Licence, language, stars and the month of the last push were read from the GitHub API on 1 October 2026. Star counts are rounded. “Open source” is used loosely on GitHub, so the licence column says what each project actually ships with.
Invoice generators that run in the browser
No server, no database. You fill in a form and get a PDF. Good when you send a handful of invoices and do not want to operate anything.
| Project | What it is | Licence | Stack | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invoify al1abb/invoify | Form-based generator with several invoice designs, live preview and PDF export. Invoices can be saved in the browser. | MIT | TypeScript, Next.js | 6.4k stars Aug 2026 |
| EasyInvoicePDF VladSez/easy-invoice-pdf | No account and no ads. Live PDF preview, many languages and currencies, saved seller and buyer profiles. | AGPL-3.0 | TypeScript | 1.1k stars Sep 2026 |
| React Invoice Generator tuanpham-dev/react-invoice-generator | A single editable invoice page that exports to PDF. Small and easy to fork, but not actively developed. | MIT | TypeScript, React | 0.7k stars May 2024 |
Self-hosted invoicing applications
Full applications with clients, recurring invoices, payments and reports. You run them on your own server, usually with Docker.
| Project | What it is | Licence | Stack | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invoice Ninja invoiceninja/invoiceninja | Invoices, quotes, projects and time tracking. The code is public, but the licence is source-available rather than open source: you may not offer it to others as a hosted service. | Elastic License 2.0 | PHP, Laravel | 10.2k stars Oct 2026 |
| InvoiceShelf InvoiceShelf/InvoiceShelf | Self-hosted web app for creating invoices and tracking payments and expenses. Actively maintained. | AGPL-3.0 | PHP | 1.8k stars Sep 2026 |
| Crater crater-invoice-inc/crater | Web and mobile app for invoices, estimates and expenses. Widely starred, but the repository has had no commits since August 2024. | AGPL-3.0 | PHP | 8.3k stars Aug 2024 |
| SolidInvoice SolidInvoice/SolidInvoice | Quotes and invoices, online payments and recurring billing under a permissive licence. | MIT | PHP | 1.0k stars Sep 2026 |
| InvoicePlane InvoicePlane/InvoicePlane | A long-running application for invoices, clients and payments. | MIT, with a trademark notice | PHP | 3.1k stars Oct 2026 |
Time tracking and accounting with invoicing
Invoicing as one part of a larger tool. Worth a look if you also need timesheets, bookkeeping or bank reconciliation.
| Project | What it is | Licence | Stack | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kimai kimai/kimai | Time tracking for freelancers and teams, self-hosted, with Docker images. | AGPL-3.0 | PHP | 5.1k stars Oct 2026 |
| Midday midday-ai/midday | Invoicing, time tracking, file reconciliation and a financial overview aimed at freelancers. | AGPL-3.0 | TypeScript | 15.1k stars Jun 2026 |
| Bigcapital bigcapitalhq/bigcapital | Accounting software with reporting, self-hostable with Docker. | AGPL-3.0 | TypeScript | 3.9k stars Sep 2026 |
| Akaunting akaunting/akaunting | Online accounting software. Source-available under the BSL, which restricts some production uses. | Business Source License | PHP | 10.2k stars Sep 2026 |
| IDURAR idurar/idurar-erp-crm | ERP and CRM with invoices and quotes. | AGPL-3.0 | JavaScript, Node.js, React | 8.8k stars Aug 2026 |
Command line and templates
For people who would rather keep invoices in a repository than in an app.
| Project | What it is | Licence | Stack | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| invoice maaslalani/invoice | Generates a PDF invoice from flags on the command line. | MIT | Go | 2.2k stars Jun 2024 |
| invoice-boilerplate mrzool/invoice-boilerplate | A LaTeX-based invoicing setup driven by a data file. | GPL-2.0 | LaTeX | 0.7k stars Jul 2024 |
| Simple HTML Invoice Template sparksuite/simple-html-invoice-template | A clean, responsive HTML invoice to print or convert to PDF. | MIT | HTML | 1.7k stars Jul 2024 |
How to choose
- A few invoices a month: a browser generator. Nothing to install, nothing to back up. The invoice generator on this site belongs in that group.
- Regular clients and recurring invoices: a self-hosted application. Check the last commit date and the licence before you move your data in.
- You bill by the hour and need timesheets: a time tracker with an invoice export.
- You bill for code: a tool that reads the work from your repositories, so the invoice lists what actually shipped.
What to check before you self-host
- Licence. MIT and Apache let you do almost anything. AGPL requires you to share changes if others use your modified version over a network. Elastic and BSL licences restrict offering the software as a service.
- Activity. A project with thousands of stars can still be dormant. Look at the date of the last commit and at how issues are answered.
- Backups and updates. Invoices are records you have to keep for years. Plan how the database is backed up and who applies security updates.
- Local rules. Tax rates, invoice numbering and e-invoicing formats differ by country. Make sure the tool can produce what your tax office expects.
Where Git Invoice fits
Git Invoice is not a bookkeeping system. It does one thing: it turns the pull requests and commits you select into a PDF invoice, with hours and a rate per line and a link back to the work. Invoices are generated in the browser and are not stored on a server. The source is on GitHub. Try it with sample data in the demo, or look at the freelance developer invoice template to see the result.
If you came here looking for your own GitHub bill instead, see GitHub invoices and receipts.
Questions and answers
What is the best open-source invoice generator?
It depends on how much you want to run. For an occasional PDF, a browser-based generator such as Invoify or EasyInvoicePDF is enough. For clients, recurring invoices and payment tracking, a self-hosted application such as InvoiceShelf, SolidInvoice or InvoicePlane fits better. If you want everything in a terminal, maaslalani/invoice does one thing well.
Is Invoice Ninja open source?
Its source code is public on GitHub, but it is published under the Elastic License 2.0. That licence lets you use and modify the software, but not offer it to third parties as a hosted service, so it is source-available rather than open source in the strict sense.
Is Crater still maintained?
The Crater repository has not received commits since August 2024. If you are choosing a self-hosted tool today, check the activity of a project before you commit to it. InvoiceShelf, SolidInvoice and InvoicePlane all had commits in the weeks before this page was checked.
What does the AGPL mean for me?
You can use and self-host AGPL software freely. If you modify it and let other people use your modified version over a network, you have to publish your changes under the same licence. For internal use by your own business this rarely matters.
Is there a tool that creates invoices from GitHub commits?
That is what Git Invoice does: it reads your pull requests and commits through a read-only GitHub App and turns the ones you select into a PDF invoice.