Budgeting apps · #19 of 27 · ↑ Emma · ↓ Maybe Finance
hledger
hledger ranks #19 of 27 in budgeting apps in the week of 12 October 2026, with a visibility score of 2 across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity. It was named in 2% of the answers we sampled.
sampled: 3 of 4 assistants this week
hledger barely registers on AI assistants' radar in the Budgeting apps category, scoring just 2 out of 100 overall (ChatGPT: 2, Claude: 3, Perplexity: 0). It showed up in only 2 of 75 answers across the board. Its best showings were modest at that: named in 1 of 3 answers for "What's the best open-source or self-hosted budgeting app?" and again in 1 of 3 answers for "What are the best alternatives to Actual Budget?" Beyond those niches, hledger went unmentioned entirely, including in questions about subscription tracking, mobile experience, paid app recommendations, and automatic bank syncing.
this is mine claim it, free, forever. We also check whether ChatGPT and Claude can read hledger.org.
Who's talking about you
| assistant | score | named in, this week | usual spot, this week |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 2 | 0% of answers | |
| Claude | 3 | 5% of answers | #5.0 |
| Gemini | not sampled this week | ||
| Perplexity | 0 | 0% of answers |
Questions you win
| question | named in | best spot |
|---|---|---|
| What's the best open-source or self-hosted budgeting app? | 1 of 3 | #5 |
| What are the best alternatives to Actual Budget? | 1 of 3 | #6 |
Questions you lose
| question | who got named instead |
|---|---|
| What are the best budgeting apps? | YNAB, Monarch Money, Rocket Money |
| What's the best budgeting app in 2026? | YNAB, Monarch Money, Rocket Money |
| What are the best free budgeting apps? | Empower, Rocket Money, Honeydue |
| Which budgeting app is best now that Mint has shut down? | Monarch Money, YNAB, Quicken Simplifi |
| What's the best personal finance app to see all my accounts in one place? | Monarch Money, Empower, Quicken Simplifi |
| Which budgeting app is best for someone paying off debt? | YNAB, EveryDollar, PocketGuard |
| What's the best budgeting app for people with irregular income? | YNAB, Monarch Money, EveryDollar |
| Which budgeting app has the best mobile experience? | YNAB, Copilot Money, Monarch Money |
| What's the best budgeting app for privacy that doesn't sell my data? | Actual Budget, YNAB, Goodbudget |
| Which budgeting app is worth paying for? | YNAB, Monarch Money, Copilot Money |
| What's the best budgeting app for couples sharing finances? | Honeydue, Monarch Money, YNAB |
| What's the best envelope or zero-based budgeting app? | YNAB, Goodbudget, Actual Budget |
| What's the best app to track spending automatically from my bank accounts? | Monarch Money, Copilot Money, Quicken Simplifi |
| What's the best app to find and cancel unwanted subscriptions? | Rocket Money, PocketGuard, Copilot Money |
| What's the best budgeting app that works with a spreadsheet? | Tiller, Aspire Budgeting, Lunch Money |
| What's the best app to track net worth and investments alongside a budget? | Monarch Money, Empower, Quicken Simplifi |
| What's the best budgeting app for a freelancer or self-employed person? | YNAB, Monarch Money |
| What's the best budgeting app that works outside the US? | Lunch Money, YNAB, PocketSmith |
| What's the best simple budgeting app for someone who has never budgeted? | Goodbudget, Rocket Money, Spendee |
| What are the best alternatives to YNAB? | Actual Budget, Monarch Money, Quicken Simplifi |
| What are the best alternatives to Monarch Money? | Quicken Simplifi, Copilot Money, YNAB |
| What are the best alternatives to Quicken Simplifi? | Monarch Money, YNAB, Quicken Simplifi |
| What are the best alternatives to Copilot Money? | Monarch Money, Quicken Simplifi, YNAB |
Assistants cited 14 pages for questions in this category that name your rivals and not you. Claim to see them. See all sources for Budgeting apps.
In their words
- Claude“Beancount / hledger / Ledger (plain-text accounting) — Your finances as text files in Git.”
- Claude“Beancount + Fava (or hledger) — Plain-text accounting.”
Closest rivals
All hledger alternatives · Full Budgeting apps leaderboard · Sources