If you’re a Mac user looking for full-featured software to automatically aggregate your bank accounts, track your spending, and manage your investments, your search may be over with iBank.
We’ve been tracking numerous budgeting Websites and apps since Money Under 30 launched in 2006, and there are some good options (some free) if you don’t mind logging into a Web app.
But even in today’s connected world, there’s something comforting about a personal finance application that lives on your computer.
For years, that go-to app was Quicken. But users lamented that software’s clumsiness, especially on Macs.
I gave iBank 5 a test drive last month. I was able to set up my three bank accounts, two credit cards and half-dozen investment accounts in about 20 minutes.
iBank excels at financial software’s biggest mission: categorizing transactions and summarizing spending. It helps with your budgeting by enabling you to schedule income and bills and set budgeting targets.
iBank also includes portfolio tools that let you see trades, positions, and unrealized gains in one place across all of your investing accounts.
iBank handles imports especially well; it’s easy to import data from Quicken or your financial institutions in a variety of formats (QIF, CSV, OFX to name a few). That’s good news if you want to import your transactions manually rather than linking your bank accounts.
The downside to iBank is the cost. The Mac version is $60 and the elegant iBank mobile apps are an additional $20 for iPad or $5 for iPhone. If you want iBank to sync your accounts automatically you’ll need to purchase a “Direct Access” subscription that runs $5 a month, $13 a quarter, or $40 a year.
I concur with MacWorld’s iBank review, iBank offers best in class money management for Macs, but it charges accordingly.
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