actual
Secure, private budgeting for individuals and households
Alternatives
Choose Akaunting if…
- you need to generate and send client invoices
- you accept payments via PayPal or Stripe
- you track expenses in multiple currencies
- you want web‑only access without installing desktop software
Choose Wallos if…
- you want email alerts before subscription renewals
- you need a simple dashboard of monthly and yearly
- you run a small team and require role‑based user permissions
- you prefer a Docker‑based self‑hosted setup for all data
Choose ghostfolio if…
- you need real‑time updates on stocks, ETFs or crypto
- you want a self‑hosted dashboard that tracks multiple asset
- you prefer investment performance over budgeting envelopes
- you have the technical skill to run a self‑hosted server
- you need crypto portfolio tracking alongside traditional
Choose firefly-iii if…
- you need a web‑only interface that runs on any PHP server
- you handle income and expenses in multiple currencies
- you want automatic exchange‑rate updates for foreign
- you prefer a responsive UI over native desktop apps
- you already maintain a self‑hosted server for other services
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Choose You Need A Budget (YNAB) if…
- you need automatic bank transaction imports
- you want a zero‑based budgeting workflow
- you require real‑time sync across web, iOS and Android
- you value built‑in debt payoff planning tools
- you’re willing to pay a subscription for convenience
How to Decide
actual is known for secure, private budgeting for individuals and households and is used by individuals and small households. The alternatives split into a few clear camps: firefly-iii leans on self‑hosted deployment with a full API for custom extensions; Akaunting emphasizes built‑in payment‑gateway integrations like PayPal and Stripe for invoicing; Honeydue is chosen for its couples‑focused shared budgeting with direct bank syncing; Cashew stands out with cross‑platform mobile sync and a simple UI for on‑the‑go tracking; AnythingLLM differentiates itself with AI‑powered local‑first agent capabilities and extensive customizability.
When comparing these options, focus on (1) data residency and privacy – whether the solution runs locally/self‑hosted (actual, firefly‑iii, AnythingLLM) or in the cloud (Honeydue, Cashew); (2) deployment and platform coverage – desktop/web only (actual, firefly‑iii), mobile‑first (Cashew), or SaaS web/mobile (Honeydue); (3) core feature focus – pure budgeting and reporting (actual, firefly‑iii, Cashew) versus invoicing/payment integration (Akaunting) or AI‑driven assistance (AnythingLLM); (4) integration capabilities – presence of an API or built‑in connectors (firefly‑iii, Akaunting, AnythingLLM) versus reliance on bank sync (Honeydue) or manual entry (Cashew); and (5) open‑source versus proprietary licensing – actual, firefly‑iii, Akaunting, Cashew, and AnythingLLM are open source, while Honeydue is closed source, which can affect community support and extensibility.
All Alternatives
“Actual provides a private, local‑first budgeting and net‑worth tool, matching Ghostfolio's core finance‑tracking purpose.”
“Privacy‑focused budgeting app offering the same dollar‑allocation workflow as YNAB.”
“Actual offers private, local‑first budgeting for individuals, providing the same personal finance control without a hosted service.”
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