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Personal Finance · head to head

Actual Budget vs Vena Solutions

Actual Budget logo

Actual Budget

Personal Finance

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vena Solutions logo

Vena Solutions

Accounting

FP&A planning that keeps Excel as the front end and puts a database and workflow behind it

From
On request
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: 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.; Vena Solutions vena publishes no pricing and contracts are modular, so two organisations of similar size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark without going through procurement.
  • They diverge on capability: Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting, Vena Solutions covers Excel add-in interface.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Actual Budget and Vena Solutions actually diverge.

Attributes where Actual Budget and Vena Solutions differ
AttributeActual BudgetVena Solutions
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; optional paid hosted sync and subscription tierquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, AndroidWeb, Windows, Excel add-in
CategoryPersonal FinanceAccounting

Identical on both: 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 Vena Solutions

  • Excel add-in interface
  • Central multidimensional database
  • Workflow and approvals
  • Audit trail
  • Rolling forecasts
  • Close management
  • Power BI integration
  • ERP connectors

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

Vena Solutions

  • A finance team that wants governance and audit over budgeting but refuses to give up Excel formulasnot Actual Budget
  • Replacing a shared drive full of departmental budget workbooks with routed templates and tracked submissionnot Actual Budget
  • Consolidating actuals from more than one ERP into a single reporting set without a data warehouse projectnot Actual Budget
  • Running monthly rolling forecasts where the model is complex enough to need real spreadsheet logicnot 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.

Vena Solutions

  • Vena publishes no pricing and contracts are modular, so two organisations of similar size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark without going through procurement.
  • Implementation services for data integration and template configuration typically make up a large part of first-year cost, often exceeding the licence, and that figure only appears in the proposal.
  • Excel dependency is structural: organisations on Google Workspace, or staff working only in a browser or on Chromebooks, cannot use the primary interface as intended.
  • Because it accepts existing spreadsheets, it can preserve years of undocumented logic and circular workarounds rather than forcing the clean-up that a rebuild on a purpose-built modelling tool would require.
  • Model performance degrades with very large dimensional models, so organisations that grow into genuinely large planning problems eventually hit the limits of the spreadsheet-first design and face a second migration.

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

Vena Solutions

On request
  • Vena Professional$undefined/year
    • Core planning platform and Excel add-in
    • Workflow, audit trail and version control
    • Standard support
  • Vena Complete$undefined/year
    • Everything in Professional
    • Power BI integration
    • Premium support and a customer success manager

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 Vena Solutions if

  • You need excel add-in interface.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Excel add-in.
  • You also want central multidimensional database.
Vena Solutions review

Questions people ask

Is Actual Budget or Vena Solutions better?
Neither clearly leads. Actual Budget starts at Free and Vena Solutions at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Actual Budget or Vena Solutions?
Actual Budget has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Actual Budget and On request for Vena Solutions.
Does Actual Budget or Vena Solutions run on more platforms?
Actual Budget runs on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android. Vena Solutions runs on Web, Windows, Excel add-in.
Can I use Actual Budget for free?
Yes. Actual Budget has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Vena Solutions starts at On request.
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 Vena Solutions is typically brought in for.
What can Actual Budget do that Vena Solutions cannot?
Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting, Local-first data, Self-hosted sync, Bank sync via SimpleFIN or GoCardless. Vena Solutions covers Excel add-in interface, Central multidimensional database, Workflow and approvals, Audit trail.

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.

Vena Solutions: Do we have to give up Excel?

No, that is the point of the product. Excel is the interface, backed by a central database and workflow.

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.

Vena Solutions: Is pricing published?

No. Vena quotes per organisation based on users, modules and services.

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.

Vena Solutions: How much is implementation?

It is quoted separately and commonly forms a large share of first-year cost. Get it itemised before comparing against Anaplan or Adaptive.

Vena Solutions: Does it work without Microsoft Office?

Not properly. The Excel add-in is the main working surface.

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