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Personal Finance · head to head

Actual Budget vs Wally

Actual Budget logo

Actual Budget

Personal Finance

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wally logo

Wally

Personal Finance

Smart expense tracking for travel and daily life

From
Free
Rated
-
Full review

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.; Wally the Internet Archive's capture of wally.me on 2 January 2019 stated the app is free ('Control your money seamlessly. And, it's free.'), and claimed rankings as the #1 finance app in 22 countries and top 10 in 52 countries at that time.
  • They diverge on capability: Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting, Wally covers Receipt OCR scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Actual Budget and Wally differ
AttributeActual BudgetWally
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; optional paid hosted sync and subscription tierfreemium
PlatformsWeb, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, AndroidIOS, Android
FoundedUnknown2009

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 Wally

  • Receipt OCR scanning
  • Expense tracking
  • Receipt storage
  • Category management
  • Cloud storage
  • IOS support
  • Android 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 Wally
  • Someone who wants their financial data to stay on hardware they control, using a home server for syncnot Wally
  • A technically comfortable household running a small self-hosted stack who wants budgeting alongside itnot Wally
  • A user who is fine paying a small hosted fee for sync convenience without wanting a full YNAB-style subscriptionnot Wally

Wally

  • Budget Managementnot Actual Budget
  • Expense Trackingnot Actual Budget
  • Investment Trackingnot 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.

Wally

  • The Internet Archive's capture of wally.me on 2 January 2019 stated the app is free ('Control your money seamlessly. And, it's free.'), and claimed rankings as the #1 finance app in 22 countries and top 10 in 52 countries at that time.

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

Wally

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Receipt scanning
    • Expense tracking
    • Basic reports
  • Premium$9.99/month
    • Advanced analytics
    • Unlimited storage
    • Cloud sync

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 Wally if

  • You need receipt ocr scanning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on IOS, Android.
  • You also want expense tracking.
Wally review

Questions people ask

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

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.

Wally: Does Wally charge a subscription fee?

No, Wally is a free Chrome extension. The service compares product prices across retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Nike without requiring any payment from users.

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.

Wally: How does Wally make money if it is free?

The provided website content does not disclose Wally's business model or revenue source. The extension appears to be offered free to users for price comparison across retailers.

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.

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