Actual Budget

TAS Score: S3/3 — D5/5 — A3 / T2

Brief Description

Local-first personal finance and budgeting app. Envelope budgeting methodology with bank sync support, reports, and rule-based transaction management. Data stored locally as SQLite — syncs across devices through a lightweight server. Originally commercial, now fully open source.

Architectural Role

Applications layer: replaces YNAB, Mint, and other cloud-based budgeting services. Financial data stays on your hardware. The server is optional — only needed for multi-device sync.

Technical Autonomy

• ✅ Works without internet (local-first architecture, all data on device)
• ✅ Stores data locally (SQLite database)
• ✅ Does not require external accounts
• ✅ Allows data export (OFX, CSV, full database backup)
• ✅ Bank sync optional, not required

Philosophical Assessment (whose.world criteria)

Criterion	Status	Comments
Pause	✅	Stop the server, app continues working locally.
Exit	✅	SQLite file is portable. Export to CSV/OFX.
Recoverability	✅	Copy the SQLite file. Built-in backup/restore.
Visibility	✅	MIT license. Fully auditable.
External Dependencies	✅	Fully self-contained. Bank sync (GoCardless/SimpleFIN) is optional.

Configuration (Minimal)

services:
  actual:
    image: ghcr.io/actualbudget/actual-server:latest
    container_name: actual
    ports:
      - "5006:5006"
    volumes:
      - ./data/actual:/data
    restart: unless-stopped

Related Recipes

• Family Cloud — add Actual for family finance management

Alternatives

Alternative	Autonomy	Notes
YNAB	A0 / T0	Cloud-only, subscription-based. The service Actual replaces.
Firefly III	A3 / T2	More complex, double-entry accounting. PHP-based.
GnuCash	A3 / T2	Desktop app, traditional accounting. Not web-based.

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Trajectory

Direction: opening.

Actual was originally a paid SaaS product. The creator open-sourced it in 2022 under MIT license. Community-driven development has accelerated since. More features, more contributors, regular releases.

Signal assessment:

Signal	Status	Evidence
License	✅	MIT. Was proprietary, now fully open. Trajectory reversal.
Feature gating	✅	No paid tier. Everything is free.
Self-hosting	✅	Docker-first, local-first architecture. Self-hosting is the primary use case.
Governance	✅	Community-driven. Multiple active maintainers. Healthy contributor base.

Signal key: ✅ opening · ➖ neutral · ⚠️ closing

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Sources

• Website: actualbudget.org
• Repository: github.com/actualbudget/actual
• Docker image: ghcr.io/actualbudget/actual-server