Comparisons
An Actual Budget alternative with nothing to host
Actual Budget is a strong choice if you want free, open-source, local-first envelope budgeting, and you are comfortable running a small server, or paying a host to run one, so your devices stay in step. Tobsy is for someone who wants their money data in their own hands with nothing to host: a copy of a Google Sheet in your own Drive, a small script inside it, and one payment of A$59 after thirty days free.
· 4 min read
Side by side
The Actual Budget column comes from Actual's own site, docs and code repository, read on 13 October 2026. The Tobsy column is on this site.
| Actual Budget | Tobsy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | "100% free and open-source", under the MIT licence. Hosting on PikaPods or Fly.io costs "a small amount of money" | A$59 once, after thirty days free. No subscription and no renewal |
| Hosting | A server is not required, but its docs strongly recommend one: self-host, or pay PikaPods or Fly.io | Nothing to host. Copy the Tobsy sheet and deploy the script inside it, about ten minutes, once |
| Bank sync | Optional, through the server: Akahu (New Zealand), Enable Banking (Europe), GoCardless (Europe, not accepting new accounts), SimpleFIN Bridge (North America), Pluggy.ai (Brazil) | None, by design. Quick entry, CSV statement import, or a screenshot read on your device |
| Where the data lives | Local-first on your device, and on the sync server, with optional end-to-end encryption | A Google Sheet in your own Drive |
| Devices and sync | Desktop apps and an installable web app; the official mobile apps are deprecated. Syncing needs the server | Any phone, tablet or computer, each reading and writing the same sheet |
| Method | Envelope-style: "You can only budget cash you have on hand" | Intentions: flexible. Zero-based, envelope-style rollover, 50/30/20 or any percentages |
| Households | Several users on a server set up for multiple users, which needs an OpenID provider | Up to six people, two shared households, one split or one per category, and the settle-up worked out |
| Currencies | "Currency agnostic"; no native multi-currency | Any currency, with the rate frozen on the day |
| Import | CSV, QIF, OFX, QFX and CAMT files | CSV statement, a pasted statement, a screenshot, and Tobsy's free Google Sheets log |
| Languages | Not stated on the pages read | English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Dutch and French |
What Actual does well
Actual's README calls it "a local-first personal finance tool", "100% free and open-source". It works regardless of your network connection, imports more file formats than Tobsy, has an API, and where one of its bank sync providers covers your bank, it can bring transactions in for you. If you want software you can read, change and run yourself at no cost, Actual is built for that.
The server question
Actual's install docs say a server is not required, but strongly recommended: it adds syncing between devices, bank sync and the API. You run it yourself, or "pay a small amount of money to have your version of Actual hosted on the cloud for you".
Tobsy's set-up is six short steps on Google's own screens, and Google runs the script inside your own Google account. There is no server for you to keep running, patch or pay for. The trade is that Tobsy depends on Google Sheets and Apps Script, which Google runs; you need a Google account, and a free one is fine. The set-up guide shows every step.
Envelopes, or any other way
Budgeting in Tobsy is called Intentions. Set an intention per category in dollars or as a percent of income, and Tobsy shows what is left against your income. Rollover carries what you did not spend into next month's intention, the envelope habit Actual users know, and roll-under lets an overspent month lower the next. A Savings floor lets you pay yourself first, and goals show a suggested amount a month.
Manual by design
Tobsy does not ask for a bank login. Anything you enter regularly fills itself in from a single word, and a screenshot or a statement catches you up, checked before anything saves. Feeds carry their own checking: Plaid says a merchant's name or category "may be incorrect", so a statement is cross-checked either way. More on why Tobsy has no bank sync, or look around the demo.
Sources
- Actual Budget home page — envelope-style budgeting, local-first syncing, bank sync, import formats, PikaPods, 2026-10-13
- Actual Budget on GitHub — "100% free and open-source", the MIT licence, 2026-10-13
- Actual Budget docs: installing Actual — the server recommendation, self-hosting, PikaPods and Fly.io costs, desktop apps, 2026-10-13
- Actual Budget docs: bank sync — the providers and regions, and that it needs actual-server, 2026-10-13
- Actual Budget docs: syncing across devices — where data is kept, and optional end-to-end encryption, 2026-10-13
- Actual Budget docs: importing transactions — supported file formats, 2026-10-13
- Actual Budget docs: multi-currency — currency agnostic, 2026-10-13
- Actual Budget docs: multi-user support — users and the OpenID requirement, 2026-10-13
- Actual Budget FAQ — mobile apps deprecated, the Progressive Web App, local-first database, 2026-10-13
- Plaid docs: Transactions troubleshooting — merchant name or category "may be incorrect", 2026-10-13
- Tobsy: Staying ahead — intentions in dollars or percent, rollover and roll-under, 2026-10-13
Questions
Do I need to run a server?
No. Tobsy is a copy of a Google Sheet in your own Drive and a small script inside it, which Google runs in your own account. Set-up takes about ten minutes, once. Tobsy itself has no database.
Does it sync between my phone and computer?
Yes, because there is only one sheet. Your phone and your computer both read and write the same Google Sheet, and on a computer a code at the end of set-up sets up your phone with nothing to type.
Can I budget envelope-style in Tobsy?
Yes. Set an intention for each category and turn on rollover, and what you did not spend carries into next month's intention. Tobsy shows what is left against your income, so you can assign it all.
Can two people split spending unevenly?
Yes. One split for everything, or a different one per category, and each of you sees your own share. The joint ledger keeps count of who paid and works out the settle-up.
Is Tobsy open source?
No. Tobsy is a paid app, sold with a key under its own terms. What you can see for yourself is your data: every entry lives in a Google Sheet in your own Drive, which you can open and take with you.
Thirty days free
Try it, or look around first.
The demo is the real app with fourteen months of sample entries. The trial is every screen, for thirty days, with your own.
About ten minutes to set up, once, on a computer. You’ll need a Google account. A$59 after the trial, if you want to keep it.