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Kualia

Envelope budgeting with Plaid bank sync on web and iPhone

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Research-based review, not hands-on testing. Last researched .

Overview

Kualia is a subscription envelope-budgeting app for web and iPhone, built by a small team under Kualia, Inc. Transactions come in through Plaid bank connections (US and Canada), Apple Wallet/Apple Card on iPhone, file import, or manual entry, and are assigned to category envelopes with targets. It also offers family sharing for up to five people, recurring bill scheduling, and a REST API/MCP server.

Best for: US or Canadian users who want envelope-style budgeting with automatic bank import and a household option

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Bank sync through Plaid for US and Canadian institutions, plus Apple Card/Apple Wallet import on iPhone.
  • Family sharing lets one subscriber invite up to five people into shared workspaces, budgets and accounts.
  • Transactions can also arrive by PDF/CSV statement import (staged for review) or manual entry.
  • Recurring/planned transactions, an upcoming view and a subscription audit help forecast bills.
  • Runs on the web and a native iOS app, with a public REST API and MCP server for custom tooling.
  • Frequent releases: multiple App Store updates in September 2026.

Cons

  • No free tier; after the 7-day trial a paid plan is required (monthly $9.99, yearly $79.99, lifetime $199.99).
  • Bank sync is limited to US and Canadian banks (via Plaid); the pricing page also has an 'Other countries' option whose prices were not checked.
  • No Android app or desktop app; only web and iPhone.
  • Site and app use analytics including masked session replay and advertising measurement (with a deny option for non-essential cookies).
  • Small App Store rating base (47 ratings) and a small independent review footprint.

Features

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

Envelopes with targets, Plaid bank sync, Apple Card sync, PDF/CSV import, manual entry, recurring bills, subscription audit, family sharing (up to 5), reports, net worth, REST API, MCP server

Our review

Short version

Kualia is a subscription envelope-budgeting app for web and iPhone, built by a small team under Kualia, Inc. Transactions come in through Plaid bank connections (US and Canada), Apple Wallet/Apple Card on iPhone, file import, or manual entry, and are assigned to category envelopes with targets. It also offers family sharing for up to five people, recurring bill scheduling, and a REST API/MCP server.

Quick profile, not a full review. Built on 2026-09-29 from the vendor site, store listings and public sources. No hands-on testing: I did not sign up, start a trial or connect a bank.

Cost

  • $9.99/month
  • $79.99/year (lifetime option $199.99 one-time)
  • One-time: $199.99
  • Trial: 7-day free trial

Not confirmed

Founding year; Data export options (import confirmed; export not found); Multi-currency support; Debt payoff and investment tracking; Prices for the 'Other countries' selector; Google Play/Android availability (none found).

Notes

Vendor page prices shown are for US/CA selector; App Store IAP prices match ($9.99 month, $79.99 year, $199.99 lifetime).

Ratings are set separately against a shared rubric.

Sources

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