8 Free Personal Finance Software Options

GnuCash is available for Mac, Windows and other operating systems. Features include tracking bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses and small business accounting features. GnuCash is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports, and since it's actively developed, this free financial software is improving all the time. GnuCash supports QIF imports and OFX downloads.

• Compatible Operating Systems: Windows, GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD.

Buddi runs on Windows, Mac and Linux systems and has been translated into multiple languages. For safety, Buddi can encrypt financial data with a password, and it's designed to be easy to use even if you have no financial background. Features include budgeting, tracking accounts, personal finance reports, but you will have to enter transactions manually (no transaction downloads). Free plugins can be downloaded to add more features, and online user manual is easy to read and use.

• Compatible Operating Systems: Any operating system running Sun Java Virtual Machine (you can get Java downloads here), including Windows, Mac OS X 10.4 and higher, and most flavors of Linux.

After discontinuing Microsoft Money Plus, Microsoft made Money Sunset Deluxe available for free. Microsoft Money Plus Sunset Deluxe replaces earlier versions of the software, but it is crippled with no Internet supported features like automatic transaction updates and Microsoft offers no support for this version. However, for people who don't need Internet-supported features or who don't mind importing transactions from their online bank, Money Sunset is worth considering.

• Compatible Operating Systems: Windows

PLCash stores data in plain text format, which allows you to use a spreadsheet or word processing software to read and analyze your financial data. PLCash also offers useful personal finance reports, support for multiple account types and basic investment tracking. Data can be imported from Quicken, Microsoft Money or any other software that supports QIF data exports.

PLCash does not encrypt data.

• Compatible Operating Systems: Any operating system with Java Runtime installed.

Financial Fate is for longer-term personal financial planning and has been designed to require no formal financial planning training to use. Financial Fate can tell you if your money management practices will lead to being financially solvent for life, or if you need to make some changes to avoid money problems later.

The PearBudget free spreadsheet template sets up and manages monthly spending and a budget quite effectively. PearBudget requires Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice, or any program that can run .XLS files.

If you prefer to use budgeting software without a spreadsheet, you can try PearBudget web-based budgeting software, which has a free trial and then costs $3 per month.

• Compatible Operating Systems: Windows, Mac, Linux.

AceMoney Lite has an up-to-date look, supports investment tracking and offers e-commerce features. AceMoney Lite is really try-before-you-buy software and is limited to only one account. To get around this, create categories for multiple accounts with subcategories for income and expense budgeting. AceMoney Lite imports QIF or OFX financial data, and CSV data downloads with free data conversion software, so data downloads could prove to be a hassle. Still, AceMoney Lite is worth a try.

User manuals, tutorials and other documents are available on the AceMoney wiki. The full version of AceMoney runs $30, supports unlimited accounts, has free support and free upgrades forever.

• Compatible Operating Systems: Windows, Linux, Mac

Another option for finding free personal finance software is to take a look at online software, which runs through your web browser. Online personal finance software has a lot of security measures in place to keep your data private, and most of this software is free.