Budgeting that moves with you
A nomad's budget has one income currency and a new spending currency every few weeks, and it has to work on a bus with no signal. Tavala records each payment in the currency you paid, converts it into the currency you are paid in at that day's rate, and keeps working offline on every screen. A trip can hold a country's spending apart when you want to know what Bali cost; a wallet per card or cash pocket keeps balances right.
- One income currency, a new spending currency each monthTavala
- Bank sync for European or global banksWallet by BudgetBakers
- A web-first budget with bank imports in Europe and North AmericaLunch Money
- A trip-by-trip travel spending logTravelSpend
- Splitting costs with the people you travel withSplitwise or Tricount
What a nomad needs that a budget app rarely has
An income in one currency and spending in another that keeps changing. The currency you are paid in is usually the right main currency, because it is the one your rent at home, your insurance and your savings target are in. Every payment in baht, dong or pesos is then recorded in that currency and counts in yours at its day's rate, locked, so a month in Thailand stays what it cost after you leave.
Capture that works anywhere. Most of a nomad's spending is small, in cash or on a travel card, and much of it happens without a signal: in a hostel, on a ferry, in a market. Tavala keeps the last seven days of rates for every currency on the device, plus about 400 days for the currencies you use, so an entry made offline is converted at once and saved; with an account it uploads when you are back online.
No bank feed to depend on. Travel cards and multi-currency accounts are rarely covered by budget apps' bank connections, and Tavala's connection covers banks in the United States and Canada only. The capture bar is the way in: dinner 185000 LAK is one line.
Two ways to set up the countries
Everyday budgets, one country after another. If your life is the travel, keep monthly budgets for what you spend everywhere (rent, food, coworking, transport) in your main currency, and let the country change underneath them. This is the simpler setup and the right one for slow travel.
A trip per country. A trip in Tavala holds spending dated inside its dates apart from everyday budgets, and its page shows the total, the average a day and a split by category and wallet. That answers what Vietnam cost, but trip spending is outside your budgets by design, so use trips for stretches you want to see on their own (three weeks in Vietnam between two months in Chiang Mai), not for your whole life. A trip runs up to 60 days; anything longer is a project, which takes only the entries you attach.
Paid in dollars, living in Chiang Mai
A freelance developer paid through a freelance platform into a multi-currency account's dollar balance, who converts some to baht each month. Main currency: the dollar.
$884.37Spending in USD, the conversion not included
| Entry | Typed as, with the rate kept on the entry | Counts in USD as |
|---|---|---|
| Client payout1 Nov, dollar balance (USD) | +$3,400.00Same currency | +$3,400.00 |
| Converted to baht2 Nov, dollar balance to baht balance (THB) | $900.001 USD = 33.4200 THB (your own rate) | A transfer: THB 30,078.00 arrives |
| Condo rent3 Nov, baht balance (THB) | -THB 16,500.001 THB = 0.02985 USD (example) | -$492.53 |
| Coworking4 Nov (THB) | -THB 3,200.001 THB = 0.02985 USD (example) | -$95.52 |
| Food and groceriesThrough November (THB) | -THB 7,850.001 THB = 0.02985 USD (example) | -$234.32 |
| Travel health insurance15 Nov, dollar balance (USD) | -$62.00Same currency | -$62.00 |
| Income | - | +$3,400.00 |
| SpendingThe conversion not included | - | -$884.37 |
The month cost $884.37 against $3,400.00 of income. Converting $900 to baht is a transfer: THB 30,078.00 arrives at the rate the account gave, which you type on that transfer, and spending only happens when the baht are spent. The baht balance is shown in dollars at today's rate on the Money tab.
Dollars and baht are two wallet currencies, so this fits the free plan.
Two more scenarios: three weeks in Vietnam, as a trip, and offline on the slow boat to Luang PrabangTwo more scenarios
Three weeks in Vietnam, as a trip
The same person spends three weeks in Vietnam between two months in Thailand, and wants to know what Vietnam cost on its own. They create a trip, Vietnam, from 1 to 21 December, and withdraw dong into a cash wallet.
$370.36Trip total in USD, outside everyday budgets
| Entry | Typed as, with the rate kept on the entry | Counts in USD as |
|---|---|---|
| Cash from an ATM1 Dec, dollar balance to Cash VND | $300.001 USD = 25120.00 VND (your own rate) | A transfer: ₫7,536,000 arrives |
| HomestaysThrough December, card (USD balance) | -₫4,200,0001 VND = 0.0000394 USD (example) | -$165.48 |
| Motorbike rental2 Dec, Cash VND | -₫1,800,0001 VND = 0.0000394 USD (example) | -$70.92 |
| FoodThrough December, Cash VND | -₫3,150,0001 VND = 0.0000394 USD (example) | -$124.11 |
| Bus to Ninh Binh9 Dec, Cash VND | -₫250,0001 VND = 0.0000394 USD (example) | -$9.85 |
| Trip totalOutside everyday budgets | - | -$370.36 |
Every expense dated inside the trip's dates joins it, so the trip page shows $370.36 over 21 days, about $17.64 a day, split by category and by wallet. None of it counts against the everyday budgets for December. When the trip ends, Count your cash asks how many dong are left, and anything missing can be saved as one rough expense on the trip's last day.
A cash wallet in dong is a third wallet currency after dollars and baht. On the free plan, archive the baht wallet first (its history stays) or use Tavala Plus; paying in dong from the dollar card never needs a slot.
Offline on the slow boat to Luang Prabang
Two days on a river boat in Laos with no signal. Everything is paid on the travel card, the dollar wallet, in kip. The phone has no connection, so Tavala converts with the rates it stored, labelled Estimated, nearest date.
$46.56Spending in USD
| Entry | Typed as, with the rate kept on the entry | Counts in USD as |
|---|---|---|
| Boat ticketDay 1, card (USD wallet) | -LAK 450,000.001 LAK = 0.00004587 USD (Estimated, nearest date; example) | -$20.64 |
| Guesthouse in PakbengDay 1 (USD wallet) | -LAK 320,000.001 LAK = 0.00004587 USD (Estimated, nearest date; example) | -$14.68 |
| DinnerDay 1 (USD wallet) | -LAK 185,000.001 LAK = 0.00004587 USD (Estimated, nearest date; example) | -$8.49 |
| Snacks on boardDay 2 (USD wallet) | -LAK 60,000.001 LAK = 0.00004587 USD (Estimated, nearest date; example) | -$2.75 |
| Spending | - | -$46.56 |
Four lines typed with no signal (boat 450000 LAK, and so on) are saved at once and count as $46.56. Kip paid from the dollar wallet is a foreign amount, not a new wallet currency, so it costs no slot on the free plan. With an account, the entries upload when the phone is back online; the card's statement will differ a little from the reference rate, and you can type the statement's rate on any entry later.
Apps nomads compare, on the rows that matter on the road
Currencies, offline use, bank connections and price, from each app's own pages.
| App | Currencies | Works offline | Bank connections | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tavala | Every currency in one space155 currencies and 96 cryptocurrencies; 2 per space on the free plan | Every screenChanges sync when you are back online | Optional add-onBanks in the United States and Canada, through Plaid, $3.99 a month per bank | Free; Plus $39.99 a yearor $6.99 a month on the web |
| Wallet by BudgetBakers | Full multi-currencyOne currency per account; the base currency cannot change | An offline modeNot backed up while offline; sync needs a connection | Premium"over 15,000 banking institutions"; no countries listed | Premium; prices only in the storesNo pricing page; US App Store $5.99 to $49.99, lifetime $29.99 |
| Lunch Money | 160+ currenciesTotals in a primary currency you can change | Not stated | OptionalPlaid in the US, Canada and 17 European countries; no UK | $60 to $150 a yearYou set the yearly price (default $100); or $10 a month |
| TravelSpend | Any currencyConverted to a home currency per trip | Yes"works offline" | NoneApple Pay and Shortcuts imports on iPhone | Free; Premium from $4.99US App Store; lifetime $59.99 |
| YNAB | One per planIts advice for several: a separate plan for each | Advertised"even offline!" on its features page | IncludedSelect banks in the US, Canada and 18 European countries, UK included | $109 a yearor $14.99 a month; 34-day trial |
TravelSpend is built for trips, with a daily budget and splitting between travellers; it does not hold everyday budgets beside them. Wallet and Lunch Money import from far more banks than Tavala, which helps if your accounts are covered. YNAB keeps one currency per plan. Tavala is the one here that works offline on every screen with no account, and keeps everyday budgets and trips in one ledger.
Where Tavala falls short for nomads
- No bank connection outside the United States and Canada, so multi-currency accounts and travel cards are wallets you update yourself.
- No receipt scanner: entries are typed, one line each.
- Tavala does not split costs or settle who owes whom between travellers; Splitwise and Tricount do.
- No tax features for freelancers: no tax set-aside rules, no invoices.
- A trip runs at most 60 days. A longer stretch is a project, which takes only the entries you attach to it.
What it costs
Tavala is free to start, with no account. The free plan holds wallets in 2 currencies per space, counted from the wallets, not from what you spend: paying in a third currency from an existing wallet never needs another slot, and archiving the last wallet in a currency frees its slot while its history stays. Trips are free on every plan.
Tavala Plus, $39.99 a year or $6.99 a month on the web, holds every currency at once and syncs every device: a phone, a laptop browser and a tablet. In the app stores Plus is priced by country.
See pricing. There is no free trial; the free plan is the trial.
How this page was made
We compared only what each app's own pages say about price, currencies, offline use, bank connections and sharing, on 24 October 2026, and we check the prices again every quarter. The scenarios are illustrations with example rates. Tavala publishes this page; where another app fits better, it says so. Corrections to support@tavala.io.
Questions nomads ask
- Which currency should be my main currency as a nomad?
- Usually the one you are paid in, because your income, savings and fixed costs are in it. You can change it later; past entries are valued again at the rate of each entry's own date.
- Does Tavala work without internet?
- Yes, on every screen. The device keeps recent rates for every currency, so entries in any currency are converted and saved offline, and sync when you are back online.
- How do I track spending in a new country?
- Type it in the currency you paid, from the wallet you paid with: dinner 185000 LAK on the dollar card. It counts in your main currency at that day's rate. A cash wallet in the local currency keeps a cash balance if you carry a lot of cash.
- Should I make a trip for every country?
- Only for stretches you want to see on their own. A trip keeps its spending out of everyday budgets, which is right for three weeks in Vietnam and wrong for a year of slow travel.
- Can I use Tavala on a laptop?
- Yes. Tavala runs in any current browser at app.tavala.io, offline after the first visit, and as a native app on a Mac.
Go further
- Offline-firstEvery screen, no signal needed.
- Trips and projectsA country's spending, apart from everyday budgets.
- Which exchange rate belongs in your budgetCard, Wise, ECB or mid-market.
- How to budget in two currenciesOne main currency, a wallet per account.
- How to track expenses by handWithout giving up in week two.
- Budgeting apps for couplesThe honest list, by how you keep your money.
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.