Actual Budget
MantisBT
| Feature | Actual Budget | MantisBT |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $0/mo | Free / from $4.95/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 3.9 / 5 |
| Best For | budget-conscious-individuals, self-hosters, ynab-migrants, privacy-focused-budgeters | developers, small-teams, open-source-projects, budget-conscious-teams |
| Founded | 2019 | 2000 |
| Envelope Budgeting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bank Sync | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reports | ✓ | ✗ |
| Goal Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Rules | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scheduled Transactions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hostable | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bug Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Fields | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Notifications | ✗ | ✓ |
| Role Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Plugins | ✗ | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Actual Budget Pros
- Open-source with no subscription fees
- Local-first with optional sync
- Beautiful and fast interface
- Bank sync via SimpleFIN/GoCardless
✗ Actual Budget Cons
- Self-hosting required for sync features
- Smaller community than YNAB
- Mobile experience less polished than native apps
✓ MantisBT Pros
- Free and open-source
- Easy to set up
- Lightweight
- Extensible with plugins
✗ MantisBT Cons
- Dated interface
- Limited agile features
- Small community vs alternatives
The Verdict
Actual Budget is built for budget conscious individuals and self hosters, with a focus on envelope-budgeting and bank-sync. MantisBT targets developers and small teams and leads with bug-tracking and custom-fields.
Pricing is close: Actual Budget starts at $0/mo versus $4.95/mo for MantisBT — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Actual Budget edges out on user ratings (4.5 vs 3.9). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, Actual Budget offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while MantisBT takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: Actual Budget has a slight overall edge — but if free and open-source matters most to you, MantisBT may still be the right call.