Lago 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.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureLagoBudget Zero
CategoryBudgeting & FinanceBudgeting & Finance
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageGoVue
Setup difficultyHardEasy
Min. RAM2,048 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, sourcebare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 10,308★ 654
First released20222019
ReplacesStripe Billing, ChargebeeYNAB, Mint

Why pick each one

Choose Lago if…

  • Powerful for SaaS billing
  • Developer-friendly
Lago details

Choose Budget Zero if…

  • Works fully offline
  • Simple budgeting workflow
Budget Zero details

Frequently asked questions

Is Lago or Budget Zero better?

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

Are Lago and Budget Zero free and open-source?

Yes. Lago is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Budget Zero under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Lago and Budget Zero with Docker?

Lago: yes. Budget Zero: check the project docs for container support.

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