Most budgeting apps that fill themselves in do it by connecting to your bank. You sign in through a data aggregator such as Plaid, and the aggregator passes your transactions to the app. That only works where the aggregator supports your bank, and it gives a third party ongoing access to your account.
The Smart Budget takes a different route. It never asks for a bank login. It reads what your bank already sends to your iPhone.
In short
- No bank login, no aggregator, no account to create.
- Bank texts and bank app notifications become clean, categorized transactions.
- A statement you download from your bank fills in months of history (iOS 27).
- Your transactions never reach ZaatarLABS.
Where the transactions come from
- Bank texts. A Shortcuts automation hands each incoming text to the app. Texts that aren't bank alerts are dropped; bank alerts become transactions with the merchant, amount, currency and date. Set up bank texts.
- Bank app notifications (iOS 27). If your bank alerts you through its app instead of by text, a notification automation does the same for the bank apps you choose.
- Statements (iOS 27). Import a PDF, CSV or OFX statement to fill in past months. Rows already in the app are skipped. Import a statement.
- Everything else. Add a purchase by hand in seconds, snap a receipt, share a screenshot, ask Siri or tap the Quick Log widget.
What happens to your data
- Your transactions are stored in the app on your iPhone. If you turn on iCloud sync, they sync through your own iCloud account.
- Your transactions, amounts, merchants and accounts never reach ZaatarLABS.
- Reading alerts, cleaning up merchant names, choosing categories and answering the Money Advisor use Apple Intelligence, on your iPhone or in Apple's Private Cloud Compute. Statement import always uses Private Cloud Compute.
- You can switch Apple Intelligence off in the app (Settings → Apple Intelligence). Built-in rules then take over, and features that need Apple Intelligence, such as statement import, are unavailable.
The app can also share limited usage information in fixed categories, never amounts, merchants, accounts or anything you type. You can turn it off in Settings → Privacy. The privacy policy has the details.
What you trade for it
- The app sees what your bank sends you. It doesn't pull balances or transactions from your bank.
- You do the setup once. Apple doesn't let apps create automations on their own, so you install a shortcut and switch its automation on. On iOS 27 that takes seconds.
- No alerts, no automatic capture. If your bank sends no texts or notifications, import statements (iOS 27) or add purchases by hand.
- Notification previews must stay on for your bank's app, or there is nothing to read.
Try it
The Smart Budget is free on the App Store for iPhone with iOS 26.4 or later. iOS 27 adds one-tap capture setup, bank notifications, statement import and the Money Advisor.
Download The Smart Budget on the App Store or explore The Smart Budget.
Questions
Can a budget app work without connecting to my bank?
Yes. The Smart Budget never asks for a bank login. It turns the transaction texts and notifications your bank already sends you into transactions, and it can import statements you download from your bank.
Does The Smart Budget use Plaid?
No. It uses no aggregator and has no access to your bank account.
Will it work with my bank?
If your bank sends transaction alerts to your iPhone by text, or by app notification on iOS 27, the app can capture them. Statement import reads PDF statements downloaded from your bank (not scans), CSV files and OFX or QFX files.
Is it free?
Free includes unlimited logging and every way to capture, with the last 45 days of history visible. Pro, from $2.99 a month, adds your full history, every report and the Money Advisor.