Actual vs Beancount
| Tagline | Local-first zero-sum budgeting app with optional cross-device sync | Plain-text double-entry bookkeeping language and toolkit for financial data analysis |
| Category | Finance & Budgeting | Finance & Budgeting |
| Replaces | YNAB, Mint | Mint, YNAB, QuickBooks |
| GitHub stars | 27k | 3.7k |
| Language | Nodejs | Python |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 2/5 Easy | 2/5 Easy |
| Deploy options | Docker Docker Compose Manual | Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 5 days ago | 1 month ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
Actual
- Bank sync coverage is narrower than YNAB's direct connections, especially outside the US/EU
- No mobile native app; the web app is mobile-responsive but not fully optimised for touch
- Investment tracking and net-worth projections are basic compared to Mint/Quicken
- Multi-currency support is limited and requires manual workarounds
Beancount
- No GUI for entering transactions; all editing done in text files
- No bank sync; imports require custom scripts or community importers
- Learning curve for double-entry accounting concepts
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose Actual for the larger community and ecosystem. Actual has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
Beancount
Plain-text double-entry bookkeeping language and toolkit for financial data analysis