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Personal Finance · head to head

Actual Budget vs Kong Gateway

Actual Budget logo

Actual Budget

Personal Finance

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kong Gateway logo

Kong Gateway

APIs

Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
  • They diverge on capability: Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting, Kong Gateway covers API request routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Actual Budget and Kong Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where Actual Budget and Kong Gateway differ
AttributeActual BudgetKong Gateway
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; optional paid hosted sync and subscription tierfreemium
PlatformsWeb, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Androidweb, linux, api
CategoryPersonal FinanceAPIs
FoundedUnknown2017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Actual Budget

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

Only in Kong Gateway

  • API request routing
  • Plugin ecosystem
  • Developer portals
  • AI Gateway
  • Analytics and observability
  • SSO and audit logs

What people use each for

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

Actual Budget

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

Kong Gateway

  • Routing and securing traffic across microservicesnot Actual Budget
  • Publishing internal or external developer portalsnot Actual Budget
  • Managing rate limits and authentication at the API edgenot Actual Budget
  • Gateway-level routing to multiple LLM providersnot Actual Budget

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Kong Gateway

  • The free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
  • Plus tier caps API requests at 1M/month before incurring per-million overage charges.
  • Enterprise pricing is custom and not published, making budgeting harder without sales contact.
  • Configuration and plugin management can require significant operational expertise to run at scale.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Kong Gateway

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • 30-day enterprise functionality trial
    • Unlimited gateways
    • 30-day analytics retention
  • Plus$undefined/month
    • Up to 5 serverless, 2 hybrid, 2 dedicated cloud gateways
    • 1M API requests/month included
    • Up to 2 developer portals
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited hybrid and dedicated cloud gateways
    • Unlimited developer portals
    • SSO and audit logs

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Kong Gateway if

  • You need api request routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, linux, api.
  • You also want plugin ecosystem.
Kong Gateway review

Questions people ask

Is Actual Budget or Kong Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Actual Budget starts at Free and Kong Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Actual Budget or Kong Gateway?
Actual Budget starts at Free and Kong Gateway at Free.
Does Actual Budget or Kong Gateway run on more platforms?
Actual Budget runs on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android. Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, api.
Can I use Actual Budget for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Actual Budget best used for?
Actual Budget is most often used for a former ynab user who wants the same envelope method without an ongoing subscription, someone who wants their financial data to stay on hardware they control, using a home server for sync, a technically comfortable household running a small self-hosted stack who wants budgeting alongside it, a user who is fine paying a small hosted fee for sync convenience without wanting a full ynab-style subscription. Of those, a former ynab user who wants the same envelope method without an ongoing subscription and someone who wants their financial data to stay on hardware they control, using a home server for sync are not what Kong Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Actual Budget do that Kong Gateway cannot?
Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting, Local-first data, Self-hosted sync, Bank sync via SimpleFIN or GoCardless. Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Kong Gateway: Is Kong Gateway free?

Kong's core gateway is open source and free to self-host. Kong Konnect, the managed cloud platform, offers a 30-day free trial before moving to paid Plus or custom Enterprise pricing.

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.

Kong Gateway: How is usage metered on the Plus plan?

The Plus plan includes 1M API requests per month, with additional usage billed at $200 per extra 1 million requests up to a 10M/month cap, plus per-gateway and per-LLM-model charges.

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.

Kong Gateway: What support is included?

Plus includes email support with a 2-business-day SLA, while Enterprise adds dedicated success managers and professional services.

Source
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