Freedom251 › Personal Finance Software
Firefly III
What Firefly III is
Firefly III is a free, self-hosted personal finance manager for tracking income and expenses. It supports budgets, bills, net-worth tracking, categories, tags, imports, and financial reports. Its double-entry bookkeeping system records transactions, while piggy banks help organize savings goals. Users can schedule recurring transactions and create rules to automate transaction handling.
A REST JSON API covers almost every part of the application. The project describes the software as isolated and says it does not contact external servers unless explicitly instructed. Two-factor authentication is available as an additional security feature. The Data Importer supports CSV and CAMT.053 files, plus imports from GoCardless or Spectre. Installation options include a server, Docker, Kubernetes, and several third-party routes. Both listed plans are free. Firefly III and its Data Importer use the GNU Affero General Public License v3. The project is intended for technically confident people comfortable with open source and self-hosted servers; complicated rules combining AND and OR are not supported.
Who it suits
Firefly III suits people who want to manage personal finances with self-hosted software and are comfortable maintaining a server. It may also suit users who value open source software, an API, and import options.
What it does well
- Budgets, bills, and net-worth tracking are included.
- Double-entry bookkeeping and savings piggy banks.
- Imports CSV and CAMT.053 files.
- REST JSON API covers nearly all of the application.
- Two-factor authentication is available.
What to know first
- Requires comfort with self-hosted servers.
- Complicated rules combining AND and OR are unsupported.
- Installation options include server management.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free and open source | Self-hosted deployment · Docker deployment · REST JSON API · Budgets and financial reports | Free |
| Firefly III | Free and open source personal finance manager · self-hosted software | Free |
As firefly-iii.org lists them, read 19 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Firefly III brings budgeting, transaction management, importing, and reporting into a free self-hosted finance manager. Its server requirements and rule limitation are worth considering before choosing it.
Facts from Firefly III's own pages
- API
- It provides a REST JSON API that covers almost every part of Firefly III. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Audience
- The project says it is for people who are tech-savvy, like open source software, and do not mind tinkering with self-hosted servers. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Bill tracking
- Yes · github.com, 19 Sept 2026
- Bookkeeping
- It includes a double-entry bookkeeping system and piggy banks for saving toward goals. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Budgeting tools
- Yes · github.com, 19 Sept 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · github.com, 19 Sept 2026
- Import formats
- The Data Importer documentation describes importing CSV and CAMT.053 files, and imports from GoCardless or Spectre. · docs.firefly-iii.org, 12 Oct 2026
- License
- Firefly III and its Data Importer are licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3. · docs.firefly-iii.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Net-worth tracking
- Yes · github.com, 19 Sept 2026
- Organization
- It supports budgets, categories, tags, data imports, and financial reports. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- The project describes Firefly III as self-hosted and isolated, and says it will not contact external servers unless explicitly told to. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Firefly III is a self-hosted personal finance manager for tracking expenses and income. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Rule limitation
- The rules documentation says complicated rules combining AND and OR operators are not supported. · docs.firefly-iii.org, 12 Oct 2026
- Run options
- The project lists installation on a server, Docker, Kubernetes, and several third-party installation options. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Security
- The project lists two-factor authentication as an extra security feature. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project lists GitHub Discussions for questions and support, Gitter for chat, and GitHub Issues for bugs. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Transactions
- Users can create recurring transactions and rules to handle transactions automatically. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
Where Firefly III stands on Freedom251
- Personal Finance Software#21 of 181
- Budgeting And Expense Tracking#5 of 29