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APIs · head to head

Formance vs KeystoneJS

Formance logo

Formance

APIs

Open source double-entry ledger and payment orchestration for money-moving software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
KeystoneJS logo

KeystoneJS

APIs

Powerful Node.js headless CMS framework and API platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Formance formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.; KeystoneJS database support is limited to PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite
  • They diverge on capability: Formance covers Double-entry ledger, KeystoneJS covers REST API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Formance and KeystoneJS actually diverge.

Attributes where Formance and KeystoneJS differ
AttributeFormanceKeystoneJS
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, APINode.js, Self-hosted
FoundedUnknown2016

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Formance

  • Double-entry ledger
  • Numscript transaction DSL
  • Multi-currency
  • Payments connectivity
  • Reconciliation
  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Cloud offering
  • API and SDKs

Only in KeystoneJS

  • REST API
  • GraphQL API
  • Admin interface
  • Node.js
  • Next.js
  • React
  • Databases
  • Node.js support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Formance

  • A marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditablenot KeystoneJS
  • A fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an auditnot KeystoneJS
  • A payments team that wants one normalised model across several PSPs so reconciliation is not written separately for eachnot KeystoneJS
  • A company that wants its ledger under a licence it can keep running even if the vendor disappearsnot KeystoneJS

KeystoneJS

  • Headless CMS implementationnot Formance
  • Content management systemsnot Formance
  • Customizable API-driven applicationsnot Formance

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Formance

  • Formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.
  • Numscript is a domain-specific language your team must learn, and while it makes complex splits expressible it also means transaction logic sits outside the languages your engineers already debug well.
  • Self-hosting a ledger that must never lose or duplicate a transaction is a serious operational commitment covering backups, upgrades and Postgres tuning, which is real cost the zero licence fee hides.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published, so the difference between the free path and the supported path cannot be evaluated without a sales conversation.
  • The company is much smaller than the incumbent alternatives, and while the MIT licence protects the code it does not protect the roadmap, so features on the hosted side may arrive slowly or change direction.

KeystoneJS

  • Database support is limited to PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite
  • Keystone 5 is a separate legacy product documented on a different site and is not covered by the Keystone 6 docs
  • Upgrading requires following a dedicated Migrate to 8.0.0 guide, so major versions are not drop-in
  • Free support is a community Slack; enterprise-grade consulting and support is a separate paid engagement with Thinkmill and no published price

Pricing, plan by plan

Formance

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • MIT licensed core ledger
    • Numscript transaction DSL
    • Multi-currency tracking
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Managed or private deployment
    • Payments connectivity and reconciliation
    • Support with response commitments

KeystoneJS

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full KeystoneJS
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Formance if

  • You need double-entry ledger.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API.
  • You also want numscript transaction dsl.
Formance review

Choose KeystoneJS if

  • You need rest api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Node.js, Self-hosted.
  • You also want graphql api.
KeystoneJS review

Questions people ask

Is Formance or KeystoneJS better?
Neither clearly leads. Formance starts at Free and KeystoneJS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Formance or KeystoneJS?
Formance starts at Free and KeystoneJS at Free.
Does Formance or KeystoneJS run on more platforms?
Formance runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API. KeystoneJS runs on Node.js, Self-hosted.
Can I use Formance for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Formance best used for?
Formance is most often used for a marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditable, a fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an audit, a payments team that wants one normalised model across several psps so reconciliation is not written separately for each, a company that wants its ledger under a licence it can keep running even if the vendor disappears. Of those, a marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditable and a fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an audit are not what KeystoneJS is typically brought in for.
What can Formance do that KeystoneJS cannot?
Formance covers Double-entry ledger, Numscript transaction DSL, Multi-currency, Payments connectivity. KeystoneJS covers REST API, GraphQL API, Admin interface, Node.js.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Formance: Is Formance really open source?

Yes. The core ledger is MIT licensed with full source access and no deployment restrictions.

KeystoneJS: Is KeystoneJS free?

Yes, KeystoneJS is free and open source with no licensing fees. Core platform has no lock-in and is contributed to by 250+ developers.

Source
Formance: Does Formance move money?

No. It records and orchestrates movements; the actual payments happen at a PSP or bank you connect.

KeystoneJS: What are hosting costs for KeystoneJS?

KeystoneJS is self-hosted and deployment-agnostic. Hosting costs depend on your chosen deployment platform (Vercel, AWS, Heroku, etc.) and infrastructure, not KeystoneJS itself.

Source
Formance: What does the enterprise version cost?

Not published. It is an annual subscription quoted per customer.

KeystoneJS: Does KeystoneJS offer paid support?

Enterprise support with tailored options is available from Thinkmill, the company behind KeystoneJS. Pricing details available upon request.

Source
Formance: Do I have to use Numscript?

Yes for anything beyond the simplest transfers. It is how multi-party transactions are expressed atomically.

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