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Personal Finance · head to head

Firefly III vs Strapi

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
Strapi logo

Strapi

APIs

Headless CMS with REST and GraphQL APIs

From
$35/month
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: 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.; Strapi cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
  • They diverge on capability: Firefly III covers Double-entry style ledger, Strapi covers REST API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Firefly III and Strapi differ
AttributeFirefly IIIStrapi
Starting priceFree$35/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, DockerNode.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker
CategoryPersonal FinanceAPIs
FoundedUnknown2015

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 Firefly III

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

Only in Strapi

  • REST API
  • GraphQL API
  • Content management
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • AWS
  • Webhooks

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 Strapi
  • Someone who wants double-entry style accuracy rather than simple envelope budgetingnot Strapi
  • A privacy-focused user who refuses to put financial data on any third-party server, hosted or otherwisenot Strapi
  • A developer who wants API access to build custom bank import scripts for accounts with no standard connectornot Strapi

Strapi

  • Running a self hosted headless CMS with a REST or GraphQL APInot Firefly III
  • Giving editors a content admin panel over a custom content modelnot 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.

Strapi

  • Cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
  • Starter at $35 a month allows 100,000 API requests, and overage is $1.50 per 25,000
  • Extra bandwidth is $30 per 100 GB and extra asset storage $0.60 per GB
  • Backups start at the Pro plan, weekly, and only become daily at Business
  • An uptime SLA is Business only, at $450 a month per project
  • Additional environments cost $60 a month on Pro and $300 a month on Business

Pricing, plan by plan

Firefly III

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

Strapi

$35/month
  • Starter$35/month
    • 100k API requests
    • 50 GB asset storage
    • 50 GB asset bandwidth
  • Pro$90/month
    • 1M API requests
    • 250 GB asset storage
    • 500 GB asset bandwidth
  • Business$450/month
    • 10M API requests
    • 1000 GB asset storage
    • 1000 GB asset bandwidth

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 Strapi if

  • You need rest api.
  • You work on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want graphql api.
Strapi review

Questions people ask

Is Firefly III or Strapi better?
Neither clearly leads. Firefly III starts at Free and Strapi at $35/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Firefly III or Strapi?
Firefly III has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Firefly III and $35/month for Strapi.
Does Firefly III or Strapi run on more platforms?
Firefly III runs on Web, Linux, Docker. Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use Firefly III for free?
Yes. Firefly III has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Strapi starts at $35/month.
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 Strapi is typically brought in for.
What can Firefly III do that Strapi cannot?
Firefly III covers Double-entry style ledger, Multi-currency accounts, Bill and subscription tracking, Rule engine. Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL.

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.

Strapi: How much do API request overages cost?

Additional API requests beyond the plan limit cost $1.50 per 25000 requests. Extra asset storage costs $0.60 per GB, and additional bandwidth costs $30 per 100 GB.

Source
Firefly III: Does it support multiple currencies?

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

Strapi: Is yearly billing available?

Yes, yearly billing saves up to 17% compared to monthly billing on Strapi Cloud plans.

Source
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.

Strapi: What is included with the Pro plan?

The Pro plan costs $90 per month per project and includes 1M API requests, 250 GB asset storage, 500 GB bandwidth, multi-environment support, weekly backups, and manual backups.

Source
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