Softwr

Personal Finance · head to head

Banktivity vs Lunch Money

Banktivity logo

Banktivity

Personal Finance

Personal finance for Mac and iOS

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lunch Money logo

Lunch Money

Personal Finance

Hosted budgeting app with bank sync, crypto and multi-currency tracking, pay-what-you-want annual pricing

From
$60/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Banktivity runs on macOS, iPhone and iPad only, with no Windows, Android or web version; Lunch Money there is no self-hosted or local-first option at all, so your transaction data lives permanently on Lunch Money servers under their terms.
  • They diverge on capability: Banktivity covers Account tracking, Lunch Money covers Bank sync.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Banktivity and Lunch Money actually diverge.

Attributes where Banktivity and Lunch Money differ
AttributeBanktivityLunch Money
Starting priceOn request$60/year
Pricing modelsubscriptionPay what you want, annual, above a published minimum
PlatformsMac, IOSWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2007Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Personal Finance).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Banktivity

  • Account tracking
  • Bill management
  • Investment tracking
  • Budget forecasting
  • Bank accounts
  • Investment accounts
  • Mac support
  • IOS support

Only in Lunch Money

  • Bank sync
  • Multi-currency support
  • Crypto account tracking
  • Recurring transaction detection
  • Budget rollover rules
  • Pay-what-you-want pricing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Banktivity

  • Personal budgeting and money management on a Macnot Lunch Money
  • Investment and net worth trackingnot Lunch Money
  • Retirement planning projectionsnot Lunch Money
  • Connecting to over 14,000 financial institutionsnot Lunch Money

Lunch Money

  • Someone with bank accounts in more than one currency who wants unified budgeting without manual conversionnot Banktivity
  • A crypto holder wanting wallet balances alongside ordinary bank budgeting in one viewnot Banktivity
  • A user who wants automatic bank sync and does not want to run or maintain self-hosted softwarenot Banktivity
  • A YNAB user frustrated by rigid category rollover rules who wants more configurable behaviournot Banktivity

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Banktivity

  • Runs on macOS, iPhone and iPad only, with no Windows, Android or web version
  • Pricing is not shown on the product page and sits behind a separate plans page

Lunch Money

  • There is no self-hosted or local-first option at all, so your transaction data lives permanently on Lunch Money servers under their terms.
  • Bank sync depends on third-party aggregators, and connections to some smaller banks or regional institutions can break and need manual reconnection.
  • Pay-what-you-want pricing means the effective price a new subscriber lands on is not fixed, and legacy discounted pricing available to early adopters is not available to new sign-ups.
  • It has no free tier, only a trial, so anyone wanting a permanently free budgeting tool needs to look at Actual Budget or Firefly III instead.
  • Crypto tracking is basic balance tracking rather than portfolio analysis, so active traders will still want a dedicated crypto tool alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Banktivity

On request
  • Monthly$4.99/month
    • Full feature access
    • Cloud sync
  • Annual$39.99/month
    • All monthly features
    • Discounted rate

Lunch Money

$60/year
  • Lunch Money$60/year
    • Bank sync and manual accounts
    • Multi-currency and crypto tracking
    • Budgets, reports and recurring detection

Which should you pick?

Choose Banktivity if

  • You need account tracking.
  • You work on Mac, IOS.
  • You also want bill management.
Banktivity review

Choose Lunch Money if

  • You need bank sync.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want multi-currency support.
Lunch Money review

Questions people ask

Is Banktivity or Lunch Money better?
Neither clearly leads. Banktivity starts at On request and Lunch Money at $60/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Banktivity or Lunch Money?
Banktivity starts at On request and Lunch Money at $60/year.
Does Banktivity or Lunch Money run on more platforms?
Banktivity runs on Mac, IOS. Lunch Money runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Banktivity best used for?
Banktivity is most often used for personal budgeting and money management on a mac, investment and net worth tracking, retirement planning projections, connecting to over 14,000 financial institutions. Of those, personal budgeting and money management on a mac and investment and net worth tracking are not what Lunch Money is typically brought in for.
What can Banktivity do that Lunch Money cannot?
Banktivity covers Account tracking, Bill management, Investment tracking, Budget forecasting. Lunch Money covers Bank sync, Multi-currency support, Crypto account tracking, Recurring transaction detection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Banktivity: Does Banktivity offer a free trial?

Yes. Banktivity offers a 30-day free trial at any subscription level with no credit card required. This allows you to test the platform before committing.

Source
Lunch Money: Can I self-host Lunch Money?

No, it is a hosted service only; there is no self-hosted or open source version.

Banktivity: What devices does Banktivity support?

Banktivity is available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad with cross-device sync. Data is encrypted end-to-end across all devices.

Source
Lunch Money: How does the pay-what-you-want pricing work?

Lunch Money publishes a minimum annual price and lets subscribers choose to pay that or more; existing subscribers can often keep older discounted rates.

Banktivity: How many banks does Banktivity connect to?

Banktivity connects to 14,000+ banks, allowing direct connections to most major financial institutions.

Source
Lunch Money: Does it handle multiple currencies?

Yes, natively, which is a common reason people choose it over YNAB or Monarch Money for international finances.

Banktivity: What financial planning tools does Banktivity include?

Banktivity includes budgeting, financial reporting, investment portfolio tracking, retirement planning tools, and net worth tracking across all your accounts.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Banktivity

More on Lunch Money

Keep looking

Other head to heads