Initially this was to be a review of Moneydance and nothing more. But since I didn’t have experience with anything to compare it to, I checked out a few other personal finance apps for OS X as well, so I could give you the full scoop. In all, I tried Moneydance, iBank, Money, and iFinance. I left Quicken out because it seems to be the typical choice, and I wanted to see what the smaller developers had to offer.




To start off, I’ve never consistently tracked my finances (like I – and you – should) with software or a bank book. Yeah, I know: Bad Nick. Well, this has been a great chance for me to get into it, and surprisingly, I’ve taken to it like a homerun hitter to steroids… I should actually mention, that I keep track of my finances through online banking with my bank’s website. So on a daily basis I can see what’s happening with my accounts. This is great, so why use an app in addition to the online access? The first and most useful reason is the graphic depictions of what your money is actually going toward. Having a pretty, color-coded chart to show you where all your hard-earned cash went is nice for tayloring a personal budget, to say the least.
The online banking type of person will love Moneydance. It was the first one I reviewed, and it’s the one I’ll be sticking with. (If you do your banking by monthly, mailed statements, then you may find one of the other apps more to your liking. More on them shortly.) Read more »