An offline-first expense tracker, with no account needed
Tavala is offline-first: the app on your device is the source of truth and the cloud is optional. Every screen works without a connection, and on every platform you can use it with no account at all. Sync is something you turn on, not something you have to accept.
Flip airplane mode, then add the coffee.
Everything works without a connection
Adding an expense on a plane, in a basement shop or on a roaming-free trip just works. Changes are saved locally and synced when you are back online.
Changes are never silently lost
If a change cannot be synced, it does not vanish. It waits in a visible list where you can try again or discard it yourself.
No account to start
Open the app and start, on a phone, an iPad, a Mac or in a browser. Without an account your data stays on the device and nothing is transmitted. In a browser it lives in that browser's storage, so clearing site data removes it. Create an account later and your history comes with you.
Your data is portable
Export everything as a JSON file from Settings at any time. Delete your account from Settings and your synced data is removed.
No ads, no analytics SDK, no tracking
There is no advertising and no third-party analytics in the app. Crash reports are unlinked to your identity.
One account, or none
Tavala is free with or without an account. What an account adds is a copy of your data that is not on this device.
- No accountEverything stays on this device and nothing is sent anywhere. There is no backup: lose the device, or clear a browser's site data, and the data goes with it.
- A free accountBacks up one device and keeps its history on the server. A new phone picks it up when you sign in there.
- Tavala PlusKeeps every device you own in step: phone, tablet, Mac and browser. See what Plus changes.
The device is the source of truth
Tavala saves everything on the device first, and every screen reads from that copy. That is why the app behaves the same on a plane, in a basement shop or on a roaming-free trip as it does on Wi-Fi: there is no screen that waits for a server. With an account, the device also uploads your changes whenever it can and downloads the changes made on your other devices. Bills and recurring entries post on schedule even while you are offline.
A few things need a connection because they involve someone else: creating an account, signing in, sharing a space, connecting a bank, buying Plus and Ask Tavala. Everything you do with your own records does not.
No account, and what that really means
As a guest, your wallets, entries, budgets, bills, debts and trips are written to a database inside the app on your device, or to the browser's own storage on the web. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is queued. Recording, budgets, debts, trips, reports, exports, the app lock and hidden amounts all work.
The honest cost is that a guest has no backup. Deleting the app, losing the phone or clearing a browser's site data removes the data for good, and Tavala cannot recover it because it never had it. Home reminds you of that, and Export my data writes everything to a JSON file you keep. When you create an account later, what is on the device moves into it.
What happens to a change made offline
Signed in, an offline change waits on the device and uploads as soon as you are back online; Settings shows the status in a word (Synced, Offline, Syncing) and counts what is waiting. If your account refuses a change, for example because it hit a plan limit, it is not dropped: a Home banner says how many changes could not be saved, and each one has Try again and Delete. Nothing is deleted unless you choose Delete.
When two devices edit the same entry before they sync, the later change wins, with no merge prompt. That is the trade a fast offline app makes, and it is written down rather than hidden.
What works with the network off
Every row of this table is the app as built, on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and the web.
| Task | As a guest | Signed in |
|---|---|---|
| Add, edit or delete an entry | Yes | YesUploads when back online |
| Budgets, bills, safe to spend and the forecast | Yes | Yes |
| Convert a foreign amount | YesFrom the rates kept on the device | YesFrom the rates kept on the device |
| Debt payoff planner and calculators | Yes | Yes |
| Reports and CSV or PDF export | Yes | Yes |
| Export all your data as JSON | Yes | Yes |
| Share a space, connect a bank, Ask Tavala | NoThese need an account and a connection | NoThese need a connection |
Offline and account rules in other apps
Whether you can start without an account, and whether the app keeps working without a connection.
| What | Tavala | YNAB | Monarch | Actual Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start without an account | YesAn account adds backup and sync | NoSign up for the trial | NoA subscription service | YesThe desktop app needs no server |
| Works offline | Every screenChanges sync when you are back online | Advertised"even offline!" on its features page | Not stated | Yes"works regardless of your network connection" |
| Where your data lives | On your deviceWith an account, synced through Ireland (EU) | United States"operated from the United States" | Not statedAvailable in the US and Canada only | On your deviceOr on a sync server you run |
| Price | Free; Plus $39.99 a yearor $6.99 a month on the web | $109 a yearor $14.99 a month; 34-day trial | $99.99 a yearor $14.99 a month (Core); Plus $199.99 a year | Free softwareHosting from $2 a month (PikaPods) |
Questions about offline-first and private
- Do I need an account to use Tavala?
- No. On iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and the web you can use Tavala with no account and no internet connection. An account adds backup and sync.
- Where is my data stored when I sign in?
- In a database hosted in Ireland, in the European Union, with sync infrastructure in the EU. Bank data for US and Canadian connections passes through Plaid.
- Is my data encrypted on the device?
- The app does not claim its own on-device encryption. It relies on your device's own encryption and the app lock. Data in transit and at rest on the server is encrypted, and bank tokens are encrypted separately on the server.
- Is a guest's data backed up anywhere?
- No. Without an account your data exists only on that device or in that browser, with no copy on a server. Export my data in Settings writes a JSON file you can keep, and creating an account moves the data into the account and starts backups.
- Does the web version work offline?
- Yes. After the first visit the browser keeps a copy of the app, and changes made offline wait in the browser and upload when you are back online. A guest's data in a browser lives in that browser only.
- What does not work offline?
- Creating an account, signing in, sharing a space, connecting a bank, buying Plus and Ask Tavala need a connection. Recording, budgets, debts, trips, reports and exports do not.
Go further
- No bank linkingBudget without handing over a bank login.
- Private by designWhat leaves your device, and what never does.
- Expense trackerLog a purchase in two seconds, signal or not.
- Tavala vs Actual BudgetLocal-first, with or without your own server.
- Budgeting for digital nomadsOffline on a river boat, in kip.
- Tracking cash spendingA week in cash, counted on Sunday.
Also in Tavala
- Ask Tavala AI AgentQuestions answered from your ledger, and changes you confirm.
- Multi-currencyThe rate from the day you paid, kept on every entry.
- Shared spacesOne ledger for up to six people, each on their own phone.
- Budgets, bills and forecastWhat is left, and what is safe to spend before pay day.
- Debt payoffSnowball or avalanche, and the month you are debt-free.
- Bank sync (US and Canada)Read-only import from US and Canadian banks, through Plaid.
- Trips and projectsA trip or a project kept apart from everyday spending.
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.