head to head · open source
Expensify vs hledger
Expensify has 5,097 GitHub stars, 4,116 forks, 2,252 open issues and last shipped today. hledger has 4,821 stars, 425 forks, 328 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Expensify leads on adoption by 6% (5,097 vs 4,821 stars). Expensify is written in TypeScript under MIT; hledger is written in Haskell under GPL-3.0. Expensify has attracted 81% as many forks as stars, hledger 9%. Expensify was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Expensify | hledger | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 5.1K | ★ 4.8K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Haskell |
| Last push | 2026-11-15 | 2026-11-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.1K | ⑂ 425 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Expensify if
- You weight community size — 5.1K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick hledger if
- You want the hledger feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Haskell
- You evaluated both and hledger fits your workflow better
About Expensify
New Expensify Table of Contents Local Development Platform Specific Setup Testing on browsers in simulators and emulators Running The Tests Additional Reading Application Philosophy API Details Contributing to Expensify Expensify Code of Conduct Contributor License Agreement React StrictMode Left Hand Navigation(LHN) HybridApp additional info & troubleshooting Local development These instructions should get you set up ready to work on New Expensify 🙌 Getting Started 1. Install nvm then node & npm : brew install nvm && nvm install 2. Install watchman : brew install watchman 3. Install dependencies: npm install…
read the full Expensify overview →
About hledger
hledger Robust, intuitive plain text accounting Welcome! This is a brief intro to hledger. For a more detailed version, see the home page: hledger is lightweight, cross platform, multi currency, double entry accounting software. It lets you track money, investments, cryptocurrencies, invoices, time, inventory and more, in a safe, future proof plain text data format with full version control and privacy. hledger aims to help both computer experts and regular folks gain clarity in their finances and time management. Though the UIs are basic, hledger can model any accounting situation and provide precise, clear…
read the full hledger overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Expensify or hledger more popular?
Expensify has 5,097 GitHub stars and hledger has 4,821. Expensify has the larger community by that measure.
Are Expensify and hledger free?
Both are open source. Expensify is licensed under MIT and hledger under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Expensify and hledger?
Expensify is written in TypeScript and hledger in Haskell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Expensify or hledger?
Choose Expensify if you want the larger community (5,097 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose hledger if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.