◆ Lumis Finance

Actual Budget

Actual Budget (community / Maybe Finance maintainers)

Open-source local-first envelope budgeting app. Free if you self-host on a server, Pi, or your own machine; the project also offers a paid hosted sync service.

Last updated: June 10, 2026

Official site

Best for

  • Technical users who want maximum data control
  • Households comfortable running a small server or container
  • Privacy maximalists who want budgeting that never touches a vendor's database

Not ideal for

  • Non-technical users who don't want to run a server
  • Users who want a polished native mobile app
  • Users who want US bank sync via Plaid (Plaid is not supported)

Pricing

Verified Free tier

$0/month

$0 self-hosted (open source). Optional managed hosting via PikaPods at approximately $1.50/month. Self-hosters never pay anything.

Platforms

Web Yes
iOS Unknown
Android Unknown
Desktop Yes

Features

Bank sync Yes
Plaid support No
Manual transactions Yes
Envelope budgeting Yes
Zero-based budgeting Yes
Couples / shared budget Yes
Google Sheets integration No
CSV import Yes
CSV export Yes
Recurring transactions Yes
Bill calendar Unknown
Net worth tracking Unknown

Privacy

Verified Does not sell user data Data export Account deletion

Self-hosted by default — budget data lives on the user's own machine or server. Bank sync uses SimpleFIN (US/Canada) or GoCardless (EU/UK), not Plaid. The optional hosted sync service stores end-to-end encrypted data.

Open-source code is auditable. Sync uses CRDT-based distributed-systems primitives.

Pros

  • Open source and auditable
  • Self-hosted option means data never leaves your infrastructure
  • True envelope budgeting with multi-device sync

Cons

  • Self-hosting requires technical setup (Docker / VPS / Raspberry Pi)
  • No Plaid support — bank sync via SimpleFIN or GoCardless only
  • No first-party native iOS or Android app

Compared head-to-head

  • Okane vs Actual Budget — Okane vs Actual Budget compared on data ownership, setup cost, bank sync, and platform. Both prioritize the user owning their data; the difference is whether you want to run a server.
  • YNAB vs Actual Budget — YNAB vs Actual Budget: same envelope method, opposite product philosophy. YNAB is a polished $109/year hosted app; Actual is free, open source, and self-hostable.

Featured in

Alternatives

  • Okane Budgeting — Mobile envelope budgeting app whose backing store is a Google Sheet on the user's own Drive. Free tier with unlimited envelopes; $5/month Premium adds Plaid bank sync and on-device AI categorization.
  • YNAB (You Need A Budget) — Subscription envelope-budgeting app built around the zero-based method. Web-first with iOS and Android companions. Mature ecosystem and large community; no permanent free tier.
  • Tiller — Tiller pipes daily bank transactions into a Google Sheet or Excel workbook you control. Less an app than a spreadsheet automation layer with prebuilt budgeting templates.
  • Goodbudget — Manual envelope-budgeting app with shared partner access. Free tier exists with envelope and account caps; the Plus tier raises the limits and adds bank import.

Sources

  1. Actual Budget homepage — bank sync and self-hosting — Actual Budget. Accessed May 2, 2026.
  2. Actual Budget — PikaPods managed hosting — Actual Budget. Accessed June 10, 2026.
    Verified 2026-06-10: Self-hosted is free (open source). PikaPods managed hosting approximately $1.50/month.
  3. Actual Budget GitHub — Actual Budget. Accessed May 2, 2026.