What's the best app for tracking/recording expenses? (Finance - Money spend)

1

What I’m looking for:

  • Ideally available as App AND web or desktop

  • Categorize spending in different categories

  • QUICK entry from smartphone

  • Public API or ability to visualize how much I’ve spend in each category?

  • Can it be automated?

  • I’m NOT looking for budgeting apps (I’ve never made a budget in my life)

2

I’m loving LunchMoney budgeting planner

  • Desktop first, no mobile app
  • Has an API
  • Can create your own categories and set various rules on them
  • Can setup some light automation rules
  • Can connect to all my financial accounts, and I can also add manual accounts to track where it makes sense
2 Likes
4

Good to see that LunchMoney is still in business 2 years later.

For such long-term and sensitive tracking like expenses, I simply don’t trust any tools other than general-purpose spreadsheets, that are going to both be maintained in 10 years, AND allow you to export data.

*19+ years ^

1 Like
5

I use Actual Budget (https://actualbudget.org/). It is open-source, private and self-hostable. It follows the YNAB method, and can directly sync from practically any bank account without problems.

I use it in desktop and mobile since they offer a very good PWA

1 Like
6

Great suggestion, I explored this and am generally interested in the private/self-hosted web app approach.