Beancount Import vs Sure
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Sure
Community-driven personal finance app
| Feature | Beancount Import | Sure |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 60 · Good | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 471 | ★ 10,024 |
| First released | 2018 | 2025 |
| Replaces | Mint | Mint, Quicken |
What are Beancount Import and Sure?
Beancount Import
Beancount Import is a tool for semi-automatically importing transactions from financial institutions into Beancount plain-text accounting files. It provides a web interface to review, classify, and reconcile imported entries.
- Semi-automated import
- Web review interface
- Transaction classification
- Reconciliation support
Sure
Sure is a self-hosted personal finance application maintained by the community as a continuation of an archived finance project. It tracks accounts, transactions, budgets, and net worth in a single dashboard.
- Accounts and transaction tracking
- Budgets and net worth view
- Community-maintained
- Self-hosted with Docker
Beancount Import vs Sure: key differences
Beancount Import is written in Python, while Sure is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Beancount Import versus AGPL-3.0 for Sure. Beancount Import is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Sure. Beancount Import is the more established project (first released 2018), while Sure arrived in 2025. Sure has the considerably larger community, at 10,024 GitHub stars versus 471. Sure lists first-class Docker deployment; Beancount Import does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Beancount Import if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Requires Beancount knowledge
- Per-institution configuration
Choose Sure if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 10k GitHub stars
- Written in Ruby
Frequently asked questions
Is Beancount Import or Sure better?
Neither is universally better. Sure has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Beancount Import and Sure free and open-source?
Yes. Beancount Import is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Sure under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Beancount Import and Sure with Docker?
Beancount Import: check the project docs for container support. Sure: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Beancount Import or Sure?
Beancount Import has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Sure. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.