Open Source Net Worth Trackers Compared: What the AI Can Do

An open source net worth tracker should do two jobs: show where you stand, and save you the monthly spreadsheet chore. Seven maintained projects do the first. The AI column decides how much of the second they take off your hands.

We build Open Net Worth, the open-source personal wealth agent: a private family office for the other 99%, run by Lucius, an AI agent that keeps your books, watches your holdings and reports in on a schedule. We’re the maintainers, so read this as our view. Every claim about another tool links to that tool’s own repo, docs or site, accessed Nov 3, 2026, and we say where they beat us.

The seven split by what they were built for: a portfolio (Ghostfolio, Wealthfolio), a budget (Actual Budget, Firefly III), an all-round finance app (Sure) or double-entry books (GnuCash, Beancount with Fava). In late 2026 the sharper difference is the AI column: whether a tool has an assistant at all, whether it may change your data, whether it works without being asked, and whether it can place a trade.

Short answer: For investments alone, look at Ghostfolio or Wealthfolio; for a budget, Actual Budget or Firefly III; for an all-round app with bank links, Sure; for exact accounting, GnuCash or Beancount with Fava. Wealthfolio and Sure have assistants that can change your data. Open Net Worth’s agent also runs on a schedule and can place orders through a broker’s MCP server you connect, asking first by default.

Note: Open Net Worth is software, not a financial advisor. This post compares what each tool does; it is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice.

How we picked and compared

A tool made the list if its source is under an open-source license, it runs on your own computer or server, it tracks net worth, holdings or both, and it shipped a release in the past 12 months. Maybe Finance is the exception: it’s archived, but searches still lead there, so we cover it in a note. Closed-source apps are out of scope; our Monarch Money comparison covers a hosted one.

Every fact comes from the project’s own README, docs or website on Nov 3, 2026. “Not documented” means we didn’t find it on those pages, which is weaker than “doesn’t exist”. Release dates come from each project’s GitHub releases or package index. We didn’t install the other tools for this post, and we left out star counts because they change daily.

Open source net worth trackers at a glance

Maybe Finance has no row: it’s archived, its final release (v0.6.0, Jul 24, 2025) is “as-is”, and we didn’t check its multi-currency support. It had a net worth trend, balance sheet, monthly budgets and an AI chat (AGPL-3.0); its code continues in Sure.

The cards below add license, release, file import and the AI details: what it may change, what stops it, and whether it can trade. Release dates are 2026.

Each tool in brief

Open Net Worth

AGPL-3.0 · v0.1.35 Beta (Nov 3) · desktop app (macOS Apple Silicon, Windows, Linux), onw server or Docker

• Every account and debt; holdings with lots, dividends, TWR and MWR; property and other assets at the value you enter.
• Zero-Based (YNAB-style) or 50/30/20 budget; each account in its own currency, totals in one base currency.
• Imports PDF, CSV, XLSX, OFX, QFX, QBO, QIF, MT940, CAMT.053; bank connectors (beta).
• Lucius, required at first run (hosted model, CLI sign-in or local through Ollama), can change data. Auto by default: ordinary changes go through and can be restored, risky ones ask; Manual asks for every change. Automations run on a schedule or event; Intel (beta) watches holdings. Trades only through a broker’s own MCP server you connect, asking first by default.

Ghostfolio

AGPL-3.0 · 3.97.0 (Nov 2) · Docker (amd64, arm/v7, arm64) or the hosted Ghostfolio Premium

• Stocks, ETFs, bonds, crypto, dividends, valuables, liabilities; returns compared with benchmarks; allocation by currency.
• No budgeting on its features page. Imports activities as CSV in the app, JSON through its API.
• No chat assistant: a “Copy AI prompt to clipboard” action, an experimental opt-in “Ghostfolio AI” that reads activity files (CSV, image, PDF) for import (changelog), and an experimental MCP server, off by default.
• An MCP client given a manage permission can import activities and update cash balances.

Wealthfolio

AGPL-3.0 · v3.12.0 (Nov 1) · desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux), mobile apps or Docker

• Holdings, TWR and MWR, assets and liabilities, a retirement and FIRE planner; spending and budgets.
• Multi-currency with exchange rate management. Imports CSV; broker sync through paid Connect (read-only).
• Built-in assistant (Ollama or cloud providers) prepares drafts you confirm in the chat; MCP tokens are read-only by default and can be allowed to draft or write. v3.12.0 added View spending, Organize spending and Manage budgets permissions for agents.
• Scheduled AI and trading: not documented; broker sync is read-only.

Sure

AGPL-3.0 · v0.7.6 (Oct 31) · Docker; used from a browser, a macOS app or a mobile app

• Bank accounts, stocks, crypto, assets, debts; category budgets; “in any currency”.
• Imports CSV, PDF, QIF, and exports from Mint, YNAB and Actual. Its next version ships as alpha builds (v0.7.7-alpha.2 on Oct 31).
• Built-in chat (OpenAI-compatible including Ollama, or Anthropic), an outside agent, or none. It can change data with the same tools as its MCP endpoint, including transaction, category and budget updates.
• Some tools (rules, transfers, opening balances) offer a dry run or a preview token; no general approval step is described. Background AI categorization and merchant detection; trading not documented.

Firefly III

AGPL-3.0 · v6.7.9 (Oct 11) · self-hosted server; Docker image

• Net worth from asset accounts; no stock or portfolio tracking, by design.
• Budgets, categories, tags, piggy banks, rules; any currency.
• Imports CSV, CAMT.052 and CAMT.053 through the Data Importer, plus third-party bank providers.
• No AI (“No AI, no cloud”).

Actual Budget

MIT · v26.11.0 (Nov 2) · desktop apps (Windows, macOS, Linux), a Docker server, or hosted on PikaPods or Fly.io

• Off-budget accounts track balances (investments, mortgages); envelope or tracking budget.
• No native multi-currency; its docs give a workaround.
• Imports CSV, QIF, OFX, QFX, CAMT; bank sync in North America, Europe, Brazil, New Zealand. No built-in AI; its docs list community MCP servers for AI assistants.

GnuCash

GPL · 5.17 (Sep 27) · desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux)

• Double-entry accounts; stock and mutual fund portfolios with online quotes; accounts in different currencies.
• Budgets with a budget report. Imports QIF, OFX; OFX and HBCI online banking. No AI documented.

Beancount + Fava

GPL-2.0 / MIT · Beancount 3.2.3 (May 5), Fava 1.30.16 (Aug 18) · command-line tools over a text file; Fava adds a local web interface

• Double-entry; positions at cost or at market value from prices in the file; converts to any currency you have prices for.
• Per-account custom "budget" lines (Fava help).
• Python importers you set up; Fava lets you review, edit or skip entries before saving. No AI documented.

What the other tools do better

Ghostfolio is built around the portfolio. It reports returns for Today through Max against benchmarks. It splits allocation by account, asset class, currency, region and sector, and runs X-ray, a static check for risks in your holdings (its features page marks several of these with its Premium badge). The app is a mobile-first PWA.

Wealthfolio is the closest to us in spirit. It’s ahead on reach, with mobile apps, an add-on system, and an optional paid Connect that syncs brokerages (42+ institutions per its site) and your devices. Its MCP access is also more careful than ours: tokens are read-only unless you allow drafts or writes. Open Net Worth’s onw mcp server lets a connected app write with no confirm card; only tools set to Blocked are refused.

Sure links to “10,000+ institutions” per its site and lets you switch the in-app chat off entirely or hand it to an outside agent. That last option suits anyone who wants AI only where they put it.

Firefly III has a rules engine, recurring transactions and a REST API that covers almost every part of the app. Its README says “No AI, no cloud”, and its docs say plainly what it won’t do: no stock or portfolio management, no house value in net worth, no YNAB-style zero-based budget. It points you to Portfolio Performance or GnuCash for those, which is the kind of page we’d like more projects to write.

Actual Budget pairs envelope budgeting with local desktop apps, bank sync and optional end-to-end encryption for synced budget data. Open Net Worth’s database isn’t encrypted on disk; our docs ask you to turn on FileVault, BitLocker or LUKS, and where your financial data goes lists what leaves the machine.

GnuCash and Beancount are real double-entry accounting. GnuCash adds statement reconciliation, balance sheet and portfolio valuation reports, and 61 interface languages. Beancount keeps your books in a text file you write, and Fava’s Query page runs reports over it. Open Net Worth’s ledger is two-leg, with no debits and credits, which is simpler and less strict.

Where Open Net Worth fits

Open Net Worth is an open-source personal wealth agent you self-host: a private family office for the other 99%, run by Lucius. It holds one person’s whole financial life in one book. Accounts, cards and loans in any mix of currencies; investments with lots and returns; equity grants (beta); property at the value you enter; a Zero-Based or 50/30/20 budget; commitments; a retirement outlook (beta). The features page lists the rest.

What that looks like: in the demo data used across opennetworth.ai, one net worth of $958,600 is a $544,000 apartment, $297,651 of investments and retirement, $142,300 in cash, a car, watches and art, less $89,151 in loans. All of it sits in one view, and Lucius works from those numbers.

The difference from the tools above is Lucius, the agent that works those books through the same actions the screens use. A new conversation starts in Auto: ordinary changes go through and can be undone with Restore, while risky ones (a filtered bulk delete, any Automation change, any tool from an outside MCP server) still ask.

Automations run him on a schedule or an event, for a daily briefing, a weekly report, a bank sync or logging purchases from your card emails. He can place orders only through a broker’s own MCP server that you connect, and those tools ask first by default. Our AI agent for personal finance post covers permissions and Restore in detail.

Version 0.1.35 (Nov 3) added two experiments, both off by default: voice calls with Lucius, and a full YNAB plan import with a two-way sync (docs).

The costs are real too. A model is required at first run, with no skip: an API key, an existing Claude Code, Codex or Antigravity sign-in, or a free local model through Ollama. PDF, CSV and XLSX statements are read by Lucius, so they need that model; OFX, QIF, MT940 and CAMT files don’t (importing docs). There’s no mobile app and no multi-user or family accounts. The docs call it “in beta, built by one person,” and suggest checking its numbers against your bank and broker for a while.

Which one fits whom

Ghostfolio fits you if you mainly hold stocks, ETFs and crypto and want performance and risk views, self-hosted or hosted.

Wealthfolio fits you if you want an investment-first app on desktop and phone, with an assistant that drafts and a sync service you can pay for.

Sure fits you if you want an all-round app with bank links, budgets and an assistant you can switch off or swap for your own agent.

Actual Budget or Firefly III fit you if a budget is the point and investments can stay as balances. Our Actual Budget alternative post compares Actual with Open Net Worth row by row. Coming from YNAB? Our Open Net Worth vs YNAB comparison covers that move, and the guide to migrating from YNAB walks through the plan import and sync.

GnuCash or Beancount fit you if you want exact double-entry books and don’t need AI.

Open Net Worth fits you if you want the budget, investments, property and plans in one book on your own machine, and an agent that does the bookkeeping and checks in on a schedule under rules you set. Our self-hosted personal finance guide shows what running it involves.

Our take

Pick by job first, then by how much you want the AI to do. Every tool here can keep your data on hardware you control, and most track holdings; Actual Budget and Firefly III keep investments as balances. They split on the AI. Firefly III, Actual, GnuCash and Beancount have none built in. Ghostfolio offers an experimental MCP server and import AI, Wealthfolio drafts you confirm, and Sure write tools. Open Net Worth adds scheduled work and broker orders, asking first.

If you want no AI anywhere near your money, choose Firefly III, Actual Budget, GnuCash or Beancount; they’re good at their jobs. If you’d let an agent work your books on your own machine, try ours, and read our guide to the personal finance MCP server before you connect other AI apps to it.

What we couldn’t confirm

We couldn’t find a general approval step for Sure’s assistant (some tools offer a dry run or preview token), or whether Wealthfolio’s assistant can run on a schedule; both are marked as not described or not documented. Ghostfolio’s MCP server and file-import AI are labelled experimental, so their tools may change. We rechecked every row on Nov 3, 2026 and will check again within 45 days.

How we checked this

Every source in the Sources list carries its access date: Nov 3, 2026. We read each project’s README, docs, changelog and release notes, GitHub’s releases API and PyPI, and checked Open Net Worth against open-net-worth@888fc60 (v0.1.35) and its docs. The tools are Ghostfolio, Wealthfolio, Sure, Firefly III, Actual Budget, GnuCash, Beancount, Fava and Maybe Finance. Nothing was installed or run for this post.

Try it before you trust it. Open the demo on fake data (no sign-up; the book is shared and AI limits apply), then install the app from the docs and import one statement of your own. It’s beta and built by one person, so check its numbers against your bank for a while. Questions go to Discord, bugs to GitHub issues.