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Firefly III vs LNbits

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Firefly III and LNbits — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:self-hosted

Firefly III vs LNbits: at a glance

FeatureFirefly IIILNbits
SectorFinanceFinance
Velocity score5.02.5
Sparks · 30d00
Top themespersonal finance, self-hosted, pre-release, open sourcelightning-network, wasm-extensions, self-hosted, bitcoin
Last editorial update10h ago7h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Firefly III?

Firefly III keeps shipping unlabelled develop builds, three of them on Nov 9.

Firefly III's feed is still entirely automated develop pre-releases. Six builds landed between Nov 7 and Nov 9, three on Nov 9 alone, none with a changelog beyond the standard pre-release warning. Two Nov 7 entries are bare tag stubs.

Read the full Firefly III trajectory →

What is LNbits?

LNbits tags a 1.7.0 release candidate with no notes after its WASM extensions release.

LNbits v1.6.0 introduced sandboxed WASM extensions, native Lightning Addresses and Bark funding support, and v1.6.1 and v1.6.2 patched NWC false failures and a PostgreSQL backup regression. The only new entry since September is v1.7.0-rc2 on October 29, whose note is just a version bump.

Read the full LNbits trajectory →

Firefly III vs LNbits: editorial side-by-side

F5.0

Firefly III keeps shipping unlabelled develop builds, three of them on Nov 9.

◆ Current state

Firefly III's feed is still entirely automated develop pre-releases. Six builds landed between Nov 7 and Nov 9, three on Nov 9 alone, none with a changelog beyond the standard pre-release warning. Two Nov 7 entries are bare tag stubs.

◆ Where it's heading

Build frequency is rising, from roughly one a day in late October to three a day now, which usually precedes a stable cut. The feed itself gives no view of what is changing.

◆ Prediction

A stable release with a real changelog looks likely soon given the build rate, but its content can't be read from this feed.

L
LNbits
FINANCE
2.5

LNbits tags a 1.7.0 release candidate with no notes after its WASM extensions release.

◆ Current state

LNbits v1.6.0 introduced sandboxed WASM extensions, native Lightning Addresses and Bark funding support, and v1.6.1 and v1.6.2 patched NWC false failures and a PostgreSQL backup regression. The only new entry since September is v1.7.0-rc2 on October 29, whose note is just a version bump.

◆ Where it's heading

The project is moving toward 1.7.0, but the entries do not say what it contains. Release cadence has slowed since the 1.6 wave.

◆ Prediction

Unclear from these entries; a 1.7.0 release with notes is the likely next item.

Alternatives to Firefly III 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 Firefly III or LNbits.

See all Firefly III alternatives → · See all LNbits alternatives →

Recent activity from Firefly III and LNbits

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 14h agoFirefly IIIFirefly III develop build 2026-11-09.3
  2. 22h agoFirefly IIIFirefly III develop build 2026-11-09.2
  3. 1d agoFirefly IIIFirefly III develop build 2026-11-09.1
  4. 2d agoFirefly IIIFirefly III develop build 2026-11-07.3
  5. 2d agoFirefly IIIFirefly III develop build 2026-11-07.2
  6. 2d agoFirefly IIIFirefly III develop build 2026-11-07.1
  7. 11d agoLNbitsLNbits 1.7.0 release candidate 2 (no notes)
  8. 1mo agoLNbitsv1.6.2 - Tal (PostgreSQL backup hotfix)
  9. 2mo agoLNbitsv1.6.1 - Tal
  10. 2mo agoLNbitsv1.6.1-rc2
  11. 2mo agoLNbitsLNbits 1.6.0: sandboxed WASM extensions and Lightning Addresses ⚡
  12. 3mo agoLNbitsv1.6.0-rc2

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Firefly III and LNbits?

Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Finance. Firefly III is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 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 Firefly III better than LNbits?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Firefly III is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 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 Firefly III?

Top Firefly III alternatives in Finance are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Firefly III alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/firefly-iii 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.