BEST INVESTING TOOLS COMPARISON

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Checked September 24, 2026

Tool Comparison

Firefly III vs GuruFocus

Paid from
—
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web, API

Best if

  • You want webhooks and other.

GuruFocus

TestedMost versatile pick
Review & pricing
Paid from
$45.75/mo
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web, Mobile, API

Best if

  • You do a lot of your research from your phone
  • You want stock ideas, screeners, and ETF screeners.
  • You're a long-term investor who cares more about fundamentals than headlines

Pick Firefly III instead if

Firefly III logo

Firefly III

firefly-iii.org

Free · Web · API

  • You want webhooks and other.
Most versatile pick

Start here

GuruFocus logo

GuruFocus

gurufocus.comTested

Free • From $549/yr · Web · Mobile · API

  • You do a lot of your research from your phone
  • You want stock ideas, screeners, and ETF screeners.
  • You're a long-term investor who cares more about fundamentals than headlines

Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.

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Our take

The bottom line

Firefly III and GuruFocus cover a lot of the same ground (2 shared categories, portfolio and APIs & data feeds), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. GuruFocus simply does more: 49 categories to Firefly III's 4, including stock ideas, screeners, and ETF screeners, plus a mobile app. Firefly III counters by being completely free.

What readers say

Firefly III

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GuruFocus

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Key differences at a glance

Mobile app
GuruFocus
Free trial
GuruFocus7 days
Broader coverage
GuruFocus49 vs 4 categories
Broker sync
GuruFocus
Asset coverage
GuruFocusAdds stocks and ETFs
Free plan
Both
See the full side-by-side table
Firefly III logo

What Firefly III does best

  1. Self-host a personal finance ledger under the AGPLv3 open-source license rather than using a hosted budgeting app.
  2. Track accounts and transactions with double-entry bookkeeping, budgets, categories, tags, recurring transactions, subscriptions, piggy banks, rules, and reports.
  3. Use the JSON REST API with OAuth2 or personal access tokens for dashboards, automations, and personal analytics.
  4. Optional event webhooks for transaction create, update, and delete events when enabled through environment configuration.
  5. Import transaction data through the separate Data Importer using CSV, CAMT.052, CAMT.053, GoCardless, SimpleFIN, Lunch Flow, or Enable Banking.
GuruFocus logo

What GuruFocus does best

  1. Research coverage for global stocks with long historical financials, valuation data, charts, comparisons, market valuation indicators, economic indicators, industry data, and company-level fundamentals.
  2. The All-in-One Screener with hundreds of filters across fundamentals, valuation, profitability, growth, dividends, guru holdings, insider trades, predefined value screens, custom filters, saved screens, and downloads.
  3. ETF Screener and ETF GF Scores for filtering and comparing more than 5,000 U.S.
  4. Corporate and government bond screening by yield, maturity, ratings, coupon structure, outstanding amount, issuer, and industry, plus company-level bond tabs.
  5. Backtest screener strategies across many countries with configurable stock count, ranking metric, sort order, date range, and rebalance frequency; current membership terms give Premium the latest five years and Premium Plus/Professional history back to 2006.

Side by side

Pricing & plans
Starting price
Free
Free • From $549/yr
Free tier
Yes
Yes
Free trial
—
7 days
Platforms & access
Web app
Yes
Yes
Mobile app
No
Yes
API access
Yes
Yes
Broker sync
No
Yes
Integrations
GoCardless, SimpleFIN +5 more
GuruFocus Data API, GuruFocus MCP Server +3 more
Coverage & data
Asset types
Other
StocksETFsBondsMutual FundsOptionsFundsOther
Target audience
Not specified
Retail TradersPro RetailLong-term InvestorsValue InvestorsQuality InvestorsDividend InvestorsAnalystsQuants/Developers+3 more
Data freshness
Not specified
End of Day
Data granularity
Not specified
EOD
Export formats
CSV
CSVExcelJSON

Pricing comparison

Tier
Firefly IIICheaper start
Free plan
Free
Free
Entry paid plan
—
$549/yr≈ $45.75/mo“Premium”
Tier 2
—
$200/mo“Data API Builder”
Tier 3
—
$2000/mo“Data API Commercial”
Tier 4
—
Subscription“Premium Plus”
Tier 5
—
Subscription“Professional”
Top plan
—
$100 per unit“Data API Pay As You Go”
Custom / enterprise
—
Contact sales“Custom API / Enterprise Package”
Free trial
—
7 days

See for yourself

Side by side

Price, platforms, data, and market coverage.
Show
Side-by-side comparison of Firefly III and GuruFocus
Attribute
Firefly III logo
Firefly III
GuruFocus logo
GuruFocus
Pricing & plans
Starting price
FreeFree • From $549/yr
Free tier
YesYes
Free trial
—7 days
Plan limits
—57 limits: Free: portfolio limit: Up to 3 portfolios with 25 stocks each for free members, Free: data api requests: 100/month included in the Free API package +55 more
Platforms & access
Web app
YesYes
Mobile app
NoYes
API access
YesYes
Broker sync
NoYes
Integrations
GoCardless, SimpleFIN +5 moreGuruFocus Data API, GuruFocus MCP Server +3 more
Audience & fit
Experience level
Beginner, Intermediate, AdvancedBeginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Best for
—Retail Traders, Pro Retail +9 more
Categories covered
449
Regions
—North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa
Data & capabilities
Data quality
—5 signals: Latency: End of Day, Granularity: EOD +3 more
Data partners
—5 partners: QuoteMedia, Morningstar +3 more
Capabilities
—9 signals: Custom formulas, Ranking backtests +7 more
Security
—Status page and Encryption in transit
Try itVisit Firefly IIIVisit GuruFocus

Standout features

The best features of Firefly III and GuruFocus.
Show
Firefly III logo

What Firefly III does best

  1. Self-host a personal finance ledger under the AGPLv3 open-source license rather than using a hosted budgeting app.
  2. Track accounts and transactions with double-entry bookkeeping, budgets, categories, tags, recurring transactions, subscriptions, piggy banks, rules, and reports.
  3. Use the JSON REST API with OAuth2 or personal access tokens for dashboards, automations, and personal analytics.
  4. Optional event webhooks for transaction create, update, and delete events when enabled through environment configuration.
  5. Import transaction data through the separate Data Importer using CSV, CAMT.052, CAMT.053, GoCardless, SimpleFIN, Lunch Flow, or Enable Banking.
GuruFocus logo

What GuruFocus does best

  1. Research coverage for global stocks with long historical financials, valuation data, charts, comparisons, market valuation indicators, economic indicators, industry data, and company-level fundamentals.
  2. The All-in-One Screener with hundreds of filters across fundamentals, valuation, profitability, growth, dividends, guru holdings, insider trades, predefined value screens, custom filters, saved screens, and downloads.
  3. ETF Screener and ETF GF Scores for filtering and comparing more than 5,000 U.S.
  4. Corporate and government bond screening by yield, maturity, ratings, coupon structure, outstanding amount, issuer, and industry, plus company-level bond tabs.
  5. Backtest screener strategies across many countries with configurable stock count, ranking metric, sort order, date range, and rebalance frequency; current membership terms give Premium the latest five years and Premium Plus/Professional history back to 2006.

All details

Every attribute we track for Firefly III and GuruFocus.
Show
Attribute
Firefly III logo
Firefly III
GuruFocus logo
GuruFocus
Coverage & fit
Asset types
Other
StocksETFsBondsMutual FundsOptionsFundsOther
Experience
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
Target audience
Not specified
Retail TradersPro RetailLong-term InvestorsValue InvestorsQuality InvestorsDividend InvestorsAnalystsQuants/Developers+3 more
Regions
Not specified
North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica
Coverage details
Not specified
Identifiers: Ticker and CIK
Data
Data freshness
Not specified
End of Day
Data granularity
Not specified
EOD
Pricing sources
Not specified
ExchangeVendorModel
Data partners
Not specified
QuoteMediaMorningstarRefinitivFREDSEC / local regulators
Access & integrations
API protocols
REST
REST
API auth & delivery
Auth: OAuth2 and APIKeyWebhooks
Auth: APIKeySDKs: Python and GoDocs
Import methods
CSVManual
CSVBrokerOAuthManual
Integrations
GoCardlessSimpleFINLunch FlowEnable BankingSlackDiscordMattermost
GuruFocus Data APIGuruFocus MCP ServerGuruFocus Excel Add-inGuruFocus Google Sheets Add-onSnapTrade
Export formats
CSV
CSVExcelJSON
Plans & trust
Security & compliance
Not specified
Status pageEncryption in transit
Capability signals
Not specified
Custom formulasRanking backtestsUniverse builderFactors: Value, Quality, Momentum, and GrowthBroker syncMulti-currencyYield curvesCredit ratings+1 more
Vendor & support
Firefly III (open-source project)Support: Email
GuruFocus.com, LLCCountry: United StatesFounded 2004Support: Email, Chat, Phone, and Forum
Curation ratings
Methodology 4/5Reliability 4/5UX 4/5
Not specified

Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.

Pricing

Plans, billing, free trials, and monthly prices.
Show
Plan-by-plan pricing comparison of Firefly III and GuruFocus
Tier
Firefly III logo
Firefly IIICheaper start
GuruFocus logo
GuruFocus
Free plan
Free
Freeportfolio limit: Up to 3 portfolios with 25 stocks each for free members · data api requests: 100/month included in the Free API package · +1 more
Entry paid plan—
$549/yr≈ $45.75/mo“Premium”billing: Annual only · region price: $549/year for USA, Asia, or Europe; $369/year for several other regions · +7 more
Tier 2—
$200/mo“Data API Builder”billing: Billed annually · monthly request limit: No limit · +12 more
Tier 3—
$2000/mo“Data API Commercial”billing: Billed annually · monthly request limit: No limit · +1 more
Tier 4—
Subscription“Premium Plus”billing: Annual only · public price: Current rendered pricing could not establish the Premium Plus amount · +4 more
Tier 5—
Subscription“Professional”billing: Annual only · public price: Current rendered pricing could not establish the Professional amount · +1 more
Top plan—
$100 per unit“Data API Pay As You Go”initial top up: $100 credit · stock daily prices: $0.05/request · +16 more
Custom / enterprise—
Contact sales“Custom API / Enterprise Package”
Free trial—7 days

Questions we keep getting

What's the difference between Firefly III and GuruFocus?

Firefly III leans toward portfolio, APIs & data feeds, and webhooks, while GuruFocus puts more weight on stock ideas, screeners, and ETF screeners. They overlap in 2 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.

How much do Firefly III and GuruFocus cost?

Good news: both Firefly III and GuruFocus have free plans, so you can run them side by side and only pay if you hit a wall.

Can I use Firefly III or GuruFocus on my phone?

GuruFocus lists a dedicated mobile app, so it travels better. Firefly III doesn't list a dedicated mobile app; its documented access is web and API.

Do Firefly III and GuruFocus have APIs?

Yes, both offer API access, so developers and quants can pull data programmatically or wire up their own integrations.

Should I choose Firefly III or GuruFocus?

It depends on what you're after. Pick Firefly III if webhooks and other matter to you; go with GuruFocus if you'd rather have stock ideas and screeners. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.

What asset classes do Firefly III and GuruFocus cover?

Both cover other. GuruFocus adds stocks, ETFs, and bonds on top.

Can I export data from Firefly III and GuruFocus?

Yes, both export to spreadsheets (CSV), which is handy if you like running your own numbers.

Can Firefly III or GuruFocus connect to my broker?

GuruFocus syncs with brokers automatically. With Firefly III, you're entering holdings by hand or importing files.

Which has a better stock screener: Firefly III or GuruFocus?

GuruFocus has a stock screener for surfacing ideas; Firefly III doesn't, and focuses its energy elsewhere.

Can I track my portfolio with Firefly III or GuruFocus?

Yes, both do portfolio tracking: holdings, performance, and allocation in one place.

Feedback

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Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.