Actual Budget alternative for multi-currency budgets

The short version

Actual Budget is a free, open-source, local-first budgeting app for desktop and the web, with a sync server you host yourself or rent on PikaPods or Fly.io. Its docs say it does not support several currencies, and both sides of a transfer carry the same amount. Balans.finance keeps several currencies in one account, records a transfer with both amounts, reads receipts with AI and has an official MCP server.

Feature by feature

What Actual Budget offers was read off its own pages on 2026-11-09.
Feature	Balans.finance	Actual Budget
Accounts in different currencies	Yes. One account can hold several currencies, each with its own balance.	No. Its docs say it is currency-agnostic and does not support several currencies; a workaround tags an account with its currency in the notes or the name.
Totals in one base currency	Yes, automatic. Each transaction is converted at the exchange rate of its own day.	No. An experimental workaround converts foreign transactions with rules, at an exchange rate you type in.
Transfers between currencies	Yes. A transfer records both the amount sent and the amount received.	No. The two sides of a transfer always carry the same amount.
Statement import	Excel (XLSX), CSV and PDF files from any bank; a layout it has not seen before is mapped by AI. No bank connection.	CSV, QIF, OFX, QFX and CAMT files. Bank sync with your own keys through SimpleFIN (North America), Enable Banking (Europe), Akahu (New Zealand) and Pluggy.ai (Brazil).
Georgian banks	Yes. Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank statements, with Georgian or English column titles.	Not mentioned. Its bank sync covers European, North American, New Zealand and Brazilian banks.
Receipt scanning	Yes. AI reads the store, date, items and amounts into categorised expenses.	Not mentioned on its website or in its docs.
Zero-based budgeting	No. A budget sets a target for each category; income does not have to be assigned in full.	Yes. Its default envelope budget assigns all your income to categories until "To budget" is 0.
Forecasting	Yes. Where your total balance is heading, from its recent trend: three months ahead on every plan, and a year ahead on paid plans.	Yes, as an experimental report. Daily or monthly balances projected from scheduled transactions or a tracking budget's plans. No horizon is given.
Your own AI assistant	Yes. Connect Claude or another MCP client that supports OAuth to its MCP server, once you approve access. No built-in chat.	No official connection. A Node.js API package that works on a local copy of your data; the MCP servers its docs list are community projects.
Platforms	Web. An Android app is coming to Google Play, and an iOS app will follow.	Desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux, and the web, in a browser alone or through a server you host or rent. No official phone app; its docs list a community iOS app, and on a phone an installed web page works offline.
Languages	11: English, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Swedish and Georgian.	A language setting with community translations; its docs do not list the languages.
Free plan	Yes, with no time limit: 3 receipt scans a month and 1 statement import a month.	Yes. Free and open source under the MIT licence.
Price	Starter: €3.99 a month or €39.00 a year	Free. A hosted sync server costs about US$2 a month on PikaPods or US$1.50 a month on Fly.io, according to its GitHub page.

Choose Actual Budget if…

You want a free, open-source app under the MIT licence that keeps your data local, with a sync server you host yourself or rent.
You budget with envelopes: its default budget assigns all your income until "To budget" is 0.
You want desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux, or a web app that works offline once installed on a phone.
You want bank sync on your own keys through SimpleFIN, Enable Banking, Akahu or Pluggy.ai, or to import QIF, OFX, QFX or CAMT files.

Choose Balans.finance if…

You keep money in more than one currency: its docs say it does not support several currencies, while one Balans.finance account holds several, each converted at its own day's rate.
You move money between currencies and want a transfer to keep both the amount sent and the amount received.
You want receipts read by AI, and PDF and Excel statements imported from any bank, Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank included.
You want to connect Claude or another MCP client to an official MCP server rather than a community one.

What you give up by switching from Actual Budget

Open source and data kept on your own devices or your own server.
Envelope budgeting that assigns every unit of income: a Balans.finance budget sets a target per category instead.
Desktop apps and offline use: Balans.finance runs in the browser and needs a connection.
Bank sync, and QIF, OFX, QFX and CAMT import: Balans.finance imports Excel, CSV and PDF files.
A price of nothing at all: Balans.finance's free plan caps receipt scans and statement imports each month, and more takes a paid plan.

Where these facts come from

Every fact about Actual Budget on this page comes from its own pages - its website, help centre, developer documentation or app-store listing - read on 2026-11-09. Where its pages do not mention something, the table says so rather than guessing. If something here is out of date, write to us and we will correct it.

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Balans.finance vs Actual Budget