VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

View Firefly III View PortfoliosLab Back to Home

Head-to-head

Firefly III vs PortfoliosLab comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

Firefly III adds Webhooks, and Other coverage that PortfoliosLab skips.

PortfoliosLab includes Screeners, ETF Screeners, Watchlist, Backtesting, Correlation, Stock Comparison, ETF Comparison, Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown), Factor Exposure, Quant, and Financials categories that Firefly III omits.

Firefly III highlights: Self-hosted open-source personal finance manager (AGPLv3 license)., Supports double-entry bookkeeping with budgets, categories, tags, and detailed reporting., and Comprehensive REST API (JSON) with OAuth2 and Personal Access Tokens, plus a full OpenAPI specification..

PortfoliosLab is known for: Portfolio analytics and backtesting with benchmarking, monthly returns, and risk-adjusted ratios such as Sharpe, Sortino, Omega, Calmar, and Martin., Optimization models include Mean–Variance (MVO), Risk Parity, and Hierarchical Risk Parity (HRP), with the ability to backtest from a chosen optimization date., and Risk analytics cover drawdowns, Value at Risk (VaR), Expected Shortfall (CVaR), and multiple volatility estimators..

Firefly III

firefly-iii.org

An open-source, self-hosted personal finance manager licensed under AGPLv3. Offers full double-entry bookkeeping, REST APIs, and optional event webhooks. Exchange-rate conversion is available from v6.2 onward as an opt-in feature. Bank connections are handled separately through the Firefly Data Importer app.

Platforms

Web

API

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

Self-hosted open-source personal finance manager (AGPLv3 license).
Supports double-entry bookkeeping with budgets, categories, tags, and detailed reporting.
Comprehensive REST API (JSON) with OAuth2 and Personal Access Tokens, plus a full OpenAPI specification.
Event webhooks for transaction create/update/delete, enabled through environment configuration.
Separate Data Importer tool supports CSV and CAMT.053, with optional bank integrations via Salt Edge, GoCardless, and SimpleFIN.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes

You haven't voted yet

View full profile Visit site

PortfoliosLab

portfolioslab.com

Portfolio analytics platform with screeners, optimizers, and backtesting. The free tier includes 10 years of data and basic calculations. Plus extends coverage to 40+ years and 200 calculations per month, while Pro unlocks unlimited calculations, 500 holdings per portfolio, CSV import/export, and screener exports. Enterprise offers an API, data-feed integration, and white-labeling. Broker sync is not supported; CSV imports are recommended.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

Free

Subscription

Quick highlights

Portfolio analytics and backtesting with benchmarking, monthly returns, and risk-adjusted ratios such as Sharpe, Sortino, Omega, Calmar, and Martin.
Optimization models include Mean–Variance (MVO), Risk Parity, and Hierarchical Risk Parity (HRP), with the ability to backtest from a chosen optimization date.
Risk analytics cover drawdowns, Value at Risk (VaR), Expected Shortfall (CVaR), and multiple volatility estimators.
Comprehensive stock, ETF, and mutual fund screeners with sortable columns, filters, and risk-versus-return scatterplots. Screener results export is available on Pro.
Factor analysis tools for Alpha and Beta measurement.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes

You haven't voted yet

View full profile Visit site

Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Portfolio, and APIs & SDKs.

Where they differ

Firefly III

Distinct strengths include:

Webhooks

Other

Self-hosted open-source personal finance manager (AGPLv3 license).
Supports double-entry bookkeeping with budgets, categories, tags, and detailed reporting.
Comprehensive REST API (JSON) with OAuth2 and Personal Access Tokens, plus a full OpenAPI specification.
Event webhooks for transaction create/update/delete, enabled through environment configuration.

PortfoliosLab

Distinct strengths include:

Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown)

Portfolio analytics and backtesting with benchmarking, monthly returns, and risk-adjusted ratios such as Sharpe, Sortino, Omega, Calmar, and Martin.
Optimization models include Mean–Variance (MVO), Risk Parity, and Hierarchical Risk Parity (HRP), with the ability to backtest from a chosen optimization date.
Risk analytics cover drawdowns, Value at Risk (VaR), Expected Shortfall (CVaR), and multiple volatility estimators.
Comprehensive stock, ETF, and mutual fund screeners with sortable columns, filters, and risk-versus-return scatterplots. Screener results export is available on Pro.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	Firefly III	PortfoliosLab
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Portfolio, APIs & SDKs Unique: Webhooks, Other	Shared: Portfolio, APIs & SDKs Unique: Screeners, ETF Screeners, Watchlist, Backtesting, Correlation, Stock Comparison, ETF Comparison, Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown), Factor Exposure, Quant, Financials
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Other	Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Cryptos
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, API	Web
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free	Free, Subscription
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique Self-hosted open-source personal finance manager (AGPLv3 license). Supports double-entry bookkeeping with budgets, categories, tags, and detailed reporting. Comprehensive REST API (JSON) with OAuth2 and Personal Access Tokens, plus a full OpenAPI specification. Event webhooks for transaction create/update/delete, enabled through environment configuration. Separate Data Importer tool supports CSV and CAMT.053, with optional bank integrations via Salt Edge, GoCardless, and SimpleFIN. CSV export available for accounts, budgets, categories, tags, recurring transactions, subscriptions, piggy banks, rules, and more.	Unique Portfolio analytics and backtesting with benchmarking, monthly returns, and risk-adjusted ratios such as Sharpe, Sortino, Omega, Calmar, and Martin. Optimization models include Mean–Variance (MVO), Risk Parity, and Hierarchical Risk Parity (HRP), with the ability to backtest from a chosen optimization date. Risk analytics cover drawdowns, Value at Risk (VaR), Expected Shortfall (CVaR), and multiple volatility estimators. Comprehensive stock, ETF, and mutual fund screeners with sortable columns, filters, and risk-versus-return scatterplots. Screener results export is available on Pro. Factor analysis tools for Alpha and Beta measurement. Support for both static and transactional portfolios with calendar- or threshold-based rebalancing options.
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Not yet	Not yet
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Firefly III and PortfoliosLab both support?

Both platforms cover Portfolio, and APIs & SDKs workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do Firefly III and PortfoliosLab require subscriptions?

Both Firefly III and PortfoliosLab keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access Firefly III and PortfoliosLab?

Both Firefly III and PortfoliosLab prioritize web or desktop access. Investors wanting a mobile-first workflow may need to rely on responsive web views.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Firefly III differentiates itself with Self-hosted open-source personal finance manager (AGPLv3 license)., Supports double-entry bookkeeping with budgets, categories, tags, and detailed reporting., and Comprehensive REST API (JSON) with OAuth2 and Personal Access Tokens, plus a full OpenAPI specification., whereas PortfoliosLab stands out for Portfolio analytics and backtesting with benchmarking, monthly returns, and risk-adjusted ratios such as Sharpe, Sortino, Omega, Calmar, and Martin., Optimization models include Mean–Variance (MVO), Risk Parity, and Hierarchical Risk Parity (HRP), with the ability to backtest from a chosen optimization date., and Risk analytics cover drawdowns, Value at Risk (VaR), Expected Shortfall (CVaR), and multiple volatility estimators..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

Browse the categories and profiles that overlap most with this comparison to round out your shortlist.