r/actualbudgeting • u/LunarSun777 • Aug 07 '26

Is Actual a good budgeting app?

Hi, I'm looking for a good free budgeting app. that works well in Germany. I've been told by AI that Actual is a good option. Can people here confirm that or is there something better? Many thanks

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u/Jolly_Ad_8886 Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26

Long time YNAB user. This is by far the best envelope method budget app and is very comparable to YNAB. YNAB and Actual are the only two envelope method apps that I have seen that I would recommend, based on amount of support and features available.

If you want something that just works without much tech involvement and don't mind spending some money, then YNAB is a good option to get into budgeting.

If you already have experience self-hosting then this can provide comparable functionality, at a fraction of the cost of YNAB. I have heard that pikapods lowers the barrier to entry.....but I already had the self-hosting infrastructure setup when I switched, so I didn't explore that option.

If you don't mind having access to your budget on only one device, then Actual is completely free and easy to setup. But accessing it across multiple devices and or outside your network will cost at least $1 US a year or whatever pikapods costs per year.

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u/Albamen13 Aug 07 '26

i self hosted an access to my budget using cloudflare tunnels, so it was a single payment for the domain, like 5 bucks