# Actual Budget vs EnvelopeBudget

> Actual Budget (Free) vs EnvelopeBudget ($4/mo). Actual Budget costs less per year. Pick Actual Budget for people who want real envelope budgeting, full control of their data, and are fine with (or willing to pay a few dollars a month for) self-hosting; pick EnvelopeBudget for people who want hosted envelope budgeting with optional manual entry or bank sync through SimpleFIN or Plaid, plus debt-payoff planning and shared budgets.

Source: https://budgetingapps.org/compare/actual-budget-vs-envelopebudget

EnvelopeBudget, our Editor’s Pick, has a financial interest in BudgetingApps.org.

## Key differences

- **Price:** Actual Budget is cheaper: it has a free plan versus $40 a year for EnvelopeBudget. EnvelopeBudget does offer a lifetime option ($60 ($60 lifetime (first 500 members; remaining spots not stated))).
- **Trying it first:** Actual Budget has a free plan. Free trials: EnvelopeBudget (34-day free trial, no credit card required).
- **Budgeting method:** Actual Budget is built for envelope and zero-based budgeting; EnvelopeBudget for envelope, zero-based and expense tracking. They overlap on envelope and zero-based.
- **Platforms:** Actual Budget: Desktop and Web. EnvelopeBudget: Android, iOS and Web. Only Actual Budget has Desktop. Only EnvelopeBudget has Android and iOS.
- **Feature differences:** EnvelopeBudget lists multi-currency, which Actual Budget’s listing does not confirm.
- **Separate logins for shared budgets:** Invite family or teammates to the same budget with their own logins. Sharing one password or sign-in link does not count. Separate logins do not necessarily mean private accounts or transactions. Actual Budget: Not confirmed. Check whether each person gets their own login. EnvelopeBudget: Yes. Invite family and team members to shared budgets with their own logins. Manage member access and transfer budget ownership; eligible family members can share the family owner's subscription access.
- **Bank sync:** Actual Budget: Optional; requires the server and provider credentials. Supports SimpleFIN (North America), Enable Banking (Europe), Akahu (New Zealand), and Pluggy (Brazil); GoCardless is closed to new accounts. Automatic syncing is configurable but runs only while Actual is open; it can also be triggered manually. Tokens are stored server-side outside E2EE. EnvelopeBudget: Optional SimpleFIN ($1.50/mo or $15/yr paid to SimpleFIN) or Plaid ($3/mo or $30/yr add-on). Plaid is enabled in the web, iOS and Android apps, per current owner confirmation; the vendor changelog documents Plaid connections and mobile bank-sync updates.
- **Track record:** EnvelopeBudget has been around since 2009; Actual Budget since 2022.

## Which should you choose?

- **Actual Budget is best for:** budgeters who want real envelope budgeting, full control of their data, and are fine with (or willing to pay a few dollars a month for) self-hosting.
- **EnvelopeBudget is best for:** people who want hosted envelope budgeting with optional manual entry or bank sync through SimpleFIN or Plaid, plus debt-payoff planning and shared budgets.

Full reviews: [Actual Budget](https://budgetingapps.org/apps/actual-budget.md), [EnvelopeBudget](https://budgetingapps.org/apps/envelopebudget.md)