A budget app for people who live across currencies
An expat's budget breaks in a single-currency app, because the money is in two or three currencies at once: a salary from one country, rent in another, money sent to family in a third. Tavala keeps every entry in the currency you paid, with that day's exchange rate locked on it, and adds everything up in the one currency you think in. It works in any country because it does not need a bank feed; a bank connection is an optional add-on, for banks in the United States and Canada only.
- Salary in one currency, life in another, any countryTavala
- Bank sync in the US, Canada, the UK and the EU, in a browserBorderless Budget
- A web-first budget with bank imports in EuropeLunch Money
- Bank feeds in Australia, New Zealand or the UK, with forecastsPocketSmith
- A phone app with bank sync in many countriesWallet by BudgetBakers
- One method and one currency per budgetYNAB, with one plan per currency
What changes when your money crosses a border
Three things, and most budgeting apps handle none of them. First, two currencies every month: you earn in one and spend in another, and the rate between them moves every day. A budget that converts your history again at today's rate rewrites what you spent; last March's rent should still read what it cost last March. Tavala saves the rate on each entry the day you record it and never changes it, while wallet balances and net worth convert again at today's rate, because that is what the money is worth now.
Second, banks in more than one country. Bank feeds are national: an app that imports from American banks does nothing for a German current account or an Indian NRE account. Tavala is built to be used by hand, with a capture bar that reads amount, currency, date and category from one typed line (rent 1450 EUR, or 600 AED groceries), so a bank in any country can be a wallet you update yourself.
Third, one total in the currency you think in. Each space has a main currency that budgets, reports, What's Left and net worth are added up in. Change it later, after a move, and past entries are valued again at the rate of each entry's own date, so your history stays right in the new currency.
Transfers between your own accounts are not spending
Expats move money between their own accounts all the time: a salary account at home, a local account where they live, a transfer service in between. In Tavala that is a transfer, one entry with two sides. When the wallets are in different currencies, the form shows what the recipient gets and lets you type the rate your transfer service actually gave you, for that transfer only. It counts as neither spending nor income, so the month's spending is what you spent, not what you moved.
Money you send to someone else, such as your parents, is different: that is spending, from the wallet it leaves, in the currency it leaves in, and you can give it a category and a budget like any other cost.
A US salary and a Berlin rent
An American working remotely for a US employer and living in Berlin. The salary lands in a US checking account; rent and daily life are in euros. Their main currency is the euro, because that is the currency of the bills.
€2,381.68Spending in EUR, transfers not included
| Entry | Typed as, with the rate kept on the entry | Counts in EUR as |
|---|---|---|
| Salary1 Oct, US checking (USD) | +$6,200.001 USD = 0.9225 EUR (example) | +€5,719.50 |
| To the German account2 Oct, US checking to Girokonto (EUR) | $3,000.001 USD = 0.9180 EUR (your own rate) | A transfer: €2,754.00 arrives |
| Rent3 Oct, Girokonto (EUR) | -€1,450.00Same currency | -€1,450.00 |
| GroceriesThrough October, Girokonto (EUR) | -€286.40Same currency | -€286.40 |
| Streaming12 Oct, US credit card (USD) | -$15.491 USD = 0.9225 EUR (example) | -€14.29 |
| Flight home for the holidays20 Oct, US credit card (USD) | -$684.001 USD = 0.9225 EUR (example) | -€630.99 |
| IncomeIn euros, at each entry's rate | - | +€5,719.50 |
| SpendingTransfers not included | - | -€2,381.68 |
The salary counts as €5,719.50 at the rate of 1 October and keeps that value for good. The $3,000 sent to the German account is a transfer: €2,754.00 arrives at the rate the transfer service gave, typed on that one transfer, and it changes neither income nor spending. October's spending is €2,381.68, whatever the dollar does in November.
Two wallet currencies, dollars and euros, fit the free plan. The flight booked in dollars on a US card is still a euro cost in the budget, at the rate of the day it was paid.
Two more scenarios: a UK pension and a life in Spain, and a Dubai salary and a family in IndiaTwo more scenarios
A UK pension and a life in Spain
A retired couple in Valencia with a pension paid in pounds into a UK bank account, and a Spanish account for everything local. Their main currency is the euro.
€499.98Spending in EUR, transfers not included
| Entry | Typed as, with the rate kept on the entry | Counts in EUR as |
|---|---|---|
| Pension1 Oct, UK current account (GBP) | +£1,640.001 GBP = 1.1690 EUR (example) | +€1,917.16 |
| To the Spanish account3 Oct, UK account to cuenta corriente (EUR) | £1,200.001 GBP = 1.1620 EUR (your own rate) | A transfer: €1,394.40 arrives |
| Community fees5 Oct, cuenta corriente (EUR) | -€95.00Same currency | -€95.00 |
| GroceriesThrough October (EUR) | -€312.75Same currency | -€312.75 |
| Electricity18 Oct (EUR) | -€78.20Same currency | -€78.20 |
| UK phone contract20 Oct, UK current account (GBP) | -£12.001 GBP = 1.1690 EUR (example) | -€14.03 |
| IncomeIn euros | - | +€1,917.16 |
| SpendingTransfers not included | - | -€499.98 |
The pension counts as €1,917.16 this month. If the pound is weaker next month, next month's pension counts for less, and this month's stays €1,917.16: the history is never rewritten by the rate. The pounds still in the UK account are shown in euros at today's rate on the Money tab, so net worth moves with the pound while spending does not.
October's spending is €499.98, including the UK phone contract paid in pounds, which counts as €14.03.
A Dubai salary and a family in India
An engineer in Dubai, paid in dirhams, with an NRE account in India and parents they support every month. Their main currency is the dirham.
AED 13,362.50Spending in AED, transfers not included
| Entry | Typed as, with the rate kept on the entry | Counts in AED as |
|---|---|---|
| Salary28 Sep, Emirates account (AED) | +AED 28,000.00Same currency | +AED 28,000.00 |
| Rent1 Oct (AED) | -AED 9,500.00Same currency | -AED 9,500.00 |
| GroceriesThrough October (AED) | -AED 1,240.50Same currency | -AED 1,240.50 |
| To the NRE account2 Oct, Emirates account to NRE account (INR) | AED 4,000.001 AED = 22.8000 INR (your own rate) | A transfer: ₹91,200.00 arrives |
| Parents, monthly support3 Oct, NRE account (INR) | -₹60,000.001 INR = 0.0437 AED (example) | -AED 2,622.00 |
| Income | - | +AED 28,000.00 |
| SpendingTransfers not included | - | -AED 13,362.50 |
Moving AED 4,000.00 into the rupee account, where ₹91,200.00 arrives, is a transfer, so it never inflates spending. What the parents receive is spending, ₹60,000.00 from the rupee account, which counts as AED 2,622.00 in the month's total of AED 13,362.50. A budget for family support in dirhams then shows each month how much of it went home.
Dirhams and rupees are two wallet currencies, inside the free plan. Tavala does not connect to banks in the UAE or India, so both accounts are wallets you update yourself; the capture bar takes 60000 INR parents as one line.
Budget apps expats compare, on the rows that matter abroad
How each app handles more than one currency, whether it works without a connection, which countries its bank connections cover, and the price.
| 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 |
| Borderless Budget | Converted to a home currencyEach transaction at its own date's rate | Not stated | IncludedUS, Canada, UK and EU banks, up to 10 | $99 a yearor $10 a month; 30-day trial with a card |
| 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 |
| PocketSmith | Multi-currency, all plansA base currency; gold, silver and bitcoin too | Not stated | Paid plans, capped by plan6 banks in 1 country, 18 banks, or unlimited | $9.99 a month, billed yearlyFoundation; $14.95 billed monthly; 14-day money back |
| 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 |
| 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 |
If your banks are in Europe or the UK and you want transactions imported, Borderless Budget, Lunch Money and Wallet cover far more banks than Tavala does, and PocketSmith covers Australia and New Zealand best. Borderless Budget is built for expats and converts each transaction at its own date's rate, as Tavala does; it runs in a browser only, has no free plan and keeps its data in the United States. If you are in the US or Canada and live in one currency, YNAB and Monarch import from your banks; Monarch does no currency conversion at all, and YNAB's own advice for a second currency is a second plan. Tavala is the one here that starts with no account and no bank, works offline on every screen and keeps the rate on each entry.
Where Tavala falls short for expats
- No bank connection outside the United States and Canada. A bank in Germany, Spain, the UAE or India is a wallet you update by hand or by entering its balance.
- No import of bank statements: Tavala imports debts from a CSV file, not transactions.
- No tax features: nothing for foreign earned income, foreign account reports or double taxation. Keep those with your tax adviser.
- The rates are daily reference rates, not your bank's. When the statement matters, type the rate you actually got on that entry.
- Entries in a shared space do not show who added them, which matters if two partners share a space and want to see who paid.
What it costs
Tavala is free to start: as a guest on any device, or on one synced device with a free 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. An expat with one account at home and one where they live fits the free plan.
A third wallet currency, every device in sync, or a space shared with a partner needs Tavala Plus: $39.99 a year or $6.99 a month on the web. In the app stores Plus is priced by country, lower in many of the countries expats move to. A bank connection, for banks in the United States and Canada, is $3.99 a month per bank on top of Plus.
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 expats ask
- What is the best budget app for expats?
- The one that matches where your banks are. For banks in the UK and Europe with automatic imports, Borderless Budget, Lunch Money or Wallet; for Australia or New Zealand, PocketSmith; for money in several currencies in any country, with or without a bank, Tavala. Single-currency apps such as YNAB, Monarch and Copilot are built for one country's money.
- Can I budget in two currencies at the same time?
- Yes. Every wallet keeps its own currency, every entry keeps the currency you paid in and the rate of its day, and budgets and reports add everything up in your main currency.
- Which exchange rate does Tavala use?
- A daily reference rate, from Exchange Rate API, kept on each entry for good. Your bank's rate is usually a little different, so you can type the rate you got for any one entry or transfer.
- Does Tavala connect to banks outside the United States?
- Only to banks in Canada. The bank connection is an optional add-on through Plaid, for banks in the United States and Canada. Everywhere else, accounts are wallets you update yourself, and every other feature works the same.
- Where is my data stored?
- On your device. Without an account nothing about you is sent. With an account, it syncs through Tavala's servers in Ireland, in the EU.
- Should I keep one budget per country?
- Usually not. One space with a wallet per account shows one net worth and one month. A second space makes sense for money you keep apart, such as a business or a household shared with someone; spaces do not add up into each other.
Go further
- Multi-currencyEvery currency in one budget, each entry at its day's rate.
- Net worthAccounts in several countries, added up at today's rate.
- Exchange rate loss calculatorWhat sending money home really costs.
- How to budget in two currenciesThe guide: one main currency, a wallet per account.
- Which exchange rate belongs in your budgetCard, Wise, ECB or mid-market.
- Budget apps that don't connect to your bankWhat you give up, and what you keep.
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.