Conversion GemsConversion Gems
Submit a tool
Productivity & Business · Finance, Billing & Accounting

Firefly III

Free, open-source, self-hosted personal finance manager with double-entry bookkeeping, budgets, rules and a REST API.

Our take: Firefly III gives you accounting-grade tracking, rules and an API for free, with your data on your own hardware.

Best forSelf-hosted money tracking
ReviewedPricing: Free
7.1 out of 105 criteria · see breakdown
Try FireflyFree (self-hosted)

Firefly III is a free, open-source personal finance manager that you host yourself, with double-entry bookkeeping, budgets, rules and a REST API. The software costs nothing; your costs are hosting and, if you want automatic bank import, a third-party data provider that may charge.

The bottom line

Free and powerful if you are willing to host it; hard work if you are not.

Our score

Reviewed by the Conversion Gems editorial team. Hover a facet to focus it; click to pin.Tap a facet to focus it.

What it is, and why we rate it

One line each. Open a row for detail.

What it really isA self-hosted web app for tracking personal finances with double-entry accounting.
Our takeFirefly III gives you accounting-grade tracking, rules and an API for free, with your data on your own hardware.
The trade is time: you install and maintain the server, and automatic bank import needs a separate importer and a provider that may charge. It rewards people who already run a home lab.
Why we rate itFree, open source and feature-rich, with an API and many install options.
The catchSelf-hosting and bank-import setup are on you.

Best / not good for

Best for
  • Self-hosters
  • Multi-currency households
  • Privacy-minded users
Not good for
  • People who want a phone app with automatic bank sync
  • Users without server experience
Trade-offs

Friction report

Trade-offs to know before signing up.

  1. Time to value
    An hour or more to deploy with Docker, plus time to set up the importer and rules.
  2. Scale breakpoint
    Adding automatic bank feeds means configuring the Data Importer and a provider.
  3. Walled garden
    Low: open source, REST API and CSV import.
Still a fit?
If none of these block you, start on the free plan.
Try Firefly

What Firefly III costs

ItemCostNotes
Firefly III appFreeAGPL-3.0 open source, self-hosted
Data Importer (file import)FreeCSV, CAMT.052 and CAMT.053 files
HostingYour own server or hostPHP 8.5 with MySQL or SQLite, or Docker
Bank data providerFree to paidDepends on the provider you choose

From Firefly III's GitHub repositories and documentation, checked 4 October 2026.

Bank-data providers for the Data Importer

ProviderCoverageCost
Enable Banking2,500+ banks in 29 European countriesFree (restricted mode)
GoCardlessEU and UKPaid; existing users only
Lunch FlowMany banks via its own APIsPaid
SimpleFINVarious banksVaries

From Firefly III's data-provider documentation, checked 4 October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Firefly III free?

Yes. Firefly III is free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license. Costs can come from your own hosting and from paid bank-data providers such as Lunch Flow if you use them (checked 4 October 2026).

Can Firefly III connect to my bank?

Not by itself. The separate Data Importer imports CSV and CAMT files, or pulls bank data through third-party providers. Enable Banking covers 2,500+ banks in 29 European countries and is free in restricted mode; GoCardless and Lunch Flow are paid; SimpleFIN varies.

Firefly III vs Actual Budget: which should I use?

Both are free and open source. Actual Budget uses envelope budgeting and has desktop apps; Firefly III uses double-entry accounting with multi-currency support and a rule engine. Pick Actual for simple budgeting and Firefly III for detailed account tracking.

How do I install Firefly III?

Run it with Docker or Kubernetes, use a one-click installer such as Softaculous, Cloudron or YunoHost, or install it on a PHP 8.5 server with MySQL or SQLite. A live demo is available at demo.firefly-iii.org.

Is Firefly III safe?

It is self-hosted, offers two-factor authentication, and the project says it never contacts external servers unless you tell it to. Your security then depends on how you run and update your own server.

Firefly III alternatives

Other budgeting and personal finance tools from our reviews:

Showing 1–3 of 4
Sources checked October 4, 2026: Firefly III homepage, Firefly III on GitHub, Self-managed installation (docs), Firefly III Data Importer, Data providers (docs).

Conversion Gems independently reviews every tool.

Tags

#FireflyIII#OpenSource#PersonalFinance

Explore related categories

Compare Finance, Billing & Accounting softwareFinance, Billing & Accounting