Lightning Terminal vs Sure
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?
Lightning Terminal
The easiest way to manage channel liquidity
VS
Sure
Community-driven personal finance app
| Feature | Lightning Terminal | Sure |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | free | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 593 | ★ 9,323 |
| First released | 2022 | 2025 |
| Replaces | — | Mint, Quicken |
Why pick each one
Choose Lightning Terminal if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Written in Go
Choose Sure if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.3k GitHub stars
- Written in Ruby
Frequently asked questions
Is Lightning Terminal or Sure better?
Neither is universally better. Sure has the larger community, while Lightning Terminal is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Lightning Terminal and Sure free and open-source?
Yes. Lightning Terminal is licensed under free and Sure under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lightning Terminal and Sure with Docker?
Lightning Terminal: yes. Sure: yes.