Softwr

Personal Finance · head to head

Actual Budget vs MoneyWiz

Actual Budget logo

Actual Budget

Personal Finance

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
M

MoneyWiz

Personal Finance

Simple and powerful personal finance app

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.; MoneyWiz there is no free tier; every plan requires a subscription
  • They diverge on capability: Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting, MoneyWiz covers Expense tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Actual Budget and MoneyWiz differ
AttributeActual BudgetMoneyWiz
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; optional paid hosted sync and subscription tierfreemium
PlatformsWeb, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, AndroidWeb, IOS, Android
FoundedUnknown2011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Actual Budget

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

Only in MoneyWiz

  • Expense tracking
  • Budget management
  • Multi-currency support
  • Financial analytics
  • Bank accounts
  • Credit cards
  • Web support
  • IOS support

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

MoneyWiz

  • Tracking personal accounts, budgets and bills across iOS, macOS, Windows and Androidnot Actual Budget
  • Syncing one finance database across multiple devices through MoneyWiz Cloudnot Actual Budget
  • Automatically importing transactions through bank syncnot 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.

MoneyWiz

  • There is no free tier; every plan requires a subscription
  • Bank sync with over 40,000 banks is Premium only, at 59.99 USD a year or 5.99 USD a month
  • The Standard plan at 29.99 USD a year provides only cloud sync between devices, with no bank sync
  • Subscriptions cap usage at 15 devices and two MoneyWiz Cloud accounts
  • Priority support is restricted to the Premium tier

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

MoneyWiz

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic expense tracking
    • Multiple accounts
  • Premium$4.99/month
    • Advanced analytics
    • Budget forecasting
    • Custom categories

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 MoneyWiz if

  • You need expense tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want budget management.
MoneyWiz review

Questions people ask

Is Actual Budget or MoneyWiz better?
Neither clearly leads. Actual Budget starts at Free and MoneyWiz at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Actual Budget or MoneyWiz?
Actual Budget starts at Free and MoneyWiz at Free.
Does Actual Budget or MoneyWiz run on more platforms?
Actual Budget runs on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android. MoneyWiz runs on Web, IOS, Android.
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 MoneyWiz is typically brought in for.
What can Actual Budget do that MoneyWiz cannot?
Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting, Local-first data, Self-hosted sync, Bank sync via SimpleFIN or GoCardless. MoneyWiz covers Expense tracking, Budget management, Multi-currency support, Financial analytics.

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.

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.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Actual Budget

More on MoneyWiz

Keep looking

Other head to heads