Zero Budget Local is a zero-based budgeting app that lives entirely on your computer. No cloud sync, no monthly fees, no account required — just a clear picture of where your money goes.
Zero-based budgeting means giving every dollar a job — assigning your income to categories until $0 is left unassigned. Not $0 in the bank. $0 without a purpose. It's a powerful shift that makes every purchase intentional.
The budget grid is the heart of the app. Organize spending into category groups, allocate each month, and see at a glance how much is available in every area of your life.
Set a savings goal on any category. Zero Budget Local tracks your progress month-by-month and shows how much you still need to assign.
Target types
Add transactions as you spend — manually, via bank import, or from a scheduled template. Inline editing keeps you in flow, and powerful filters let you find anything instantly.
Zero Budget Local stores everything in a single SQLite file on your own machine. We have no servers, no user accounts, and no telemetry. Your budget is yours — completely.
All budgets, transactions, accounts, and settings are stored in a single .db file on your computer. You always know exactly where your data is.
Add a lock screen to prevent unauthorized access when you step away from your computer. Your password is stored as a secure hash — we never see it.
Export the entire database to a .db file at any time. Moving to a new computer? Copy the backup file over and restore with one click.
Four built-in reports give you an instant overview of your finances. Need something specific? Build a custom chart and save it alongside the built-ins.
Spending by Category
Last 3 months · All accounts
Custom reports — choose a data source, chart type (bar, line, or pie), date range, and optional category filters. Saved reports persist across sessions.
A focused set of tools that cover the full personal finance workflow — without the bloat.
Track recurring bills and income. Set any frequency — daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly — with an Active toggle to pause without deleting.
See all your upcoming scheduled transactions laid out on a monthly calendar. Plan ahead and make sure funds are in the right account on the right day.
Manage accounts in USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, and 150+ currencies. Fetch live exchange rates on demand and cache them locally — or enter your own fixed rates for fully offline use.
Merge duplicate payees from bank imports. Create normalization rules that automatically clean up payee names during future imports.
YNAB-style credit card behavior. Every categorized CC charge automatically funds your CC payment category, so you always know exactly how much debt is covered.
Define rules that automatically assign a category when a payee name matches a pattern. Applied on every manual entry and bank import.
Organize accounts into collapsible named groups in the sidebar — e.g., "Credit Cards", "Loans", "Savings". Each group shows a running subtotal.
Light, Dark, System, Slate, Warm, and Midnight — pick the look that suits your workflow. The app respects your OS light/dark preference automatically.
Manage completely separate budgets — personal, household, business — each with their own accounts, categories, and transactions. Switch instantly from the sidebar.
Already using YNAB or Actual Budget? Import your full budget — accounts, categories, payees, transactions, and allocations — in minutes. Nothing gets left behind.
YNAB Web / YNAB 5
Export from YNAB Settings → Export Budget. Zero Budget Local reads the ZIP and imports everything, including credit card account detection.
YNAB 4 (legacy)
The classic .yfull ZIP from the YNAB 4 desktop app is fully supported.
Actual Budget
Use Actual's Settings → Export data ZIP. Accounts, categories, transactions, and payees all transfer over.
You're never locked in
Every budget can be exported back to YNAB-compatible formats at any time. Switch away whenever you want — your data leaves with you.
Bank imports — Upload OFX/QFX files from any bank directly, or use the CSV mapper to handle any export format your bank provides.
Coming Soon
Zero Budget Local is in its final stretch. A one-time license unlocks everything — no subscriptions, no account required, no data leaving your device. See what it costs before it launches.
See Pricing