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Personal Finance · head to head

Actual Budget vs Lunch Money

Actual Budget logo

Actual Budget

Personal Finance

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lunch Money logo

Lunch Money

Personal Finance

Hosted budgeting app with bank sync, crypto and multi-currency tracking, pay-what-you-want annual pricing

From
$60/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Actual Budget has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Lunch Money there is no self-hosted or local-first option at all, so your transaction data lives permanently on Lunch Money servers under their terms.
  • They diverge on capability: Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting, Lunch Money covers Bank sync.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Actual Budget and Lunch Money actually diverge.

Attributes where Actual Budget and Lunch Money differ
AttributeActual BudgetLunch Money
Starting priceFree$60/year
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence fee; optional paid hosted sync and subscription tierPay what you want, annual, above a published minimum
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android

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 Actual Budget

  • Envelope budgeting
  • Local-first data
  • Self-hosted sync
  • Bank sync via SimpleFIN or GoCardless
  • Rules engine
  • Reports

Only in Lunch Money

  • Bank sync
  • Multi-currency support
  • Crypto account tracking
  • Recurring transaction detection
  • Budget rollover rules
  • Pay-what-you-want pricing

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 Lunch Money
  • Someone who wants their financial data to stay on hardware they control, using a home server for syncnot Lunch Money
  • A technically comfortable household running a small self-hosted stack who wants budgeting alongside itnot Lunch Money
  • A user who is fine paying a small hosted fee for sync convenience without wanting a full YNAB-style subscriptionnot Lunch Money

Lunch Money

  • Someone with bank accounts in more than one currency who wants unified budgeting without manual conversionnot Actual Budget
  • A crypto holder wanting wallet balances alongside ordinary bank budgeting in one viewnot Actual Budget
  • A user who wants automatic bank sync and does not want to run or maintain self-hosted softwarenot Actual Budget
  • A YNAB user frustrated by rigid category rollover rules who wants more configurable behaviournot 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.

Lunch Money

  • There is no self-hosted or local-first option at all, so your transaction data lives permanently on Lunch Money servers under their terms.
  • Bank sync depends on third-party aggregators, and connections to some smaller banks or regional institutions can break and need manual reconnection.
  • Pay-what-you-want pricing means the effective price a new subscriber lands on is not fixed, and legacy discounted pricing available to early adopters is not available to new sign-ups.
  • It has no free tier, only a trial, so anyone wanting a permanently free budgeting tool needs to look at Actual Budget or Firefly III instead.
  • Crypto tracking is basic balance tracking rather than portfolio analysis, so active traders will still want a dedicated crypto tool alongside it.

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

Lunch Money

$60/year
  • Lunch Money$60/year
    • Bank sync and manual accounts
    • Multi-currency and crypto tracking
    • Budgets, reports and recurring detection

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 Lunch Money if

  • You need bank sync.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want multi-currency support.
Lunch Money review

Questions people ask

Is Actual Budget or Lunch Money better?
Neither clearly leads. Actual Budget starts at Free and Lunch Money at $60/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Actual Budget or Lunch Money?
Actual Budget has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Actual Budget and $60/year for Lunch Money.
Does Actual Budget or Lunch Money run on more platforms?
Actual Budget runs on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android. Lunch Money runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Actual Budget for free?
Yes. Actual Budget has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lunch Money starts at $60/year.
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 Lunch Money is typically brought in for.
What can Actual Budget do that Lunch Money cannot?
Actual Budget covers Envelope budgeting, Local-first data, Self-hosted sync, Bank sync via SimpleFIN or GoCardless. Lunch Money covers Bank sync, Multi-currency support, Crypto account tracking, Recurring transaction detection.

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.

Lunch Money: Can I self-host Lunch Money?

No, it is a hosted service only; there is no self-hosted or open source version.

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.

Lunch Money: How does the pay-what-you-want pricing work?

Lunch Money publishes a minimum annual price and lets subscribers choose to pay that or more; existing subscribers can often keep older discounted rates.

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.

Lunch Money: Does it handle multiple currencies?

Yes, natively, which is a common reason people choose it over YNAB or Monarch Money for international finances.

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