Actual vs Bigcapital
| Tagline | Local-first zero-sum budgeting app with optional cross-device sync | Financial accounting and inventory management for small to medium businesses |
| Category | Finance & Budgeting | Finance & Budgeting |
| Replaces | YNAB, Mint | QuickBooks, Mint |
| GitHub stars | 27k | 3.7k |
| Language | Nodejs | Docker |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 2/5 Easy | 3/5 Moderate |
| Deploy options | Docker Docker Compose Manual | Docker Docker Compose |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | today | yesterday |
| 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
Bigcapital
- Payroll processing is not yet included
- Bank reconciliation and automatic bank feed import are limited compared to QuickBooks
- Ecosystem of third-party integrations (payment gateways, e-commerce) is still maturing
- Tax filing and jurisdiction-specific compliance features are minimal
Bottom line
Choose Actual if you want the lower-effort setup; 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.
Bigcapital
Financial accounting and inventory management for small to medium businesses