No ads. No data selling. No subscription traps.
Get Early AccessA budgeting app that actually respects your privacy.
No analytics, no tracking, no upselling.
Free to use forever.
Your financial data never leaves your device unless you explicitly choose to sync. No surprises.
Your data is stored as simple text files you own and can access anywhere. No proprietary lock-in.
Pay only for convenience when you need sync across devices or use your own sync solution.
And more coming soon to all platforms.
Compare Basalt to every major budgeting app.
| App | Monthly | Yearly | Free Tier | Privacy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basalt | $4 | $35 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Self-hosted |
| YNAB | $14.99 | $109 | ✗ No | ✗ None |
| Monarch | $14.99 | $99.99 | ✗ No | ✗ None |
| Rocket Money | $6-12 | $72-144 | ✓ Limited | ✗ None |
| Quicken Simplifi | $5.99 | $71.88 | ✗ No | ✗ None |
| Copilot Money | $13 | $95 | ✗ No | ✗ None |
| Origin Finance | $12.99 | $99 | ✗ No | ✗ None |
* Prices in USD as of Apr 24 2026
Beta starts soon for macOS and iOS. Windows and Android come after launch. Leave your email and we'll let you know when it's ready.
First 500 newsletter subscribers get 50% off the lifetime license at launch.
Most budgeting apps treat your financial data like a product to sell. The alternatives are expensive and still don't respect your privacy. We built Basalt because most budgeting apps are monetizing you in ways you can't see. Your financial data shouldn't be someone else's inventory.
Because we built this for ourselves first. Obsidian proved you can build great software without turning users into products. We wanted the same for budgeting, so we made Basalt something we'd actually use ourselves. We trust it with our own data. If we do, you will too.
Obsidian showed that file-based local-first apps can work as a business without selling user data or paywalling features. We love that approach. Basalt is built as a tribute to Obsidian and the philosophy they championed. Your data stays yours, and you decide how to sync it.
The app is free to use with everything included. No ads, no data selling, no features locked behind a paywall. Need sync across devices? Optional plan covers that - and adds AI features like importing from screenshots and PDFs. It's all optional - pay only if you want the extra convenience.
Absolutely. Your data lives as plain YAML files you control outright. Apple devices sync for free via iCloud, and with Advanced Data Protection enabled (free on Apple devices) you get end-to-end encryption on top. Your Basalt data stays private even from Apple.
On Mac, Windows, and Android, use whatever sync service you like - iCloud, Dropbox, Syncthing, anything works.
Our sync plan, when it arrives, will have end-to-end encryption and will work across any devices Basalt runs on.
Thought AI features would be locked behind a paywall? Not here. Bring your own Gemini API key and get unlimited smart screenshots and PDF imports at no extra cost. Every feature in Basalt is free - the sync plan just adds convenience.
Basalt