Actual Budget vs Core Lightning
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options
— licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one
replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Compare Actual Budget with
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Compare Core Lightning with
choose an app… Maybe HyperSwitch Firefly III Lago Akaunting Invoice Ninja Sure Ghostfolio Wealthfolio
Feature Actual Budget Core Lightning Category Budgeting & Finance Budgeting & Finance License MIT free Language TypeScript TypeScript Setup difficulty Easy Easy Min. RAM 256 MB 512 MB Deployment docker, bare-metal, source docker, one-click GitHub stars ★ 28,019 ★ 51 First released 2022 2022 Replaces YNAB, Mint —
Why pick each one
Choose Core Lightning if… Easy to set up — beginner-friendly First-class Docker support for quick deployment One-click install on common self-host platforms Written in TypeScript Core Lightning details
Frequently asked questions Is Actual Budget or Core Lightning better? Neither is universally better. Actual Budget has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Actual Budget and Core Lightning free and open-source? Yes. Actual Budget is licensed under MIT and Core Lightning under free. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Actual Budget and Core Lightning with Docker? Actual Budget: yes. Core Lightning: yes.