# Budgetr review

> Private personal-finance tracker for Mac, with a self-run web version
Source: https://budgetingapps.org/apps/budgetr (researched 2026-10-14). Research-based review, not hands-on testing.

## Summary

Budgetr is a local-first personal-finance app for net worth, spending, category budgets, investments, options and tax lots. The vendor sells a notarized Apple-silicon Mac app; its public GitHub repo also documents a self-run web version for Windows, Linux and Docker. Bank connections require your own Plaid keys; the paid Mac app is $29 once.

**Best for:** Mac users who want local net-worth, spending and investment tracking, or technically comfortable people who can run the open-source web edition

## Key facts

- Website: https://www.budgetr.dev
- Price: No subscription; one-time purchase; One-time $29 lifetime license with free updates, 14-day refund; lifetime: $29
- Rating: 3.2/5
- Free plan: no
- Free trial: 14-day free trial, no card or account
- Platforms: Desktop, Web
- Budgeting method: Expense tracking, Financial management
- Bank sync: Yes, via Plaid using the user's own keys
- Mobile apps: No public App Store or Google Play release confirmed. Repository documents a native Apple app path, but store availability is unconfirmed.
- Import: Not confirmed
- Multiple budgets: Not confirmed
- Team: Individual developer (GitHub account kGeee)
- Privacy: For the paid Mac app, vendor says financial data stays on the Mac in local SQLite; user-supplied Plaid/Finnhub credentials are encrypted at rest. The self-run web edition has a distinct architecture; see repository documentation.

## Features

- Envelope budgeting: not confirmed
- Automatic bank sync: yes
- Manual transaction entry: not confirmed
- Goal tracking: not confirmed
- Debt payoff tools: not confirmed
- Investment tracking: yes
- Bill reminders: not confirmed
- Reports & charts: yes
- Multi-currency: not confirmed
- Shared / household budgets: not confirmed
- Separate logins for shared budgets: not confirmed

## Pros

- $29 one-time Mac license includes updates, with a 14-day no-card trial and 14-day refund window
- Mac app stores financial data locally; vendor says there is no Budgetr account or server holding it
- Combines spending budgets with net worth, investments, options analytics and tax-lot tools
- Open-source MIT repository documents self-hosting for Windows, Linux and Docker

## Cons

- Connecting real banks requires users to set up Plaid and provide their own keys
- The paid downloadable app is macOS on Apple Silicon; no public mobile-store release was confirmed
- Investment and options tooling is prominent; it is not a conventional envelope or zero-based planning system
- Running the web edition requires self-hosting and has different deployment/privacy implications from the Mac app

## Our review

### Short version

Budgetr combines spending and monthly category budgets with net-worth tracking, investments, options analytics and tax-lot reporting. The paid downloadable product is a notarized macOS app for Apple Silicon. Separately, its public MIT-licensed repository documents a self-run web edition for Windows, Linux and Docker, as well as an Apple-native app path; no public mobile-store listing was confirmed. This is a broader technical setup than the vendor's Mac-only marketing suggests.

**Research-based profile, not hands-on testing.** Based on the vendor site, pricing page, public repository and release history. I did not sign up, start a trial or connect a bank.

### Cost

The vendor's pricing page lists a $29 one-time license for the Mac app, updates included, a 14-day free trial without a card, and a 14-day refund window. Bank sync requires the user's own Plaid keys. No separate price for self-hosting is stated in these sources.

### What stands out

The paid Mac app is positioned as local-first: the vendor says it stores data in a local SQLite database and has no service holding the user's finances. Its repo also documents a self-run web version and describes a distinct architecture for that edition. The README outlines a local deployment and outbound connections to providers configured by the user. Treat those as separate deployment modes rather than assuming every edition has identical data handling.

Budgetr's budgeting tools include monthly category limits, rollover and month-end projections; it also layers in unusually detailed investment, options and tax-lot features. It is better suited to someone who wants a financial dashboard than a dedicated envelope-planning workflow.

### Caveats

Real bank connections require setting up Plaid and supplying personal keys. The paid downloadable app is Mac-only (Apple Silicon) in the current release notes. Although the repository includes a native Apple-app path, I could not confirm a public iOS App Store release. The repository's latest visible release is v0.14.2 (Aug 23, 2026), and its latest listed commit is Aug 27, 2026.

### Bottom line

A distinctive local-first Mac tracker for people who want budgets alongside investment and options detail. The self-run web edition expands the platform options for technical users, but requires them to manage deployment themselves. Pricing and product architecture here are based on public vendor materials; this is not hands-on testing.

## Sources

- [Vendor product and privacy overview](https://www.budgetr.dev/) (retrieved 2026-10-14)
- [Vendor pricing and FAQ](https://www.budgetr.dev/pricing) (retrieved 2026-10-14)
- [Public repository README and architecture](https://github.com/kGeee/budgetr) (retrieved 2026-10-14)
- [GitHub release history](https://github.com/kGeee/budgetr/releases) (retrieved 2026-10-14)