Penge vs Actual Budget
Co-founder of Penge · Published 4 September 2026 · 5 min read
Penge and Actual Budget can pull European bank data through the same underlying provider, GoCardless. Penge runs that integration for you. With Actual, you run or host the server and supply the provider credentials yourself. That difference shapes most of the comparison.
Key takeaways
- Actual Budget's core software is free and open source under the MIT licence. You can use it locally, run its server yourself or pay a host to run your instance.
- Actual supports GoCardless for European banks with existing credentials and SimpleFIN for North American banks. GoCardless stopped accepting new Bank Account Data accounts in July 2025.
- Penge also uses GoCardless for European bank data. When Actual is configured with GoCardless, both pull from the same underlying provider, while Penge handles the provider setup for you.
- Actual centres on envelope budgeting and is local-first, with optional end-to-end encryption for budget data and a restorable budget export.
- Pick Actual if you want your budget stored locally, envelope budgeting and a web or desktop app, and accept the setup that comes with it. Pick Penge if you want bank sync on your iPhone without running anything.
What is the difference between Penge and Actual Budget?
Actual Budget gives you free, open source, local-first software, envelope budgeting and control of a portable budget file, but server-based sync and bank connections need setup. Penge is also free and gives you managed European bank connections, category suggestions and subscription scanning on iPhone. The choice is control versus convenience.
| Penge | Actual Budget | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, no ads | Core software free; hosting and some bank providers may cost extra[9] |
| Who runs it | We do | You do, or a hosting service |
| Bank sync in Europe | GoCardless, with the integration run for you | GoCardless with existing credentials; experimental Enable Banking is another option[4][5] |
| Where your data lives | Penge's servers, with a downloadable ZIP export | A local budget database, with an optional sync server and restorable ZIP export[2][7] |
| Method | Categories and budgets per category | Envelope budgeting |
| Categorization | Suggestions from your history; opt-in automatic application | Category learning creates editable rules automatically[6] |
| Languages | English, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish | Community translations[8] |
| Platforms | iPhone; no Android app | Web/PWA and desktop; no native mobile app planned[2][3] |
What speaks for Actual
- You want a local budget database and an export that Actual can restore directly.
- You want envelope budgeting as the main workflow.
- You are comfortable running and updating a sync server, or paying a host to do it.
- You want to change how it works. It is open source, so you can.
- You want to budget in a browser or on a desktop. Actual runs as a web app and a desktop app, while Penge is an iPhone app.
- You prefer software you can keep running yourself instead of depending on one hosted app.
What speaks for Penge
- Penge runs the server and provider integration. You add a bank through the bank's own login.
- Bank coverage handled for you across 2300+ banks in 30+ countries, including the connection renewals the rules require.
- Every transaction arrives with a category suggested from your own history, and you confirm it with one tap. Turn on automatic categorization in settings and Penge applies the most confident ones by itself, never overwriting a category you set.
- Recurring charges and subscriptions found for you, with what each costs per month.
- Your own language out of the box: English, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.
The honest overlap
When Actual is configured with GoCardless, both products fetch European bank data from GoCardless. Penge does not use a proprietary bank-data source. The shared provider does not make the experience identical: Actual requires actual-server, your own provider credentials and a manual Bank Sync action. Penge runs the GoCardless integration for you. New GoCardless developer accounts are no longer available, although existing Actual users can keep using their credentials.[4][5] Starting Actual from scratch today, you would use the experimental Enable Banking integration or import bank files manually. Penge is not affected, since it already runs its own GoCardless integration.
Penge's download is a ZIP containing a summary PDF, an xlsx workbook for transactions, accounts, categories, tags and budgets, a complete JSON record copy, and uploaded statements or receipts. Large uploaded files may be supplied through seven-day download links instead of being embedded. This is a portable copy, not the live local budget file that Actual can export and restore.[7]
Get a full overview with Penge
Connect your bank and let the app categorize and budget automatically.
Sources
- Actual Budget, project site and features
- Actual Budget, vision and local-first design
- Actual Budget, installation and hosting
- Actual Budget, supported bank-sync providers
- Actual Budget, GoCardless setup
- Actual Budget, categorization rules
- Actual Budget, backup and restore
- Actual Budget, community translations
- Actual Budget, free core software and optional costs
- Actual Budget, end-to-end encryption scope
Frequently asked questions
- Is Actual Budget really free?
- The core software and updates are free. Running it on your own hardware can cost nothing extra, while managed hosting and some bank-sync providers may charge a fee.
- Do I need to be technical to use Actual?
- Not for local budgeting. Actual can run as a desktop app or locally in a browser without a server. Multi-device sync and bank sync need actual-server, which you can self-host or place with a paid host.
- Can I move from Actual to Penge or back?
- Actual imports CSV, QIF, OFX, QFX and CAMT files. Penge exports a ZIP with an xlsx workbook and a complete JSON record copy, but it does not export an Actual budget file, so this is not a one-click round trip.
- Can I set up bank sync in Actual today without old GoCardless credentials?
- Not through GoCardless, which closed for new Bank Account Data accounts in July 2025. A new Actual setup can try the experimental Enable Banking integration or import bank files manually. Existing GoCardless credentials keep working.