About Gnarli Budget

Gnarli Budget is built by one person. I am an independent developer with no investors, no board, and no plan to sell the project to a larger company. I built the budgeting tool I wanted to use, and I am turning it into a small company that can support itself — and stay small.

Why I built this

I wanted to know where my money was actually going, and I wanted a plan that stretched years ahead, not just to the next paycheck. The tools I tried either automated everything behind my back or stopped at this month's spending.

The short version of the story is in The Story Behind Gnarli Budget.

What I believe

Monitoring your financial activity plus proactive planning leads to financial freedom. And financial freedom is really time freedom: money set aside and a plan you trust buy back the hours you would otherwise spend worrying.

Privacy is the leading principle

Gnarli Budget does not connect to third-party bank aggregators. You import your transactions yourself, as CSV files you control. Your data lives in your account, and built-in export and deletion mean you can take it with you or erase it at any time.

Who this is for

Gnarli Budget works well for people who want control over their automation: you decide what the software does, it does the calculations. It fits people who forecast ahead of their money, and those planning toward financial independence.

Who this isn't for

It is not for everyone. If you want your accounts connected and categorized for you automatically, or a household dashboard that ingests everything, other apps do that better — the comparison page points you at them honestly.

A small company, never for sale

The plan is to build a small company and never sell it. The pricing is part of that promise: free forever for up to 2 accounts, unlimited accounts for $2/month. Incentives point at you, not at an exit.

Where things stand: beta

Gnarli Budget is in beta, currently gated by a waitlist. Expect rough edges and changes; what you can count on is that your data stays yours and the fundamentals keep working.