FlashFi vs Lunch Money: Investing-First or Budgeting-First?
Disclosure: FlashFi is a competitor to the products mentioned.
Disclosure: FlashFi is a competitor to Lunch Money. This is our honest assessment based on publicly available information.
TL;DR¶
Choose Lunch Money if your main need is budgeting, expense tracking, and transaction categorization across multiple currencies. It is one of the best indie budgeting apps available.
Choose FlashFi if your main need is tracking an investment portfolio — stocks, ETFs, crypto, and cash — across multiple currencies, with net worth calculations and portfolio analytics.
These tools have different primary purposes. There is a genuine case for using both.
Quick Comparison¶
| Feature | FlashFi | Lunch Money |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Investment tracking | Budgeting & expenses |
| Starting price | $12/mo ($144/yr) | $40-60/yr (pay-what-you-want) |
| Premium price | $39/mo ($468/yr) | Same tier for all users |
| Free trial | No free tier | 14-day free trial |
| Multi-currency | Yes (real-time FX) | Yes (160+ currencies, historic rates) |
| Stocks & ETFs | Yes (detailed tracking) | Balance only (via Plaid) |
| Crypto | Yes (live prices) | Yes (exchange connections) |
| Budgeting | No | Yes (full budgeting system) |
| Transaction categorization | No | Yes (with rules engine) |
| Bank syncing | No (manual entry) | Yes (Plaid — US, CA, EU) |
| Cash accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Debt tracking | Yes | Yes (balance syncing) |
| Net worth | Yes (detailed breakdown) | Yes (basic tracking) |
| Portfolio analytics | Yes (allocation, performance) | No |
| Mobile app | Web (mobile-first) | iOS + Android companion apps |
| API | No | Yes (developer API) |
| Built by | Indie | Indie (Jen Yip) |
Pricing Breakdown¶
Lunch Money uses a pay-what-you-want model for annual plans. You choose what to pay, starting at $40/year (increasing to $60/year minimum from March 2026). Monthly billing is also available. Every user gets the same features regardless of what they pay — there is no tiered feature gating. A 14-day free trial is included.
FlashFi has two tiers:
- Operator — $12/month ($144/year). Full investment tracking, personal finance, multi-currency support.
- Apex — $39/month ($468/year). Everything in Operator plus advanced analytics and portfolio insights.
Lunch Money is meaningfully cheaper. At $40-60/year versus $144/year, you are paying roughly 2-3x more for FlashFi’s Operator plan. But the comparison is not quite apples-to-apples because these tools do different things. If you need what FlashFi does (investment portfolio tracking), Lunch Money is not a substitute regardless of price.
Budgeting and Expense Tracking¶
This is Lunch Money’s core strength, and it is genuinely good at it.
Lunch Money gives you a full budgeting system: set monthly budgets by category, track spending against them, handle rollovers, and visualize trends. Its rules engine automatically categorizes transactions based on patterns you define. The calendar view shows spending by day. Recurring transaction detection flags subscriptions and regular bills. The stats and trends feature lets you analyze spending with custom queries — filter by merchant, category, date range, account, or tag.
FlashFi does not have budgeting or expense tracking. It tracks cash account balances, savings goals, and debt — but it does not categorize transactions or help you budget.
Investment Portfolio Tracking¶
This is where FlashFi lives and Lunch Money does not try to compete.
FlashFi tracks individual holdings across stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and crypto with real-time pricing via Tiingo. You see each position’s current value, cost basis, gain/loss, and weight in your portfolio. Allocation charts break down your portfolio by ticker, asset type, and sector. Performance charts show your portfolio’s trajectory over time.
Lunch Money can show investment account balances synced via Plaid — you see the total value of your brokerage account. But it does not break holdings down by individual stock or ETF, does not track cost basis, and does not provide portfolio analytics. Investment tracking in Lunch Money is essentially “here is how much is in your Fidelity account.”
Multi-Currency Support¶
Both tools handle multi-currency well, which is rare. Most personal finance apps treat multi-currency as an afterthought.
Lunch Money supports 160+ currencies and stores historical exchange rates for each transaction. When you spend in a foreign currency, the transaction is recorded at the actual rate for that day. Your primary currency aggregates everything for budgeting views.
FlashFi uses real-time forex rates via Tiingo and converts all holdings and accounts to your chosen home currency. You can change your home currency at any time and see everything re-denominated instantly.
Lunch Money’s historical rate tracking is better for expense accuracy. FlashFi’s real-time conversion is better for portfolio valuation.
Bank Syncing and Data Entry¶
Lunch Money connects to banks via Plaid, with automatic transaction and balance syncing. Coverage includes the US, Canada, and numerous European countries. You can also import CSV and PDF statements, and the developer API lets you push transactions from virtually any source.
FlashFi uses manual entry. You add holdings, account balances, and debts by hand. Prices for publicly traded assets update automatically, but everything else is manual. This is a clear win for Lunch Money on convenience — though FlashFi’s manual approach means no third-party credential sharing.
The Indie Factor¶
Both are indie products built for users, not growth metrics. Lunch Money was built by Jen Yip as a solo developer — no investors, no board, 100% customer-funded. FlashFi is similarly indie-built. Neither app will bury you in upsells or sell your data. If you value supporting indie software, either choice is a good one.
Where Lunch Money Wins¶
- Budgeting — Full budgeting system with categories, rollovers, rules engine, and spending analysis.
- Bank syncing — Automatic transaction import from banks in the US, Canada, and Europe via Plaid.
- Price — Starting at $40-60/year compared to FlashFi’s $144/year.
- Mobile apps — Native iOS and Android companion apps alongside the web interface.
- Developer API — Public API for custom integrations and importing from any source.
Where FlashFi Wins¶
- Investment tracking — Individual holding tracking with cost basis, gain/loss, allocation charts, and performance history.
- Portfolio analytics — Breakdown by ticker, asset type, and sector. Performance charts over multiple timeframes.
- Net worth depth — Combines investments, cash, savings, and debt across currencies into one calculation.
- Real-time market data — Live pricing for stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and crypto via Tiingo.
Who Should Choose Lunch Money¶
Lunch Money is the right choice if you:
- Need a budgeting app first — tracking spending, categorizing transactions, setting budgets
- Want automatic bank syncing to reduce manual data entry
- Live across multiple countries and need multi-currency expense tracking with historical rates
- Prefer a lower price point ($40-60/year)
Who Should Choose FlashFi¶
FlashFi is the right choice if you:
- Need to track an investment portfolio across stocks, ETFs, crypto, and mutual funds with real-time pricing
- Want portfolio analytics — allocation breakdowns, performance charts, cost basis tracking
- Manage money across multiple currencies and want a single net worth number
- Need investment tracking and personal finance (cash, savings, debt) in one app
By David Brougham