Firefly III vs mempool

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?
FeatureFirefly IIImempool
CategoryBudgeting & FinanceBudgeting & Finance
LicenseAGPL-3.0free
LanguagePHPTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, one-click
GitHub stars★ 24,254★ 2,808
First released20162022
ReplacesMint, YNAB

Why pick each one

Choose Firefly III if…

  • Powerful budgeting features
  • Strong API for automation
Firefly III details

Choose mempool if…

  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • One-click install on common self-host platforms
  • Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
mempool details

Frequently asked questions

Is Firefly III or mempool better?

Neither is universally better. Firefly III has the larger community, while mempool is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Firefly III and mempool free and open-source?

Yes. Firefly III is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and mempool under free. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Firefly III and mempool with Docker?

Firefly III: yes. mempool: yes.

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