★ GitHub Connect
Actual Budget alternative

Looking for a Actual Budget MCP server?

Actual is open source like us, but you host and maintain it, and MCP bridges need wiring. MyFinance MCP is the connect-and-go way: one URL, sign in, done. Self-hosting stays possible.

The short answer

No, Actual Budget has no hosted MCP server.

Not a hosted one. Actual Budget is excellent open-source software, and community MCP bridges for it exist, but the path is: run an Actual server, configure the bridge, keep both alive. The Model Context Protocol works best when the server is just there. MyFinance MCP is MCP-native and hosted: paste one URL into Claude or ChatGPT and sign in. And because it is MIT-licensed, the self-hosting option never goes away.

What you get instead

The same tracking, just by talking

log

Plain-language logging

"Spent 24.50 eur on groceries at Lidl" is the whole workflow. Category, currency and date extracted for you.

scan

Receipt photos

Snap a receipt; your AI parses it in the chat and saves the line items. Images never reach the server.

import

Statement import

Drop a CSV or PDF export: hundreds of rows in one call, duplicates detected, totals reconciled.

cap

Budgets

Monthly caps per category or overall, with live progress. Alerts only when you actually exceed one.

fx

Any currency

Log in whatever you paid in; summaries answer in your base currency with the rate frozen at transaction date.

own

Open source and yours

MIT-licensed. Full CSV export anytime, instant account deletion, self-hosting supported.

Actual Budget vs. MyFinance MCP

How they stack up

Actual Budget

  • Self-hosted: the server, updates and backups are on you
  • Community MCP bridges need config and their own hosting
  • Envelope budgeting you maintain by hand
  • Bank sync via third-party bridges you wire up

MyFinance MCP

  • Open source AND hosted: connect in a minute
  • MCP-native from day one
  • Log by talking; budgets are optional caps
  • Statement import and receipt photos built in

The open-source kinship is real: Actual is great software and going OSS was the right call for us too. If you enjoy running your own services, self-host MyFinance MCP with the same Dockerfile we deploy from.

Moving from Actual Budget

Open source without the ops

Actual gives you full control at the cost of being your own sysadmin: a server to patch, a database to back up, a bridge to babysit if you want AI access. MyFinance MCP keeps the freedom (MIT license, full CSV export, instant deletion) and removes the ops: the hosted instance is free while in beta.

Export your transactions from Actual as CSV and drop them into the chat to migrate. If you later want to self-host after all, the repository ships a guide: same code, your Postgres.

How to switch

Connect in under a minute

Works with any MCP client that supports OAuth 2.0 with PKCE. On first connect you sign in with Google or register with an email and password.

  1. Open Claude and click Customize
  2. Click Connectors
  3. Click +, then Add custom connector
  4. Name it, for example "MyFinance"
  5. Paste https://myfinance-mcp.com/mcp into Remote MCP server URL
  6. Leave the OAuth Client ID and Client Secret fields empty
  7. Click Add, then Connect and sign in

On ChatGPT: Settings, then Apps, then Create app with the same URL using OAuth. Full guide on the home page.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Does Actual Budget have an MCP server?

No official hosted one. Actual Budget cannot run inside Claude or ChatGPT directly. MyFinance MCP is built as an MCP server, so it connects with one URL and an OAuth sign-in.

I like self-hosting. Can I self-host MyFinance MCP?

Yes. It is MIT-licensed and runs from the included Dockerfile with your own Postgres (Supabase works). The GitHub README has the guide.

Is MyFinance MCP free?

Yes, free while in beta. No ads, no card required. It is open source under MIT, so self-hosting is always an option too.

Does it work with ChatGPT?

Yes. Settings, then Apps, then create a custom app with the server URL using OAuth. It works on every ChatGPT plan, and with Claude, Cursor, Windsurf and any MCP client with OAuth.

Is my data private?

Your data is linked to your account and only you can access it. EU hosting, row-level isolation, no amounts or merchants in server logs, and receipt photos never reach the server at all.

Last updated: July 16, 2026.

Mint, YNAB, Monarch Money, Lunch Money, Copilot Money, Actual Budget, Firefly III, PocketGuard and other product names are trademarks of their respective owners. MyFinance MCP is an independent, open-source project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Comparisons reflect publicly available information at the time of writing and may change.

Track money inside the AI you already use.

Free and open source. It works with Claude, ChatGPT and any MCP client.