Tavala vs Lunch Money
Lunch Money is a web-first budget with over 160 currencies, bank imports through Plaid in the US, Canada and parts of Europe, and any number of collaborators. On 24 October 2026 you set its yearly price from $60 to $150, or pay $10 a month, and there is no free plan. Tavala is the same app on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and the web, works offline with no account, and is free to start. Choose Lunch Money for a browser-first budget fed by banks in North America or Europe; choose Tavala for phones first, offline use or a free plan.
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 Lunch Money is
Lunch Money is a budgeting app from Lunchbag Labs, which says it is made in Canada. It calls itself primarily a web-first experience, with companion apps for iPhone and Android. It holds over 160 currencies, adds everything up in a primary currency you can change at any time, and fetches exchange rates daily. Transactions arrive through Plaid, from CSV files or PDF statements, through a developer API or by hand, and any number of collaborators can share a budget, each with their own login, while only the budget's admin pays. Its data is stored in the United States.
Web first, or phone first
Lunch Money is built for the browser, and its phone apps are companions to it; Mac and iPad apps are not mentioned on its pages. Tavala is the same app everywhere: native apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, a native Mac app, and the web at app.tavala.io, with no feature kept to one device. One honest limit: the App Store and Mac App Store listings are not public yet, so on Apple devices Tavala runs in the browser today, with the same ledger.
Currencies and rates
Both are built for money across borders. Lunch Money holds over 160 currencies, tracks crypto by hand or synced from exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken, and lets you change the primary currency at any time. Tavala holds 155 currencies and 96 cryptocurrencies, and the owner of a space can change its main currency at any time, with past entries re-valued at the rate of each entry's own date.
Lunch Money fetches rates daily. Tavala uses daily reference rates, keeps the rate on each entry so last month never moves, and lets you type your own rate on any entry. On Tavala's free plan a space holds 2 currencies, counted from its wallets; Tavala Plus holds every currency.
Bank imports and files
Lunch Money's Plaid connections are optional and reach banks in the US, Canada and parts of Europe; its own pages list 11 or 17 European countries, and the UK is in neither list. It also imports CSV files and PDF statements (PDFs are sent to a third party to convert) and has a developer API. Tavala's bank connection is an optional add-on to Tavala Plus, for banks in the United States and Canada, read-only through Plaid, at $3.99 a month per bank. Tavala imports no CSV files or PDF statements of transactions; the one file it reads is a CSV of debts.
Sharing
Lunch Money lets any number of collaborators into a budget, each with their own login, and only the budget admin needs a subscription. Tavala shares a space with up to six people, each on their own account; the owner's Tavala Plus covers them, and the people who join never pay. Each person can keep private spaces beside the shared one. In a Tavala space every member sees and edits everything, there is no read-only role, and entries do not show who added them.
Offline, accounts and where data lives
Lunch Money's pages do not say whether it works offline, you sign up to start its trial, and its data is stored in the United States. Every screen in Tavala works offline, in the apps and in the browser after the first visit, and it can be used with no account: nothing about your money leaves the device until you create one. With an account your records are stored in the European Union (Ireland).
AI
Lunch Money has no built-in AI and says any future AI will always be opt-in; community-built MCP servers connect it to outside assistants. Tavala has an assistant, Ask Tavala, which is off until you turn it on. It works out the figures on your device, and the AI model never receives an amount from your ledger.
Price
Lunch Money's yearly plan has a slider: you set your own price from $60 to $150 (the default is $100), locked in for life, or you pay $10 a month, after a 30-day trial with no card. There is no free plan. Tavala is free to start, with no end date, and Tavala Plus is $39.99 a year or $6.99 a month on the web. Tavala has no trial: the free plan is the trial.
| What | Tavala | Lunch Money |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; Plus $39.99 a yearor $6.99 a month on the web | $60 to $150 a yearYou set the yearly price (default $100); or $10 a month |
| Free plan | Free forever1 synced device, 2 currencies per space, 2 private spaces | NoneA 30-day trial; a plan can be paused |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, webA native Mac app; the web at app.tavala.io | Web, with iPhone and Android apps"primarily a web-first experience"; iPhone app is iPhone only |
| Currencies | Every currency in one space155 currencies and 96 cryptocurrencies; 2 per space on the free plan | 160+ currenciesTotals in a primary currency you can change |
| Exchange rates | Automatic, kept on each entryDaily reference rates, or your own rate per entry | Fetched dailyCrypto every few minutes; no custom rate stated |
| Works offline | Every screenChanges sync when you are back online | Not stated |
| Bank connections | Optional add-onBanks in the United States and Canada, through Plaid, $3.99 a month per bank | OptionalPlaid in the US, Canada and 17 European countries; no UK |
| Sharing | Up to 6 people per spacePart of Plus; people you invite never pay | Unlimited collaboratorsEach with their own login; only the admin pays |
| Where your data lives | On your deviceWith an account, synced through Ireland (EU) | United States"we store Lunch Money's data in the United States" |
| Adding an expense by hand | One typed lineAmount, currency, date and category, in six languages | Bank feed, manual or filesCSV and PDF statement import, an API |
Choose Tavala if
- You want native apps on your phone, tablet and Mac, not a web app with companions.
- You want every screen to work offline, and to start with no account.
- You want a free plan, or Plus at $39.99 a year.
- You would rather your data stayed on your device, or in the EU once you sync.
Choose Lunch Money if
- You want a web-first budget with 160 or more currencies and a primary currency you can change.
- You share one budget with any number of collaborators, each with their own login, on one subscription.
- You want bank imports in the US, Canada or parts of Europe, and a developer API.
- You want to import CSV files or PDF statements from any bank.
Switching from Lunch Money
Tavala imports nothing from Lunch Money. Lunch Money's help describes an export of the Transactions view as a CSV file (date, category, payee, amount, currency, notes, tags, account), so save one before you cancel, as your record. Start Tavala from today: pick your main currency, add one wallet per account with today's balance in its own currency, re-create your bills as recurring rules and set the budgets you use. Debts can be imported from a CSV file, with a preview before anything is saved.
If you bank in the United States or Canada and want transactions to keep arriving, Tavala's bank add-on imports up to two years of history from each connected bank. Banks in Europe cannot be connected to Tavala; there it is used by hand.
Tavala publishes this page and is one of the apps on it. Facts about Lunch Money are from its own pages, checked on 25 October 2026. Corrections are welcome at the address on the about page.
Questions
- Does Tavala work offline?
- Yes, every screen, on phones, tablets and the Mac, and in the browser after the first visit. With an account, changes upload when you are back online.
- Can I change my main currency in Tavala, as in Lunch Money?
- Yes. The owner of a space changes it in Settings at any time, and past entries are re-valued at the rate of each entry's own date.
- Can Tavala import CSV or PDF bank statements?
- No. Tavala imports debts from a CSV file and nothing else. Transactions are typed in one line, or arrive from a connected bank in the United States or Canada.
- How many people can share a Tavala budget?
- Up to six in each shared space, you included. The owner's Tavala Plus covers everyone, and the people who join never pay. Lunch Money allows any number of collaborators.
- Does Tavala have a free trial?
- No. The free plan is the trial, and it has no end date. Tavala Plus is $39.99 a year or $6.99 a month on the web when you want every device and every currency.
Go further
- Tavala in your browserThe same ledger, nothing to install, offline after the first visit.
- For digital nomadsSpending in every currency, without a bank feed.
- Tavala vs WalletAnother multi-currency app, sync-led.
- Use Tavala in a browserOpen app.tavala.io to use the same Tavala app in a browser. Sign in to sync with your phone, or try it as a guest. This page lists what a browser does not have.
- Choose or change your main currencyYour main currency is the one Tavala adds everything up in. Change it in Settings if you own the space; past entries are re-valued at their own dates.
- Share a space with someoneCreate an invite code or invite by email. The space owner needs Tavala Plus or a Group pass, and the people who join never pay.
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.