MoneyWallet vs Paisa
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | MoneyWallet | Paisa |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 11 · At risk | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 635 | ★ 3,217 |
| First released | 2017 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Mint, Wallet by BudgetBakers | Mint, Personal Capital |
What are MoneyWallet and Paisa?
MoneyWallet
MoneyWallet is an open-source Android app for managing personal finances. It records transactions across multiple wallets and currencies, and supports budgets, debts, recurring payments, and optional backup to cloud storage.
- Multi-wallet support
- Budgets and recurring transactions
- Debt tracking
- Backup to cloud storage
Paisa
Paisa is an open-source personal finance manager built on top of the Ledger plain-text accounting format. It provides budgeting, net worth tracking, retirement planning, and rich visualizations.
- Built on Ledger format
- Net worth and retirement planning
- Rich interactive charts
- Goal tracking
MoneyWallet vs Paisa: key differences
MoneyWallet is written in Java, while Paisa is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for MoneyWallet versus AGPL-3.0 for Paisa. MoneyWallet is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Paisa. MoneyWallet is the more established project (first released 2017), while Paisa arrived in 2022. Paisa has the considerably larger community, at 3,217 GitHub stars versus 635. Paisa lists first-class Docker deployment; MoneyWallet does not.
Why pick each one
Choose MoneyWallet if…
- Works fully offline
- Material design interface
Watch out for
- Android only
- No web interface
Choose Paisa if…
- Beautiful visualizations
- Plain-text portable data
Watch out for
- Requires Ledger knowledge
- Single-user focused
Frequently asked questions
Is MoneyWallet or Paisa better?
Neither is universally better. Paisa has the larger community, while MoneyWallet is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are MoneyWallet and Paisa free and open-source?
Yes. MoneyWallet is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Paisa under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MoneyWallet and Paisa with Docker?
MoneyWallet: check the project docs for container support. Paisa: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, MoneyWallet or Paisa?
MoneyWallet has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Paisa. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.