Actual Budget
Finance & AccountingA local-first personal finance and envelope budgeting app that you can self-host, with optional sync across devices.
Open-source alternative to:
What the free edition leaves out
The free edition covers the features teams usually need; we found nothing important held back. “Not confirmed” means the official pages we read did not say, so we do not guess.
| Feature | Free edition | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSO / SAML | Not confirmed | The docs describe OpenID Connect login on the Actual server, with no price mentioned. SAML is not described. | Source ↗ |
| Role-based access control | Free | The multi-user docs describe two roles, Basic and Admin, plus per-budget access management. No paid tier is mentioned. | Source ↗ |
| Audit logs | Not confirmed | Audit logs are not described on the pages read. | Source ↗ |
| Multi-user / teams | Free | Multi-user support is documented for the self-hosted server and requires enabling OpenID login. | Source ↗ |
| Backups and restore | Free | You can export your data from Settings and restore it with Import file. There is no scheduled backup tool described. | Source ↗ |
| API access | Free | An official Node.js package (@actual-app/api) gives programmatic access. The docs say Actual does not expose HTTP or REST endpoints. | Source ↗ |
| Support SLA | Not confirmed | Only community documentation and Discord are described. No paid support or SLA is mentioned. | Source ↗ |
Best for
People who want a private, envelope-style budgeting app that runs on their own machine or home server.
Why choose it over YNAB
The code is MIT licensed, and the README calls the project 100% free and open source. Your data is yours: the app works locally and syncs through a server you run, with optional end-to-end encryption. It includes built-in importers for YNAB4 and nYNAB, and the self-hosted server supports multiple users.
Where it falls short
The official mobile apps are deprecated; the docs point to the responsive web app installed to the home screen or to unofficial community clients. Bank sync uses GoCardless (EU/UK) and SimpleFIN (US/Canada), so coverage is narrower than a commercial aggregator. The API is a Node.js package, not an HTTP API. The project's own hosted subscription service was shut down in 2024, so you host it yourself or pay a third party such as PikaPods or Fly.io. Multi-user needs an OpenID provider.
Open-source alternative to
- YNAB — Actual uses envelope budgeting and ships built-in importers for YNAB4 and nYNAB data, so it is a like-for-like replacement for personal budgeting.
Category
Finance & AccountingTopics
Tech stack
TypeScript
JavaScript
DockerLanguages as reported by GitHub for the repository.
