Actual Budget vs Fast Budget
Actual Budget
actualbudget.orgFast Budget
fastbudget.appSide by side
| Figure | Actual Budget | Fast Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | €1.67/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 6 |
| Spec score · Personal Budgeting and Expense Tracking Apps | 8.7 (#2) | 8.5 (#4) |
| Spec score · Personal Finance Software | 8.7 (#18) | 8.5 (#36) |
| Account sync | both | both |
| Bill tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Budgeting | Envelope 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 tools | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Purpose | Actual 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 export | Yes | Yes |
| Support | The documentation directs users to the maintainers and community for help and support. | The product site lists customer support at [email protected]. |
Plans
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
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.
Fast Budget
Fast Budget has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.