Actual Budget vs Budget Zero
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
Budget Zero
Self-hosted zero-based budgeting tool
| Feature | Actual Budget | Budget Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 62 · Good |
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 29,118 | ★ 655 |
| First released | 2022 | 2019 |
| Replaces | YNAB, Mint | YNAB, Mint |
What are Actual Budget and Budget Zero?
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
Budget Zero
Budgetzero is an open-source, offline-first envelope budgeting application. It works entirely in the browser with local storage and optional CouchDB sync for multi-device budgeting.
- Envelope budgeting
- Offline-first browser app
- Optional CouchDB sync
- Import from YNAB
Actual Budget vs Budget Zero: key differences
Actual Budget is written in TypeScript, while Budget Zero is built with Vue. Licensing differs — MIT for Actual Budget versus GPL-3.0 for Budget Zero. Budget Zero is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Actual Budget. Budget Zero is the more established project (first released 2019), while Actual Budget arrived in 2022. Actual Budget has the considerably larger community, at 29,118 GitHub stars versus 655. Actual Budget lists first-class Docker deployment; Budget Zero does not.
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 Budget Zero if…
- Works fully offline
- Simple budgeting workflow
Watch out for
- Small project
- Limited reporting
Frequently asked questions
Is Actual Budget or Budget Zero 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 Budget Zero free and open-source?
Yes. Actual Budget is licensed under MIT and Budget Zero under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Actual Budget and Budget Zero with Docker?
Actual Budget: yes. Budget Zero: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Actual Budget or Budget Zero?
Budget Zero has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Actual Budget. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.