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Personal Finance · head to head

Firefly III vs MoneyWiz

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
M

MoneyWiz

Personal Finance

Simple and powerful personal finance app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; MoneyWiz there is no free tier; every plan requires a subscription
  • They diverge on capability: Firefly III covers Double-entry style ledger, MoneyWiz covers Expense tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Firefly III and MoneyWiz actually diverge.

Attributes where Firefly III and MoneyWiz differ
AttributeFirefly IIIMoneyWiz
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsWeb, Linux, DockerWeb, 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 Firefly III

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

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.

Firefly III

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

MoneyWiz

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

Where each one falls short

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

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.

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

Firefly III

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

MoneyWiz

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

Which should you pick?

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

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 Firefly III or MoneyWiz better?
Neither clearly leads. Firefly III 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, Firefly III or MoneyWiz?
Firefly III starts at Free and MoneyWiz at Free.
Does Firefly III or MoneyWiz run on more platforms?
Firefly III runs on Web, Linux, Docker. MoneyWiz runs on Web, IOS, Android.
Can I use Firefly III for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Firefly III best used for?
Firefly III is most often used for a self-hoster already running a home server or nas who wants their financial ledger on the same infrastructure, someone who wants double-entry style accuracy rather than simple envelope budgeting, a privacy-focused user who refuses to put financial data on any third-party server, hosted or otherwise, a developer who wants api access to build custom bank import scripts for accounts with no standard connector. Of those, a self-hoster already running a home server or nas who wants their financial ledger on the same infrastructure and someone who wants double-entry style accuracy rather than simple envelope budgeting are not what MoneyWiz is typically brought in for.
What can Firefly III do that MoneyWiz cannot?
Firefly III covers Double-entry style ledger, Multi-currency accounts, Bill and subscription tracking, Rule engine. MoneyWiz covers Expense tracking, Budget management, Multi-currency support, Financial analytics.

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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