Quicken Mac is being overhauled into Quicken Financial Life for Mac with a proposed release date later in 2008, and it is not the only personal finance software out there for your Mac. You will find a good selection of financial software alternatives out there for Mac OS computing, including some free software choices.
1. Fortora Fresh Finance
Fortora Fresh Finance Budget
Fortora LLC
Screen shot by Shelley Elmblad
Personal finance data in Fortora Fresh Finance can be shared among multiple users on one computer or over a network and data works with both the Mac and Windows versions of Fortora Fresh Finance. Each registered copy of Fortora Fresh Finance can be used on up to 3 computers, tech support is free and very responsive and Fortora plans to support multiple versions of the software as it is developed.
$44.99, free trial, free upgrade to Fortora Fresh Finance version 2, scheduled to release in 2009.
2. Moneydance
Moneydance Home Page
Screen shot by Shelley Elmblad
Moneydance is well-supported, often updated personal finance software that runs on Mac desktops as well as Windows, Linux, Solaris, OS/2, and Unix. Moneydance has most, if not all, of the features you would use in Money or Quicken while the interface is less cluttered.
$39.99, free trial, special upgrade pricing.
3. iBank
iBank Cover - IGG Software
www.IGGSoftware.com
iBank has the authentic look and feel of real Mac software instead of behaving like a Windows application that has been modified for use on a Mac.
$59.99, free trial, special upgrade pricing.
4. SplashMoney for Mac
SplashMoney started out as a Palm PDA application, then added desktop companion software which turned out to be pretty decent. Now you can get SplashMoney for your Mac desktop (Palm, Pocket PC or Smartphone software is optional). SplashMoney has good feature set, secure blowfish encryption and is easy to get around in and to use.$19.95, free trial.
5. You Need a Budget
Jesse Mecham - You Need A Budget
YNAB is a spreadsheet template used with Microsoft Excel for Mac, OpenOffice Calc for Mac or NeoOffice. While using You Need A Budget is quite simple, this is not just a list of income and expense items that tally up and tell you if you are in the red or in the black. Use YNAB and you will likely be able to pay all your bills and save some money every month.
$19.99, money back guarantee.
6. Budget by Snowmint Creative Solutions LLC
Snowmint Creative Solutions LLC
If you are into budgeting, check out how Budget by Snowmint handles envelope budgeting. Budget has an active support forum and upgrades are free, so you only pay for Budget once.
$29.95 to download, $37.95 + S&H for software CD, free trial.
7. MoneyWell
No Thirst Software
MoneyWell's spending categories look like buckets. As income is recorded, it distributes among the buckets according depending on how much has been budgeted for each category. When expenses are recorded, the buckets start to empty and tipping a bucket over means you spent more money than you allocated for that expense.
$39.99, free trial.
8. GnuCash
GnuCash has small business features, but also functions well as personal finance software for Mac and other operating systems. GnuCash has been translated into 21 languages and handles multiple currency exchanges.9. Liquid Ledger
Features include infinite undo and redo support, support for AppleScript automation and date range filters.$59.99 to download, $79.99 for download + software CD, free trial.
10. Cha-Ching
Cha-Ching Version 1.2.3 has been re-built from the ground up with the goal being to make it easy to manage very basic personal finances: bank and credit card accounts and budgets.Cha-Ching features include:
- Bonjour sharing
- Data backup
- Leopard graphical enhancements
- Smart folder support with expanded rules
- Improved data filter range
Cha-Ching costs $40, free trial demo. Requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later, Leopard Ready/Universal Binary.
