Tavala vs YNAB
YNAB is a method first: give every dollar a job before you spend it, in one currency per plan, with bank import in the US, Canada, the UK and much of the EU, for $109 a year. Tavala is a tracker first: log what you paid in any currency, see what is left, free to start and $39.99 a year for Plus. Choose YNAB for the method and its teaching; choose Tavala for money in more than one currency, no account to start, or a lower price.
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 YNAB is
YNAB (You Need A Budget) is a subscription budgeting app built around one rule: every dollar gets a job. When money arrives you assign it to categories until nothing is unassigned, and you move it between categories when plans change. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch and the web, imports transactions from select banks in the US, Canada and 18 European countries including the UK, and lets up to six people share one subscription with their own logins.
The method
YNAB asks you to plan every dollar before you spend it; the work is in the assigning, and YNAB's teaching material is a large part of what you pay for. Tavala asks a smaller question each day, how much can I still spend: budgets count down from a monthly limit per category or in total, and safe to spend subtracts the bills due before your next payday. Neither is more correct; they suit different people, and YNAB's is the stricter discipline.
Currencies
A YNAB plan holds one currency, and YNAB's own advice for money in several currencies is a separate plan for each, with transfers between them recorded by hand. Tavala holds every currency in one space: a euro salary, a dollar card and rent in pounds add up in one main currency, and each entry keeps the rate of the day it was paid, so last month's spending never moves when the rate does.
Banks, offline and accounts
Bank import is part of YNAB's subscription and covers more countries than Tavala's. Tavala's bank connection is an optional add-on to Plus, read-only through Plaid, for banks in the United States and Canada only; everywhere else Tavala is used by hand, with a capture bar built for it. YNAB advertises offline access; in Tavala every screen works offline and it can be used with no account at all, with nothing leaving the device until you create one.
Price and devices
YNAB costs $109 a year or $14.99 a month after a 34-day trial, with a free year for college students, and has no free plan. Tavala is free to start, as a guest on any device or on one synced device with a free account, and Tavala Plus is $39.99 a year or $6.99 a month on the web. YNAB has an Apple Watch app and no desktop app; Tavala has a native Mac app and no Watch app.
| What | Tavala | YNAB |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; Plus $39.99 a yearor $6.99 a month on the web | $109 a yearor $14.99 a month; 34-day trial |
| Free plan | Free forever1 synced device, 2 currencies per space, 2 private spaces | NoneA 34-day trial; college students get 365 days |
| Currencies | Every currency in one space155 currencies and 96 cryptocurrencies; 2 per space on the free plan | One per planIts advice for several: a separate plan for each |
| Exchange rates | Automatic, kept on each entryDaily reference rates, or your own rate per entry | No conversionYou work out the exchange rate for each transfer |
| Bank connections | Optional add-onBanks in the United States and Canada, through Plaid, $3.99 a month per bank | IncludedSelect banks in the US, Canada and 18 European countries, UK included |
| Works offline | Every screenChanges sync when you are back online | Advertised"even offline!" on its features page |
| Start without an account | YesAn account adds backup and sync | NoSign up for the trial |
| Sharing | Up to 6 people per spacePart of Plus; people you invite never pay | Up to 6 peopleYNAB Together: one subscription, a login each |
| Budgeting method | What is left, per budgetPlus safe to spend before payday | Every dollar a jobAssign income before you spend it |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, webA native Mac app; the web at app.tavala.io | iPhone, iPad, Android, webApple Watch; its app list shows no desktop app |
Choose Tavala if
- Your money is in more than one currency and you want one budget, not one per currency.
- You want to start with no account and no bank, and add sync later.
- You track by hand, in cash or outside the countries bank import covers.
- You want a native Mac app, or a free plan, or Plus at $39.99 a year.
Choose YNAB if
- You want a guided method with years of teaching material behind it, including its own guide for irregular income (budget with money you have, not money you expect).
- You bank in the US, Canada or one of 18 European countries, including the UK, and want transactions imported.
- You share money with up to five other people under one subscription, each with their own login.
- You are a college student: a year free.
Switching from YNAB without starting over
YNAB exports a plan from the web app (the plan's name, then Export Plan) as two files, the plan and the transaction history, in CSV or TSV. Tavala cannot import those files yet, so the honest way across is to keep the export as your archive and start Tavala from today: add each account as a wallet with today's balance, re-create your monthly bills as recurring rules, and set the budgets you still use.
Debts are the exception: Tavala imports a list of debts, a lender's schedule or past loan payments from a CSV file, with a preview before anything is saved. Most people who switch run both apps for a month, which is easy because Tavala is free while you try it.
Tavala publishes this page and is one of the apps on it. Facts about YNAB are from its own pages, checked on 25 October 2026. Corrections are welcome at the address on the about page.
- YNAB: pricing
- YNAB: features
- YNAB: our app lineup
- YNAB: irregular income
- YNAB: variable income
- YNAB help: using multiple currencies in YNAB a guide
- YNAB help: how direct import works
- YNAB help: direct import in europe
- YNAB help: YNAB together
- YNAB help: file based import a guide
- YNAB help: how to export plan data
- YNAB: privacy policy
Questions
- Does Tavala have bank sync?
- Yes, as an optional add-on to Tavala Plus for banks in the United States and Canada, read-only through Plaid, with up to two years of history on the first import. Tavala works fully without it.
- Can I share Tavala with a partner, as with YNAB Together?
- Yes. A shared space holds up to six people, each on their own device; the owner's Tavala Plus covers everyone, and the people who join never pay. Each person can keep private spaces nobody else sees.
- Does Tavala scan receipts?
- No. Tavala has no receipt scanner. Entries are typed in one line, or arrive from a connected bank in the United States or Canada.
- Is Tavala a zero-based budgeting app like YNAB?
- No. Tavala's budgets count down from a monthly limit, and safe to spend subtracts the bills due before payday. It does not ask you to assign every dollar of income before you spend it.
- Can I import my YNAB data into Tavala?
- Not yet. Tavala imports debts from CSV but not transactions or plans. Keep YNAB's export as your archive and start Tavala with today's balances.
Go further
- Multi-currencyEvery currency in one budget, each entry at its day's rate.
- Budgets and billsWhat is left, and safe to spend before payday.
- Bank syncThe optional add-on, for banks in the US and Canada.
- How Tavala converts currencies and which rate it keepsEntries keep the rate of the day you saved them. Balances and net worth use today's rate. See where rates come from and what Estimated means.
- Import debts from a CSV fileBring a list of debts, a lender's amortization schedule or past loan payments into Tavala from a CSV file, with a preview before anything is saved.
- 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.