Actual Budget is an open source budgeting app. Its home page calls it "a super fast and privacy-focused app for managing your finances", describes an "Envelope Budgeting methodology", and says: "Actual is a local app, plain and simple." For Canadians the useful part is bank connection. Its home page says: "Actual has built in support for bank syncing using goCardless (EU/UK) and SimpleFIN (US/Canada)." Its "Connecting Your Bank" page lists SimpleFIN Bridge for North American banks and calls bank integration optional. Its SimpleFIN page says current rates are $1.50 a month or $15 a year, that the sync pulls at most 90 days of data from each linked account, and that the data updates about once a day. The page does not name the currency. To use Actual on more than one device you run its sync server yourself or pay a host: its install page says a server "is strongly recommended" and names PikaPods and Fly.io as paid cloud hosting. NivoaFlow is a hosted app built for Canadian money. It works in Canadian dollars, connects Canadian banks on its paid plans, keeps TFSA, RRSP and FHSA room in view on Personal and Household, and explains where you stand in plain words with the working shown. It starts free, with 35 days of full access and no credit card.
The Actual pages we read did not list a price for the app, and its documentation links to a donation page. Its install page names PikaPods and Fly.io as paid cloud hosting, and its SimpleFIN page lists SimpleFIN Bridge at $1.50 a month or $15 a year without naming the currency. NivoaFlow starts free, with Personal at $8.99 CAD a month.
Feature-by-feature comparison
On NivoaFlow, the free plan covers manual entry, CSV import, budgets and goals. Bank sync, TFSA, RRSP and FHSA tracking, and cash-flow and debt planning are on Personal.
Where Actual Budget is stronger
If these matter most to you, Actual lists more of them than NivoaFlow does.
Where NivoaFlow differs
Canadian banks without setting up a bridge
Actual lists SimpleFIN bank sync, which you subscribe to and set up yourself. NivoaFlow connects Canadian banks on its Personal and Household plans and keeps your TFSA, RRSP and FHSA room in view.
Nothing to host
Actual says a server is strongly recommended for sync, and names paid hosts. NivoaFlow is a hosted app with a free plan with no time limit, a 35-day trial of everything, and an Android app.
A plain-language read
NivoaFlow explains where you stand and what each choice could do to your future. It shows the evidence behind what it says, and you confirm what is true.
Bank sync in Canada, as Actual describes it
Actual's home page says: "Actual has built in support for bank syncing using goCardless (EU/UK) and SimpleFIN (US/Canada)." Its "Connecting Your Bank" documentation lists "SimpleFIN Bridge" for "North American Banks" and says: "We are excited to offer optional bank integration in Actual". That page does not name Canada, so the home page is where Canada is stated. The SimpleFIN setup page says: "Currently, the sync pulls at most 90 days of data from each linked account", and that SimpleFIN's data "updates one time / day, roughly every 24 hours, for each linked account". We read these on October 16, 2026. Check them again before you decide, because only Actual and SimpleFIN can say what their services cover.
Running it yourself
Actual's install page says: "The easiest and fastest way to get started is by using the Actual web app", and that desktop applications are available for Windows, Mac and Linux. It also says: "A server is not required for Actual to function but it is strongly recommended". For hosted options it says that if you are willing to pay a small amount of money to have Actual hosted for you, it recommends PikaPods, and that Fly.io offers cloud hosting for a similar amount. Its FAQ says: "The official mobile applications are deprecated. However, Actual's web version is a responsive Progressive Web App that you can install to your home screen and use like a native app."
Currency and price
Actual's settings page lists number format, hide decimal places, date format and first day of the week. The pages we read did not list a currency setting or say how Actual handles more than one currency, so we do not say either way. They did not list a price for the app. The documentation has a Donate link to Open Collective.
What NivoaFlow includes, and on which plan
NivoaFlow has a free plan with no time limit, which covers manual entry, CSV import, budgets, goals and net worth tracking. Bank sync, brokerage sync, automatic categorization and TFSA, RRSP and FHSA tracking are on Personal, which is $8.99 CAD a month, and on Household. New accounts get 35 days of full access with no credit card. There is no server to run.
Checked October 16, 2026, from the sources below. Prices and features of both products may have changed.Actual Budget is a trademark of its respective owner. NivoaFlow is not affiliated with Actual Budget.
Sources: Actual Budget home page, Actual Budget docs: connecting your bank, Actual Budget docs: SimpleFIN setup, Actual Budget docs: installing Actual, Actual Budget docs: frequently asked questions, Actual Budget docs: settings, NivoaFlow pricing