Free Film Budgeting Software: 4 Options

Free Film Budgeting Software (2026): 4 Options That Actually Work

The short answer: yes, there is truly free film budgeting software available in 2026. Not a free trial or a time-limited demo, but free plans that indie filmmakers, students, and first-time producers can use without a credit card.

The longer answer: "free" means different things depending on the tool. Some have permanent free tiers with real limitations. Some are entirely free but basic. Some claim to be free and then upsell you immediately. This guide explains what each option actually gives you for nothing.

Is There a Free Film Budgeting App That Actually Works?

Yes, specifically for film. The question "Is there a budgeting app that is actually free?" returns generic personal finance apps (Goodbudget, EveryDollar, PocketGuard), none of which understand above-the-line budgets, union fringe calculations, or ATL/BTL structure.

Film budgeting software has different requirements than personal finance apps:

• Above-the-line / Below-the-line structure (not income/expense categories)
• Line-item budget with department-level organization
• Fringe benefit calculations (union pension, health and payroll taxes added on top of crew rates)
• Professional PDF export (topsheet + detailed budget) for investors, bond companies, studios
• Multiple users on the same budget (producer + line producer + department heads)

Personal finance apps don't do any of these. Here is what each free film option gives you, and where it stops:

The 4 Best Free Film Budgeting Tools in 2026

1. Saturation: Best Free Option for Budget Plus Actuals

Saturation's free Creator plan is a permanent free tier, not a trial. Here is what it includes and where the limits are:

• 1 active project (enough for a short film, music video, or pilot presentation)
• Up to 1,000 account items (enough for most short films, music videos and small indie budgets)
• Full ATL/BTL budget structure: the industry-standard account layout, with actualizing so you can log real costs against each line
• Fringe rate configuration: fringes, markups and contingency are included on the free plan
• Pre-built templates: public AICP, film and TV templates, with no limit on template use
• Real-time collaboration is a paid feature: the free plan is one seat, and viewers, commenters and project collaborators start on Pro
• PDF export is on paid plans only: Saturation's help center notes that only paid subscriptions can export a budget
• Excel export and CSV export also need a paid plan, and Pro starts with a 14-day free trial

What the free plan does NOT include: A second active project or seat, budget exports (PDF, Excel and CSV), viewers and commenters, cost reports with EFC tracking, QuickBooks and Slack integrations, and Saturation Pay expense cards. For one production budgeted by one person, the free plan covers building and actualizing the budget.

Who it's for: Short filmmakers, music video directors, film students and emerging producers who build the budget themselves and do not yet need to export it, share it with editors or run expense cards.

Upgrade path: Pro is $32 a month billed annually ($40 month to month) for unlimited projects, budget exports, cost reports and Saturation Pay expense cards. Team is $79 a month billed annually ($99 month to month) with three seats, purchase orders and approval routing. Both start with a 14-day free trial.

Start free on Saturation.io →

2. Tortil SmartBudget: Free Early-Access Budget Estimator

Tortil offers SmartBudget, an online film budget tool that Tortil describes as free during early access. Instead of starting from a blank chart of accounts, you answer a few setup questions and SmartBudget builds a baseline budget using its own estimation algorithms, which you then refine line by line.

Free tier includes: a baseline budget built in six setup steps, expense tracking against budget lines, sharing with team members, and access from desktop, tablet or phone (free as early access, per Tortil's site in October 2026)

Strengths: Good for producers who want a fast first-pass estimate without manually entering every line item. The AI estimation feature can help first-time producers understand what they might be missing.

Limitations: The estimates are starting points, not final numbers, so a production-accurate budget still needs a line producer to check every rate. Tortil's site does not describe union fringe tables or say what SmartBudget will cost after early access, so confirm both before you commit a real production to it.

Who it's for: Writers and director-producers who want a quick budget estimate in early development before committing to detailed line-item budgeting.

3. Google Sheets with a Film Budget Template: Free, Flexible, Familiar

Google Sheets paired with a film budget template is a legitimate option for very low budget productions (under $50K) where the producer is the only person managing the numbers and fringe calculations are minimal.

Saturation publishes free film budget templates that open as live budgets inside Saturation, not as spreadsheets. To stay in Google Sheets, start from one of Google's own budget templates, or upload an Excel-friendly film budget template to Google Drive and convert it.

Free tier includes: Completely free, collaborative in real time, exportable to Excel

Strengths: Everyone knows Google Sheets. No software to install. Real-time collaboration. Flexible structure: you can modify anything.

Limitations:

• No automatic fringe calculations: you set up the math for each union contribution yourself
• Bond companies and studio finance departments may ask for the budget in Movie Magic or another dedicated format
• Formula errors and version control problems become common above 200 line items
• No professional topsheet format without significant spreadsheet work
• Doesn't scale: it becomes unwieldy on larger productions

Who it's for: Zero-budget short films, first-time filmmakers learning budget structure, student films. Not suitable for union productions or anything requiring bond company submission.

4. Celtx Free Plan: Scriptwriting Only (No Budgeting)

Celtx has a free plan that's worth mentioning, with an important caveat: Celtx's free plan does NOT include budgeting.

Celtx's free plan covers scriptwriting on one project. Budgeting is an optional add-on to the Writer ($14.99 a month) and Writer Pro ($24.99 a month) plans and is included in the Team plan, which starts at three members for $59.99 a month billed monthly. New accounts get a 7-day trial of paid features first.

If you're specifically looking for free budgeting, Celtx is not the answer. If you need free scriptwriting software and plan to budget separately in Saturation, Celtx's free tier for the script is worth using.

Verdict: Free for scripting, not free for budgeting. A common source of confusion for first-time producers.

More Free Plans and Free Trials Worth Testing

Two more tools have free access worth knowing about, and several paid tools let you test them before you pay. Everything below was checked on each vendor's site on October 24, 2026.

Filmustage: free plan with budgeting and exports

Filmustage is a browser-based pre-production platform. Its free plan includes every non-AI tool for one active project: manual script breakdown, scheduling with day-out-of-days, call sheets, budget creation with templates, team collaboration, and exports to PDF, Excel, Movie Magic Scheduling and Movie Magic Budgeting. Its budgeting module builds a budget template from your tagged breakdown, so lines start from the script instead of a blank sheet. AI breakdown and AI budgeting need the Director's Cut plan, from $49 a month or $408 a year billed annually.

Who it's for: writer-producers and line producers pricing a script who need free exports. Its budgeting page does not describe tracking actual spend, so pair it with a cost-tracking tool once you shoot.

Gorilla Budgeting Online: free to start

Jungle Software's Gorilla Budgeting Online runs in the browser and is free to start; Jungle Software's pages do not list what the free account keeps after you start, so check before you build a full budget in it. The desktop version for Mac and Windows has a 15-day demo and then costs $29.99 a month or $249 a year.

Free trials of paid tools

• Saturation Pro and Team: 14-day free trial, then $32 or $79 a month billed annually.
• Showbiz Budgeting 10: fully functioning 5-day free trial with no credit card, then $399 for two computer installs.
• Celtx: a 7-day trial of paid features when you create an account.
• Movie Magic Budgeting: no free tier, and Entertainment Partners does not advertise a free trial. Our guide to whether Movie Magic Budgeting is free covers its pricing.

Free vs. Paid: When Should You Pay for Film Budgeting Software?

Start with free tools. Upgrade when:

For a short film or a first budget, Saturation's free tier covers building and actualizing the budget. Upgrade when you need to export it, add collaborators or run a second project.

What Does "Free Film Budgeting Software" Actually Include?

Here's an honest comparison of what each free option gives you on day one:

Free Film Budget Templates

If you want to start with a template rather than budgeting software, several free film budget templates are available:

• Saturation feature film budget template: a top sheet with above-the-line, production, post-production and other costs, 26 accounts and 79 starter line items, which opens as a live budget on the free plan. Open the template.
• Wrapbook's free template: a free film budget template Wrapbook offers as a download with its film budgeting software guide
• StudioBinder's template: an Excel-friendly download with ATL, BTL and production expense sheets that totals itself, good for beginner producers

Templates work for learning budget structure. For actual production use on anything above $50K, dedicated software is more reliable, because fringes, globals and actuals stay connected to the budget lines.

How We Checked These Free Plans

Saturation is our product, so every claim about another tool in this guide comes from that vendor's own site, and every claim about Saturation comes from its pricing page and help center rather than marketing copy. We checked each free option on October 24, 2026 against five questions:

• Does the free plan include budgeting, or only other tools?
• How many projects and seats does it allow?
• Can you export the budget (PDF, Excel, a Movie Magic file) without paying?
• Can you track actual costs against the budget?
• What does it cost when you outgrow it?

Where a vendor does not publish an answer, we say so. Prices and plan limits change, so check the vendor's pricing page before you commit a production to a tool.

Last updated: October 24, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a truly free film budgeting app?

Yes. Saturation's Creator plan is free with no time limit and no credit card. It includes budgeting and actualizing, fringes, markups and contingency, and public AICP, film and TV templates, for one active project, one seat and 1,000 account items. Exporting the budget and adding collaborators need a paid plan. Filmustage's free plan also includes budget creation, templates and exports for one active project.

What is the best free film budgeting software in 2026?

It depends on what you need from free. Saturation's free tier is the best fit if you want to build the budget and then track actual spending against the same lines, with fringes and industry templates built in. Filmustage's free plan is the better fit if you need free PDF or Excel exports or want budget lines generated from a script breakdown. Google Sheets with a production template is a fallback for micro-budget productions where software isn't warranted. Tortil SmartBudget is useful for quick AI-assisted first-pass estimates.

Is Movie Magic Budgeting free?

No. Movie Magic Budgeting costs $42.99 a month, or $299.88 a year on the annual plan, from the Entertainment Partners store, and students and educators can buy an academic license for $125.88 a year. There is no free tier, EP does not advertise a free trial, and no perpetual license is sold. For productions that must deliver a Movie Magic file (studio features, some bonded films), the cost is justified. For independent filmmakers, Saturation's free tier covers building and actualizing a budget for one project.

Can I use Google Sheets for film budgeting?

Yes, for productions under $50K with a single producer managing the budget. Google Sheets is free, collaborative, and flexible. The main limitations are: no automatic fringe calculations (you do the union math manually), no professional topsheet output without significant formatting work, and it doesn't scale well above 200 line items. Use a film production budget template to start rather than a blank sheet.

Does Celtx have a free budgeting tool?

No. Celtx's free plan covers scriptwriting on one project, not budgeting. Budgeting is an optional add-on to the Writer and Writer Pro plans and is included in the Team plan, which starts at $59.99 a month for three members. If you're looking for free budgeting specifically, Saturation's free tier is the better option. If you're looking for free scriptwriting + basic pre-production, Celtx's free plan works for that.

What film budgeting software do film students use?

Film schools that teach budgeting typically require or recommend Movie Magic Budgeting (academic license: $125.88 a year from the EP Store). Students can also use Saturation's free tier on a student film, since it doesn't require an institutional purchase, and Celtx sells a discounted annual Student plan that includes its budget tools. Google Sheets with a production template is also common for zero-budget student productions. For short films in a film school setting, Saturation's free tier is the most practical option that gives students exposure to professional budget structure.

Which free film budgeting software can export to PDF or Excel?

Filmustage's free plan includes exports to PDF, Excel, Movie Magic Scheduling and Movie Magic Budgeting for one active project. Saturation's free plan does not export; PDF, Excel and CSV exports start on Pro, which has a 14-day free trial. A Google Sheets budget can be downloaded as an Excel file or PDF at no cost.

How can I get Movie Magic Budgeting for free?

You can't. Entertainment Partners sells Movie Magic Budgeting only by subscription: $42.99 a month, $299.88 a year on the annual plan, or $125.88 a year for the academic license, and it does not advertise a free trial. Free alternatives include Saturation's Creator plan, Filmustage's free plan and a spreadsheet template.

Is there a free trial for paid film budgeting software?

Several tools offer one. Saturation Pro and Team have a 14-day free trial, Showbiz Budgeting 10 has a fully functioning 5-day trial, Gorilla Budgeting Desktop has a 15-day demo, and Celtx gives new accounts a 7-day trial of paid features. Movie Magic Budgeting does not advertise a trial.

The Bottom Line on Free Film Budgeting Software

If you need free film budgeting software in 2026, start with Saturation's free tier. It gives you industry templates, fringes, markups and contingency, and actuals tracked against the same budget lines at no cost, with no credit card and no trial expiration. Exports and collaborators come with the paid plans.

Google Sheets with a template works for micro-budget projects where you're the only person managing the numbers. Filmustage's free plan suits a producer who wants budget lines from a script breakdown and free exports, Tortil SmartBudget gives a fast first-pass estimate in early development, and Celtx's free plan is for scripting, not budgeting.

When you need a second project, budget exports or expense cards, Saturation Pro at $32 a month billed annually ($40 month to month) is the upgrade path, and it starts with a 14-day free trial.

Start budgeting for free on Saturation.io → No credit card required