Actual Budget

Budgeting that stays on your device

WHO USES ITPeople who want to budget seriously but do not want to hand bank credentials to an app, and households sharing one budget across devices.

Use in the browser

A local-first budgeting app that keeps your finances on your own device, using envelope budgeting.

★ 28.9k▲ +11 / 7dlast 14 days · stars per dayhollow = no dataAs of 09-18 15:00 UTC

28,885 stars · checked on GitHub 09-15 21:33 UTC GitHub check 71 h late · incl. +2 observed via GH Archive since then · 7-day +11 observed via GH Archive (as of 09-18 15:00 UTC)

RANKS PRODUCTIVITY #17 FINANCE #3 As of 09-18 15:00 UTC

The Actual Budget screen: an account list on the left and a month-by-month table of budgeted, spent and balance amounts per category.

TESIGN TAKE

Having no bank sync looks like a drawback, but typing entries yourself is what makes the money actually visible. For one person on one machine, the desktop app alone is enough.

TRY

AT A GLANCE

LICENSE: MIT
USAGE: Use, change and redistribute, commercially too. Keep the notice.
LANGUAGE: TypeScript
PLATFORM: web · windows · macos · linux
ACTIVITY: last commit 3 days ago (2026-09-15) · latest release [unconfirmed] As of 09-15 21:33 UTC
COMMUNITY: contributors [unconfirmed] · open issues [unconfirmed] · made by: [unconfirmed] Reference time unavailable
SOURCES: GitHub
OPEN SOURCE: YES
FIRST SEEN: 2026-09-15 21:32 UTC
CATEGORY: FINANCE · PRODUCTIVITY

A summary, not legal advice.

WHY IT MATTERS

Most budgeting apps require a bank connection, and your transaction history lands on someone else's server. Actual inverts that: the data lives on your device, there is nothing to sign up for, and the whole source is open. You add a sync server only when you want the same budget on more than one device.

BUILD FROM THIS

Written in NodeJS around the envelope budgeting method. Four ways to deploy: one-click PikaPods (~$2/month), managed Fly.io hosting (~$1.50/month), self-hosted Docker, or local-only desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux. Multi-device sync and optional end-to-end encryption are included.

WHO IT'S FOR

People who want to budget seriously but do not want to hand bank credentials to an app, and households sharing one budget across devices.

START IN 5 MINUTES

# Open the demo at demo.actualbudget.org and click around the real app first, then download the desktop build. If you want it on several devices, PikaPods is the quickest route.

CAVEATS

Syncing across devices needs a server, and managed hosting costs about $1.50–$2 a month. Transactions are entered by hand or imported from a file.

RECEIPT

FIRST SEEN: 2026-09-15 21:32 UTC
AT SOURCE: 2022-04-29 02:41 UTC
KEPT: 2026-09-18 21:07 UTC
STAR DELTA: +2 ★ / 24h As of 09-18 15:00 UTC
CREATED → FIRST SEEN: 1600d
WHEN FIRST SEEN: 28,883 ★
SOURCES: GitHub

The same facts in machine-readable form — View as Markdown · JSON

SIMILAR TOOLS

Up to five from FINANCE by ★ total: edited entries first, then repository cards; this entry is highlighted. Drawn from the same stored snapshot as the rankings — a comparison, not a recommendation. As of 09-18 15:00 UTC

NAME	★ TOTAL	▲ 7d	LICENSE	PLATFORM	LAST PUSH
Actual BudgetBudgeting that stays on your deviceTHIS ENTRY	★ 28.9k	▲ +11	MITpermissive	web · windows · macos · linux	2026-09-15
OpenStockTrack prices and set your own alerts	★ 14.5k	▲ +71	AGPL-3.0copyleft	web	2026-08-21
freqtrade/freqtradeCARD	★ 54.3k	▲ +8	GPL-3.0copyleft	—	2026-09-13
frappe/erpnextCARD	★ 39.2k	▲ +9	GPL-3.0copyleft	—	2026-09-13
nautechsystems/nautilus_traderCARD	★ 28.9k	▲ +8	LGPL-3.0copyleft	—	2026-09-13

TIMELINE

2022-04-29 02:41 UTCRepository created
2026-09-15 21:32 UTCFIRST SEEN BY TESIGN
2026-09-18 21:07 UTCPublished on TESIGN

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