Actual Budget vs Firefly III
Budgeting and account tracking.
The pick: Actual Budget
Actual is a budget you will keep. Firefly is bookkeeping you will respect.
The facts
| Fact | Actual Budget | Firefly III |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Effort | an evening | an evening |
| Activity | active | active |
| Repository | github.com/actualbudget/actual | github.com/firefly-iii/firefly-iii |
Pick Actual Budget if
Pick Actual Budget for envelope budgeting and a phone app that syncs.
Pick Firefly III if
Pick Firefly III when you want double-entry accounts and reports that reconcile.
What each one costs you
- Actual BudgetBank sync needs a third-party provider and a subscription. Manual import always works.
- Firefly IIIDouble-entry accounting, which is more than budgeting and less friendly.
The full entry for both lives under Instead of Mint and YNAB, judged swap it.