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Personal Finance · head to head

Acorns vs Actual Budget

Acorns logo

Acorns

Personal Finance

Invest your spare change

From
$4/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Actual Budget logo

Actual Budget

Personal Finance

Free, open source, local-first envelope budgeting with optional self-hosted sync

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Actual Budget has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Acorns a flat monthly subscription regardless of balance, so $3 a month on Bronze is a heavy percentage on a small account; Actual Budget self-hosting the sync server requires basic comfort with running and updating a small application, which is a real barrier for non-technical users.
  • They diverge on capability: Acorns covers Round-up investing, Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Acorns and Actual Budget actually diverge.

Attributes where Acorns and Actual Budget differ
AttributeAcornsActual Budget
Starting price$4/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee; optional paid hosted sync and subscription tier
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, IOS, AndroidWeb, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Personal Finance).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Acorns

  • Round-up investing
  • Automated investing
  • Portfolio management
  • Recurring investments
  • Bank accounts
  • Credit cards
  • Debit cards
  • Web support

Only in Actual Budget

  • Envelope budgeting
  • Local-first data
  • Self-hosted sync
  • Bank sync via SimpleFIN or GoCardless
  • Rules engine
  • Reports

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Acorns

  • Automated investing of spare change from everyday purchasesnot Actual Budget
  • Retirement saving through Acorns Later IRA accountsnot Actual Budget
  • Checking and high-yield savings alongside investingnot Actual Budget
  • Custodial investing and debit cards for children through Acorns Earlynot Actual Budget
  • Earning cashback that is invested rather than bankednot Actual Budget

Actual Budget

  • A former YNAB user who wants the same envelope method without an ongoing subscriptionnot Acorns
  • Someone who wants their financial data to stay on hardware they control, using a home server for syncnot Acorns
  • A technically comfortable household running a small self-hosted stack who wants budgeting alongside itnot Acorns
  • A user who is fine paying a small hosted fee for sync convenience without wanting a full YNAB-style subscriptionnot Acorns

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Acorns

  • A flat monthly subscription regardless of balance, so $3 a month on Bronze is a heavy percentage on a small account
  • The emergency savings account and the 1 percent IRA match need Silver at $6 a month
  • Custom portfolios, Acorns Early for children and Money Manager are Gold tier only at $12 a month
  • There is no free tier

Actual Budget

  • Self-hosting the sync server requires basic comfort with running and updating a small application, which is a real barrier for non-technical users.
  • Bank sync depends on SimpleFIN or GoCardless connectors rather than a broad built-in aggregator network, so coverage of smaller banks varies by region.
  • There is no dedicated customer support line, only community Discord and GitHub issues, which suits technical users but frustrates people expecting vendor support.
  • The mobile apps are less mature than the web and desktop experience, and some budgeting workflows are easier on desktop.
  • Because it is a smaller open source project, feature development depends on maintainer time and community contribution rather than a funded product roadmap.

Pricing, plan by plan

Acorns

$4/month
  • Bronze$4/month
    • Investment account with diversified portfolio
    • Round-Ups spare change investing
    • Acorns Later retirement account
  • Silver$8/month
    • All Bronze features
    • 1% IRA match on first-year contributions
    • Acorns Checking with no overdraft fees
  • Gold$12/month
    • All Silver features
    • 3% IRA match on first-year contributions
    • Investment accounts for kids with 1% match

Actual Budget

Free
  • Actual BudgetFree
    • Full budgeting features
    • Self-hosted sync server
    • Community support only
  • Actual Budget$7.99/month
    • Managed hosted sync
    • Mobile app access
    • No server to maintain

Which should you pick?

Choose Acorns if

  • You need round-up investing.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want automated investing.
Acorns review

Choose Actual Budget if

  • You need envelope budgeting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want local-first data.
Actual Budget review

Questions people ask

Is Acorns or Actual Budget better?
Neither clearly leads. Acorns starts at $4/month and Actual Budget at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Acorns or Actual Budget?
Actual Budget has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $4/month for Acorns and Free for Actual Budget.
Does Acorns or Actual Budget run on more platforms?
Acorns runs on Web, IOS, Android. Actual Budget runs on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android.
Can I use Actual Budget for free?
Yes. Actual Budget has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Acorns starts at $4/month.
What is Acorns best used for?
Acorns is most often used for automated investing of spare change from everyday purchases, retirement saving through acorns later ira accounts, checking and high-yield savings alongside investing, custodial investing and debit cards for children through acorns early. Of those, automated investing of spare change from everyday purchases and retirement saving through acorns later ira accounts are not what Actual Budget is typically brought in for.
What can Acorns do that Actual Budget cannot?
Acorns covers Round-up investing, Automated investing, Portfolio management, Recurring investments. Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting, Local-first data, Self-hosted sync, Bank sync via SimpleFIN or GoCardless.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Acorns: What's the difference between Acorns Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans?

Bronze at $4/month provides basic investment accounts and Round-Ups investing. Silver adds 1% IRA matching, no-fee checking, and emergency savings at $8/month. Gold includes 3% IRA matching, kids' accounts with 1% match, and tax filing for $12/month. Each tier includes all features from lower tiers.

Source
Actual Budget: Is Actual Budget really free?

The core app and self-hosted sync are free and open source; there is also an optional paid hosted sync subscription if you do not want to run a server.

Acorns: Does Acorns charge hidden fees or commissions?

No, Acorns charges no hidden fees or commissions. Monthly subscription fees start at $4 and are the only recurring charges; all other services included in each tier have no additional costs.

Source
Actual Budget: Do I need a server to use it?

Only if you want to sync a budget across multiple devices; a single-device budget works without any server at all.

Acorns: What IRA match percentage does Acorns provide?

Silver tier provides 1% IRA match on first-year Later contributions. Gold tier increases this to 3% IRA match on first-year contributions. Both tiers limit matching to first-year contributions only.

Source
Actual Budget: Does it connect to my bank automatically?

Yes, through SimpleFIN or GoCardless connectors, though coverage is narrower than commercial aggregators used by YNAB or Lunch Money.

Acorns: What's the APY on Acorns Emergency Savings?

The Emergency Savings account offers 3.35% APY as of March 16, 2026, which is described as more than 8.5 times the national average savings rate. This feature is available on Silver and Gold tiers only.

Source
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