7 self-hosted options
Open-source alternatives to YNAB
The best open-source alternatives to YNAB are Actual, Firefly III and Ghostfolio.
About YNAB: A zero-based budgeting app for personal finance (You Need A Budget).
Every option below is free to self-host and ranked by GitHub stars, so you can move off YNAB without giving up the features you rely on.
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Actual
actualbudget/actual
Local-first personal finance tool based on zero-sum budgeting, supporting synchronization across devices, custom rules, manual transaction importing (from QIF, OFX, and QFX files), and optional…
Finance & BudgetingTypeScriptDocker - Rank 2:
Firefly III
firefly-iii/firefly-iii
Firefly III is a modern financial manager. It helps you to keep track of your money and make budget forecasts. It supports credit cards, has an advanced rule engine and can import data from many…
Finance & BudgetingPHPDocker - Rank 3:
Ghostfolio
ghostfolio/ghostfolio
Wealth management software to keep track of stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies.
Finance & BudgetingTypeScriptDocker
Why switch
Why teams move off YNAB
Self-hosting is not only about saving money. These are the reasons people make the switch.
Own your data
Your data lives on a server you control, not on YNAB's infrastructure. No surprise policy changes and no lock-in.
No per-seat pricing
Open-source alternatives to YNAB are free to run for as many users as your server can handle. A small VPS often costs less than a single subscription.
Customize and extend
Read the code, add plugins, connect it to your own tools and automate it through open APIs. When you need a feature, you can build it or fund it.
Full ranking
All 7 YNAB alternatives
Ranked by GitHub stars. Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.
- 1
Actual
Local-first personal finance tool based on zero-sum budgeting, supporting synchronization across devices, custom rules, manual transaction importing (from QIF, OFX, and QFX files), and optional…
Finance & BudgetingDocker - 2
Firefly III
Firefly III is a modern financial manager. It helps you to keep track of your money and make budget forecasts. It supports credit cards, has an advanced rule engine and can import data from many…
Finance & BudgetingDocker - 3
Ghostfolio
Wealth management software to keep track of stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies.
Finance & BudgetingDocker - 4
Wallos
Lightweight personal subscription tracker with statistics and optional notifications.
Finance & BudgetingDocker - 5
monetr
Budgeting application focused on planning for recurring expenses.
Finance & BudgetingDocker - 6
Budget Board
Simple app for tracking monthly spending and working towards financial goals.
Finance & BudgetingDocker - 7
ezbookkeeping
A lightweight personal bookkeeping app hosted by yourself.
Finance & BudgetingDocker
What is the best open-source alternative to YNAB?
Actual is the most popular open-source alternative to YNAB, with 29,330 GitHub stars. Firefly III and Ghostfolio are also strong choices. Compare features, license and recent activity to find the best fit for your team.
Is there a free alternative to YNAB?
Yes. All 7 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can run a YNAB replacement without per-user fees. You only pay for the server, and a small VPS is usually enough for personal use or a small team.
Can I self-host an alternative to YNAB?
Yes. Actual, Firefly III and Ghostfolio ship a Docker image, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose in a few minutes. Your data then stays on hardware you control.
How do I migrate from YNAB?
Start by exporting your data from YNAB, then check the import options of the app you pick, since many projects ship importers for popular formats. Run both side by side for a week before you switch so nothing is lost.