shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Akaunting?

Free, open-source, and online accounting software for small businesses and freelancers. Send invoices and track expenses on the cloud. - akaunting.com

Depends. Choose Akaunting if you are a freelancer or micro-business wanting free, self-hostable invoicing and can patch security updates yourself. Avoid it if you need payroll, real support, or audited books.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~20 public sources: reviews, CVE databases, pricing pages, and company records. Several review snippets were truncated.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Standard (cloud)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
On-premise plansPaid (prices not shown in sources)

Best for

  • Freelancers sending invoices
  • Self-hosting enthusiasts
  • Micro-businesses tracking expenses
  • Privacy-conscious users avoiding lock-in

Not for

  • Companies needing payroll or audited, compliant books
  • Teams unwilling to self-host or patch security updates
  • Buyers who want guaranteed vendor support
  • Growing firms needing multi-entity accounting

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

RCE affects versions below 3.1.3; patch immediately if self-hosting

medium

'Free' is contested; reviewers ask what actually costs money

medium

Self-hosting needs server skills, and many features stay gated

medium

Free core funnels you toward paid apps and cloud plans

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Core invoicing and expense tracking are free
  • Open-source and self-hostable
  • Unlimited invoices on the open-source plan
  • Beginners managed to follow accounts easily

Cons

  • Only 12 G2 reviews; thin track record
  • Self-hosters say most features unusable without paid apps
  • Payroll experience publicly called disappointing
  • Buyer reported overall disappointing experience after purchase
  • Just $500K raised; small vendor viability risk

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/20/2026 - 13 sources - Recurring CVEs, including a published RCE exploit and an auth bypass; self-hosters must patch fast.

official x3review x6security x3news x1
  • Remote code execution (CVE-2024-22836), Akaunting < 3.1.3 RCE; public exploit exists
  • Advisory covering versions up to 3.1.21, GitHub advisory GHSA-m69m-hm22-9xmx affects releases through 3.1.21
  • Stored XSS (CVE-2026-11942), Stored cross-site scripting vulnerability
  • Auth bypass (CVE-2026-71251), Authentication bypass vulnerability

Key stats

  • Value for money: 4/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 13

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 4/5. Core invoicing and expenses free
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Beginners followed their accounts easily
  • Feature depth: 2/5. Self-hosters report features unusable without paid apps
  • Support quality: 2/5. Community forum; paid experience called disappointing
  • Security posture: 2/5. Multiple CVEs including RCE and auth bypass
  • Yes Free tier Standard plan is free
  • Free Starting price Premium apps and cloud plans cost extra
  • 12 G2 reviews Very small review base
  • $500K Funding raised Series funding; small vendor

Pricing

Standard (cloud)

Free

  • Invoicing
  • Expense tracking
  • Core accounting

On-premise plans

Paid (prices not shown in sources)

  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Freelancer-to-business tiers

Security

Recurring CVEs, including a published RCE exploit and an auth bypass; self-hosters must patch fast.

  • Remote code execution (CVE-2024-22836)Akaunting < 3.1.3 RCE; public exploit exists10
  • Advisory covering versions up to 3.1.21GitHub advisory GHSA-m69m-hm22-9xmx affects releases through 3.1.2111
  • Stored XSS (CVE-2026-11942)Stored cross-site scripting vulnerability
  • Auth bypass (CVE-2026-71251)Authentication bypass vulnerability12
Full analysis

Based on ~20 public sources: reviews, CVE databases, pricing pages, and company records. Several review snippets were truncated.

Free open-source invoicing that fits freelancers; thin reviews, paywalled extras, and real CVEs make it risky for serious accounting.

Methodology

Based on ~20 public sources: reviews, CVE databases, pricing pages, and company records. Several review snippets were truncated.

Sources

  1. Akaunting homepageakaunting.com
    official
  2. Akaunting Plansakaunting.com
    official
  3. Why Akaunting Cloudakaunting.com
    official
  4. G2 reviews (12 reviews)g2.com
    review
  5. Capterra review: disappointing experiencecapterra.co.za
    review
  6. Software Advice reviewssoftwareadvice.com
    review
  7. Reddit: self-hosted, features unusablereddit.com
    review
  8. Reddit: Akaunting vs Frappe Books vs GnuCashreddit.com
    review
  9. LinkedIn: disappointing payroll reviewlinkedin.com
    review
  10. Exploit-DB: Akaunting < 3.1.3 RCEexploit-db.com
    security
  11. GitHub advisory GHSA-m69m-hm22-9xmxgithub.com
    security
  12. SentinelOne CVE-2026-71251 auth bypasssentinelone.com
    security
  13. Akaunting raises $500Kakaunting.com
    news

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