Free and open-source reporting tools are widely sought after on tech forums, playing an equally crucial role as their non-open-source counterparts.

1. What are the Benefits of Using an Open Source Reporting Tool?

• The cost is lower
• It can meet basic reporting needs
• It has a dedicated discussion board to solve user problems
• After enjoying the free version and finding it satisfactory, you can enhance your experience by upgrading to the enterprise version for additional features

I list 10 Top Free and Open Source Reporting Tools for you as a reference. Welcome to take full advantage of them!

2. An In-Depth Look at the Top Free and Open Source Reporting Tools

2.1 FineReport

FineReport is an enterprise reporting tool free for personal use without time and function limits.

The Excel-like interface makes it easy for users to generate, export, and print complex reports or irregular reports. Its capabilities of Excel reporting tools, such as importing data from Excel in batches, make creating reports from Excel incredibly convenient.

The data entry function makes this reporting software distinctive from others. Users can write the data back to the database via the web reports created by FineReport. 

With simple drag-and-drop functionality, this powerful enterprise reporting software allows users to create various visually appealing and practical reports to quickly meet business needs.

FineReport is primarily used for business report creation, such as the production of regular monthly reports and quarterly reports, as well as the statistical, presentation, and analysis of key data indicators. Its main functions can be categorized into four major types:

• Data Display (Reports)
• Data Query (Parameters)
• Data Entry (Input)
• Report Management

Among these, Data Display reports can be further classified into Tables and Charts:

Besides, various open APIs make FineReport more flexible than open-source reporting tools to be integrated with other systems, and more efficiently to be customized.

The other stunning features of this software include:

• Open APIs for customization
• Dynamic Reports
• Query reports
• HTML Reports
• Automation Reports
• Adaptive display on mobile, tablet, TV screens
• Report Management 
• Large Screen Dashboard (FineVis)

The showcased examples were all created using FineReport, which offers a range of free trial templates for tables and charts in its Designer. The software provides a free personal use edition with no limitations and supports up to two concurrent users. For enterprise users interested in pricing and product details, please contact us by clicking the button below:

FineReport provides localized services and technical support across various regions, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, the Middle East, and more. Click the button above to experience FineReport with a free trial download. For technical assistance, reach out to our support engineers.

2.2 JasperReports

JasperReports Server Community Edition is Jaspersoft’s free version. It is one of the most popular open-source reporting tools. It is licensed under GPLv2 and is written in Java. Similar to Crystal Reports, this reporting tool supports multiple data sources, as well as supports various exporting formats such as PDF, HTML, CSV, and XML. 

JasperReports also includes multiple components:

• JasperReports Library- an open-source reporting engine library
• JasperReports Server – a standalone, embeddable report server that analyzes data and provides scheduled task services.
•  Jaspersoft Studio- an Eclipse-based report designer that creates complex reports, including charts, images, subreports, crossovers, and more.
• Jaspersoft ETL – an open-source ETL system that is easy to deploy and execute, creating a comprehensive data warehouse and data set.

2.3 iReport

iReport is a free and open-source report designer designed for the JasperReports Library and JasperReports Server. It can create complex reports such as charts, images, sub-reports, cross-tables, etc. The documents can be published and exported in a variety of document formats.

2.4 JFreeChart

JFreeChart is a 100% open-source Java programming drawing gallery that is easy to extend. It can generate line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, graphs, area charts, Gantt charts, dashboards, mixed graphs, and other charts. These charts can be exported as PNG, JPEG pictures.

• It is free, stable and lightweight, supporting multiple chart types
• It supports a variety of exporting types, including Swing components and JavaFX components, image files (including PNG and JPEG), and vector graphics file formats (including PDF, EPS, and SVG)
•  JFreeChart is open source, which is under the GNU general public license (LGPL) open source license

2.5 Pentaho

Pentaho is an open-source set of tools, including a reporting designer, reporting engine, and the reporting SDK. The Community Edition is free, licensed under the Apache Software License.

It allows you to create reports that support exporting reports to Excel, PDF, HTML, text, rich text, XML, and CSV. The generated reports can easily transform a variety of sources into readable data.

2.6 BIRT

BIRT is an eclipse-based open-source reporting tool for creating reports that can be embedded in rich clients and web applications, completely free for business use. 

BIRT consists of two main components: a visual report designer for creating BIRT designs, and runtime components that can be deployed to any Java environment. 

The BIRT project also includes a diagram engine that can be integrated into one of the BIRT application diagrams.

BIRT design templates are saved as XML and have access to many different data sources, including the JDO data store, jfire script objects, POJOs, SQL databases, Web services, and XML.   

2.7 Seal Report

Sealed Report is an open-source reporting generator written entirely in C# for the Microsoft.net Framework. It provides a complete framework for generating daily reports and dashboards from any database. The product focuses on ease of installation and report design. Once installed, reports can be created and published quickly. The component is entirely open-source and written in the C# language. 

Key features include:

1. Dynamic SQL data sources: you can use SQL or have the Seal engine build dynamic SQL to query the database;

2. Local pivot tables: the elements can be directly displayed in pivot tables and reports. HTML5 charts are also supported.

2.8 Open Reports

Open Reports provides web reporting solutions that allow users to view dynamically created reports in PDF, HTML, or XLS format through a browser. OpenReports is developed in Java. It supports a variety of open-source reporting engines, including JasperReports, JFreeReport, JXLS, and Eclipse BIRT, to provide a wide range of reporting requirements.

2.9 Easy Report

EasyReport is an Excel plug-in written in c# and is an easy-to-use database reporting software that supports MS SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite. Its main function is to convert the row and column structures found in SQL statements into HTML tables. It also supports RowSpan and ColSpan. The Easy Report supports the export of Excel reports, chart display, and fixed table header and left column functions.

Besides, it has the function of timing tasks, supports query engine (Hive, etc.) for the big data product, and provides the REST API service interface. The new version adds the user and authority management module. Mybatis framework is used for data access to facilitate secondary development. It has a 15-day free trial. 

2.10 SpagoBI

SpagoBI is the only 100% open-source business intelligence suite developed and managed by the Engineering Group’s SpagoBI lab. It offers powerful analytics capabilities, from data reporting and charting capabilities to innovative solutions in emerging areas such as self-service analytics and reporting, geo-location analytics, what-if analytics, and social network analytics.

3. Summary of the Top Free and Open Source Reporting Tools

Besides the benefits of these open-source reporting tools mentioned above, we can’t ignore their disadvantages: unable to meet the needs of complex reports, bugs can not be solved in time, and the update speed is slow.

Considering these factors, FineReport may be your top choice – free for personal users with no limitations, and tailored solutions for enterprises. Download the free version for a trial, request a personalized commercial quote, and contact us for expert support.

Experience how FineReport can benefit you and your organization！

Also, please feel free to make an appointment for a live demo with our product experts. We will be more clear about your needs and see how FineReport can help you transform data into value.