Midday: Open Source Alternative to QuickBooks

Midday is an open-source financial workspace with 14k+ GitHub stars — a FreshBooks alternative for freelancers and small businesses.

Compare Midday with FreshBooks and Wave before you choose your stack.

Key features

Invoicing

• Create and send invoices
• Stripe payment integration
• Recurring invoices
• Multi-currency support

Expense tracking

• Bank account connection (Plaid)
• Automatic categorization
• Receipt scanning and storage
• Tax-ready reports

Time tracking

• Billable hours logging
• Convert time to invoices
• Project-based tracking
• Team timesheets

Midday vs QuickBooks

	Midday	QuickBooks
License	AGPL-3.0 (open source)	Proprietary
Deployment	Self-hosted available	Cloud SaaS
Data control	Your infrastructure	Vendor infrastructure
Customization	Full source access	Limited to vendor features
Cost	Free open-source software	Subscription or usage fees

Choose Midday if you want open-source code, self-hosting options, and full control over your data and deployment.

Choose QuickBooks if you prefer a managed proprietary product with vendor support and minimal setup.

Browse more open-source alternatives to QuickBooks, or explore other tools in Finance.

At a glance

License	AGPL-3.0
Stack	TypeScript, Next.js
Self-hosted	Yes
Cloud	midday.ai
Database	PostgreSQL

Self-hosting

git clone https://github.com/midday-ai/midday.git
cd midday
docker compose up -d

Requires Stripe and Plaid API keys.

FAQ

Is Midday a free alternative to QuickBooks?

Yes. Midday is open source under AGPL-3.0. You can self-host it at no software cost — you only pay for infrastructure or optional managed services.

How does Midday compare to QuickBooks?

Midday gives you source code access, self-hosting, and data ownership. QuickBooks is a proprietary product focused on managed convenience. See the comparison table above for a side-by-side breakdown.

Can I self-host Midday?

Yes. Midday supports self-hosted deployment, which is a core reason teams choose it over QuickBooks. Check the Getting started or Self-hosting section for install commands.

Is Midday suitable for production?

Midday is actively maintained with a strong open-source community. Many teams run it in production as a Finance alternative to QuickBooks. Review the At a glance table for license and stack details.

What are alternatives to Midday and QuickBooks?

Browse alternatives to QuickBooks for more open-source options, including tools compared to FreshBooks. Explore the full Finance category for related projects.