Comparison · Self-hosted vs Managed

Ledger vs Wave

Wave is Free (ad-supported). Ledger is a self-hosted alternative at $2.99/mo. Here's when each makes sense.

At a glance

	Ledger	Wave
Hosting	Self-hosted, your infra	Managed SaaS (cloud only)
Data location	Your server, your disk	Wave's cloud
Free tier	100 transactions/mo	Free
Pro pricing	$2.99/mo	Free (ad-supported)
Dependencies	None (single binary + SQLite)	N/A (managed)
Setup time	~30 seconds	Account signup
Dashboard	Built-in at /ui	Cloud dashboard
License	BSL 1.1	Proprietary SaaS

When to use Ledger

Pick Ledger when you want simplicity and ownership.

Self-hosted — financial data on your server
No ads or upselling
Data stays completely private
Single binary, no account needed

Ledger is a single Go binary with embedded SQLite. Install it with one command, and you are running in under a minute. Your data stays on your server.

curl -fsSL https://stockyard.dev/ledger/install.sh | sh

Install Ledger Ledger docs

When Wave fits better

Wave makes sense when you need more.

Completely free accounting and invoicing
Bank feed connections
Receipt scanning
Payroll add-on available

Wave is genuinely free accounting software — hard to beat on price. The trade-off is ads and your financial data on their servers. If free managed accounting works for you, Wave is solid. If you want your financial data private and on your own server, Ledger costs $2.99/mo.

Under the hood

From an operational standpoint, Ledger and Wave represent opposite ends of the self-hosted versus managed spectrum. Wave at Free (ad-supported) buys you managed hosting, automatic updates, and customer support. Ledger at $0.99/mo buys you data ownership, deployment flexibility, and independence from a vendor's business decisions. Neither is universally better — the right choice depends on whether your team values convenience or control.

Data portability

The exit story matters more than most teams realize when choosing tools. Wave locks your data behind their API and export format. Ledger stores everything in a standard SQLite file you can query with any database tool. If you outgrow Ledger, your data migrates with a SQL query. If you outgrow Wave, your data migrates through whatever export process they provide — which may or may not preserve everything.

FAQ

Is Ledger a Wave alternative?

Wave is free cloud-hosted accounting with ads. Ledger is self-hosted double-entry bookkeeping at $2.99/mo — no ads, your data stays on your server.

Why pay for Ledger when Wave is free?

Data privacy. Wave hosts your financial data on their servers and shows ads. Ledger keeps everything on your own server.

Ledger overview

Get started

Self-hosted double-entry bookkeeping in 30 seconds.

Single binary. Free to start. $2.99/mo for Pro.

Install Ledger All 150 tools for $29/mo →