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Personal Finance · head to head

Fidelity vs Firefly III

Fidelity logo

Fidelity

Personal Finance

Building a better financial future

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: Fidelity options trades carry a 0.65 USD per contract fee on top of zero commission; 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: Fidelity covers Commission-free trading, 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 Fidelity and Firefly III actually diverge.

Attributes where Fidelity and Firefly III differ
AttributeFidelityFirefly III
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modeltransactionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, IOS, AndroidWeb, Linux, Docker
Founded1946Unknown

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 Fidelity

  • Commission-free trading
  • Retirement planning
  • Advisory services
  • Research tools
  • Bank accounts
  • Investment accounts
  • 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.

Fidelity

  • Commission free trading of US stocks and ETFsnot Firefly III
  • Holding IRAs, 401(k) plans and taxable brokerage accountsnot Firefly III
  • Trading bonds, options and mutual funds from one accountnot Firefly III

Firefly III

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

Where each one falls short

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

Fidelity

  • Options trades carry a 0.65 USD per contract fee on top of zero commission
  • Non Fidelity mutual funds carry a 49.95 USD transaction fee per purchase
  • Secondary market bonds cost 1.00 USD per bond, while new issues are free
  • A foreign settlement fee of 50 USD applies per trade
  • Margin rates are tiered by debit balance, from 11.825 percent below 25,000 USD down to 7.50 percent at 1 million USD or more, against a base rate of 10.575 percent effective 12 December 2025
  • Margin liquidation by the broker costs 32.95 USD per liquidation

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

Fidelity

On request
  • Brokerage$undefined/month
    • Commission-free trading
    • Research tools
  • Advisory$undefined/month
    • Personal advisor
    • Wealth management

Firefly III

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Fidelity if

  • You need commission-free trading.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want retirement planning.
Fidelity 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 Fidelity or Firefly III better?
Neither clearly leads. Fidelity 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, Fidelity or Firefly III?
Firefly III has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Fidelity and Free for Firefly III.
Does Fidelity or Firefly III run on more platforms?
Fidelity 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. Fidelity starts at On request.
What is Fidelity best used for?
Fidelity is most often used for commission free trading of us stocks and etfs, holding iras, 401(k) plans and taxable brokerage accounts, trading bonds, options and mutual funds from one account. Of those, commission free trading of us stocks and etfs and holding iras, 401(k) plans and taxable brokerage accounts are not what Firefly III is typically brought in for.
What can Fidelity do that Firefly III cannot?
Fidelity covers Commission-free trading, Retirement planning, Advisory services, Research tools. 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.

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