Tavala vs Goodbudget
Goodbudget is the envelope method on your phone: you fill envelopes and spend from them, free for 20 envelopes on two devices, $80 a year for Premium, in one currency. Tavala counts down budgets per category and adds a safe-to-spend figure, in any currency, offline, free to start. Choose Goodbudget if the envelope method is how you think about money; choose Tavala if your money is in more than one currency or you want every screen to work without a connection.
What Tavala is
Tavala is a private, offline-first personal finance app for budgets and expenses in any currency, on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and the web. It starts with no account and no bank: you type what you paid in one line, in any of 155 currencies and 96 cryptocurrencies, and every entry keeps the exchange rate of its day. Budgets show what is left, bills feed a safe-to-spend figure, and debts get a snowball or avalanche plan. It is free to start; Tavala Plus is $39.99 a year on the web for every device, every currency and spaces shared with up to six people. A read-only bank connection is an optional add-on for banks in the United States and Canada.
What Goodbudget is
Goodbudget is an envelope budgeting app for households on iPhone, Android and the web. Its free plan has 10 regular and 10 more envelopes, one account, two devices and a year of history; Premium adds unlimited envelopes and accounts, five devices, seven years of history and bank sync for US banks. Entering spending by hand is the main way in, and a household shares one login.
The method
In Goodbudget you divide income into envelopes and spend from them; when an envelope is empty, that is the answer. Tavala's budgets count down from a monthly limit per category or in total, and safe to spend shows what is left after the bills due before payday. Both are manual-first methods that work without a bank; the envelope method asks you to move money between envelopes, Tavala's asks you to set limits.
Free plans
Goodbudget's free plan gives 20 envelopes, one account and two devices with a year of history. Tavala's free plan gives unlimited wallets, budgets and entries, two currencies per space and two private spaces, on any device as a guest or one synced device with a free account, and keeps all history.
Currencies and offline
Goodbudget's own comparison lists multiple currencies as not supported, and its help describes it as available wherever you have internet access. Tavala holds every currency in one space with the rate of each day, and every screen works offline.
Sharing and price
Goodbudget shares one household login across two devices free, five on Premium, at $80 a year or $10 a month. Tavala shares a space with up to six people on their own accounts with Tavala Plus, $39.99 a year or $6.99 a month on the web, and the people who join pay nothing.
| What | Tavala | Goodbudget |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; Plus $39.99 a yearor $6.99 a month on the web | $80 a yearor $10 a month on the web (Premium) |
| Free plan | Free forever1 synced device, 2 currencies per space, 2 private spaces | Free forever20 envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices, 1 year of history |
| Budgeting method | What is left, per budgetPlus safe to spend before payday | EnvelopesFill envelopes, spend from them |
| Currencies | Every currency in one space155 currencies and 96 cryptocurrencies; 2 per space on the free plan | OneIts own comparison table: multiple currencies "N" |
| Works offline | Every screenChanges sync when you are back online | Not documented"available wherever you have internet access" |
| Sharing | Up to 6 people per spacePart of Plus; people you invite never pay | One household login2 phones free, 5 on Premium; any number on the web |
| Bank connections | Optional add-onBanks in the United States and Canada, through Plaid, $3.99 a month per bank | Premium onlyUS banks only, through Plaid |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, webA native Mac app; the web at app.tavala.io | iPhone, Android, webiPhone only in the App Store; no Mac or Windows app |
Choose Tavala if
- Your money is in more than one currency.
- You want every screen to work offline, on a plane or abroad.
- You want more than 20 categories, or more than one account, on a free plan.
- You want each person in the household on their own account.
Choose Goodbudget if
- You want the envelope method, free, shared by a couple on two phones.
- You want a digital stand-in for cash envelopes (its own pitch) and plenty of guides on how to use them.
- You bank in the US and want optional bank sync for the Premium price.
Switching from Goodbudget
Goodbudget exports transactions as CSV from the web. Tavala cannot import that file yet, so start with today's balances: a wallet per account, a budget for each envelope you use most, and your monthly bills as recurring rules. Envelopes with money set aside for later (a holiday, a car repair) fit Tavala's savings goals, which count toward net worth and never toward what is left to spend.
Tavala publishes this page and is one of the apps on it. Facts about Goodbudget are from its own pages, checked on 25 October 2026. Corrections are welcome at the address on the about page.
Questions
- Does Tavala have envelopes?
- Not as envelopes you fill. Tavala's budgets are monthly limits per category that count down, and savings goals hold money set aside. Many envelope users map each envelope to a budget.
- Which is free for longer?
- Both have free plans with no end date. Goodbudget's keeps a year of history; Tavala's keeps all of it.
Go further
- Budgets and billsBudgets that count down, and safe to spend.
- Offline-firstEvery screen works with no connection.
- Free budgeting appsWhat each free plan really covers.
- Set a monthly budgetOpen the Budgets tab, pick Everything or one category, enter a monthly limit and tap Add budget. Budgets count everyday spending in your main currency.
- Save toward a goalCreate a savings goal with a target, fill it with transfers from your wallets and follow the progress. Goals count in net worth but not in What's Left.
- Free and Tavala Plus comparedWhat the free plan and Tavala Plus each include - devices, currencies, spaces, sharing, forecast, reports and banks - and what Plus costs.
Start with what you spent today.
There is no account to create and no card to enter. Pick your currency, add what you paid, and Home shows what is left.