Actual Budget vs Maybe
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Actual Budget
Local-first envelope budgeting app
VS
Maybe
Archived
Open-source personal finance and wealth app
| Feature | Actual Budget | Maybe |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 29,118 | ★ 54,272 |
| First released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Replaces | YNAB, Mint | Mint, Personal Capital |
What are Actual Budget and Maybe?
Actual Budget
Actual is a free, open-source personal finance app focused on zero-based, envelope-style budgeting. It is local-first with end-to-end encrypted sync across devices.
- Envelope budgeting method
- Local-first with encrypted sync
- Fast and responsive UI
- Bank import via plugins
Maybe
Maybe is an open-source personal finance and wealth management application built with Ruby on Rails. It helps users track accounts, net worth, investments, and budgets in one dashboard.
- Net worth tracking
- Investment portfolio view
- Budgeting tools
- AI-assisted insights
Actual Budget vs Maybe: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Maybe's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Actual Budget is actively maintained. Actual Budget is written in TypeScript, while Maybe is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — MIT for Actual Budget versus AGPL-3.0 for Maybe. Actual Budget is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Maybe. Actual Budget is the more established project (first released 2022), while Maybe arrived in 2024.
Why pick each one
Choose Actual Budget if…
- Snappy offline-first experience
- Privacy-focused sync
Watch out for
- Bank sync needs extra setup
- Fewer reports than alternatives
Choose Maybe if…
- Modern polished interface
- Active development
Watch out for
- Young project
- Bank integrations still maturing
Frequently asked questions
Is Actual Budget or Maybe better?
Neither is universally better. Maybe has the larger community, while Actual Budget is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Actual Budget and Maybe free and open-source?
Yes. Actual Budget is licensed under MIT and Maybe under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Actual Budget and Maybe with Docker?
Actual Budget: yes. Maybe: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Actual Budget or Maybe?
Actual Budget has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Maybe. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.