Grisbi A long-running project with French roots Grisbi isn’t new software. It started in France years ago and slowly built up a loyal base of users who wanted a no-nonsense way to manage money. It never tried to be glossy or “modern app store” friendly. Instead, it kept to a clear idea: provide a tool that households, freelancers, or even small associations can rely on to keep their accounts straight.

Skrooge (Windows port) From KDE roots to Windows Skrooge started life in the KDE world — mostly for Linux users who wanted a strong personal finance tool. Over time, some in the community brought it over to Windows, so now the same feature set is available on another platform. The port doesn’t strip anything away: accounts, reports, budgets, investments — it’s all still there.

KMyMoney (Windows port) From Linux roots to Windows desktops KMyMoney was originally written for the KDE desktop, a project born in the Linux world. Over the years, it gained a reputation as a reliable open-source finance manager, and eventually a Windows port appeared. Thanks to that effort, the program reached a much wider audience. It keeps the strengths of the Linux version — structured data, careful accounting, stability — but makes them available on a platform many home users and freelance

HomeBank Why this old name still comes up HomeBank has been around for years — long enough to quietly earn trust among people who just want to see where the money goes without picking up accounting jargon. It is small, quick to start, a bit old-school in looks, and that’s partly the charm: instead of chasing trends, it focuses on everyday budgeting that actually helps. For those who prefer local files over web dashboards, this approach feels safe and predictable.

AceMoney Lite A free but capable money manager AceMoney Lite is the no-cost edition of the popular AceMoney software. It’s a simplified version, but not too stripped down — the essentials for personal finance are all there. The program is aimed at people who just want to keep household money under control without learning accounting or paying for a full license.

GnuCash A long-standing open-source project When people talk about free tools for personal finance, GnuCash almost always comes up. It’s not new — the project started in the late 1990s, long before online banking apps became normal — and maybe that’s why it feels a little different from modern web platforms. Instead of pushing data into a cloud service, GnuCash works entirely on a local computer. Some see this as old-fashioned, but many prefer it, because their financial records stay in their ha