Hisaab vs Zoho Books
A Zoho Books alternative built specifically around Indian GST billing
Zoho Books is a general cloud accounting product sold on a subscription, with multi-company support depending on the plan. Hisaab is purpose-built around the Indian GST billing workflow — CGST/SGST/IGST invoices, HSN summaries, GSTR-2B reconciliation — and is free and open source rather than subscription-based, with multi-company included.
Pricing model
Hisaab: Free & open source
Zoho Books: Subscription
Self-hostable
Hisaab: Yes
Zoho Books: No
Source code available
Hisaab: Yes (MIT)
Zoho Books: No
How Hisaab compares
Stable facts only — pricing model and how the software is delivered. Feature checklists go stale; these do not.
| Hisaab | Tally | Busy | Vyapar | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs in a browser | Desktop app | Desktop app | App / web | ||
| Source code available | MIT | ||||
| Self-hostable | On-prem install | On-prem install | |||
| Multi-company | Plan-dependent | Plan-dependent | |||
| Pricing model | Free & open source | Paid license | Paid license | Subscription | Subscription |
Everything that posts to the books
One workspace for the work you do every day.
Sales
Tax invoices with place of supply, CGST/SGST/IGST split, and print-ready layout.
Purchases & GRN
Purchase bills, orders, and goods receipt — stock and payables stay in sync.
GST & returns
HSN summary, GSTR-style reports, and GSTR-2B reconciliation against your books.
Inventory & godowns
Items with HSN, godowns, and stock that only moves through stock movements.
Cash & bank
Receipts, payments, cash book, and bank reconciliation in one place.
Parties & ageing
Customers and suppliers with GSTIN, ledger balances, and receivable/payable ageing.
Switching from Zoho Books
Start with a free workspace today
Create an account, set up your company, and post your first invoice — no license fee.