Actual Budget vs REI3

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?
FeatureActual BudgetREI3
CategoryBudgeting & FinanceBudgeting & Finance
LicenseMITMIT
LanguageTypeScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 28,019★ 571
First released20222026
ReplacesYNAB, Mint

Why pick each one

Choose Actual Budget if…

  • Snappy offline-first experience
  • Privacy-focused sync
Actual Budget details

Choose REI3 if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Written in JavaScript
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
REI3 details

Frequently asked questions

Is Actual Budget or REI3 better?

Actual Budget is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider REI3 if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Actual Budget and REI3 free and open-source?

Yes. Actual Budget is licensed under MIT and REI3 under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Actual Budget and REI3 with Docker?

Actual Budget: yes. REI3: check the project docs for container support.

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