Actual Budget — Local-First Personal Finance App

What Actual Does

Actual provides a comprehensive budgeting experience:

• Envelope Budgeting: Allocate every dollar to a category, carry forward or roll over between months
• Transaction Management: Manual entry or import from bank (QIF, OFX, CSV) with smart categorization
• Bank Sync: Optional automated bank connection via GoCardless/SimpleFIN for transaction import
• Multi-device Sync: Encrypted sync between devices via self-hosted server
• Reports: Spending by category, net worth tracking, cash flow analysis
• Rules: Auto-categorize transactions based on payee, amount, or notes
• Split Transactions: Split a single transaction across multiple categories
• Scheduled Transactions: Recurring bills and income with reminders

Architecture

┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
│  Browser     │────▶│  Actual      │
│  (React PWA) │     │  Server      │
│  Local SQLite│     │  (Node.js)   │
└──────────────┘     │  Sync Engine │
                     └──────────────┘

Key design: Data lives in a local SQLite database in your browser (IndexedDB). The server is only needed for multi-device sync. You can use Actual entirely offline.

Self-Hosting

Docker Compose

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

volumes:
  actual-data:

That's it — no database to configure, no dependencies. The server just handles sync.

With Bank Sync

services:
  actual:
    image: actualbudget/actual-server:latest
    ports:
      - "5006:5006"
    environment:
      ACTUAL_NORDIGEN_SECRET_ID: your-gocardless-id
      ACTUAL_NORDIGEN_SECRET_KEY: your-gocardless-key
      # Or SimpleFIN:
      # ACTUAL_SIMPLEFIN_TOKEN: your-simplefin-token
    volumes:
      - actual-data:/data

volumes:
  actual-data:

Key Features

Envelope Budgeting

Income: $5,000
├── Housing:      $1,500 (assigned)
├── Groceries:    $600   (assigned)
├── Transport:    $300   (assigned)
├── Savings:      $1,000 (assigned)
├── Entertainment: $200  (assigned)
├── Utilities:    $200   (assigned)
└── Unassigned:   $1,200 (left to budget)

Every dollar of income gets assigned to a category. Overspending in one category borrows from another, keeping you accountable.

Smart Rules

Auto-categorize transactions:

If payee contains "Starbucks" → Category: Coffee
If payee contains "Amazon" and amount > $50 → Category: Shopping
If payee contains "Netflix" → Category: Subscriptions

Reports

• Net Worth: Track assets vs liabilities over time
• Spending by Category: Monthly and yearly breakdowns with trends
• Cash Flow: Income vs expenses visualization
• Custom date ranges: Compare any time periods

Local-First Benefits

• Speed: Instant UI — no waiting for server responses
• Offline: Works without internet connection
• Privacy: Data stays on your device, encrypted at rest
• Resilience: No server downtime affects your access

Actual vs Alternatives

常见问题

Q: Actual 和 YNAB 比怎么样？ A: Actual 实现了 YNAB 的核心信封预算方法论，界面和交互高度相似。主要区别：Actual 免费开源可自托管，YNAB 是 SaaS 订阅。YNAB 的银行连接和社区教程更丰富，Actual 的隐私和自主性更强。

Q: 支持中国的银行吗？ A: 自动银行同步（GoCardless/SimpleFIN）主要覆盖欧美银行。中国用户可以通过手动导入银行账单（CSV 格式）来使用。

Q: 数据安全吗？ A: 是的。数据存储在本地浏览器中，同步时使用端到端加密。即使自托管服务器被入侵，攻击者也无法读取你的财务数据。

来源与致谢

• GitHub: actualbudget/actual — 25.9K+ ⭐ | MIT
• 官网: actualbudget.org