The options
Budjo
Our app. No bank connection by design: you enter your income, bills and spending plan, and Budjo turns them into one daily number you check in about 30 seconds. It runs in the browser on any device, works offline, and the free tier (1 account, 10 categories, 2 active goals, CSV export) stays free. Paid plans are $49 to $99 a year (USD). After sign-in your data syncs to our servers; it's not end-to-end encrypted, and we say that plainly.
Actual Budget
Free, open source, local-first envelope budgeting. Your data lives wherever you run it, and there's no bank connection unless you wire up a bridge yourself: SimpleFIN (North America), Pluggy.ai (Brazil), or GoCardless (Europe/UK, which stopped accepting new accounts in 2025, though existing users can carry on). The most private option on this list if you self-host, in exchange for the most setup.
Goodbudget
Digital envelope budgeting, manual at heart. The free version gives you 10 regular envelopes plus 10 annual or goal envelopes, 1 account and 2 devices; Premium is $10/mo or $80/yr and lifts the limits to 5 devices (it also adds optional US bank sync, which you can simply not use). A good fit if the envelope method is exactly what you want.
YNAB (manual mode)
YNAB is known for bank sync, but you can skip linking and enter everything by hand; plenty of its users do. You still pay the full subscription, $109/yr or $14.99/mo, so you're paying for the method and the tooling rather than the feeds.
PocketSmith (free plan)
PocketSmith has a free plan with 2 accounts, 12 budgets and a 6-month projection; bank feeds are included but you can stick to manual imports. The product is built to upsell you into longer forecasting, but the free tier is usable on its own.
A plain spreadsheet
Honestly, this works. Free, fully under your control, offline if the file is local, and infinitely flexible. The downsides are real too: no structure, no reminders, no sharing model beyond a shared file, and it's easy to abandon by February. If a spreadsheet has worked for you for years, you don't need any of the apps above.
Side by side
| Feature | Budjo | Actual Budget | Goodbudget | YNAB | PocketSmith | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan; $49 to $99/yr (USD) on paid plans. | Free, open source; self-hosted or a few dollars a month at a host like PikaPods. | Free version; Premium $10/mo or $80/yr. | $109/yr or $14.99/mo. | Free plan; paid tiers from $9.99 to $26.66/mo billed annually. | Free, or part of an office suite you already pay for. |
| Bank connection | Never. | Off by default; optional bridges (SimpleFIN, Pluggy.ai; GoCardless for existing users). | None on free; Premium has optional US bank sync you can ignore. | Optional; full manual entry works. | Optional; free plan is manual. | No. |
| Platform support | Browser, any device. | Web app, self-hosted or local. | Web plus iOS and Android apps. | Web plus iOS and Android. | Web plus iOS and Android apps. | Wherever your spreadsheet runs. |
| Offline support | Yes; syncs when back online. | Yes; local-first. | The mobile apps work offline and sync when connected. | Limited: view and add transactions offline; syncs on reconnect. | No; built for connected use. | Yes, if the file is local. |
| Data location and privacy | In your browser until you sign in; synced to our servers after (not end-to-end encrypted). No in-app tracking, no AI. | Yours; runs where you put it. | Cloud-hosted on their servers so your devices stay in sync. | Cloud-hosted; an aggregator is involved only if you link banks. | Cloud-hosted (company based in New Zealand). | Wherever you save the file. |
| Free tier limits | 1 account, 10 categories, 2 active goals, CSV export, works offline. | Free, no tiers. | 10 regular + 10 annual/goal envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices. | No free tier; 34-day trial. | 2 accounts, 12 budgets, 6-month projection. | No limits, and no features either. |
| Household / sharing | Couple $69/yr (2 adults); Family $99/yr (up to 5). | Multi-user possible on a self-hosted server. | One household account shared across devices (2 free, 5 on Premium). | YNAB Together: up to six people on one subscription. | No household tier; Collaborator access via a separate login. | A shared file; no permissions, no structure. |
Competitor details last checked: June 2026
Who should pick something other than Budjo
- You actually want automation and only landed here while exploring: a bank-synced app like YNAB with linking on, or Monarch Money, will fit better.
- You want the envelope method exactly as designed: Goodbudget or Actual Budget.
- You want maximum privacy and are comfortable running your own server: Actual Budget, self-hosted.
- Your budget fits in twelve rows and you like formulas: keep the spreadsheet. Sincerely.
Who should pick Budjo
- You want manual entry to be the feature, not the workaround: Budjo is built around it.
- You want one daily number instead of dashboards: a 30-second check, not a hobby.
- You want offline support and nothing to install: it runs in the browser on any device.
- You budget with someone: Couple is $69/yr for two adults, Family is $99/yr for up to five people.
- You want a free tier that stays free: 1 account, 10 categories, 2 active goals, CSV export.