Softwr

Personal Finance · head to head

E*TRADE vs Firefly III

E*TRADE logo

E*TRADE

Personal Finance

Express your investing style

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Firefly III logo

Firefly III

Personal Finance

Free, open source, self-hosted personal finance manager with double-entry style accounting

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Firefly III has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: E*TRADE stock and ETF trades were $0 commission but options carried a $0.65 per-contract fee, broker-assisted trades added a $25 surcharge, and margin interest rates ranged from 12.70% to 13.20% depending on balance tier (Internet Archive capture, 3 January 2023); Firefly III there is no official managed hosting, so a non-technical user has no easy on-ramp the way Actual Budget offers with its paid hosted sync.
  • They diverge on capability: E*TRADE covers Advanced trading tools, Firefly III covers Double-entry style ledger.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which E*TRADE and Firefly III actually diverge.

Attributes where E*TRADE and Firefly III differ
AttributeE*TRADEFirefly III
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modeltransactionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, IOS, AndroidWeb, Linux, Docker
Founded1956Unknown

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 E*TRADE

  • Advanced trading tools
  • Options and futures
  • Research tools
  • Mobile trading
  • Bank accounts
  • Wire transfers
  • Web support
  • IOS support

Only in Firefly III

  • Double-entry style ledger
  • Multi-currency accounts
  • Bill and subscription tracking
  • Rule engine
  • Reports and charts
  • API access

What people use each for

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

E*TRADE

  • Budget Managementnot Firefly III
  • Expense Trackingnot Firefly III
  • Investment Trackingnot Firefly III

Firefly III

  • A self-hoster already running a home server or NAS who wants their financial ledger on the same infrastructurenot E*TRADE
  • Someone who wants double-entry style accuracy rather than simple envelope budgetingnot E*TRADE
  • A privacy-focused user who refuses to put financial data on any third-party server, hosted or otherwisenot E*TRADE
  • A developer who wants API access to build custom bank import scripts for accounts with no standard connectornot E*TRADE

Where each one falls short

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

E*TRADE

  • Stock and ETF trades were $0 commission but options carried a $0.65 per-contract fee, broker-assisted trades added a $25 surcharge, and margin interest rates ranged from 12.70% to 13.20% depending on balance tier (Internet Archive capture, 3 January 2023)

Firefly III

  • There is no official managed hosting, so a non-technical user has no easy on-ramp the way Actual Budget offers with its paid hosted sync.
  • The double-entry-influenced model is less intuitive for newcomers than simple envelope budgeting, and the learning curve is real.
  • Automatic bank sync depends on the community-run importer and third-party connectors, and coverage and reliability vary a lot by bank and country.
  • Mobile access is via a web interface rather than a polished native app, which is a step behind Actual Budget or Lunch Money on phones.
  • Because there is no company behind it, security patching and feature development depend entirely on volunteer maintainer time.

Pricing, plan by plan

E*TRADE

On request
  • Stock & ETF TradingFree
    • Commission-free trades
    • Real-time quotes
  • Advanced Trading$undefined/month
    • All Stock & ETF features
    • Options, futures
    • Advanced tools

Firefly III

Free
  • Firefly IIIFree
    • Full functionality, self-hosted
    • No usage limits
    • Community support, donations accepted

Which should you pick?

Choose E*TRADE if

  • You need advanced trading tools.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want options and futures.
E*TRADE review

Choose Firefly III if

  • You need double-entry style ledger.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want multi-currency accounts.
Firefly III review

Questions people ask

Is E*TRADE or Firefly III better?
Neither clearly leads. E*TRADE starts at On request and Firefly III at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, E*TRADE or Firefly III?
Firefly III has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for E*TRADE and Free for Firefly III.
Does E*TRADE or Firefly III run on more platforms?
E*TRADE runs on Web, IOS, Android. Firefly III runs on Web, Linux, Docker.
Can I use Firefly III for free?
Yes. Firefly III has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. E*TRADE starts at On request.
What is E*TRADE best used for?
E*TRADE is most often used for budget management, expense tracking, investment tracking. Of those, budget management and expense tracking are not what Firefly III is typically brought in for.
What can E*TRADE do that Firefly III cannot?
E*TRADE covers Advanced trading tools, Options and futures, Research tools, Mobile trading. Firefly III covers Double-entry style ledger, Multi-currency accounts, Bill and subscription tracking, Rule engine.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Firefly III: Can I pay someone to host Firefly III for me?

Not through the core project; some third-party providers sell Firefly III hosting independently, but there is no official managed service.

Firefly III: Does it support multiple currencies?

Yes, natively, including accounts and transactions in different currencies.

Firefly III: Is it really free with no paid tier?

Yes, the software is free and open source under the AGPL; the project accepts donations but sells nothing.

Share

Related pages

More on E*TRADE

More on Firefly III

Keep looking

Other head to heads