Head-to-head · Personal Finance Software
Actual Budget vs Money Manager Ex
Actual Budget leads on 0 checks, Money Manager Ex on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.
Our verdict
- Highest scoreActual Budget · 7.7/10
- Free planboth
Actual Budget scores higher on our rubric for personal finance software: 7.7 against 7.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #16 and #17.
Actual Budget is the better fit for free, private, customizable budgeting. Money Manager Ex is the better fit for free cross-platform personal accounting.
- Actual Budget fits best
Free, private, customizable budgeting
- Money Manager Ex fits best
Free cross-platform personal accounting
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Side by side
| Feature | Actual Budget 7.7/10 Visit ↗ | Money Manager Ex 7.6/10 Visit ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Editor score | 7.7 | 7.6 |
| Ranking | #16 in Personal Finance Software | #17 in Personal Finance Software |
| Best for | Free, private, customizable budgeting | Free cross-platform personal accounting |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Deployment | Cloud, Desktop, Self-hosted | Desktop, Mobile |
| Platforms | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Integrations | 5 integrations | 4 integrations |
| Features Actual Budget 4/4 · Money Manager Ex 4/4 | ||
| Budgeting tools | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bill tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Net-worth tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Report export | ✓ | ✓ |
| Specs | ||
| Account sync | Both | Both |
| Mobile apps | Not checked yet | Both |
| Our review | ||
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| Our verdict | Actual Budget is a free, open-source personal finance application for individuals who want envelope-style budgeting with control over how their data is stored. It supports account management, transaction categorization and imports,… Read the review → |
Money Manager Ex is free, open-source personal finance software for individuals who want to organize income, expenses, accounts, assets, investments, and budgets. It covers everyday accounting through transaction tracking, multiple… Read the review → |
Strengths and trade-offs
Actual Budget — where it wins
- Free MIT-licensed software with envelope-style budgeting
- Local-first storage with optional synchronization and encryption
- Supports broad file imports, reports, exports, and an API
Where it doesn't
- Official mobile applications are deprecated
- Bank synchronization must be triggered manually
- Multi-device synchronization requires an Actual server
Money Manager Ex — where it wins
- Free, open-source software with no ads or charges
- Desktop and mobile apps across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android
- Budgeting, investments, net worth, encryption, and custom reporting in one product
Where it doesn't
- No paid tiers offering additional plans or service levels
- Custom reporting depends on SQL, Lua, or HTML/JavaScript support
- Cloud synchronization is centered on supported database storage services
- Actual Budget7.7/10 · Free plan
Free, open-source budgeting with local storage, imports, reports, and optional self-hosting.
Visit Actual BudgetFull verdict → - Money Manager Ex7.6/10 · Free plan
A broad, free accounting tool for budgets, investments, reports, and net worth.
Try Money Manager ExFull verdict →
All personal finance software comparisons → · Full ranking →
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update