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SPECIFICTION
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Actual Budget vs Fast Budget

Actual Budget

actualbudget.org

Fast Budget

fastbudget.app

Side by side

FigureActual BudgetFast Budget
Price fromFree€1.67/mo
Free planYesYes
Free trial——
Open source——
WebYesYes
WindowsYes—
macOSYes—
LinuxYes—
iOS—Yes
Android—Yes
APIYes—
Self-hostedYes—
Plans published16
Spec score · Personal Budgeting and Expense Tracking Apps8.7 (#2)8.5 (#4)
Spec score · Personal Finance Software8.7 (#18)8.5 (#36)
Account syncbothboth
Bill trackingYesYes
BudgetingEnvelope budgeting lets users assign only cash they have on hand.Users can set category spending limits for weekly, monthly, or yearly periods and receive alerts before overspending.
Budgeting toolsYesYes
Free planYesYes
PurposeActual Budget is a privacy-focused finance app built around envelope budgeting.Fast Budget is a personal finance app for tracking money, expenses, and budgets.
Report exportYesYes
SupportThe documentation directs users to the maintainers and community for help and support.The product site lists customer support at [email protected].

Plans

Actual Budget

  • Free and open sourceFree

Actual Budget pricing →

Fast Budget

  • FreeFree
  • Premium€19.99 a year
  • Ultra€29.99 a year
  • No planFree
  • Premium€19.99 a year
  • Ultra€29.99 a year

Fast Budget pricing →

In their own words

Actual Budget

Actual Budget is a privacy-focused finance app built around envelope budgeting. It lets users assign only cash they have on hand, manage split transactions and transfers, and track bills and net worth. The app stores data on the local device and a selected Actual server, and it works without a network connection. Reports include net worth and cash flow, alongside a custom report engine, and users can export reports. Actual imports QIF, OFX, QFX, CAMT.053 and CSV files. Bank syncing requires actual-server and credentials from a chosen provider, and automatic syncing is off by default. Optional end-to-end encryption prevents the server from accessing encrypted budget data, but it does not cover bank sync tokens; losing the encryption password without a local copy means the encrypted data cannot be recovered. Desktop clients are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, with web access and several self-hosting options. The free, MIT-licensed plan costs nothing.

Visit actualbudget.org

Fast Budget

Fast Budget has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.

Visit fastbudget.app