PocketSmith vs Actual Budget

PocketSmith8.6Visit Actual Budget7.7Visit

Higher score PocketSmith #7 in Personal Finance Software 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit PocketSmith

vs

Actual Budget #16 in Personal Finance Software 7.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Actual Budget

• PocketSmith fits best

  Forecasting-focused personal finance

• Actual Budget fits best

  Free, private, customizable budgeting

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Side by side

Feature	PocketSmith 8.6/10 Visit ↗	Actual Budget 7.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.6	7.7
Ranking	#7 in Personal Finance Software	#16 in Personal Finance Software
Best for	Forecasting-focused personal finance	Free, private, customizable budgeting
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	$9.99/mo	Free
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Desktop, Mobile	Cloud, Desktop, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Integrations	1 integrations	5 integrations
Features PocketSmith 4/4 · Actual Budget 4/4
Budgeting tools	✓	✓
Bill tracking	✓	✓
Net-worth tracking	✓	✓
Report export	✓	✓
Specs
Account sync	Both	Both
Mobile apps	Both	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Projects future balances across periods from 6 months to 60 years Supports flexible budgets, bill scheduling, and net-worth tracking Available on web, desktop, mobile, API, and multiple operating systems	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
Cons	The Free plan is limited to 2 accounts and 2 dashboards Only Sharesight is listed as a named integration Longer projections and expanded bank connections require paid tiers	Official mobile applications are deprecated Bank synchronization must be triggered manually Multi-device synchronization requires an Actual server
Our verdict	PocketSmith is personal finance software for individuals and households that want more than transaction tracking. It combines automatic bank feeds and manual bank-file imports with flexible budgets, calendar scheduling for upcoming bills,… Read the review →	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 →

Strengths and trade-offs

• PocketSmith — where it wins

  • Projects future balances across periods from 6 months to 60 years
  • Supports flexible budgets, bill scheduling, and net-worth tracking
  • Available on web, desktop, mobile, API, and multiple operating systems

  Where it doesn't

  • The Free plan is limited to 2 accounts and 2 dashboards
  • Only Sharesight is listed as a named integration
  • Longer projections and expanded bank connections require paid tiers

• 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

• PocketSmith8.6/10 · Free plan

  A forecasting-focused finance tool with flexible budgets, projections, and broad platform coverage.

  Visit PocketSmithFull verdict →
• Actual Budget7.7/10 · Free plan

  Free, open-source budgeting with local storage, imports, reports, and optional self-hosting.

  Visit Actual BudgetFull verdict →