Actual Budget
Overview
Actual Budget is a fast, privacy-focused personal finance app that puts you in control of your money. Built on the envelope budgeting methodology, Actual helps you allocate every dollar to a purpose and track your spending in real time. It is local-first by design, meaning your data stays on your devices with optional encrypted sync across computers and mobile.
Key Features
- Envelope Budgeting: Assign money to budget categories and track spending against allocations
- Multi-Device Sync: Optional end-to-end encrypted sync across all your devices
- Privacy-First: Your data never touches third-party servers without your explicit consent
- Transaction Management: Import transactions, categorize them, and reconcile accounts
- Reports & Analytics: Visual spending breakdowns, net worth tracking, and trend analysis
- Rules Engine: Automatically categorize transactions based on customizable rules
- Goal Tracking: Set savings goals and track progress over time
- Local-First: Works offline with full functionality; syncs when connected
- Budget Templates: Pre-built budget categories to help you get started quickly
- Open Source: Fully transparent codebase you can inspect, modify, and self-host
License
Actual Budget is released under the MIT License, a permissive open-source license that allows free use, modification, and distribution.
Platforms
- Desktop (Web app via browser, or packaged with Electron)
- Mobile (via browser or Progressive Web App)
- Self-hosted sync server (Node.js)