InvoiceShelf
Invoices, estimates, expenses, payments and a client portal; the bill arrives as Docker maintenance instead.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-11
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- AGPL-3.0
- Hosting Model
- Self-host (your server)
- Platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- Installation
- Deploy a stable tagged release with the official Docker Compose example
- Operational Setup
- The first obstacle is choosing a stable 2.x release rather than the default next/3.x alpha branch, then operating Docker, persistent storage, mail, HTTPS, backups, and upgrades.
- Where Your Data Lives
- Invoices, estimates, customers, expenses, payments, and settings live in the configured application database, SQLite is available for a small install, with uploaded files in persistent server storage.
- The Catch / Trade-off
- InvoiceShelf has a smaller payment-gateway, mobile-app, integration, recurring-billing, and support ecosystem than Invoice Ninja, with a less mature current release line.
Replaces 1 paid app
up to $14/mo ($168/yr) in subscriptions
InvoiceShelf FAQ
Common questions
Is InvoiceShelf free and open source?+
InvoiceShelf is an open-source tool licensed under AGPL-3.0 that runs on self-host. Invoices, estimates, expenses, payments and a client portal; the bill arrives as Docker maintenance instead.
What paid software does InvoiceShelf replace?+
InvoiceShelf serves as a free replacement for 1 paid SaaS application: Invoice Ninja, saving up to $14/month ($168/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up InvoiceShelf?+
Installation: Deploy a stable tagged release with the official Docker Compose example. Setup notes: The first obstacle is choosing a stable 2.x release rather than the default next/3.x alpha branch, then operating Docker, persistent storage, mail, HTTPS, backups, and upgrades.
What is the catch or trade-off with InvoiceShelf?+
InvoiceShelf has a smaller payment-gateway, mobile-app, integration, recurring-billing, and support ecosystem than Invoice Ninja, with a less mature current release line.