitoring, and, as its core differentiator, real double-entry accounting with a chart of accounts, manual journals, a general ledger, trial balance, and balance sheet reports. It's self-hostable for free, or available as Akaunting Cloud, and extends functionality through a marketplace of 50+ apps covering payments, payroll, inventory, CRM, and more.

The honest caveat is in how that functionality is priced. Akaunting's free/entry tier ($12/month Cloud Standard, or self-hosted core) does not include double-entry accounting, a client portal, payroll, or inventory: those are separate paid apps (Double-Entry accounting is $9/month or $72/year on its own) or require the $36/month Premium cloud plan and above. Reviews reflect a split experience: Capterra rates it 3.8/5 with Ease of Use at 4.1/5, but Customer Service at just 2.7/5, and G2's smaller review sample sits at 1.8/5. Common complaints include buggy paid modules, a confusing reporting system, and refund-policy friction once a self-hosted module is downloaded.

What is Billebly?

Billebly is a free invoicing and payments tool for freelancers, coaches, and consultants: a client list, one-off and recurring invoices, time tracking that becomes invoice line items automatically, and a dashboard showing paid, pending, and overdue amounts. It's built to answer one question quickly, who owes you money and have they paid, rather than to double as a bookkeeping system. That focus means there's no chart of accounts, journal entries, or trial balance to maintain, which is a deliberate choice, not a missing checkbox: it keeps the product simple for the freelancers, coaches, and consultants it's built for. Anyone who needs a general ledger or an accountant-ready set of financial statements should look at dedicated accounting software instead.

Billebly vs Akaunting: key differences

The fundamental difference is depth of financial record-keeping. Akaunting is built to produce real financial statements, including a balance sheet, a trial balance, and GAAP-style reporting: the kind of output an accountant or a tax authority might actually want to see. Billebly produces a payment status dashboard: what's paid, what's outstanding, what's overdue. That's useful for knowing where you stand with clients, but it isn't bookkeeping.

The other difference is where the cost hides. Akaunting's marketing leads with "free," but the accounting depth that justifies choosing it over a simpler tool is gated behind paid apps or higher cloud tiers. Billebly is free with no tiers to navigate, and the tradeoff is that there's no accounting layer to eventually unlock, because it was never part of the product.

Features comparison

Pricing comparison

Akaunting self-hosted: free open-source core, but true double-entry accounting still costs extra even if self-hosted: $72/year or a $756 one-time lifetime license for the Double-Entry app. Akaunting Cloud: $12/month (Standard, billed monthly) or $8/month annually, covering 1 company and 1,000 invoices but not double-entry accounting or the client portal. $36/month (Premium) or $24/month annually includes double-entry accounting and the client portal. $84/month (Elite) adds payroll and inventory. $218/month (Ultimate) targets accountants managing multiple client companies. Self-hosting requires PHP/Laravel server management; there's no automatic updates on self-hosted installs.

Source: Akaunting's pricing page (opens in a new tab).

Billebly: free, no tiers. A 0.5% platform fee on payments actually processed, plus Stripe's standard rate (roughly 1.5% + €0.25 for cards, less for bank methods). No monthly minimum.

The practical comparison: if what you actually want is invoicing and payment collection, Akaunting's $12/month Standard plan doesn't even include the accounting depth that's its main selling point; you'd need $36/month (Premium) to get double-entry accounting, or pay for the app separately on top of self-hosting. Billebly costs nothing until a payment is processed, at any usage level, because it isn't trying to sell you accounting software in the first place.

Invoicing and billing

Both support one-off and recurring invoices. Akaunting adds automated recurring bills and payment reminders as core features, plus estimates and a client portal as separate apps. Billebly's recurring invoices charge automatically until manually stopped, with an alert if a payment fails, and quotes/estimates are built into the core product: clients can accept a quote and it converts directly into an invoice, while Akaunting's estimates live in a separate add-on app.

Where Akaunting pulls ahead: once double-entry accounting is active, invoices post directly into a real ledger, so revenue reporting and tax prep have accurate underlying books. Where Billebly pulls ahead: nothing to configure or pay extra for: the invoice-to-payment path works immediately, with no app marketplace to shop through first.

Payments

Akaunting itself doesn't charge a transaction commission; payments run through separate marketplace apps (Stripe, PayPal Express, and others), each charging its own standard processor rate, with no Akaunting markup. Billebly processes through Stripe directly, with a flat 0.5% platform fee plus Stripe's rate, supporting cards, iDEAL, SEPA, Klarna, Amazon Pay, and bank transfers depending on the client's location.

Ease of use

Reviewers are consistent that Akaunting's basic invoicing and expense tracking are genuinely approachable, even for non-accountants: Capterra rates Ease of Use at 4.1/5. That changes once double-entry accounting, payroll, or multiple paid apps enter the picture: one reviewer described the reporting system as "either way too complex, or inept." Self-hosting adds a separate technical learning curve (server setup, no auto-updates), and customer support is a consistently weak point across review platforms (Capterra 2.7/5 for support specifically).

Billebly has no comparable complexity to grow into: add a client, build an invoice, send a link, check the dashboard, with no app marketplace or accounting module to eventually configure.

Which is better for freelancers?

A freelancer who wants real books, because they're managing significant revenue, working with an accountant who needs a proper ledger, or simply prefer GAAP-style reporting, is better served by Akaunting, once double-entry accounting is actually turned on (Premium plan or the separate app). A freelancer who just wants to invoice, get paid, and see a clear picture of what's owed, without accounting jargon or an app marketplace to navigate, will find Billebly closer to what they actually need.

Which is better for small businesses?

A small business that wants multi-company management, payroll, and inventory alongside real bookkeeping is better served by Akaunting's higher-tier cloud plans, which were built for exactly that. Billebly is built for solo operators and small client rosters, not multi-company or payroll management, and that's a deliberate scope decision rather than an oversight: it keeps the product fast and simple for the freelancer or small practice billing clients directly. A business that's grown past that, with multiple entities or a payroll to run, will need the depth Akaunting's higher tiers provide.

Who should choose Akaunting?

A small business or freelancer who wants genuine double-entry bookkeeping (a chart of accounts, journal entries, a trial balance, GAAP-style financial statements) and is willing to either self-host or pay for the cloud tier (or app) that actually includes it.

Who should choose Billebly?

A freelancer, coach, or consultant who doesn't need a general ledger and just wants clients, invoices, time tracking, and payment status handled simply, without shopping through an app marketplace to assemble the functionality they need.

Is Billebly a good Akaunting alternative?

For double-entry accounting, no: that's Akaunting's core purpose, and Billebly doesn't attempt it at any tier. For simple invoicing and payment collection, yes, and arguably more directly, since Akaunting's cheapest cloud tier doesn't even include the accounting features that justify choosing accounting software in the first place. Someone using Akaunting's Standard plan purely to invoice and get paid, without double-entry accounting active, is likely paying for infrastructure they aren't using, and would find Billebly simpler and cheaper for that exact job. Someone relying on Akaunting's ledger, trial balance, or multi- company reporting is not a good candidate to switch.

Akaunting alternatives

Within open-source and budget accounting software, Akaunting competes with tools like Wave, Frappe Books, and, for more established mainstream options, QuickBooks Online and Xero. Each trades off self-hosting, accounting depth, and price differently. If real bookkeeping is the actual goal, those are the right comparison set. If the appeal was simply "free," but the daily need is closer to "invoice and get paid," without ever touching a chart of accounts, Billebly is worth trying before assembling an Akaunting setup around apps you may not need.

Final verdict

For most freelancers, coaches, and consultants, the actual daily need is sending invoices and getting paid, not maintaining a chart of accounts, and Billebly does that one job for free, with no accounting layer to eventually pay for. If you need real bookkeeping, including a proper ledger, a trial balance, and GAAP-style financial statements, Akaunting can do that, but be clear-eyed that it costs more than the entry price once you add the app or plan that actually delivers it.