Actual Budget

Actual is a local-first personal finance tool, a 100% free and open-source application.

Description

Actual is a super fast, privacy-focused budgeting tool that lets you manage your finances with ease. It features a local-first architecture, ensuring your data stays on your device while allowing for synchronization across multiple devices.

When to use it

• When you want a privacy-focused, local-first budgeting tool.
• For users who want full control over their financial data.
• When you need a 100% free and open-source alternative to YNAB.

When not to use it

• If you require advanced investment tracking or complex portfolio management.
• If you are not comfortable managing a self-hosted server for synchronization.

Getting started

Docker

To run Actual Budget using Docker:

docker run -d \
  --name actual_server \
  -p 5006:5006 \
  -v actual-data:/data \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  actualbudget/actual-server:latest

Access the web interface at http://localhost:5006.

CLI examples

Actual Budget is primarily a web application, but you can manage the container:

# View server logs
docker logs actual_server

# Check version (if supported by the image)
docker exec actual_server node src/app.js --version

API examples

Actual Budget provides a REST API for programmatic interaction:

# Get server info
curl http://localhost:5006/info

Links

• Official Website
• GitHub Repository

Alternatives

• Firefly III
• YNAB (Non-OSS)

Backlog

• Set up automated bank synchronization via GoCardless/Nordigen.

Contribution Metadata

• Confidence: high
• Last reviewed: 2026-03-01

Sources / References

• https://actualbudget.com/
• https://github.com/actualbudget/actual
• https://www.firefly-iii.org/