Banktivity 6
A fitness tracker for your finances? Well, kind of…
$64.99 Developer IGG Software, iggsoftware.com Requirements macOS 10.12 or later
Personal finance apps have a checkered history on the Mac, but developer IGG Software’s native iBank has typically been a bright spot. Last year, the veteran software rebranded as Banktivity, and the release of version 6.0 not only gives Quicken a run for its money, but does it one better with a handful of convenient new features.
Workspaces is the coolest addition, enabling you to open recent transactions from one account in a new window while browsing in the Summary view at the same time, for example. Tags wind up being the handiest feature, used to track spending for a specific transaction type so you can view expenditures as a report: great for keeping tabs on how much that new hobby costs, or where funds are spent on household repairs.
A free 30-day trial makes it easy to give Banktivity 6 a spin, although the conversion process isn’t entirely seamless. We were able to import existing data from Quicken 2017 without much trouble, but linking accounts to their online equivalents was a hassle that required repeated logins for multiple accounts at the same bank. Occasionally we had to repeat the process, because the application would hang while saving the document file to our Dropbox folder.
Although Banktivity is cheaper than Quicken, direct access requires a recurring subscription ($4.99/month, $39.99/year), which winds up making it more expensive in the long run. It can securely sync data with your iPhone and iPad, but purchasing both apps costs another $30; the mobile versions are superior to Quicken’s free offering, however. the bottom line. Banktivity is a worthwhile investment that gives Quicken a run for its money. J.R. Bookwalter