How I built the finance tool I've always wanted—tastefully designed, endlessly flexible.
Three years ago, I discovered Actual Budget. It was different from every other finance app I'd tried—local-first, privacy-focused, and built on solid engineering principles. I fell in love. But like any love story, I found myself wanting to make it even better. So I built Moneypile.
Let me be clear: Moneypile isn't just another finance app. It's my finance app. The one I use every day. The one I built because I couldn't find exactly what I wanted anywhere else.
I wanted something that embraced everything brilliant about Actual—the envelope budgeting, the local-first architecture, the privacy—but pushed further. I wanted to obsess over every pixel, every interaction, every tiny detail that makes the difference between software you have to use and software you want to use.
Actual Budget is a masterpiece of financial software engineering. Instead of competing with it, I chose to embrace it completely. Moneypile runs Actual at its core, treating it with the respect it deserves while extending it in ways that felt natural to me.
This isn't about "fixing" Actual—it's already excellent. This is about building on top of something great to create something that fits my workflow perfectly. And if it fits mine, maybe it'll fit yours too.
When you build software for yourself, you get to be unreasonably particular about things that might seem trivial to others. For Moneypile, that meant:
That phrase captures what I was after. I wanted Moneypile to feel like a premium product out of the box, but also be a playground for developers who want to extend it. It's opinionated where it matters (the UI should be beautiful) and flexible where it counts (you should be able to make it yours).
Your data stays on your server, always
From tinted themes to micro-interactions
All the power of Actual, extended thoughtfully
Clean code, clear patterns, easy to extend
This isn't theoretical software. I use Moneypile to manage my own finances. Every feature exists because I needed it. Every design decision was battle-tested in my daily workflow.
When you build something for yourself, you can't hide behind "good enough." That transaction list that feels slightly sluggish? It bothers me every day until I fix it. That theme that doesn't quite work in dark mode? I see it every evening.
The result is software that's been polished by actual use, not just development sprints.
Just like Actual, Moneypile is self-hosted. Your financial data never touches my servers. Ever. Deploy it with a single Docker command:
That's it. No cloud accounts, no API keys, no monthly fees. Just your data, on your server, under your control.
I built Moneypile for myself, but I'm sharing it because I believe others might want the same things I do. A finance tool that's beautiful, powerful, and respects your privacy. One that builds on Actual's incredible foundation while pushing the boundaries of what a finance app can be.
If you love Actual like I do, but you've found yourself wanting just a bit more—more polish, more flexibility, more attention to detail—then Moneypile might be for you too.
Moneypile is open source because the best software is built in the open. I'd love to hear your ideas, see your contributions, and learn how you're using it.
Moneypile exists because Actual exists. It's a testament to what happens when great open-source software inspires others to build upon it. This is my love letter to Actual—a thank you in the form of code.
If you're ready to experience what happens when someone obsesses over every detail of their finance app, give Moneypile a try. It's the tool I've always wanted. Maybe it's the one you've been looking for too.
Jeff Jose
Creator of Moneypile • Actual Budget enthusiast
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