Paisa vs Portfolio Performance
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted budgeting & finance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Paisa | Portfolio Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Budgeting & Finance | Budgeting & Finance |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | EPL-1.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,217 | ★ 4,075 |
| First released | 2022 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Mint, Personal Capital | Sharesight, Personal Capital |
What are Paisa and Portfolio Performance?
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
Portfolio Performance
Portfolio Performance is a free, open-source Java desktop application for calculating the performance of an investment portfolio of stocks, ETFs, and funds. It provides true time-weighted returns, risk metrics, and multi-currency support.
- True time-weighted returns
- Multi-currency portfolios
- Detailed performance charts
- Quote import from many sources
Paisa vs Portfolio Performance: key differences
Paisa is written in TypeScript, while Portfolio Performance is built with Java. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Paisa versus EPL-1.0 for Portfolio Performance. Paisa is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Portfolio Performance. Portfolio Performance is the more established project (first released 2012), while Paisa arrived in 2022. Paisa lists first-class Docker deployment; Portfolio Performance does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Paisa if…
- Beautiful visualizations
- Plain-text portable data
Watch out for
- Requires Ledger knowledge
- Single-user focused
Choose Portfolio Performance if…
- Accurate performance calculations
- Rich analytics
Watch out for
- Desktop only
- Steeper learning curve
Frequently asked questions
Is Paisa or Portfolio Performance better?
Neither is universally better. Portfolio Performance has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Paisa and Portfolio Performance free and open-source?
Yes. Paisa is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Portfolio Performance under EPL-1.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Paisa and Portfolio Performance with Docker?
Paisa: yes. Portfolio Performance: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Paisa or Portfolio Performance?
Paisa has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Portfolio Performance. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.