Arca
YNAB without the subscription. Your bank never sees it.
Arca is envelope budgeting that lives entirely on your computer. Install it, import a CSV or type your transactions by hand, and budget in envelopes — same method you already know, except you pay once and that's it.
- No bank account linked, ever
- Zero telemetry
- One file on your disk
- Native multi-currency
- Imports your YNAB export: accounts, envelopes and history
See it in action
Logging an expense takes a few seconds: type the amount and where you spent it, and Arca suggests the envelope.
Every currency, converted for real
Each account keeps its own currency. Amounts show in the original currency and in your base currency.
Import your bank statement
Arca detects the columns in your CSV and shows a preview before importing anything. Excel, OFX, QFX, QIF and YNAB work too.
Reports that answer questions
Where the money went, income vs. spending, and how your balance moves over time.
Three things, done properly
Not a feature race. Arca competes on being the only option that combines all three at once.
Privacy that's actually real
Never connects to a bank. Never uploads anything to a server. Zero telemetry — not "opt-out" telemetry, none at all. Arca only goes online when you press a button for it: updating exchange rates or checking for a new version.
Zero technical friction
Installs like any normal desktop app. Unlike Actual Budget, you never need to know what Docker is, rent a VPS, or manage a sync server just to keep your budget on one device.
Built for the real world
Native multi-currency for freelancers, expats and travelers — not a bolt-on. Plus an optional Simple Mode with 5 categories for anyone who abandons budgeting apps because 20+ categories feel like a second job.
Multi-currency isn't a checkbox, it's the point
If you earn in one currency and spend in another, most budgeting apps treat that as an afterthought — or a paid add-on. Arca treats it as core: every account and every transaction can carry its own currency, and your reports convert to whatever reference currency you choose.
- Set exchange rates manually, or update them with one explicit button press
- No background calls to any API — ever — unless you ask for it
- Real conversion for reporting, not just currency labels
Simple Mode: the front door, not a limitation
Plenty of people install and abandon budgeting apps because setting up 20+ categories feels like a second job — a pattern especially common for people with ADHD. Simple Mode gives you 5 broad envelopes and nothing else to decide.
- Recommended by default during onboarding — never forced
- You "graduate" to full mode when you ask for it, never automatically
- Logging an expense takes at most 2 clicks from anywhere in the app
- No streaks, no guilt-based gamification — that pattern drives abandonment, not retention
Arca vs. YNAB vs. Actual Budget vs. Buckets vs. Monarch
An honest comparison, not a marketing table. Checked and updated September 2026, with every claim sourced.
| Arca | YNAB | Actual Budget | Buckets | Monarch Money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $39 once | $109/yr | Free / donation | $64 once | $99.99–199/yr |
| Bank connection | Never, by design | Optional (core of the product) | Optional | Optional | Optional (core of the product) |
| Data lives on your disk | Yes, one file | No (cloud) | Yes | Yes | No (cloud) |
| Sync without your own server | v1: manual file copy | Yes (their cloud) | No — needs Docker/VPS | Limited | Yes (their cloud) |
| Native multi-currency (real conversion) | Yes, built-in | Limited | No — experimental only, not on 2026 roadmap | Not confirmed | Limited |
| Simple / low-overwhelm mode | Yes, 5 categories | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile app | Not yet (roadmap) | Yes | Yes | Yes, view-only for now | Yes |
| Open, documented file format | Yes (SQLite container, public spec) | No | Yes (open source) | Not documented | No |
Swipe sideways to see YNAB, Actual, Buckets and Monarch →
Sources: YNAB pricing · Monarch pricing · Actual multi-currency docs · Actual 2026 roadmap · Buckets. Prices in USD, checked September 2026.
When Arca is not the right choice
- You're comfortable with Docker and want free forever: Actual Budget is open source, genuinely local-first, and costs nothing if you're willing to run your own sync server.
- You need automatic bank feeds and real-time categorization today: Arca imports CSV, Excel, OFX, QFX and QIF, but there's no live bank API. If that's a dealbreaker, YNAB or Monarch do it out of the box.
- You need a mobile app right now: Arca v1 is desktop-only. Buckets and the cloud apps already have mobile clients.
- You want investment tracking or full business accounting: that's explicitly out of scope for Arca — look at Moneydance or a dedicated accounting tool.
Frequently asked questions
The questions people actually ask before trusting a new budgeting app with their finances.
Where does my data actually live?
In a single .arca file on your own disk. The container format is a standard SQLite database, and the schema will be publicly documented — nothing proprietary, nothing hidden. You can copy that file anywhere: a USB drive, your own Dropbox, an external disk. Arca doesn't host anything and doesn't know where you keep your copies.
What happens if development stops?
Your data was never locked in to begin with. Because the file format is documented and the container is plain SQLite, you (or anyone) can read it with off-the-shelf tools even without Arca installed. You can also export your data at any point, encrypted or not, no strings attached.
Does it sync between devices?
Not automatically, and not through any Arca-run server — that would break the "no account, ever" promise. In v1, you export your encrypted file and copy it wherever you want (your own Dropbox, iCloud Drive, a USB stick). A later version may support reading/writing that same file from a folder you already sync yourself, with conflict handling — but Arca will never operate or bill you for a sync server of its own.
Is there a mobile app?
Not in v1. Arca launches as a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux first, because that's where the core budgeting workflow — importing statements, mapping columns, assigning envelopes — actually happens. A companion mobile app for quick expense capture is a possible v2, syncing through a folder you control, never through a company server.
Is my bank supported?
Arca doesn't connect to any bank API — that's a deliberate choice, not a missing feature. Instead, you export a statement from your bank (CSV, Excel, OFX, QFX or QIF — virtually every bank supports at least one of these) and drag it in. A column-mapping wizard with live preview handles banks that don't fit the common formats, and duplicate detection is always reviewed by you before anything is confirmed — nothing gets silently discarded.
One price. No subscription. Ever.
Try everything free for 30 days — no credit card, no account. If you don't buy, the app simply becomes read-only; your data is never locked and you can always export it.
One-time payment. Launch price for early waitlist members — the price goes up once Arca ships.
- All features included, no tiers
- 30-day free trial, no card required
- Free updates within v1.x
- Read-only forever if you don't purchase — your data stays exportable regardless
Get early access
Arca is in private beta. Join the waitlist to lock in the founder price, get early access, and tell us what your current app gets wrong — real answers decide what we build next.