Budget vs Actual Calculator

Compare budgeted amounts to actual spending across categories.

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Budget Analysis

Enter budgeted and actual amounts for each category.

Total variance
$0
Budget: $0 · Actual: $0
Total budgeted
$0
Total actual
$0
Variance
$0
Variance %
0%

Worked example

With the default inputs shown below, this calculator returns the following results:

InputValue
Housing — budget / actual ($)$1,500
Food — budget / actual ($)$600
Transport — budget / actual ($)$400
Entertainment — budget / actual ($)$400
Other — budget / actual ($)$600
ResultValue
Total variance$150
Total budgeted$3,500
Total actual$3,650
Variance$150
Variance %-4.3%

Values shown are produced by this page in your browser; change any input to update them.

How to use the Budget Analysis

  1. Housing — budget / actual ($) — default $1,500
  2. Food — budget / actual ($) — default $600
  3. Transport — budget / actual ($) — default $400
  4. Entertainment — budget / actual ($) — default $400
  5. Other — budget / actual ($) — default $600
  6. Press Calculate to update the results instantly.

Frequently asked questions

It shows, category by category, whether you spent more or less than planned and in total. The variance is the amount you are over or under.
For spending, under budget (negative variance) is good. For income or savings, over budget (positive) is what you want.
Monthly is enough for personal budgets. Do it at the same point each month so the figures cover comparable periods.

Sources & references