Last checked October 15, 2026
Best Free Alternatives to YNAB (2026)
YNAB is envelope budgeting: every dollar gets a category. A ledger that only shows past spending is a different product.
What YNAB costs
Paid plans exist. A current dollar figure is not copied into this listing.
Ranked by Drop-in score
How we rank#1 is the highest-scoring alternative that is not sponsored. A featured listing, when one is sold, is labeled and sits after #1.
- 100#1Open sourceReview notes
Actual Budget
Envelope budgeting on a file you own.
Last checked October 15, 2026 · MIT
WebSelf-hostMacWindowsLinux - 80#2Open sourceReview notes
HomeBank
A desktop personal-finance app.
Last checked October 15, 2026 · GPL-2.0-or-later
LinuxWindowsMac - 68#3Open sourceReview notes
Firefly III
A self-hosted personal finance ledger.
Last checked October 15, 2026 · AGPL-3.0
WebSelf-host - 68#4Open sourceReview notes
GnuCash
Desktop double-entry bookkeeping.
Last checked October 15, 2026 · GPL-2.0-or-later
MacWindowsLinux - 68#5Open sourceReview notes
KMyMoney
A KDE personal-finance ledger.
Last checked October 15, 2026 · GPL-2.0-or-later
LinuxWindowsMac
Feature by feature
Full is the whole job. Partial is a real version with a gap. Missing means it does not do this. Not checked counts as zero in the score.
| Feature | Actual Budget#1 · 100 | HomeBank#2 · 80 | Firefly III#3 · 68 | GnuCash#4 · 68 | KMyMoney#5 · 68 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category or envelope budgetsWeight 10 | Full | Partial | Partial | Missing | Missing |
| More than one accountWeight 8 | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
| Import transactionsWeight 8 | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
| Spending by categoryWeight 6 | Full | Partial | Full | Partial | Partial |
| Works without their cloudWeight 8 | Full | Full | Missing | Full | Full |
Real cost
Actual Budget
- Free tier
- The app is free. You host sync if you want it.
- Hosted plan
- No hosted price recorded.
- Self-hosting
- Easy. A server for sync, or the app on its own with a local file.
HomeBank
- Free tier
- Free desktop app. Unverified.
- Hosted plan
- No hosted price recorded.
- Self-hosting
- Not a self-hosted product. Desktop only.
Firefly III
- Free tier
- The community edition can be self-hosted without a per-user fee. Hosted prices are not copied here. Unverified.
- Hosted plan
- No hosted price recorded.
- Self-hosting
- Moderate. Plan on Docker or a small VM. A hosted plan, when one exists, is separate from the free self-host.
GnuCash
- Free tier
- Free desktop app.
- Hosted plan
- No hosted price recorded.
- Self-hosting
- Not a self-hosted product. Desktop application. The file is the database.
KMyMoney
- Free tier
- Free desktop app. Unverified.
- Hosted plan
- No hosted price recorded.
- Self-hosting
- Not a self-hosted product. Desktop only.
Top pair
Migrate from YNAB to Actual Budget
Export the budget from YNAB while the subscription still works.
Read the migration guide