Freedom251 › Personal Finance Software
BudgetPilot
What BudgetPilot is
BudgetPilot is a free, open-source personal budgeting app built for local-first, self-hosted use. It supports monthly category budgets, spending alerts, bill tracking, net-worth tracking, savings-goal pace tracking, and cash-flow forecasts based on recurring income and expenses found in transaction history. Users can enter transactions manually or import CSV and XLSX files, with duplicate detection; other CSV files can be mapped by column name. The app also includes categorization rules, split transactions, tags, report export, and backup and restore. Financial data stays on the user’s machine by default, with no mandatory external calls. Optional PSD2 bank syncing uses Enable Banking and is off by default; optional AI commentary uses an Ollama-hosted model and sends category aggregates by default. The app supports French and English, and can use SQLite, PostgreSQL, or MySQL/MariaDB. Installation paths include Docker and no-Docker setups. BudgetPilot works in euros and refuses statement lines in other currencies. It is pre-1.0, maintained by one person, and has not had an independent third-party security audit.
Who it suits
BudgetPilot suits people who want self-hosted budgeting with local data storage and are comfortable configuring optional bank or AI connections. It is intended for users working with euro-denominated statements.
What it does well
- Free, open-source, and self-hosted.
- Financial data stays on the machine by default.
- Imports CSV and XLSX with duplicate detection.
- Supports report export and backup and restore.
What to know first
- Statement lines in other currencies are refused.
- No independent third-party security audit.
- Pre-1.0 project with no LTS branch.
Limits
BudgetPilot is free and has no paid plans stated. It works in euros, and statement lines in other currencies are refused; other-currency bank-sync amounts are included in euro totals.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| BudgetPilot | Self-hosted open-source app · no paid plans stated | Free |
As github.com lists them, read 13 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Open the BudgetPilot GitHub website
- Choose Docker, source-built Docker, or no-Docker installation
- Install on Linux, macOS, Windows, web, or a self-hosted setup
- Create an account and configure the database
- Enter transactions or import CSV/XLSX statements
- Optionally configure Enable Banking or Ollama
Verdict
BudgetPilot combines budgeting, tracking, and forecasting with local-first data handling and optional integrations. Its euro limitation and maintainer-led security review are important considerations.
Questions
How much does BudgetPilot cost?
The listed BudgetPilot plan is free. It is open source, with no paid plans stated.
Where does BudgetPilot run?
It supports Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and self-hosted installations. Docker images support Linux amd64 and arm64.
Does it connect to banks?
Optional PSD2 syncing uses Enable Banking, is off by default, and requires HTTPS and provider configuration.
Is BudgetPilot open source?
Yes. It is described as a free, open-source, self-hosted application.
What currencies does it support?
BudgetPilot works in euros and refuses statement lines in other currencies. Other-currency amounts from bank synchronization are included in euro totals.
Who maintains the project?
The maker describes it as a solo-maintained open-source project.
Facts from BudgetPilot's own pages
- Account sync
- both · github.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Authentication
- Optional two-factor authentication uses an authenticator app and one-time recovery codes. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Bank connection
- Optional PSD2 bank syncing uses Enable Banking, is off by default, and requires HTTPS and explicit host allowlisting. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Bank integrations
- Optional PSD2 bank sync uses Enable Banking and is off by default; the maker says setup requires HTTPS and provider configuration. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Bill tracking
- Yes · github.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Budgeting
- Budgets can be set monthly by category and flagged when spending approaches the limit. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Budgeting tools
- Yes · github.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Data privacy
- The project says financial data stays on your machine by default, with no mandatory external calls. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Features
- The app includes net-worth tracking, savings-goal pace tracking, deterministic cash-flow forecasts, categorization rules, split transactions, tags, and backup and restore. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Forecasting
- Cash-flow forecasting projects upcoming balances from recurring income and expenses detected in transaction history, without machine learning. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Import support
- The app recognises Banque Populaire, Revolut, and its own CSV export; other CSV files can be mapped by column name. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The maker documents Docker installation, running from source, and a no-Docker setup for working on the code. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Known limitation
- BudgetPilot works in euros, and statement lines in other currencies are refused. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Languages
- The app supports French and English. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Limitations
- BudgetPilot works in euros; statement lines in other currencies are refused, while other-currency amounts from bank sync are included in euro totals. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Local AI
- Optional local AI advice uses Ollama, and by default sends only anonymized aggregates to the model. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Maintainer
- The maker describes the project as a solo-maintained open-source project and says they built it to manage their own finances and experiment with AI-assisted coding. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Net-worth tracking
- Yes · github.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Privacy
- The maker says financial data stays on the user's machine by default, with no mandatory external calls; optional AI and bank connections require opt-in configuration. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- BudgetPilot is a local-first personal budgeting app for tracking budgets, net worth, savings goals, and cash-flow forecasts. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Report export
- Yes · github.com, 22 Sept 2026
- Security
- The security policy describes hashed session tokens, bcrypt password hashing, optional TOTP/MFA, and encryption for banking credentials and MFA secrets. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Security review
- The maker states that no independent third party has audited the project and describes its security verification as maintainer-performed. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
- Support
- Security vulnerabilities can be reported privately through GitHub Security Advisories, and the maintainer says there is no formal response-time SLA. · github.com, 13 Oct 2026
Where BudgetPilot stands on Freedom251
- Personal Finance Software#20 of 181