Compared
Orla vs Lunch Money
The closest comparison here. Both independent, both outside America; the split is what a coin is: a balance, or a transaction.
Checked 13 September 2026 against Lunch Money's own pricing and documentation.
Side by side
What each one is, and what it costs
Their words are quoted, not paraphrased.
| Orla | Lunch Money | |
|---|---|---|
| What it isIn one sentence | One book for banks, exchanges and wallets, tax included | An independent budgeting app with a rules engine, a public API and a community around it |
| PriceTheir pricing page, this month | Free forever, no card; Starter $25 or Pro $69 a month | $10 a month or $100 a year, with “set your own price” yearly, a 30 day trial and a price locked for life |
| BanksWhere the sync reaches | Open banking in Europe, the UK and the US | Through Plaid: “most US and Canadian-based banks, as well as a number of EU-based banks” |
| CryptoThe line that decides this one | Trades, transfers and stablecoin income arrive as transactions, with a cost basis kept through swaps | “Crypto wallet transactions are not currently supported. You may only track the balance of crypto assets at this time.” Balances sync from Coinbase, Ethereum and Kraken |
| Getting paidInvoices and pay links | Invoices, pay links, reminders, cards | None; it is not what Lunch Money is for |
| TaxWhat January looks like | Capital gains by lot, VAT returns, accountant exports | Not a tax product |
| SharingMore than one person | Spaces with roles, each with its own books | One budget, with an offer for organisations alongside it |
Fair is fair
When Lunch Money is the right choice
This is the one we would recommend against ourselves most often.
- Price matters most: theirs is the lowest here, you set it yourself on the yearly plan, and it is locked for life.
- Your crypto is a balance you check now and then, not money that moves and has to be taxed.
- You want an API and a rules engine to build your own reporting on, and they have had both for years.
Where Orla is different
When a coin is money, not a number
If any of these is your money, the comparison decides itself.
- Paid in stablecoins, that income belongs in the budget and the tax report, not in a balance.
- You sell on an exchange and need the gain worked out by lot, not remembered.
- You invoice clients, and want the invoice to chase itself and mark itself paid.
Questions
The questions the table does not answer
Does Lunch Money support crypto?
Balances only. Their documentation says it plainly: “Crypto wallet transactions are not currently supported. You may only track the balance of crypto assets at this time.” Balances sync from Coinbase, Ethereum and Kraken, and over 300 coins can be tracked by hand. In Orla a trade or a transfer is a transaction, with a cost basis carried through it.
Is Lunch Money cheaper than Orla?
On the paid plans, yes: $10 a month or $100 a year, which you can set yourself on the annual plan, against $25 a month for our lowest paid tier. Orla has a free plan with no time limit, and their trial runs 30 days, so the honest comparison depends on whether live bank sync is something you need at all.
Where do the two overlap most?
In spirit. Both are independent, both work outside America, both would rather explain a limitation than hide it. If your crypto is a balance you glance at and you do not send invoices, they are the cheaper answer and we would say so.
Other comparisons
Run both for a month and see which one your coins fit
Their trial is 30 days; our free plan has no clock on it at all.
Or compare against YNAB →- Orla vs T:0 →
- T:0 keeps GAAP books with a CPA; Orla runs everything before the accountant, and speaks crypto.
- Orla vs Dimely →
- Dimely turns a contract into an invoice inside your ERP; Orla takes it all the way to the money.
- Orla vs Fuelfinance →
- Fuelfinance is FP&A over QuickBooks; Orla is the book itself, for a company with no bookkeeper.
- Orla vs Light →
- Light is an agentic ERP for groups of companies; Orla is one company's back office, started this afternoon.
- Orla vs Neno →
- Neno is a Dutch accounting firm that holds money and files; Orla holds neither and hands the month to your accountant.
- Moving off Midday →
- Midday is winding down; Orla reads its whole export, categories and receipts included.
- Orla vs YNAB →
- Both budget your money. YNAB sees your banks; Orla sees banks, exchanges and wallets in one book.
- Orla vs Monarch →
- Monarch budgets American and Canadian banks well; Orla adds exchanges and wallets to the same money.
- Orla vs Copilot Money →
- Copilot tracks American money in dollars; Orla holds several currencies and puts coins in the budget.
- Orla vs Splitwise →
- Splitwise keeps score of who owes whom; Orla keeps the book those debts belong to.
- Orla vs CoinTracker →
- One counts last year's crypto for the tax office; the other runs your money all year.
- YNAB alternatives →
- Five options with the price and the catch on each.
- Splitwise alternatives →
- Two free like-for-like options, one different idea, and when moving a group is not worth it.
See it on your own books
Thirty minutes: we connect an account, drop a real bill in, and close a month together.