head to head · open source
Firefly III vs Ghostfolio
Firefly III has 25,061 GitHub stars, 2,361 forks, 169 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Ghostfolio has 9,637 stars, 1,393 forks, 315 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Firefly III leads on adoption by 160% (25,061 vs 9,637 stars). Firefly III is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0; Ghostfolio is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Firefly III has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Ghostfolio 14%. Ghostfolio was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (finance), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| Firefly III | Ghostfolio | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 9.6K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | PHP | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Firefly III if
- You weight community size — 25K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Ghostfolio if
- You want the Ghostfolio feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Ghostfolio fits your workflow better
About Firefly III
[![Packagist][packagist shield]][packagist url] [![License][license shield]][license url] [![Stargazers][stars shield]][stars url] [![Donate][donate shield]][donate url] Firefly III A free and open source personal finance manager Explore the documentation View the demo · Report a bug · Request a feature · Ask questions Billionaires and fascists are breaking democracies and international alliances. Their profits are costing us our safety. (Digital) sovereignty is more important than ever. Firefly III is free open source software and originates from, and lives in the European Union (🇳🇱). Support your local…
read the full Firefly III overview →
About Ghostfolio
Ghostfolio Open Source Wealth Management Software Ghostfol.io Live Demo Ghostfolio Premium FAQ Blog LinkedIn Slack X Ghostfolio is an open source wealth management software built with web technology. The application empowers busy people to keep track of stocks, ETFs or cryptocurrencies and make solid, data driven investment decisions. The software is designed for personal use in continuous operation. Ghostfolio Premium Our official Ghostfolio Premium cloud offering is the easiest way to get started. Due to the time it saves, this will be the best option for most people. Revenue is used to cover operational costs…
read the full Ghostfolio overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Firefly III or Ghostfolio more popular?
Firefly III has 25,061 GitHub stars and Ghostfolio has 9,637. Firefly III has the larger community by that measure.
Are Firefly III and Ghostfolio free?
Both are open source. Firefly III is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Ghostfolio under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Firefly III and Ghostfolio?
Firefly III is written in PHP and Ghostfolio in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Firefly III or Ghostfolio?
Choose Firefly III if you want the larger community (25,061 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Ghostfolio if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.