Comparison

Budjo vs PocketSmith: which budgeting style fits you?

PocketSmith is one of the better-known personal finance tools, with bank feeds and serious calendar-based forecasting. Budjo takes the opposite approach: no bank feeds, no consent forms, just your numbers typed in by you.

We make Budjo, and we've tried to keep this fair. PocketSmith details below were checked against their site in June 2026; prices and limits can change, so confirm on their site before you decide.

How they compare

Feature comparison between Budjo and PocketSmith
FeatureBudjoPocketSmith
PricingFree plan. Individual $49/yr, Couple $69/yr, Family $99/yr. Prices in USD; your local currency is shown at checkout.Free plan, plus Foundation, Flourish and Fortune tiers from $9.99 to $26.66/mo billed annually ($14.95 to $39.95 month-to-month), shown in your local currency.
Bank connectionNone. Manual entry, plus CSV import on paid plans.Yes. Automatic bank feeds covering thousands of banks worldwide, on every plan including free.
Platform supportRuns in the browser on any device. Nothing to install.Web app, plus iOS and Android apps.
Offline supportWorks offline. Syncs when you're back online.Built for connected use; it doesn't advertise an offline mode.
Data location and privacyYour data stays in your browser until you sign in. After that it syncs to our servers, where only you and any household members you invite can access it. Household members see all shared data in that budget. Not end-to-end encrypted. No in-app tracking, no AI.Based in New Zealand. Bank feeds route your transaction data through a data provider after you authorise the connection: Yodlee, Plaid in North America, Salt Edge in the UK and EU, Akahu in New Zealand, and Basiq in Australia.
Free tier limits1 account, 10 categories, 2 active goals, CSV export, works offline. Free forever.Free plan: 2 accounts, 12 budgets, 2 dashboards, 6 months of projection. Includes bank feeds and manual imports.
Household / sharingCouple plan: 2 adults on one budget, $69/yr. Family plan: up to 5 people, $99/yr.No household tier, but Collaborator access lets a spouse, family member or adviser work on the same account using their own separate PocketSmith login (a free account works).

Competitor details last checked: June 2026

The privacy trade-off

Bank feeds, wherever you live, run through a data provider that sits between you and your transaction history. For PocketSmith that means Yodlee, Plaid, Salt Edge, Akahu or Basiq depending on your country. That's the price of automation. With Budjo there's nothing to consent to, because there's no feed at all.

On price: Budjo bills in USD and Stripe shows your local currency at checkout. PocketSmith shows its plans in your local currency too, so compare the converted prices before you decide on cost alone.

Who should pick PocketSmith

  • You want automatic bank feeds so transactions arrive on their own.
  • You want calendar-based forecasting that projects your balances months or years ahead.
  • You track many accounts and want detailed reports and net-worth views across all of them.

If automation and forecasting are the point of a finance app for you, PocketSmith will serve you better than Budjo.

Who should pick Budjo

  • You don't want to share bank credentials or sign a data-sharing consent with anyone.
  • You want a 30-second daily check: one number that tells you whether today is on plan.
  • You want it to work offline and keep working on any device with a browser.
  • You budget as a couple or family: $69/yr for two adults, $99/yr for up to five people.
  • You prefer an app that states its privacy trade-offs plainly instead of overselling them.

Frequently asked questions

See what your daily number would be

The free calculator takes your income, bills and spending plan and shows the result. No account needed.