SelfCapsule vs Monarch

Monarch vs SelfCapsule.
Linked Accounts or Local-First.

Monarch brings every account into one dashboard by connecting to your banks through data providers, then adds planning, investment tracking, and AI categorization. SelfCapsule keeps a local-first budget on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, filled from statements you import, with no account and no bank login.

Download for macOSiPhone and iPad on the App StoreWindows: coming soon

Quick verdict

Choose Monarch if you want every account, including investments and property values, to update on its own, plus long-range planning, and you are in the US or Canada. Choose SelfCapsule if you would rather no data provider or cloud service held your transactions, want AI that runs on your device, and prefer $29 once to $99.99 a year.

How Monarch and SelfCapsule Compare

Every Monarch entry comes from Monarch's own pages, read on 13 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars. See the sources.

Monarch compared with SelfCapsule
MonarchSelfCapsule
Where your data lives
Monarch's servers. Its security page says all data is encrypted at rest and in transit.On your device only. No account, no cloud sync, no server.
Bank connection
Yes, through three data providers: Plaid, Finicity, and MX. Monarch does not see or store your bank login.None. You import statement files you download from your bank.
File import
CSV import of transactions, on the web only.Mac: CSV, TSV, OFX, QFX, QIF. iPhone and iPad: CSV, OFX, QFX.
Price
Core: $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year. Plus: $199.99 a year. 7-day free trial.Free tier. Pro is $29 once.
Platforms
Web, iPhone, iPad, and Android, in the United States and Canada.Mac (direct download), iPhone and iPad (App Store). Windows coming soon.
AI features
AI categorization of transactions. AI tasks use outside LLM providers, which Monarch's agreements bar from storing your data or training on it.Runs on your device: Ollama on Mac, Apple's on-device model on iPhone and iPad (iOS 26 with Apple Intelligence; on other devices categorization uses your own rules and there is no AI assistant).
Investments and planning
Investment holdings across accounts, Zillow home values, and long-term financial planning.Pro: investment and crypto accounts with cost basis.
Export
CSV download of transactions and balance history.Encrypted backup (AES-256-GCM, passphrase) on all platforms. Mac: report CSV export (Pro), no transaction export screen yet. iPhone and iPad: transaction CSV export.
App Store privacy label
Data Linked to You, including Financial Info.Data Not Collected

Which One Fits You

Where Monarch Is the Better Fit

  • You want every account, including investments and your home's value, to update without manual work.
  • You want long-range planning and forecasting alongside your budget.
  • You or someone you budget with uses Android or works mainly in a web browser.
  • You live in the US or Canada, where Monarch's apps are available.

Where SelfCapsule Is the Better Fit

  • You do not want a data provider or a cloud service holding your transaction history.
  • You want AI that runs on your device rather than through outside model providers.
  • You prefer a one-time payment: $29 for Pro, against $99.99 a year for Monarch Core.
  • You want a desktop app on your Mac as well as iPhone and iPad.

Reports

Local-First Reports From Your Own Data.

Spending by category and income against expenses, with net worth over time on Pro. Drawn from the database on your device, with no aggregation across users.

SelfCapsule Finance · Reports

Reports

Analyze your money. Advanced reports unlock with Pro.

Spending Over Time
Category Breakdown
Income vs Expense
Net Worth Trend
Budget vs Actual
Investments

Investments

Pro

Total market value

$28,852.05

Across 6 holdings

Unrealized gain/loss

+$2,452.05

+9.29% return

Portfolio value trend

SymbolNameQtyAvg CostCurrentMarket ValueP&LDate
VTITotal Market Index42$198.40$221.15$9,288.30+$955.50Mar 12, 2024
QQQMNasdaq 100 Index30$152.10$178.42$5,352.60+$789.60Jun 03, 2024
SCHDDividend Equity Index55$76.40$82.15$4,518.25+$316.25Aug 19, 2024
VXUSIntl Equity Index60$58.20$61.05$3,663.00+$171.00Oct 07, 2024
SCHGLarge-Cap Growth Index25$88.60$104.30$2,607.50+$392.50Jan 15, 2025
BNDTotal Bond Index48$74.90$71.30$3,422.40-$172.80Feb 22, 2025

Import

Bring Your Statements. Skip the Bank Login.

Import CSV, OFX, or QFX files on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, plus TSV and QIF on Mac. Map CSV columns once and save the template. Your bank credentials never leave your bank.

SelfCapsule Finance · Import

Import transactions

Bring in a CSV from any bank. We map the columns for you.

Upload
2
Map Columns
3
Preview
4
Done

Match your file to the ledger

txn_dateDateauto
memoPayee / Descriptionauto
spend_catCategoryauto
chk_acctAccountselect
dr_crTypeselect
BackContinue

Switching

Moving From Monarch to SelfCapsule

Monarch exports transactions as CSV and SelfCapsule imports CSV, so your history can come with you.

  1. 1

    Download your transactions from Monarch.

    On the Monarch website, open Settings, then Data, and choose Download Transactions. Monarch downloads every account's transactions in CSV format.

  2. 2

    Install SelfCapsule and create matching accounts.

    Download the Mac app, or get the iPhone and iPad app from the App Store.

  3. 3

    Import the CSV.

    Map the columns once and save the mapping as a template. From then on, download statements from your bank as OFX, QFX, or CSV.

  4. 4

    Set your budget method.

    Set a monthly amount for each category. On Mac you can also choose zero-based, envelope, 50/30/20, or category limits as your method in Settings.

FAQ

Questions Worth a Direct Answer

Is there a Monarch alternative that does not connect to my bank?

Yes. SelfCapsule never asks for a bank login. You download statements from your bank and import them, and the data stays on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. Monarch connects to your accounts through data providers.

How does Monarch connect to my bank?

Monarch's help center says it works with three data providers, Plaid, Finicity, and MX, which connect to your bank and pass your account data to Monarch. Its security page says Monarch does not see or store your bank login credentials. SelfCapsule has no bank connection of any kind.

How much does Monarch cost?

Monarch's pricing page lists Core at $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and Plus at $199.99 a year, each after a 7-day free trial. SelfCapsule's free tier does not expire, and Pro is a one-time $29.

Does Monarch's AI send my data to other companies?

Monarch's security page says it uses outside LLM providers under enterprise agreements that do not allow them to store your data or train on it, and that it sends only the data a task needs. SelfCapsule's AI runs on your device: Ollama on Mac, and Apple's on-device model on iPhone and iPad with iOS 26 and Apple Intelligence. On other devices the assistant is unavailable and categorization uses your own rules.

Can I import my Monarch history into SelfCapsule?

Yes. On the Monarch website, go to Settings, then Data, and download your transactions as a CSV. Import that file into SelfCapsule and map the columns once.

Does SelfCapsule track investments like Monarch?

SelfCapsule Pro tracks investment and crypto accounts with cost basis. Monarch tracks holdings across your linked accounts, and adds home values from Zillow and long-term planning tools.

Sources, Checked October 2026

We read each Monarch page below on 13 October 2026. Monarch can change its prices and features at any time, so check its own pages before you decide. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

Monarch

SelfCapsule

Your finances. Contained.

A free tier covers core budgeting. Upgrade once if you want the full toolkit. Compare SelfCapsule with other apps.

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