Actual Budget vs Firefly III: Finance Apps Compared

Quick Verdict

Actual Budget is the better choice if you want envelope-style budgeting with a fast, offline-first interface. Firefly III is the better choice if you need full double-entry bookkeeping with detailed reporting, automated transaction rules, and multi-currency support. Most people looking for a self-hosted YNAB replacement should pick Actual. Most people wanting to track every financial account they own should pick Firefly III.

Updated March 2026: Verified with latest Docker images and configurations.

Overview

Actual Budget started as a commercial product before going open source in 2022. It focuses on envelope budgeting — assign every dollar a job, track spending against categories, and adjust in real time. The UI is fast because the app runs locally in your browser with a SQLite database, syncing to your server in the background.

Firefly III has been open source since 2017 and takes a fundamentally different approach. It is a full double-entry bookkeeping system built on Laravel (PHP). Every transaction has a source and destination account. It supports budgets, piggy banks (savings goals), automated rules, recurring transactions, and detailed reporting dashboards. It is closer to accounting software than a budgeting app.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Actual Budget	Firefly III
Budgeting method	Envelope (assign every dollar)	Traditional budgets + double-entry bookkeeping
Double-entry accounting	No	Yes
Bank sync	GoCardless and SimpleFIN	GoCardless via Firefly III Data Importer
Multi-currency	No	Yes
Recurring transactions	Manual entry	Built-in automation
Transaction rules	No	Yes — auto-categorize, tag, transform
Piggy banks / savings goals	No	Yes
Reports and charts	Basic spending reports	Extensive — income/expense, net worth, budgets, categories, tags
API	REST API	Full REST API with personal access tokens
Mobile app	Responsive web UI (works well on mobile)	Third-party apps available (e.g., Waterfly III)
Offline support	Yes — local-first, syncs when online	No — server-required
Import formats	OFX, QFX, QIF, CSV	CSV, MT940, CAMT, Spectre, GoCardless
Multi-user	Sync across devices (single budget)	Multi-user with separate profiles
License	MIT	AGPL-3.0
Language	TypeScript / React	PHP (Laravel)
Database	SQLite	PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQLite

Installation Complexity

Actual Budget is simpler to deploy. It is a single Docker container with no external database dependency. Pull the image, map a port and a volume, and you are done. The entire state lives in a SQLite file inside the container’s data directory.

Firefly III requires more setup. The recommended deployment includes the main application container plus a PostgreSQL (or MySQL) database container. You also need to configure an app key, set database credentials, and optionally deploy the Firefly III Data Importer as a separate container for bank sync. It is not difficult, but there are more moving parts.

Actual Budget Docker Compose

Create a docker-compose.yml:

services:
  actual:
    image: actualbudget/actual-server:26.3.0
    container_name: actual-budget
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5006:5006"
    volumes:
      - actual-data:/data
    environment:
      # Port the server listens on inside the container
      - ACTUAL_PORT=5006
      # Set to true to enable HTTPS (provide cert/key in /data/cert.pem and /data/key.pem)
      - ACTUAL_HTTPS=false

volumes:
  actual-data:
    driver: local

Start it:

docker compose up -d

Open http://your-server:5006, create a password, and start budgeting. That is the entire setup.

Firefly III Docker Compose

Create a .env file first:

# Generate a 32-character random app key (required)
# Run: head /dev/urandom | tr -dc 'A-Za-z0-9' | head -c 32
APP_KEY=CHANGE_ME_TO_A_RANDOM_32_CHAR_STRING

# Database credentials
DB_PASSWORD=firefly_secret_change_me

# Firefly III site URL (change to your domain or IP)
APP_URL=http://localhost:8080

# Trusted proxies — set to ** if behind a reverse proxy
TRUSTED_PROXIES=

# Time zone
TZ=America/New_York

Create a docker-compose.yml:

services:
  firefly:
    image: fireflyiii/core:version-6.5.4
    container_name: firefly-iii
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - firefly-upload:/var/www/html/storage/upload
    environment:
      # App key — must be exactly 32 characters. Generate one and keep it safe.
      - APP_KEY=${APP_KEY}
      # Database connection
      - DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
      - DB_HOST=firefly-db
      - DB_PORT=5432
      - DB_DATABASE=firefly
      - DB_USERNAME=firefly
      - DB_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
      # Site URL — used for generating links in emails and API responses
      - APP_URL=${APP_URL}
      # Trusted proxies — set to ** if behind a reverse proxy
      - TRUSTED_PROXIES=${TRUSTED_PROXIES}
      # Time zone
      - TZ=${TZ}
      # Log channel
      - LOG_CHANNEL=stack
      # Mail (optional — configure if you want email notifications)
      - MAIL_MAILER=log
    depends_on:
      firefly-db:
        condition: service_healthy

  firefly-db:
    image: postgres:16.2-alpine
    container_name: firefly-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - firefly-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=firefly
      - POSTGRES_USER=firefly
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U firefly -d firefly"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  # Optional: Data Importer for bank sync and CSV imports
  firefly-importer:
    image: fireflyiii/data-importer:version-2.2.1
    container_name: firefly-importer
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8081:8080"
    environment:
      # URL of your Firefly III instance (internal Docker network)
      - FIREFLY_III_URL=http://firefly:8080
      # Generate a personal access token in Firefly III: Options > Profile > OAuth
      - FIREFLY_III_ACCESS_TOKEN=your-personal-access-token
      # Trusted proxies
      - TRUSTED_PROXIES=${TRUSTED_PROXIES}
    depends_on:
      - firefly

volumes:
  firefly-upload:
    driver: local
  firefly-db-data:
    driver: local

Start it:

docker compose up -d

Open http://your-server:8080 and create your admin account. For the data importer, generate a personal access token in Firefly III under Options > Profile > OAuth, then update the FIREFLY_III_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable and restart the importer container.

Performance and Resource Usage

Metric	Actual Budget	Firefly III
RAM (idle)	~80 MB	~150 MB (app + database)
RAM (active use)	~100 MB	~200 MB
CPU	Very low — most logic runs in the browser	Low to moderate — PHP processes server-side
Disk	Minimal — SQLite files are small	Moderate — PostgreSQL stores all data server-side
Startup time	~2 seconds	~10-15 seconds (Laravel boot + database connection)

Actual Budget feels noticeably faster in daily use because the app logic runs in your browser. The server is essentially a sync endpoint. Firefly III renders pages server-side, so every action makes a round trip. It is not slow, but Actual feels snappier.

Community and Support

Actual Budget has a growing community centered around its Discord server and GitHub repository. Development is active with regular releases. Documentation is solid and focused on getting started quickly.

Firefly III has a larger and more established community. It has been around since 2017, has extensive documentation, an active GitHub Discussions board, and a dedicated subreddit. The documentation covers nearly every feature in detail, including API usage and automation.

Metric	Actual Budget	Firefly III
GitHub stars	~16,000+	~17,000+
First release	2022 (open source)	2017
Release frequency	Monthly	Monthly
Documentation quality	Good	Excellent
Community size	Growing	Large and established

Use Cases

Choose Actual Budget If…

• You want envelope-style budgeting (like YNAB but self-hosted)
• Speed matters — you want instant UI responses with no server lag
• You prefer a simple setup with one container and no database to manage
• You budget on multiple devices and want offline support that syncs automatically
• You want a clean, modern UI focused entirely on budgeting
• Your primary goal is controlling spending, not tracking net worth

Choose Firefly III If…

• You want full double-entry bookkeeping across all your accounts
• You track multiple currencies (travel, international accounts, investments)
• You want automated transaction rules that categorize imports for you
• You need detailed financial reports — net worth over time, income vs expenses, category breakdowns
• You use piggy banks or savings goals to track progress toward targets
• You want to import bank statements automatically via GoCardless or CSV
• You manage finances for a household and need multi-user support

Final Verdict

These two apps solve different problems. Actual Budget is a budgeting tool. Firefly III is a personal accounting system. Picking between them depends on what you actually need.

If your goal is to control your spending — assign dollars to categories, see what is left in each envelope, adjust mid-month when you overspend on dining out — Actual Budget is the clear winner. It does one thing and does it exceptionally well. The local-first architecture makes it feel like a native app, not a self-hosted web tool. Setup takes two minutes.

If your goal is to track your complete financial picture — every bank account, credit card, investment, loan, and cash transaction across currencies with automated categorization and reporting — Firefly III is what you want. It is more complex to set up and use, but that complexity reflects the depth of what it does. The reporting alone makes it worthwhile for anyone serious about understanding where their money goes.

For most people getting started with self-hosted finance tools, start with Actual Budget. It has a lower barrier to entry and solves the most common problem (budgeting). If you outgrow it and want full bookkeeping, migrate to Firefly III later.

Related

• How to Self-Host Actual Budget
• Best Self-Hosted Personal Finance Tools
• Docker Compose Basics
• Reverse Proxy Setup
• Backup Strategy