Borderless Budget vs PocketSmith: Multi-Currency Budgeting Compared

This is one area where PocketSmith and Borderless Budget are on similar footing. Both apps offer native multi-currency support. You can track accounts in different currencies, see balances in their original currencies, and get a converted total view when you need one.

PocketSmith lets you track accounts, assets, and liabilities from different countries with automatic currency conversion based on daily rates.¹ It is one of the pioneers of multi-currency budgeting and has supported it for years. The New Zealand-based company understands international users because they have always had to think beyond a single currency.

Borderless Budget takes a similar approach to multi-currency but adds one feature PocketSmith does not: currency impact visibility. We show you how exchange rate changes affect your budget over time, so you can see whether your grocery spending went up because you bought more groceries or because the exchange rate shifted.

Pricing is where these two apps diverge significantly. PocketSmith uses a three-tier structure:²

• Foundation: $9.99/month, basic budgeting, limited bank connections
• Flourish: $16.66/month, more bank feeds, longer forecasting horizon
• Fortune: $26.66/month, unlimited bank feeds, longest forecasting, all features

To get the full PocketSmith experience with unlimited bank connections and the longest forecasting window, you are looking at $26.66/month, or about $320 per year.

Borderless Budget's Pro plan at $15/month (or $149/year) includes all features: up to 10 connected accounts, AI categorization, AI budget generation, household sharing, and full multi-currency support. That is $149 per year with annual billing, still well under half the cost of PocketSmith's top tier.

Even at the entry level, the comparison is close: $10/month or $99/year (Plus) versus $9.99/month (Foundation), but Borderless Budget includes AI features at that price. PocketSmith does offer a free plan for manual entry, but bank connections require the $9.99/month Foundation plan or above. Borderless Budget offers a 30-day free trial so you can test everything before committing.

PocketSmith does not use AI. Transaction categorization is manual, with a rule-based system where you can create auto-categorization rules. Set up a rule that says “transactions from Mercadona go to Groceries,” and PocketSmith will follow it going forward. This works well once you have all your rules configured, but the initial setup takes time, especially if you have transactions from merchants across multiple countries.³

Borderless Budget uses automatic categorization that works out of the box. Connect your bank account, and the AI categorizes your transactions immediately. It understands that “Mercadona” is a grocery store even if you have never created a rule for it. When the AI gets something wrong, your corrections train it to be more accurate over time.

On top of categorization, Borderless Budget generates budget suggestions. Based on your actual spending patterns across currencies, the AI recommends budget amounts for each category. This is something no other budgeting app offers for multi-currency users.

This is PocketSmith's strongest feature and one area where it clearly leads. PocketSmith's calendar-based forecasting lets you project your finances months or even years into the future. You can add scheduled bills, upcoming income, and one-time expenses to see exactly where your bank balance will be on any given date.⁴

For expats planning a move, estimating the cost of a sabbatical, or figuring out whether their runway lasts through the end of the year, this kind of forecasting is genuinely valuable.

Borderless Budget focuses more on the present: what did you spend, what should you budget, and how are exchange rates affecting your numbers. We have basic projections on our roadmap, but PocketSmith's forecasting tools are more sophisticated and will likely remain ahead in this area for some time.

If long-range financial forecasting is the most important feature to you, PocketSmith is likely the better choice. If day-to-day budgeting with AI assistance is your priority, Borderless Budget is the stronger fit.

PocketSmith connects to over 14,000 institutions across the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, with EU coverage through Yodlee.⁵ As a New Zealand company, their coverage in the ANZ region is particularly strong.

Borderless Budget uses secure bank connections to cover banks in the US, Canada, UK, and EU. Our European connections offer deeper coverage in European markets where other providers have limitations. If you have a European bank that PocketSmith struggles to connect to, Borderless Budget may have better luck.

Both apps support manual transaction entry and CSV imports for banks without automatic connections.

PocketSmith's interface is functional but somewhat dated. It is a power-user tool that prioritizes depth of features over visual simplicity. The learning curve is steeper than most budgeting apps, and some users find the navigation confusing at first.⁶

Borderless Budget is designed for clarity. We take a more opinionated approach to the interface: fewer options on each screen, clearer navigation, and AI that reduces the manual work of managing a multi-currency budget. The trade-off is that PocketSmith offers more customization and deeper analytical tools.

PocketSmith and Borderless Budget are two of the only budgeting apps with real multi-currency support. The choice comes down to priorities:

Choose PocketSmith if forecasting is your killer feature, if you need the deepest possible analytical tools, or if you are based in New Zealand or Australia where PocketSmith has the strongest bank connections.

Choose Borderless Budget if you want multi-currency budgeting at a lower price point, if automatic categorization and budget generation appeal to you, if you need stronger European bank connections, or if you want a cleaner, more modern interface.

At $15/month ($149/year with annual billing) versus $26.66/month for full features, the price difference adds up to over $170 per year. That alone makes it worth trying Borderless Budget's 30-day free trial to see if it meets your needs before committing to PocketSmith's higher price.