Use Budget Buddy on your own computer
If you'd rather not use a website at all, you can install Budget Buddy as an app on your own computer. It works the same way, but everything runs locally — your bank statements are read on your machine and the information stays there.
Download
Windows (64-bit)
Windows 10 and 11
Mac (Apple silicon)
M1, M2, M3 and newer
Mac (Intel)
Macs made before around 2020
The download is around 130 MB, because it includes everything the app needs to run without the internet.
How to install it
- Download the file for your computer and unzip it.
- On Windows, open the folder and double-click Thrive Budget Buddy.exe. On a Mac, drag Thrive Budget Buddy into your Applications folder, then open it.
- On Windows, your computer may warn you that the app is from an unidentified developer. Choose More info → Run anyway.
- Upload your statements the same way you would on the website.
Mac: "Thrive Budget Buddy is damaged and can't be opened"
The app isn't damaged. Because it hasn't been through Apple's paid signing process, macOS tags anything downloaded from the internet and blocks it. You can clear that tag in about thirty seconds. Please choose Cancel, not Move to Trash.
- Drag Thrive Budget Buddy into your Applications folder.
- Open Terminal (press Command + Space, type "Terminal", press Enter).
- Copy and paste this line in, then press Enter:
xattr -cr "/Applications/Thrive Budget Buddy.app" - If it asks for your Mac password, type it and press Enter — nothing will appear on screen as you type, which is normal.
- Open the app from Applications. It will open normally from now on.
If you'd rather not use Terminal, the browser version does exactly the same thing and still reads your statements on your own device.
What stays on your computer
- Your statement files are opened and read by the app itself. They are never sent anywhere.
- The categories, budgets and cashflow figures you build are saved on your computer.
- Signing in is optional. If you don't sign in, the app doesn't send anything out at all. If you'd like to see the same figures on another device, you can choose to sign in and sync — that's your call, and you can keep working without it.
- You can clear your information at any time from inside the app, or by deleting the app folder.
Prefer to stay in your browser?
That's fine too. The website reads your statements in your browser on your own device, so the file itself is never uploaded to us either way. The desktop app simply removes the browser from the picture for people who'd feel more comfortable that way.