# Alternatives to Lunch Money

Indie multi-currency budgeting.

Lunch Money ranks #1 of 14 in Budgeting apps, with an Alt Score of 86. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from $100/year and available on Web, iOS and Android. 9 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lunch-money/
Category: Budgeting apps

## Where Lunch Money stands out

- **Subscription price** — 6 of 14 apps with a verified answer have this

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: People who want manual, spreadsheet-like control over their budgeting rather than a fully automated system, including those with multi-currency needs (expats, travelers, remote workers) and developers or power users who want to script or extend their finance tracking.
- **What you get**: Automatic transaction import from banks and credit cards via Plaid, with support for 160+ currencies and daily exchange-rate conversion. Transactions can be split, tagged, categorized, and organized using custom rules, alongside budget periods, a net worth tracker, and recurring expense detection. A public developer API (v2, in active alpha) lets users build their own integrations and tools on top of their financial data.
- **How it works**: Connect bank, credit card, or crypto accounts (or add them manually), then let transactions sync in automatically. Rules and manual review sort transactions into categories and tags, which roll up into budgets and net worth reports you check periodically.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: $100/year (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Quicken](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/quicken.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS |
| 2 | [Simplifi](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/simplifi.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 3 | [Actual Budget](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/actual-budget.md) | 78 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web |
| 4 | [YNAB](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ynab.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [GnuCash](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/gnucash.md) | 68 | GPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 6 | [KMyMoney](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/kmymoney.md) | 68 | GPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 7 | [PocketGuard](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pocketguard.md) | 68 | Proprietary | ? |
| 8 | [Goodbudget](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/goodbudget.md) | 64 | Proprietary | iOS, Android, Web |
| 9 | [Monarch Money](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/monarch-money.md) | 64 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 10 | [Copilot Money](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/copilot-money.md) | 60 | Proprietary | macOS, iOS, Web |
| 11 | [EveryDollar](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/everydollar.md) | 60 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 12 | [Firefly III](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/firefly-iii.md) | 60 | AGPL-3.0 | Web |
| 13 | [HomeBank](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/homebank.md) | 60 | GPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Budgeting apps checklist | Lunch Money | Quicken | Simplifi | Actual Budget | YNAB | GnuCash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription | Free | Subscription | Free |
| Starts at | $100/year | $3.49/month | $2.99/month | ? | $109/year | ? |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | MIT | Proprietary | GPL-2.0 |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS | Web, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | Web, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Bank sync (regions) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Partial |
| Manual entry mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Envelope / zero-based budgeting | Partial | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Investment tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | No | Yes |
| Shared budgets | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Reports & net worth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CSV import | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Local-only data option | ? | Partial | No | Yes | ? | Yes |
| Subscription price | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |

## Sources

Sources for Lunch Money. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Subscription — <https://lunchmoney.app/blog/we-lowered-our-pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “$10 per month or $100 per year”
- **Starts at**: $100/year — <https://lunchmoney.app/blog/we-lowered-our-pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “$10 per month or $100 per year”
- **License**: Proprietary — <https://lunchmoney.app/terms> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “all functions, features, and content are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and any other applicable intellectual property laws”
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — <https://support.lunchmoney.app/miscellaneous/mobile-app> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “The official Lunch Money companion app is available for download on both iOS and Android”
- **Status**: active — <https://feedback.lunchmoney.app/changelog/238> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “After months of feedback, testing, and refinement, we're excited to share that the new Lunch Money budgeting feature is officially here!”
- **Bank sync (regions)**: Yes — <https://support.lunchmoney.app/guides/automatic-imports> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “We currently support automatic bank syncing for some or most financial institutions based in the following countries:”
- **Manual entry mode**: Yes — <https://support.lunchmoney.app/setup/accounts/adding-accounts> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “You will then be able to manually add transactions to this account via the Transactions page, and the balance will be adjusted accordingly.”
- **Envelope / zero-based budgeting**: Partial — <https://lunchmoney.app/blog/zero-based-budgeting-simplified> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Lunch Money has features that support zero-based budgeting, making it easier to fine-tune your budget and monitor your spending.”
- **Investment tracking**: Yes — <https://support.lunchmoney.app/home/net-worth> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Note: snapshot" of all your current account balances (including investment accounts, crypto holdings, credit cards, loans, and more)"
  - Quote: “At the end of every month, Lunch Money takes a ”
- **Multi-currency**: Yes — <https://support.lunchmoney.app/setup/accounts> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Make sure to add those currencies under 'Supported Currencies' via the Settings page, to ensure that those are available as an option when editing transaction amounts and account balances.”
- **Shared budgets**: Yes — <https://support.lunchmoney.app/settings/collaborators> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Only the admin of the budget requires an active Lunch Money subscription”
- **Reports & net worth**: Yes — <https://support.lunchmoney.app/home/net-worth> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Net Worth = Total Assets − Total Liabilities”
- **CSV import**: Yes — <https://support.lunchmoney.app/guides/import-via-csv> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Most financial institutions will allow you to download a CSV export of your transactions.”
- **Subscription price**: Yes — <https://lunchmoney.app/blog/we-lowered-our-pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “$10 per month or $100 per year”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/