rotki vs Koinly: the open-source, local-first alternative
Koinly is a popular hosted crypto tax service that imports your transactions into its cloud. rotki is the open-source, local-first alternative: it runs on your own computer, keeps your data encrypted locally, and queries exchanges and blockchains directly using your own API keys and RPC endpoints.
Updated June 2026Key takeaways
- rotki keeps your transaction history encrypted on your own machine; Koinly stores it in its cloud.
- rotki is open source and fully auditable; Koinly is a closed-source hosted service.
- Koinly is known for broad country coverage and a polished hosted dashboard; rotki is the choice when privacy and self-custody come first.
- rotki has a free local tier and integrates with 180+ exchanges, blockchains, and DeFi protocols.
The verdict
Koinly gives you a polished hosted dashboard, but only by taking your full transaction history into its cloud. rotki delivers the same core portfolio tracking, accounting, and tax reporting on your own machine, as open-source software you can audit. If privacy and self-custody matter to you, rotki is the one to choose.
rotki vs Koinly: side by side
| rotki | Koinly | |
|---|---|---|
| Data storage | Local and encrypted on your own machine | Uploaded to and stored on the vendor cloud |
| Open source | Yes, fully auditable on GitHub | Closed-source |
| Data custody | Self-custodied; you keep your data | You hand your full history to the vendor |
| Breach blast radius | Your device only | Centralized; one vendor breach can affect many users |
| API keys and RPC | Your own read-only keys and endpoints, used locally | Keys and data processed on the vendor servers |
| Deployment | Desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux, or self-hosted via Docker | Hosted web app, with a mobile app |
| Free tier | Free local tier covers core tracking, accounting, and reporting (with limits) | Free to import and preview; a paid plan is needed to download full tax reports |
| Pricing model | Free, plus an optional subscription (Basic, Advanced, Custom) | Tiered plans, typically priced by transaction volume |
| Tax country coverage | Localized reports and standard exports generated on your machine | Broad country-specific report coverage |
| On-chain decoding | Decodes on-chain activity into readable events with full PnL accounting | Cloud import and categorization; coverage varies |
What sets rotki apart
- Your transaction history never leaves your computer; rotki reads exchanges and chains directly with your own keys and endpoints.
- The entire application is open source and auditable, so you can verify exactly how your data is handled.
- Self-custodied data: there is no vendor account holding your full financial history.
- A free local tier covers core portfolio tracking, accounting, and tax reporting.
- On-chain activity is decoded into readable events, so your DeFi and wallet history is accounted for transparently.
Trade-offs
Running locally comes with real trade-offs. Here is what to know, and why we think it is worth it.
- rotki is a desktop app you run yourself rather than a hosted dashboard in a browser. That is exactly what keeps your data on your own machine instead of in a vendor's cloud, and it is worth running an app for.
- Your data lives on the device where you run rotki, so you handle your own backups. Premium adds optional zero-knowledge sync, and either way your transaction history stays encrypted and under your control.
- rotki is desktop-first rather than mobile-first. That is the deliberate cost of processing everything locally with your own keys, so your full history never has to leave your computer to be useful.
Who rotki is for
Choose rotki if
- You want your transaction history to stay on your own computer.
- You value open-source software you can audit and self-host.
- You hold meaningful DeFi or on-chain activity and want it decoded transparently.
- You would rather own your data than trade it for cloud convenience.
rotki vs Koinly in depth
Koinly and rotki solve the same problem from opposite ends. Both connect to your exchanges and wallets, reconcile your trades and transfers, and produce portfolio views and tax reports. The difference is architectural: Koinly is a hosted cloud service, and rotki is a local-first desktop application.
How Koinly works
Koinly is a web application. You create an account, link your exchanges through API connections or file uploads, add your public wallet addresses, and Koinly imports that history into its servers. From there it builds your dashboard and generates tax reports, with broad coverage of country-specific forms. It runs in a browser and has a mobile app, but the cost of that convenience is that your complete financial history lives in someone else's cloud.
How rotki works
rotki runs on your own computer. It connects to exchanges using read-only API keys and reads your on-chain activity through RPC endpoints you control, then stores everything in an encrypted local database. Nothing passes through rotki-operated servers. Because rotki is open source, you can read the code and verify exactly how your data is handled, rather than trusting a closed system.
Privacy and ownership
This is the core reason to pick rotki. A hosted tool concentrates the transaction histories of many users in one place, which makes the vendor a target and means a single breach can expose a lot of people. With rotki, the blast radius of a problem is your own device. You are not handing your full financial history to a third party, and you are not depending on a vendor's data-retention or security practices.
Tax reporting and DeFi
rotki produces accounting and tax reports locally, and it decodes on-chain activity into readable events so that DeFi positions, swaps, and rewards are accounted for with proper profit and loss. Koinly's strength is the breadth of its ready-made country reports; rotki's strength is doing the same core work without your data leaving your machine.
The trade-off
rotki asks a little more of you than a hosted tool does: you run a desktop app and keep your own backups. What you get back is ownership. Your transaction history stays on your machine, encrypted and under your control, in software you can audit line by line. For anyone who cares about privacy and self-custody, that is a trade worth making, and it is the reason to choose rotki.
Frequently asked questions
Is Koinly open source?
No. Koinly is a closed-source, hosted service. rotki is open source and its code can be audited on GitHub.
Does Koinly store my data in the cloud?
Yes. Like other hosted crypto tax tools, Koinly imports and stores your transaction data on its servers. rotki keeps your data encrypted on your own machine.
Is rotki a good alternative to Koinly?
If privacy, self-custody, and open source matter to you, yes. rotki covers portfolio tracking, accounting, and tax reporting locally, with a free tier and an optional subscription for more.
Can rotki handle DeFi like Koinly?
Yes. rotki decodes on-chain activity, including many DeFi protocols, into readable events with full profit and loss accounting, all processed locally on your machine.
Is rotki free?
rotki has a free local tier that covers core functionality with some limits. A premium subscription unlocks higher limits and additional features.
Try the private, open-source alternative
Download rotki for free. Your keys and data never leave your machine.