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Comparison · Finance
Bigcapital vs LNbits
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Bigcapital and LNbits — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:self-hosted
Bigcapital vs LNbits: at a glance
What is Bigcapital?
Bigcapital adds cash and accrual basis accounting to its open-source books.
Bigcapital is an open-source accounting product releasing every week or two. v0.25.45 (October 23) brings cash and accrual basis accounting across journals, bills, credit notes and vendor credits, with a basis switch on the journal and trial balance reports. The releases before it added bank rules that apply to all accounts, report date presets and Plaid sync fixes, alongside a long run of report-correctness fixes.
What is LNbits?
LNbits 1.7.1 follows the urgent 1.7.0 fix by rotating auth keys.
LNbits shipped v1.7.1 a day after 1.7.0, a security patch that rotates authentication keys, and again asks every operator to update immediately. 1.7.0 paired critical security fixes with TOTP two-factor login, on-chain wallets, BOLT12 offer payments, a job scheduler and outgoing payment webhooks.
Bigcapital vs LNbits: editorial side-by-side
Bigcapital
5.0FINANCE
Bigcapital adds cash and accrual basis accounting to its open-source books.
◆ Current state
Bigcapital is an open-source accounting product releasing every week or two. v0.25.45 (October 23) brings cash and accrual basis accounting across journals, bills, credit notes and vendor credits, with a basis switch on the journal and trial balance reports. The releases before it added bank rules that apply to all accounts, report date presets and Plaid sync fixes, alongside a long run of report-correctness fixes.
◆ Where it's heading
The work is moving from features to accounting correctness: aging summaries, cash flow, ledger running balances and sales tax liability were all fixed in September, and the accounting-basis work extends that into how every transaction posts. Security fixes such as secure invite tokens show a codebase hardening for wider self-hosting.
◆ Prediction
Expect the accounting-basis switch to reach more reports and transaction types in the next releases. Version labels are inconsistent (v0.15.43 sits between v0.25.42 and v0.25.44), so tag numbers are not a reliable guide.
LNbits
6.3FINANCE
LNbits 1.7.1 follows the urgent 1.7.0 fix by rotating auth keys.
◆ Current state
LNbits shipped v1.7.1 a day after 1.7.0, a security patch that rotates authentication keys, and again asks every operator to update immediately. 1.7.0 paired critical security fixes with TOTP two-factor login, on-chain wallets, BOLT12 offer payments, a job scheduler and outgoing payment webhooks.
◆ Where it's heading
LNbits is moving from a Lightning wallet layer toward a broader payments platform with WASM extensions, on-chain wallets and BOLT12, while a security incident forces quick follow-up patches. Key rotation suggests the 1.7.0 issue may have exposed existing credentials.
◆ Prediction
Expect more 1.7.x patches and security guidance in the coming days before attention returns to the new wallet and payment features.
Alternatives to Bigcapital and LNbits
Other Finance products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Bigcapital or LNbits.
Shift4
Shift4 Venue Q4-R2 is on canary venues now, with global release set for November 17.
Payhawk
Payhawk adds SWIFT payment tracking and a DualEntry ledger sync as ERP coverage widens
TaxDome
TaxDome Pipelines now remember your filters, and long task names stop getting cut off.
Kolleno
Kolleno is stretching from collections software toward the whole cash cycle.
Zoho Billing
Zoho Billing turns its reports toward churn and line-item revenue.
See all Bigcapital alternatives → · See all LNbits alternatives →
Recent activity from Bigcapital and LNbits
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoLNbitsLNbits 1.7.1 security patch rotates auth keys
- 3d agoLNbitsLNbits 1.7.0: urgent security fix plus 2FA and on-chain wallets ⚡
- 3d agoLNbitsLNbits 1.7.0 release candidate 4 fixes packaging
- 16d agoLNbitsLNbits 1.7.0 release candidate 2 (no notes)
- 22d agoBigcapitalv0.25.45: cash and accrual basis accounting
- 29d agoBigcapitalv0.25.44: bank rules for all accounts, payment link fix
- 1mo agoBigcapitalv0.15.43: mail label and report localization fixes
- 1mo agoBigcapitalv0.25.42: Plaid sync fixes and report date presets
- 1mo agoLNbitsv1.6.2 - Tal (PostgreSQL backup hotfix)
- 1mo agoBigcapitalv0.25.41: aging, ledger and tax report fixes
- 2mo agoBigcapitalv0.25.40: editable inventory adjustments, secure invites
- 2mo agoLNbitsv1.6.1 - Tal
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Bigcapital and LNbits?
Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Finance. LNbits is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Bigcapital better than LNbits?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. LNbits is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Finance products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Bigcapital?
Top Bigcapital alternatives in Finance are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Bigcapital alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/bigcapital for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to LNbits?
Top LNbits alternatives in Finance are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "LNbits alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/lnbits for the full list with editorial commentary on each.