u/Jesse_khach

Posted here a week back when I launched. Quick update.

When Mint died I went through the same parade everyone here did. Tried Monarch, YNAB, Copilot, a few others. Nothing felt right so I started building my own. Plaid sync without the reconciliation step that some people find tedious, ZBB and spending limits, net worth tracking, and a free manual mode for people who just don't want to connect a bank.

55 users so far, which is great... but the surprising part is nearly all of them are on the free manual mode. Nobody is paying for sync outside of friends and family.

I think this sub specifically is part of why. A lot of people here are really becoming manual-first users & aren't in a hurry to hand a new app their bank credentials. I built manual mode in like a weekend and basically forgot it existed, but it turns out it's the one people actually want.

So if you're still hunting for a Mint replacement and just want to track stuff manually for free, it's there: Basis Budget on the App Store. iOS only right now.

Genuinely curious how many people here just gave up on apps after Mint and went back to a spreadsheet.

A few weeks back I posted about Basis Budget here at launch. Quick update on what's actually been happening since.

Short refresher on what it is: ZBB and spending limits in one app, Plaid sync without the reconciliation step (if your bank knows what's true I don't see why I should be making you confirm every transaction), and a fully free manual mode. iOS only right now, $4.99/mo for sync.

Where it gets weird is the usage pattern. We've got 55 users in some capacity which I'm happy about, but nearly all of them are on the free manual mode. The sync tier was supposed to be the headline. 0 paid subscribers outside of friends and family.

Honestly I think it makes sense. There's a real undercurrent of people who don't want to give a third party app their bank login. I built manual mode as an afterthought and basically never touched it again, but it turns out a lot of people actually want exactly that.

Still believe in the no-reconciliation sync as the main thing... just not what I expected the early picture to look like. App Store link if anyone wants to try it: Basis Budget. Manual mode is free forever.

For people here who tried YNAB and didn't stick around, what was the actual dealbreaker for you?

Solo dev. Released my budgeting app a few weeks back. 55 users, 0 paid subscribers outside friends and family. Every single one is on the free manual mode.

I spent months building out the paid tier. Plaid sync, no reconciliation step (which makes no sense to me if your bank already knows what's true), tons of testing. That was supposed to be the headline feature and what people would pay for at $4.99/mo.

Manual mode was almost an afterthought. I built it, basically never looked at it again, and shipped it thinking nobody would actually pick it. Well here I am... and the free tier is what people are using.

Honestly thinking about flipping the App Store screenshots so manual mode shows up first and sync is the upgrade, instead of the other way around. Not what I expected the early shape of this to be.

Listing is here if you want to look at the screenshots and tell me whether you'd flip them too: Basis Budget on the App Store.

Anyone else had your random feature end up being the one users actually picked?

Hi folks, I got tired of trying every single budgeting app and constantly being forced into a narrow flexibility of how to budget, so I built Basis Budget.

Basis provides you with the flexibility of two budgeting modes, Spending Limits, or Zero-Based with YNAB as the model. It is completely free for manual mode, or a small monthly fee if you want Plaid support.

Some background on me, I'm a Product Manager working/having worked at two major banks in the US, I've been budgeting since I was 15 (starting with Mint), and have tried nearly every single budgeting app out there.

Every one I've tried is either too expensive (counter-intuitive for a budget app), tries to do too much, doesn't allow flexibility in budget, or just simply is not intuitive to use. I've built Basis to counter all of those points.

If you are interested, here is the URL as well as our Discord where I stay very active in letting everyone know of new updates, roadmap items, feature requests, as well as bugs.

App store URL: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/basis-budget-money-tracker/id6760737520

Price: Free or $4.99/mo for sync

Discord: https://discord.gg/MJ27RQgmC

Thank you!