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  • Strategist
  • Spender
  • Saver
  • Scrambler

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Priceless Tay
Find My Money Type

AI money tools comparison

Actual Budget vs Bloom

Updated

Actual Budget logoActual BudgetAI money tool
Bloom logoBloomInvesting app

Priceless Tay may earn a commission from some links on this page, and that never changes how we compare apps.

Full disclosure: Taylor Price, who runs Priceless Tay, owns Fifecta, so keep that in mind as you read this comparison.

Short answer

Actual Budget is an AI money tool and Bloom is an investing app. Bloom offers a $15 monthly plan and a $99.99 annual plan, and its custodial plan costs $150 a year. We checked Bloom on Oct 24, 2026, but we haven't verified the price for Actual Budget yet, and the table below shows every fact with its source.

Actual Budget vs Bloom at a glance

Actual Budget is an AI money tool and Bloom is an investing app. This page puts what each company's official pages and app store listings say side by side, with the date we checked every fact. The table below has 9 rows, and any row we couldn't verify says so.

Price and fees

Bloom offers a $15 monthly plan and a $99.99 annual plan, and its custodial plan costs $150 a year. We haven't verified this for Actual Budget yet, so check the official site for Actual Budget before you decide. We checked Bloom on Oct 24, 2026.

Opening and balance minimums

Bloom has no minimum account balance, but deposits and stock orders must be at least $1. We haven't verified this for Actual Budget yet, so check the official site for Actual Budget before you decide. We checked Bloom on Oct 24, 2026.

Protection

Bloom's brokerage accounts are held at Alpaca Securities, a SIPC member. SIPC protection is limited to $500,000, including a $250,000 limit for cash. We haven't verified this for Actual Budget yet, so check the official site for Actual Budget before you decide. We checked Bloom on Oct 24, 2026.

Platforms

Bloom lists iOS and Android. We haven't verified this for Actual Budget yet, so check the official site for Actual Budget before you decide. We checked Bloom on Oct 24, 2026.

Bank syncing

Actual has built-in bank syncing through goCardless in the EU and UK and SimpleFIN in the US and Canada. We haven't verified this for Bloom yet, so check the official site for Bloom before you decide. We checked Actual Budget on Oct 24, 2026.

Features

Bloom lists AI features. We haven't verified the features for Actual Budget yet. We checked Bloom on Oct 24, 2026.

App store rating

Bloom has 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store from 46,596 ratings. We haven't verified this for Actual Budget yet, so check the official site for Actual Budget before you decide. We checked Bloom on Oct 24, 2026. Store ratings are a dated snapshot from each listing, not our score.

Actual Budget and Bloom, side by side

Rows marked “Differs” are where the two official sources say different things.

Swipe the table sideways to see both apps.

Actual Budget compared with Bloom. Each cell shows the date it was checked and links to its source.
FieldActual Budget logoActual BudgetAI money toolActual Budget is an open source, local-first budgeting app built on envelope budgeting that you can self-host.Visit Actual Budget's siteBloom logoBloomInvesting appBloom is a subscription app for learning to invest, with lessons, games and an investing account for adults and teens.Visit Bloom's site
Price and feesNot verified yet.Bloom offers a $15 monthly plan and a $99.99 annual plan, and its custodial plan costs $150 a year.As of Oct 24, 2026. Source: bloomapp.com/faq
Free trialNot verified yet.Not verified yet.
APY or rateNot verified yet.Not verified yet.
Opening and balance minimumsNot verified yet.Bloom has no minimum account balance, but deposits and stock orders must be at least $1.As of Oct 24, 2026. Source: bloomapp.com/faq
ProtectionNot verified yet.Bloom's brokerage accounts are held at Alpaca Securities, a SIPC member. SIPC protection is limited to $500,000, including a $250,000 limit for cash.As of Oct 24, 2026. Source: sipc.org/for-investors/what-sipc-protects
PlatformsNot verified yet.Bloom lists iOS and Android.As of Oct 24, 2026. Source: bloomapp.com
Bank syncingYes. Actual has built-in bank syncing through goCardless in the EU and UK and SimpleFIN in the US and Canada.As of Oct 24, 2026. Source: actualbudget.orgNot verified yet.
FeaturesNot verified yet.
  • Yes: AI features
As of Oct 24, 2026. Source: bloomapp.com
App store ratingNot verified yet.Bloom has 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store from 46,596 ratings.As of Oct 24, 2026. Source: App Store listing

App store ratings are a dated snapshot from each store listing, not our score. “Not verified yet” means we don't have a current official source for that line. Spotted a change? Tell us if something changed.

What the app looks like

Bloom

  • Bloom App Store screenshot 1 of 4, as of Oct 24, 2026
  • Bloom App Store screenshot 2 of 4, as of Oct 24, 2026
  • Bloom App Store screenshot 3 of 4, as of Oct 24, 2026
  • Bloom App Store screenshot 4 of 4, as of Oct 24, 2026
Screenshots: Bloom on the App Store, as of Oct 24, 2026.

Which fits your Money Type?

There are four Money Types: Strategist, Spender, Saver and Scrambler. Each card matches one type to what the sources say about these two apps.

  • Strategist

    Neither app's sources confirm a feature we match to this type yet, so the quiz is the better place to start.

    First fix: Save the Raise.

  • Spender

    Neither app's sources confirm a feature we match to this type yet, so the quiz is the better place to start.

    First fix: Sleep on It.

  • Saver

    Neither app's sources confirm a feature we match to this type yet, so the quiz is the better place to start.

    First fix: Put It to Work.

  • Scrambler

    Actual Budget lists bank syncing. Seeing every account in one place helps a Scrambler pay bills first.

    First fix: Bills First.

Not sure which one you are? Take the free Money Types quiz. It takes about two minutes.

Full disclosure: Taylor Price, who runs Priceless Tay, owns Fifecta, so keep that in mind as you read this comparison.

Another option: Fifecta

If neither Actual Budget nor Bloom feels right, here is one more option to look at. Fifecta gives every paycheck a plan with FUNDS, and it starts from your Money Type, so the plan matches how you already handle money.

Try Fifecta free

What real users say

These are other people's opinions, not Priceless Tay's. We quote public reviews and posts word for word, link each one and show its date, but we haven't checked the claims in them. A post counts toward a theme when it uses one of that theme's keywords, so a mention can be praise or a complaint.

What Actual Budget users say

Based on 3 Reddit posts, 7 YouTube videos and 24 Hacker News posts dated Nov 2025 to Oct 2026, read Oct 2026. We collected the Reddit and YouTube data with Apify, a scraping service, on Oct 24, 2026.

  • Of the 34 posts and videos we read, 11 mention syncing or connecting accounts.
  • Of the 34 posts and videos we read, 7 mention the price, fees or the subscription.
  • Of the 34 posts and videos we read, 7 mention how easy or hard the app is to use.

Positive

“Actual Budget is incredible. Happy (now free since it's gone FOSS, formerly paying) customer...”
pcchristie on Hacker News, . Read it on Hacker News.

Mixed

“Switched from ynab4 (used some version since 2011) to Actual Budget a few month ago. Some tiny ux issues, but improvement in many more areas.”
Semaphor on Hacker News, . Read it on Hacker News.

Critical

“Without rollover the app generates a balance that I never entered... an app that does not reflect my real-world balance.”
u/teink0 in r/actualbudgeting on Reddit, . Read it on Reddit.
Where these come from

What Bloom users say

Based on 500 App Store reviews, 3 Reddit posts and 2 YouTube videos dated Nov 2025 to Oct 2026, read Oct 2026. We collected the Reddit and YouTube data with Apify, a scraping service, on Oct 24, 2026.

  • Of the 505 reviews, posts and videos we read, 223 mention learning about investing.
  • Of the 505 reviews, posts and videos we read, 71 mention how easy or hard the app is to use.
  • Of the 505 reviews, posts and videos we read, 22 mention the price, fees or the subscription.

Positive

“...my favorite feature is the learning section of it. It has helped me understand so much that I wish I knew when I was younger!”
App Store reviewer on the App Store, . See the App Store reviews. Apple doesn't give single reviews their own link, so this opens the app's reviews.

Mixed

“My kids are on bloom and it has been great so far. Only downside is you have to pay for it but worth it imo.”
u/itsyourboyjjjj in r/investing on Reddit, . Read it on Reddit.

Critical

“There is no way to avoid the $15 subscription with Bloom even if you are not using the "learning" platform.”
u/ConditionSufficient7 in r/investingforbeginners on Reddit, . Read it on Reddit.
Where these come from

FAQ

How much does Bloom cost?

Bloom offers a $15 monthly plan and a $99.99 annual plan, and its custodial plan costs $150 a year. We checked this on Oct 24, 2026.

What is Bloom's app store rating?

Bloom has 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store from 46,596 ratings. That's a snapshot from the store listing on Oct 24, 2026, not our score.

What devices does Bloom work on?

Bloom lists iOS and Android. We checked this on Oct 24, 2026.

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Keep comparing

Full disclosure: Taylor Price, who runs Priceless Tay, owns Fifecta, so keep that in mind as you read this comparison.

Want a plan built on your Money Type?

Fifecta gives every paycheck a plan with FUNDS, so you know where each dollar goes.

Try Fifecta free
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Sources and dates

This is education, not financial advice.