Indie Alternatives

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Indie alternatives to YNAB

5 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what YNAB does, 3 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

ProductPriceOpen sourceSelf-hostPlatforms
Actual BudgetFreeYesYesWeb, Self-hosted, Windows, Mac, Linux
Firefly IIIFreeYesYesWeb, Self-hosted
GoodbudgetFree plan––Web, iOS, Android
BucketsPaid––Mac, Windows, Linux
Lunch MoneyPaid––Web, iOS, API

The alternatives

1. Actual Budget

Open-source, local-first personal budgeting app

Actual Budget is a free envelope-budgeting app you can run locally or self-host, with bank syncing options and multi-device sync.

Free · Web, Self-hosted, Windows, Mac, Linux · Website ↗

2. Firefly III

Self-hosted personal finance manager

Firefly III is a free, open-source app for tracking expenses, budgets and accounts on your own server.

Free · Web, Self-hosted · Website ↗

3. Goodbudget

Envelope budgeting app you can share

Goodbudget is a virtual envelope budgeting app that syncs between devices for households and couples.

Free plan · Web, iOS, Android · Website ↗

4. Buckets

Private envelope budgeting desktop app

Buckets is a desktop envelope budgeting app that keeps your budget file on your own computer.

Paid · Mac, Windows, Linux · Website ↗

5. Lunch Money

Personal finance and budgeting app for modern spenders

Lunch Money is a budgeting and expense tracking web app with multi-currency support, bank syncing, rules and a developer API.

Paid · Web, iOS, API · Website ↗

Questions

Is there a free alternative to YNAB?

Yes. 3 of the 5 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Actual Budget, Firefly III and Goodbudget.

Is there an open-source alternative to YNAB?

Actual Budget and Firefly III are open source.

Can I self-host an alternative to YNAB?

Yes: Actual Budget and Firefly III can run on your own server.

Which YNAB alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?

On Mac: Actual Budget and Buckets. On Windows: Actual Budget and Buckets. On Linux: Actual Budget and Buckets. On iPhone and iPad: Goodbudget and Lunch Money. On Android: Goodbudget. On the web: Actual Budget, Firefly III, Goodbudget and 1 more.

What makes these alternatives to YNAB “indie”?

They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as YNAB.

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