Today I’m writing with some big news: this fall we are switching to a new pricing model. This new model will coincide with the release of Banktivity 8 for Mac, iPhone and iPad. We call this new model a “subscription that doesn’t suck” because, while you will be asked to pay annually, if you choose to cancel: the app continues to work and provide value, and we never hold your data hostage. For the rest of this blog post I dive into why we are changing pricing models, and I cover some of the details of our new subscription.
One important note before I dive into the details: over the coming weeks I plan to release a couple more blog posts covering the new features coming to Banktivity 8 for macOS, iOS and iPadOS. It’s been a long road to get here, and I’m excited to finally be sharing what we’ve been working so diligently on!
Why change pricing models?
There are two main reasons for switching to our subscription model. First, we want to work on things that make you, our customer, happy. Second, a lot has changed since we first started offering connected services. What used to be cheap, or even free, has now become quite costly.
Happy customers
We hear a lot from our customers, and that’s great. We hear that you want enhancements to existing features to make the application easier to use, faster releases of bug fixes, new features and OS compatibility updates, and you want all of our applications to work together. We want all of those too and our new subscription model helps us get there.
More updates, more frequently
Going years between big releases isn’t really good for customers or us. We want to release features as they are ready, not accumulate a bunch so that we can then declare a big new release and charge for it. With subscription we can just release features as they are implemented – this is a win for everyone.
One purchase, all of our apps
If you go out and buy all of our apps today, you will be faced with two required purchases (Mac and iPad), one free download (iPhone), and one optional subscription for Direct Access — which works across all devices. In addition to this being confusing, it never feels good to have to buy so much to go “all in” on personal finance software. We want customers to manage their finances at their convenience and we’ve developed three great apps (Banktivity for Mac, iPhone and iPad) to help them do that. But it’s confusing to have to buy two different apps and one subscription and understand how it all works. With our subscription you pay and get access to (and support for) all of our apps, including all upgrades with new features, enhancements, and fixes.
Online services
Back in the old days, there were many online services that were free and we were able to piggy back on these. For example, Yahoo’s stock quote service used to be free, disk space was often free and so on. But times have changed. Yahoo doesn’t even have a stock quote API for developers anymore. Really, across the board there has been an increasing monetization of data. Additionally, services which we’ve maintained for years, like our cloud sync server, are more expensive to operate now because of increased security threats. When it comes to managing financial data, you don’t want a company that has a “set and forget” mentality. We take security and privacy seriously, even if it demands more resources from us. By switching to our subscription model we can ensure that our customers are paying for — and receiving — active support and security for our online services.
What happens if I cancel?
IMPORTANT UPDATE as of October 16, 2024: Please read this article about how are subscription has changed with the introduction of monthly pricing.
We understand that some customers might wince at the sound of subscriptions. We get that! Many companies today take a very unpalatable stance on data access. For example, if you subscribe to Adobe’s Creative Suite and you stop paying their subscription, you can’t even open your existing Photoshop files. Hitting closer to home, if you subscribe to YNAB, but decide to not pay your subscription, you can’t access your budget or data. We think this is an odious practice: they are effectively holding your data hostage – ransom payment required!
Our approach is fundamentally different than many of the subscriptions out there. With our subscription, we don’t hold your data hostage. If you decide to cancel (hey we get it, it happens, no hard feelings!) you can continue to use Banktivity in basic mode. That is you can still add accounts and transactions, manage your budget, create and edit reports and so on. Other premium features, mostly the ones that connect to our online services, will stop working. This means with a cancelled/expired subscription, Direct Access, stock quote download and such will stop working. Similarly, our technical support will only be available to people with active subscriptions. However, our online support articles will remain available to everyone.
Common Questions
How much does it cost?
Our customers span a broad range when it comes to where they are on their financial journey. Some of our younger customers have only recently gotten to the point in their lives where they have finances to track at all, and may just be beginning to build an emergency fund — while some customers are managing millions of dollars across a diverse array of accounts and currencies. Given our customers’ diversity, we knew a one-size-fits-all pricing wouldn’t work for our subscription.
We will be offering three different pricing tiers to better accommodate our customers’ needs.
Our lowest priced tier is called Bronze and will cost $49.99 USD a year (that’s a little more than $4 a month). It includes everything you need to get started with managing your finances including Direct Access connectivity, cloud sync, budgeting and more.
The next tier up is Silver and includes everything in Bronze plus support for tracking investments, mortgages and loans, real estate and more. Silver also includes support for downloading stock quotes and home prices (US homes only). Our Silver tier is $69.99 USD a year (or less than $6 a month).
Gold is our premium tier. It includes everything in Bronze and Silver plus support for setting up and tracking accounts in different currencies and check printing. The gold tier also allows you to download currency exchange rates. The gold tier is $99.99 USD a year (or a little over $8 a month).
Compared to what some of our competitors offer, we think our new subscription is a great value.
Is there a free trial?
Yes! You can try the new Banktivity 8 apps for free for 30 days. After 30 days, your credit card will be billed based on the selected tier (bronze, silver or gold). During your trial you can switch tiers as much as you’d like to help you decide which is the right feature set for your financial tracking needs.
What happens if I’m a paying Direct Access subscriber and I want to move to Banktivity 8?
We allow customers to convert their remaining Direct Access time to the new system. This way our customers that want to move to our new subscription don’t have to leave unused time on our old system.
Can I subscribe through Apple’s App Store?
Yes, you will be able to subscribe through Apple’s ecosystem or buy from us. If you download Banktivity for Mac from our website, then the purchase will be through us. If you sign up through one of our apps downloaded from the App Store, then you’ll be signing up through Apple. You will still get the same great support no matter which channel you choose!
What if I want to stay on Banktivity 6 or Banktivity 7?
You can continue to stay on your current version of Banktivity if it is working for you. Nothing about them is changing now, but they will no longer be developed and support will eventually be phased out.
Will Banktivity 8 work offline?
Yes. While an internet connection is required to purchase and use some of our online services, all non-Internet based features fully work, even if you are offline.
Conclusions
We didn’t arrive at these changes overnight. For years we’ve been thinking about ways to deliver more updates to customers in less time. Further, we need a better way to pay for the online services our customers expect us to develop and maintain, in a world where those services incur continuous ongoing costs. Last, we wanted to do all of this while still offering a tremendous value to customers with the right spirit.
If you are a current Direct Access subscriber we think switching to subscription with Banktivity 8 makes a lot of sense. For as little as $5 more a year you get all three Banktivity apps, the new features coming to Banktivity 8, and access to future features as we continue to improve and enhance Banktivity across Mac, iPhone and iPad.
We love our customers, without you, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Further, we want to be around for many more years to come. So, please accept a heartfelt THANK YOU for your support over the years and we look forward to building the best finance apps for you and your family for many years to come.
I’m looking forward to talking about some of the user-facing features coming in Banktivity 8 for Mac, iPhone and iPad in the coming weeks!
Sincerely,
Ian Gillespie, President
- Banktivity 9.5 and Monthly Subscriptions - October 18, 2024
- Coming soon: Banktivity 9.5 - July 19, 2024
- Continuing Investments in Direct Access - February 26, 2024
Well I am trying the Gold level
and I can say that currencies updates do not work, unless it is to work once a day ( as for foreign stock exchanges )
also save every minutes does not seem to work as the “red dot” at the top left (Apple’s) always has a black middle as when it is not saved, if I manually save then the black middle disappears and remains disappeared, until I do a change, so if it was saving every minutes as set in my preferences, if I do nothing the “edited” note shoudl also disappear as it would be saved, basically I do not believe this works, it did at the begining of version 7 then it stopped,
I use multiple currencies (I have 2 UK accounts and the rest US). I don’t need the real time exchange rates update, I am OK leaving the two currencies separate. Of course I cannot download transactions automatically in the UK ones anymore anyway,
Will the basic tier permit use of multiple currencies in this manner, or will I need to go to Gold?
I dislike the subscription model – I have too many already – but everyone today thinks it is the best way to go for revenue perpetuation. I would only consider using the basic level, and even then I may have to look elsewhere, which is a shame as I have used since V4.
Agreed, I simply need the ability to support UK pounds and Swiss CHF symbols. I don’t need fancy spot rate download, etc. I’m not going to pay extra for that, surely?
I would recommend subscribing to Gold. Then if you don’t need any connected just don’t renew, if you need different connected services, downgrade to the appropriate tier.
Looking back through my records I see I paid $30 in 2016 and $35 in 2018. To keep the same level of service and functionality going forward I will have to pay at least $69.99 a year. That equates to an annual increase of ~300%. Wow! I’m not sure I’ll get that amount of increased value…
If you don’t use any of our connected features, you can subscribe once and then just not renew and you’ll keep getting updates.
Does that include Cloud Sync?
Stocks and Direct Access don’t work in my country and I can live with manual updating of currencies. But I can’t live without Cloud Sync.
I do have a portfolio and I do have a mortgage and I do download stock prices daily to know the value of my portfolio so that means I have to have minimally the silver level subscription to do what I do now, even though I don’t use Banktivity on the iPhone or an iPad nor do I use direct access. I’m with Pete H. on this. That’s a HUGE price increase for no added benefit to me. (I have been using the program for 9 years, i.e. since 2011. I have taken every upgrade. My total cost over 9 years has been 124.96. That is cheap, averaging 13.88 per year. I can see your need for more income, but to go from 13.88 a year to 70 a year rather excessive. So the spin about a subscription that doesn’t suck is just not resonating with me. At least you state that the program will work offline (I’m frequently in places with no cell or internet coverage but still need my financial data available). I take it that the data remains stored locally on my own computer for that to be.
I think an important part of the equation is, do you need our connected services and do you need our tech support? If the answer is NO, you don’t even need to renew after you pay once.
Oh yes ? “A subscription that doesn’t suck” ? I guess that in the “end of truth” era espoused by the current [2017-2020] US administration, this false assertion should come as no surprise…
Clearly, IGG is not a charity and needs to be successful, but the company shouldn’t be surprised that its customers —who by definition are attentive to managing their money— are going to look at this proposition carefully. Bottom line? This new subscription actually really REALLY does suck. For three main reason:
-1- It is a **LOT** more expensive, even for the Bronze level. Do the maths: add how much you have paid since you bought the original S/W plus any updates you have purchased. Then multiply the Gold tier (*) by the time (in years) you have owned the software. YIKES!!! Furthermore, the fees will continue, yearly… [ (*) I suggest using the gold tier rate in this calculation because the current version [7] now does what the Gold tier does.]. Illustration using my case i.e. using multi currencies but no house prices, no direct access, & no shares updates: Purchased iBank 4 in November 2010, and upgraded to 5, 6 and 7 on release: so $60 + 3 x $30 = $150 for 10 years, or $15 A YEAR!!!! The proposed Gold tier at $100 a year would cost me $1,000 over the equivalent next ten year period, assuming no further subscription increases (and the survival of IGG). Even if the Bronze level is used, it would cost me 3.33 times MORE but for LESS functionality. THAT SUCKS!
-2- some of the features (home prices, Direct Access) are NOT available for users outside the US (fair enough: rules, regulations & data availability get in the way)… but must be paid for anyway. THAT SUCKS!
-3- the price plans are also too rigidly conceived: I’d like to be able to choose to what I want & can subscribe, at a price more in line with the yearly equivalent amount I have paid until now. Nobody likes paying for features that can’t be used: THAT SUCKS.
So, please consider the constructive suggestion of setting a lower base fee to which users can add the options (specifically exchange rates, house prices, stock quotes, and direct access) in any combination according to preference, to arrive at a price point more in line with the current one.
Thank you.
If you are in a region where our connected services don’t work (or you don’t use them for some other reason) and you don’t need tech support, you are a great candidate to buy once and not renew. You’ll keep getting updates free. How does that suck?
If the subject of what will now happen to syncing with version 7 has been covered, I cant find it. Will sync between version 7 Mac, iPhone, and iPad just stop at some point? If so, will the specific date be announced?
At some point in the future they will stop working and we will announce it via an in-message.
Ian, After reading all you wrote above, I’m still left wondering what happens when I buy the $100 ‘gold’ plan (I really only need basic plan, PLUS printing checks), then do not renew, CAN I STILL PRINT CHECKS?
Or is printing one of the features that stops working. i.e. “… Other premium features, mostly the ones that connect to our online services, will stop working….”
Thank you in advance for a quick reply,
Hi Bob, you are correct. If you buy the gold plan, but then do not renew, check printing will keep working.
Ian, Is check printing available in the bronze plan or just the gold?
Check printing is in the gold tier. But you could subscribe to gold once, then renew at bronze and you’ll keep your check printing capabilities.
I would be tempted if Direct Access was available in the UK. It was disabled a couple of years ago and was the most useful feature for me. Without it I will manage with Banktivity 7
Check back with us again: https://www.iggsoftware.com/blog/2020/08/services-roadmap
I haven’t done the math, but as some others have pointed out, this subscription model is quite a bit more costly. I’m so tied in to Banktivity 7 using it for managing all of my financial accounts, all domestic, and sometimes still writing checks, using Direct Access and Cloud syncing. The big question I have that I don’t see answered here is whether basic check printing is only possible in the Gold tier. If so, that’s ridiculous. I still have some accounts that don’t accept online payments and that I have to write a check for, and the additional fee between silver and gold just to write checks doesn’t seem reasonable at all. In addition, I have an open ticket for almost two months now on Direct Access that is totally messed up with my Bank of America credit card, and can’t get any resolution. Supposedly it’s the banks problem??!! So right now I’m paying the Direct Access fee for something that isn’t working and requires daily manual corrections to my ledger. Like others, I’ve used multiple systems and Banktivity is clearly superior to the others in most respects. But if you are going to a subscription model, it fair that your customers expect you to step up your game as well.
Just to be clear, you write checks on your paper and enter those in Banktivity. But the check printing capability is unlocked forever if you buy Gold once. You could then renew at a different tier and keep the check printing capability.
Ian, no, I write checks directly in Banktivity , print them on Intuit personalized checks mail them. The information is then uploaded to my bank. I haven’t hand written a check for ages.
There have been several users asking if Direct Access for UK users will return in the new version. None appear to have received an answer. Do I assume from your lack of a response that it will not?
Thank you.
We believe we have a path forward, but it’s going to take time: https://www.iggsoftware.com/blog/2020/08/services-roadmap/
Ian, is there a limit on the number of macs, iPads, and iPhones for installation of B8?
Tom
Hi, no limit with the new subscription.
I live in Europe and only use a handful of services, namely US stock quotes and the download of US bank and credit card account in US$. I do have multiple currency accounts which are not connected to the respective banks for automatic updating. I would like to continue to receive the quotes and my question is can I subscribe to the silver level and adjust exchange rates manually. Can I have currency accounts at this level?
I don’t use cloud sync, budgeting or direct access. I do not like this subscription model at all.
Will any of these subscriptions automatically link to my bank accounts? Currently I have to download the info. It looks like there is an extra payment if I want to link my accounts using my current version Banktivity 5
I currently use banktivity on one computer. But if I subscribe it sounds like I can use this system from within the cloud on any computer I am working on. Where does the data live then. On your servers? How do I trust how secure that data is….
Hi Andrew, all of the new tiers include “Direct Access” – which is our technology for automatically downloading transactions. You can read more about Direct Access security here: https://www.iggsoftware.com/support/articles/ibank-5/is-direct-access-secure/
But Direct Access doesn’t work for your European customers, but most of those will need your Gold tier for the currency support. So you’re effectively giving them either a worse product (Silver with no currency support) for more money or giving them the same (defective) product (again: no Direct Access) for an outrageous annual sum ($100). Explain the value proposition to me and why loyal Banktivity 7 customers won’t just abandon the platform in droves. I’ve been using Banktivity for 4 years, but I’m really appalled at this new “subscription that doesn’t suck.” In my view, it does in fact “suck.”
Hi Steve, thanks for the comments. For your case it might make the most sense to wait until we have UK Open Banking support: https://www.iggsoftware.com/blog/2020/08/services-roadmap/ Or, subscribe to gold and then not renew. Yes, you’ll have to enter exchange rates manually, but you’ll get updates to the app free going forward.
“Subscribe to gold and then not renew”. And then we lose Cloud Sync.
Look, I don’t wanna freeload by subscribing and not renewing. It’s a lose-lose proposition. And then there’s the fact that I’d lose Cloud Sync.
I’ll gladly pay for your software. But I can’t afford $100/year (where I live, that’s more than half the monthly minimum wage), and even if I could, I’d feel awful knowing most of it went towards a bunch of services that simply don’t work in my country (Direct Access, stock quote updates, home appraisal).
If there was an option for the software itself plus Cloud Sync (and nothing else: no Direct Access, no stock quote updates, no exchange rate updates, no home appraisal), for a reasonable yearly price, I’d be first in line to sign up for it.
I should have been more clear. You could subscribe to Gold, that will lock multi-currency support. Then renew at Bronze and you’ll keep Cloud Sync and multi-currency support (just w/o download exchange rates and other connected services at the gold and silver tiers).
As a UK based user with no requirement to sync stock rices or use Direct Access, the cost of the functionality so far has been reasonable IMO. However the subscription for the basic functionality of v8 is quite a hike and I won’t be staying with you. Such a pity.
We certainly hope you’ll reconsider. We’ve tried to make the subscription flexible, but I know we don’t cover every possible situation out there. You sound like a good contender to buy once and not renew.
Hi Ian,
My apologies if I left a similar message earlier, it did not seem to post.
I’ve been a user of Banktivity for a while now and both love using it and ‘rely on it’ so first off congratulations on the new updates, great to see the app development.
I don’t use the additional functionality offered by Gold and Bronze but I do have a mix of accounts in UK £ and Euro (which is my home currency) – and I enter the exchange rates manually. I don’t really want to subscribe to Platinum simply to maintain that functionality – please could you advise whether I would be able to maintain my current environment with the Bronze sub?
Cheers!
Sorry I meant to write “I don’t use the additional functionality offered by Gold and Platinum’ sorry for any confusion!
To get the functionality of tracking accounts in multiple different currencies, you’d want Gold. However, if you don’t use any connected services and don’t need tech support, you wouldn’t even need to resubscribe.
I live in Canada and mostly use the program for accounting and budgeting / expense tracking. I like the three tier approach to subscriptions and the enhanced multi-device functionality. I would like to see better direct access synching with Canadian banks … I often have to do a lot of manual correction to categories and (not infrequently) I see transactions allocated to the wrong account. I run multiple accounts from the same bank (business checking, savings, line of credit, credit cards + the same mix on the personal banking side). I’m also somewhat surprised that the software can’t distinguish between certain types of transactions based on what account they come from (say a meal brought on a business credit card which I always categorize as a tax deductible business expense vs. when the same purchase is made on a personal credit card where I always categorize as “entertainment”). In any case, I hope that the more frequent updates promised with the subscription model include some of these refinements needed (at least in Canada, not sure if these issues also occur in US). Otherwise, great app that has served me well over the years.
We want to get average cost basis implemented!
What do you exactly mean by “print checks”? I have used Banktivity for many years, currently Ver 7, and occasionally print a check from an account, sign it, mail it, and I’m done. Are you saying unless I get a subscription model I can no longer print a check? I have no interest/need/desire to have my computer sign the things for me. Hmm, not happy with yet another “subscription” plan designed for “my” benefit.
Thanks for the comment Grammy. You can keep using Banktivity 7 if you want. Or, you can subscribe to the new Banktivity at the gold tier and you’ll get check printing. If you decide not to renew, you can keep printing checks in v8 too.
All well and good for the needs of your company and its business, but I am a retiree of limited means and simply cannot pay annual subscriptions for anything, not even magazines.
This is one reason why we don’t lock anyone out of their data if they decide not to renew.
I’m assuming Direct Access will still not work in the UK, with v8?
This is the most update info on getting Direct Access back for UK customers: https://www.iggsoftware.com/blog/2020/08/services-roadmap/
One of our frustrations has been a lack of good tech support. Will there be an improvement in this area with the subscriptions? My apologies if this was included in your announcement.
As Pete H stated this is a huge increase over what I have paid in the past. But if I understand what you are saying I can upgrade and not renew. You then say I would continue to get upgrades – for how long. Sure seems to defeat the purpose of your subscription model? I use OFX and assuming you continue to support OFX, why should I now have to pay. for Direct Access? How about offering tiers excluding Direct Access?
Lastly, does the Banktivity 8 address the recent issue where Schwab no longer works with OFX or Direct Access. (Schwab tells me that there are security issues that each provider such as yourselves must agree to before they will turn on OFX/DIrect Access for a specific app like Banktivity.)
Now that I see these postings are not immediately posted, but are “moderated” first – and in this case has not been released – I will add a couple of more bits of information I learned from Schwab Tech Support – they have already reactivated these services for Quicken, TurboTax, H&R Block and some other software I was unfamiliar with. As of last night, OFX was still not working with Schwab on Banktivity 7. I have reported this problem to both Schwab and your tech support and nothing appears to be happening.
My understanding is Schwab no longer supports OFX. OFX is a specific protocol that Banktivity DOES support. If you connect your Schwab account via Direct Access it uses Schwab’s new API backend.
That is not what I was told by Schwab. They told me that they had shut down both Direct Access and OFX because some customers had there accounts hacked through those services and that a they shut down all such access. They then were reactivating the services on a company by company basis and that they had reactivated specific applications including Quicken, TurboTax and H&R Block. They said these services would have to agree to implement certain controls.
I will contact them again to confirm if they were cutting off OFX access. But given the tone and nature of my discussion earlier this week I will be surprised if that is correct.
Ian – Your sources are wrong with respect to Schwab. I have contacted them and they are still supporting OFX – but you have to take action to provide your clients access to OFX at Schwab. You have to go to the website developer.schwab.com and register as an API. There is technical support available on that site.
On or about October 14 Schwab cut off all access for direct access and OFX where the API is not registered.
I would appreciate if someone will advise me as to when this problem is addressed at sgs37830@yahoo.com
It’s always hard getting to the bottom of these things! I’ll do some more digging.
Ian – any update on this issue? As of this evening, OFX is still not working with Schwab. Do you know if Direct Access is working?
I’ve been communicating with Schwab over the last few days. They have confirmed they are shutting down their legacy OFX server. They won’t allow our app to connect anymore as it is a direct connection from your computer to their server. But to be clear, this is how OFX was originally designed, to allow connections directly from the consumer to the server. However, they don’t like that because it means they can have IPs hitting from all over the world.
They are very pleased that we do integrate with Yodlee (our Direct Access provider) as they are supporting the new connection protocols ?
Once we get some particular phrasing from them we will be updating our Knowledge Base article. But in short, they won’t turn OFX on for us. OFX is slowly dying, I expect more banks will follow suite.
Ian
Thank you for your efforts and the information. Clearly the Tech Support people who I dealt with did not have a clear understanding of what was happening.
You would think that Schwab would have given their customers some warning so we could make the switchover.
One last question: Based on your answer can I rely on Banktivity 8/Direct Access to work with Schwab’s interface right now?
Yeah, Schwab should be connecting in Banktivity 8 via the Direct Access option.
Ian
I have had further discussions with Schwab. They are continuing to run their OFX server for Quicken, TurboTax and H&R Block and any other vendor that is willing to meet their security conditions.
Meanwhile, I have upgraded to Banktivity 8 and I have tried using Direct Access and it is not interfacing with Schwab correctly. I have submitted a ticket about the errors I have seen – and they are related to Stock Option transactions and to the sweep of cash into short term securities. The problems appear to me to be related to mapping of the data you are reading out of Schwab. Once I used B8, B7 started (on its own) using direct access to import data from Schwab – and the data was treated the same way it was in B-8.
Frankly, at this point I am extremely disappointed in B-8. It is slower than B-7 and I don’t see where any of your improvements will be of any benefit to me. I will continue paralleling B-8 with B-7, but at this point I expect that I will cancel my subscription before the Trial period ends and re-evaluate what I ultimately want to do sometime next year.
Ian
The ticket number for the issues I referenced in my prior post is Ticket #V7LTR.
Based on the response I received this morning I don’t believe my submission was read. It appears to be a lengthy form letter response.
Heavy duty price increase. Just because your competitors have a “subscription plan” doesn’t mean you have to follow the lemmings over the cliff. I don’t print checks, and I don’t do “connectivity”. I do value the “Reports” function for tax preparation purposes. I’ll try the Banktivity 8 and see what happens.
Thanks for the feedback. Please remember, if you do not use our connected services you do not need to renew your subscription – you’ll even still get updates. Of course, we hope you renew, but we are trying hard to accommodate our diverse set of customer requirements.
Just to clarify… if I buy any of the subscription levels and don’t use online services I just pay once and get updates to v8.5, 9.0 etc at no extra cost? If so that’s quite a decent deal….
Yep, that is right! In the future, we might rollout some big new feature or new service that requires an active subscription or renewal, but we won’t take away a feature that was working or anything like that.
Can you please clarify exactly what is and what is not included in your “connected services”
Currently these are our connected services:
– Cloud Sync
– Direct Access
– Stock price downloads
– Currency exchange rate downloads
– Real estate valuation downloads
– Access to US-based technical support
Sounds like you’d be a good candidate to buy the tier that makes sense for you, but then don’t renew if you don’t need support or don’t need connected services.
Hi Ian, I have been a user for many years and as I live in Brazil I do not use any Silver function, but I need to use accounts in different currencies.
I don’t think it’s fair to pay U $ 100.00 to have this function.
Don’t you have an alternative that is bigger than Basic and smaller than Silver?
Hi Silvio, thanks for the comment. Depending on if you need the currency exchange rate downloading you could subscribe at gold and then just not renew or renew at a lower tier. You keep the non-connected features of the highest tier you paid for.
Hi – I have accounts in uk pounds and euros – does that mean I need the gold version even if I don’t use the other features?
Yeah, you would need Gold, but if you don’t need any of the connected services, you could choose to not renew and the app will keep functioning and you’ll get updates.
I have Mac OS 10.13.6 and am not able to update to 10.15. Does that mean that I will no longer be able to us Banktivity and need to look for another company?
You can keep using the versions you have now. But the new version does require macOS Catalina and iOS 13 or higher.
I’m a current user. I have an old Mac. I MOSTLY use Banktivity on my iPad Pro, and need only the most basic of downloading data from U.S. banks. I plan on getting a new silicon Mac but who knows when that would be.
Do you suggest the basic version, Bronze 8, that I can use NOW with my iOS devices and then just install v8 when I get a new machine? I do current use Direct Access.
Yeah, Bronze 8 would do want you want as long as you don’t need to track investment accounts.
I live in the UK and I tried direct access but then you stopped supporting any of my UK accounts (amex, HSBC, john lewis) – do I get anything of value by subscribing now? Or have you resolved the access issues?
No changes to Direct Access yet, but see here for our roadmap: https://www.iggsoftware.com/blog/2020/08/services-roadmap/
Direct Access was great for the first few years that I was a customer, and the annual fee was worth it. But, about 18 months ago, eight of my nine accounts stopped working with Direct Access, and I saw no point in renewing the subscription. Several of my inaccessible accounts are in the top 10 largest banks in the US. If the “new and improved” version works with at least eight of my nine accounts, then I will be happy to subscribe.
Not much changed with Direct Access with this version, but see here for our roadmap: https://www.iggsoftware.com/blog/2020/08/services-roadmap/
If I cancel the subscription, will cloud sync continue to work? I don’t use any other online services. I only require it to sync across several devices.
Cloud sync will not work without an active subscription, but it is included in our lowest tier, Bronze.
Hello Ian. I’m in the UK and I’ve used iBank/Banktivity since the first version in 2003. I’ve always found it ideal for keeping track of my personal finances.
The only online service I use is syncing between the apps on my Mac and phone but TBH I only use it on my phone very occasionally, so won’t really miss that facility when it eventually ceases for Banktivity 7.
I’m wondering if it will be worth me upgrading to Banktivity 8 now (and just pay the initial subs) or wait till sometime later.
Hi Sybil, thanks for the comment and thanks for being a long time customer!
I would recommend you try out Banktivity 8 and see if you like it. If you do, great! If you don’t, try it again later? We will be working hard on continuing to improve it and we are working on getting on a release schedule that is more frequent.
Is there a database update included with v8. I.e., if I test out v8 and then decide I don’t like it can I go back to v7, or must I test it will a copy of my v7 data?
There is a database update involved. But when you move your data to v8, we leave your original v7 file untouched.
I just signed up for the trial but I did not get any indication that my version 7 direct access rolled over to the new account. How do I tell that it did?
You’ll want to go to File > Subscription > View My Subscription and you’ll see your Direct Access credit waiting for you there to apply it.
I just saw the email about Banktivity 8. After a sigh, I started looking for value, i.e., what will get $50-$100 better every year. I’ve been a user since V5 and upgraded every release, so the cost may be comparable for my use case–especially with the $45 Direct Access annual fee. After >15 years of Win-Q and Win Q-via-an-emulator, I have liked and appreciated Banktivity. I’ll give the V8 subscription a go.
Now the other kind of feedback on the gold tier: I DO have a Euro cash account. I have yet to get a EuroDollar transfer to balance with the significant digits you use in the exchange rate. I always have to have a correction factor. I really don’t care how many you display; it would be nice to use (allow me to enter and use it) 6 decimal places in the exchange computation like banks. Maybe for $99 you will? Also, interesting “check printing”, which seems a dated offering, is a gold feature. Any paper checks I “write” are sent by my bank. Now it WOULD be nice to distinguish my 3-5 checks/year from the many the bank sends for me. I need two different check types/sequence numbers and Banktivity really hates when I enter the bank number. That next check number in my bankbook has to be reset every time. Finally, to me, gold would really be worth it with better OFX and Direct Access value. For example, triggering account-to-account transfers by Banktivity; updating security prices in investment accounts that are not “stock exchanges” (e.g., Thrift Savings Plan); recognizing some banks have specific passwords for e-transactions via OFX instead of forcing DA use, etc. Gold should be for high-value features. Check printing and currency exchange updates seem like basic “lead” tier features, not a high-value, zinging super-cool, gotta have for $30/year need.
The V8 download is done. Off to trial it. PS: Most of this sent before, just seemed re-relevant with the tears of the new pricing model.
Also, in version 7 if I hid the summary and selected an account, when I reopened the program it would stay that way. Now it goes back to the summary page every time. Is there a way to stop that?
I purchased my previous Banktivity (5, 6, & 7) direct from IGG.
When I purchase Banktivity 8 do you handle the data transfer from my up-to-date version of Banktivity 7? If so please let me know how that works.
Will the new subscription fix the budget reporting? The Year view never worked, and there is no Year-to-Date view. I have to download each month’s data into spreadsheets to get this — exactly what I shouldn’t have to do with a budget package. (Mac user, Banktivity is up to date)
Budgets now have a “year to date” view!
Well I guess this is my farewell to Banktivity after quite a few years (since version 5, at least).
I use most features of Banktivity (at least those that are not US-centric, like check printing): multiple currencies, investments, asset accounts (real estate, vehicles, etc.), and of course Cloud Sync — in fact this is one feature I can’t live without.
However, Direct Access doesn’t exist in my country, and the securities in my local exchange haven’t been updated since June. And I could live with manual updating of exchange rates — really, not an issue at all for me.
Ian will tell me to subscribe at the Gold level (and although extremely expensive, I could stomach doing it once) and then not renew. However, my understanding is that I’ll lose the #1 most prized feature in Banktivity for me, which is Cloud Sync. I also understand I can’t renew at a lower tier, as it’ll detect I have multiple currencies, etc. and require the Gold level. Also, if I don’t renew, IGG doesn’t make money, so it’s a lose-lose proposition.
I’ll keep using Banktivity 7 until it breaks. Hopefully by then IGG will have decided to review all the feedback on this thread from non-US users, and realized that many, many of us either can’t, or object to, paying dearly for services that are not available to us (Direct Access, stock quotes, house appraisal, etc.)
I’d like to propose a simple solution and some suggested prices: charge a base price ($19.99/year), for the software (with all features included, exactly like today, but zero online services), and then add-ons for each service: one for Cloud Sync ($4.99/year), one for Direct Access ($29.99/year), one for stock quotes ($9.99/year), one for exchange rates ($9.99/year), one for house appraisal ($9.99/year). We pay exactly for what we use, and don’t pay for what we don’t. The equivalent to the Bronze tier would cost $54.97, silver $74.95, gold $84.94. Bronze and Silver pay a little extra, gold a bit less, and you’ll get some extra revenue from those of us who don’t use the services ($19.99 for the software only, or $24.98 with cloud sync), which you wouldn’t otherwise if people just let the subscription lapse without renewing.
I LIKE this suggestion! Seems like the opportunity for Banktivity to simply keep pushing the price up is really high. I don’t mind paying a little bit for Banktivity to hold the wolves at the door at bay … This just seems to be a bit of an overreach (translate as greedy).
Tell me why it’s not, Banktivity.
Thanks for the feedback. I want to clear something. You could buy Gold to lock in your entitlements for multiple currencies. Then, if you renew at Bronze you’ll get cloud sync and will just have to enter multi-currency prices manually. So we lock in your highest paid entitlement, but base the services on the current tier you are on. I hope that makes sense and I hope it works for you!
Ian, to clarify:
1. I can buy Gold for one year, and then renew at Bronze? If that’s it, then it’s more palatable. I thought it would look at my document, see that I use multiple currencies, and decide that my only choice is to buy Gold.
2. Will that work regardless of whether I’m buying through IGG Software or the App Store? If I do decide to renew, I’ll have to do it through the App Store due to a more favorable exchange rate.
2. Even so, I was used to paying $30-$35 every couple of years for an upgrade. With the subscription model, I’m looking at $99 first year and $49 the following years. That’s 3 times as expensive. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Banktivity is worth more to me than the $15-$17/year I was previously paying. Not $99/year, that I can’t afford, sorry. What pains me the most is to know a good part of the $49/year cost at Bronze goes to a service that I can’t use in my country (Direct Access).
Please, pretty please, think of us outside the US, and create a lower tier with a la carte services. It’s not only about the price. It’s an awful feeling to know you’re paying for something that you can’t use, essentially subsidizing these features for others (and in my case, I live in a poor country, so this is kind of a reverse Robin Hood situation).
Hi, I’ll try to answer your questions.
1. Yes, you buy Gold for a year, then renew at Bronze. We respect the functionality granted at the highest paid for tier.
2. Yes, doesn’t matter if you buy through us or Apple.
3. Yes, it is more expensive than $15-17/year – that cost wasn’t sustainable for us.
We will periodically review our tier/pricing strategy. We just launched, so we will see how this is working for people after the dust settles.
Excellent suggestion, SwineOne.
This whole new model seems to have been entirely US-focused without taking into account the poor value proposition for non-US customers. Much if not most of what’s in the Silver tier is worth little outside the US. Even Direct Access doesn’t work in the EU. But to get foreign currency support, which is important for many outside the US, you have to pay for Silver and then an extra $30/year.
Like others, I’ll use Banktivity 7 until you cut off the sync facility. Then I’ll decide what to do. But after 4 years happily using your platform, I have to tell you that this leaves a bad taste and I’ll be actively looking at competing products.
This.
I have used Banktivity for many years, currently Version 7.5.3. For several months, Banktivity has reported incorrect month-end closing prices for several stocks. This is across several accounts with more than one US-based broker. Has this issue been resolved in Version 8?
I’m not familiar with this issue. Please come to our support so we can try to get to the bottom of it.
Hi Ian:
I own version 7 and currently download direct from my Canadian Bank. If I subscribe: will all my accounts, reports etc transfer seamlessly, and can I connect directly to Canadian banks, and after my subscription runs out will I be able to download transactions statements etc direct from my bank as I do now? I a disappointed that you have changed the model. Thanks.
If I try Ver 8 and decide I don’t like it, will the data transfer back to Ver 7 with no issue?
The data won’t transfer backward, so best to keep your original v7 data in case you want to go back.
I have been a loyal UK purchaser of Banktivity 5,6,7, for many years, for the the last year i have had to manually add stock quotes to my account as the service has not been reliable, but have persevered hoping it would be put right through an update. The move to subscription is not a move i agree with, especially for existing owners of the software, it might be a guaranteed revenue stream for IGG but no guarantee of future performance for subscribers. i am sorry but i feel this could be the end of the road for my patronage of this software.
Hi thanks for your comments. If you are having trouble getting quotes in the UK you should see this article https://www.iggsoftware.com/support/articles/banktivity-7/which-stock-exchanges-are-supported-for-security-price-downloads/ I’d expect them to work.
Please note you can subscribe, then not renew after a year, and the app keeps working and you get free updates. This is not a traditional subscription.
Ian,
i have read the article referred to and contacted support during year, unfortunately a few stock prices updated on day 1 but as the days went by fewer stocks updated, so now use interactive investor to get reliable stock quotes and update manually, frustratingly as time goes on i start to question what i am paying for, the subscription model answers the question !
I am sorry that it has come to this but thank you.
Totally agree as a long time Banktivity user!
Same issue in Australia, stock quotes are not reliable and enter them manually. Subscriptions are fine when you know what it will cost you each month or year. When companies only provide pricing in $US it is difficult to budget for subscriptions. The modern and progressive company would acknowledge their international customers and provide local pricing. I can see the trend here, with financial uncertainty companies are looking at locking in revenue streams.
We hope to have end of day Australian stock prices out soon for subscribers of the silver and gold tiers. We don’t know exactly what your bank will charge you in AUD with the exchange rate, so we list USD prices. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Banktivity has been good to me… really good to me since 2008 (wow 12 years already). Was good to watch you grow and of course I will continue to support your efforts in subscription mode. Not even a second thought. Over the years only one thing I would change… as my eyes get older, the type needs to be a bit larger. All in all… 100% in…
As a UK user who uses Cloud Sync/online quotes but doesn’t need direct access, I don’t consider your new subscription model ‘a win for everyone’. The oft-repeated solution of buying a one year subscription and then cancelling is no replacement for the option to out-right buy a licence; not based on the quoted pricing and the features I use. (And I had no issue paying twice over for the iOS version.) I do hope there won’t be any compatibility issues with Big Sur as it looks like I’ll be using v7 for some time to come. Disappointed.
I appreciate the comments Neil. It isn’t feasible for us to keep providing our connected services after a single purchase. Some customers are still on Banktivity 5 using cloud sync 🙂 So we tried to come up with a good solution, subscription to use our services, buy once if you don’t need support and don’t mind entering stuff manually. Also, you are entitled to the features of the highest tier you paid for. So you could buy Gold, then downgrade to Bronze. This would allow you to cloud sync, but you’d have to enter other currency exchange rates manually. I realize this probably doesn’t apply to your situation exactly, but I’m just trying to help explain more nuances of our subscription.
Buy a year of Gold at 3 times the v7 upgrade price… And then revert to paying something similar to before but with less functionality…
Not a great proposition, is it?
I am very happy to pay more to support what is a fantastic application but the value being offered here – especially for non-US users – is very poor.
Hate the new subscription based offering. iOS companion version for Banktivity 7 no longer works to force you to upgrade.
We haven’t changed anything about version 7. If you are having trouble with Banktivity 7 Mac/iOS should contact our support. The apps on the App Store now are now v8 and are subscription based.
If I read the specs correctly, version 8 won’t work with OS X Mojave. Is that correct? If so, version 7 is working just fine for me, although it will be bad if/when you stop cloud syncing desktop and phone apps for v7.
(I’m sticking with Mojave specifically so I can keep using Adobe CS6, for exactly the reasons you describe that their subscription plan sucks.)
That is correct, v8 is for Catalina and higher.
I’m also disappointed that something as basic as printing my own checks on my own printer from a basic checking account requires a “Gold” subscription for $100. That seems rather disrespectful to we long term customers. I hope you’ll reconsider and include the most basic feature (check printing) in a lower tier for those of us who have no need or use for currency and stock services. I just want a check book on my computer. I’ve been happy with iBank/Banktivity with Direct Connect for years, but unless you reconfigure your tiers more logically and respectfully, I’ll be looking around at other options.
Hi, thanks for writing.
Check printing ended up in gold because it is one of those features that took a lot of work to develop, but not many people actually use it. We also added the ability to signatures to check printing in v8 and that was a lot of development resources.
Please note, you could subscribe at Gold and then a year later, renew at a lower tier depending on which types of accounts you want to use with Direct Access. With this approach you’ll keep your ability to print checks, but you don’t have to pay $99 to keep using it.
I’ve been using iBank/Banktivity for 8 years and I’ve been a satisfied customer. I need the basic version, including Direct Access (which I’ve paid for) and check printing. I don’t use any of the other “advanced” features included in the upgrades, and I object to paying for the Gold just to get check printing.
Hi Steven, thanks for the comments. What would work best for you is subscribe at Gold to get check printing capabilities. Then renew at Bronze or Silver depending on which types of accounts you need to work with Direct Access. If DA is just for checking and credit cards, renew at bronze. If you need DA for investments, renew at Silver.
You could buy Gold once, that will lock in the check printing feature. Then you could downgrade to a different tier and keep using the check printing.
What part of this now ends up residing in the cloud? Is it all cloud based (app and data) similar to Google Docs, is only the app in the cloud, similar to web based versions of Microsoft 365 and data stays on my computer, is only the data in the cloud, similar to iCloud, or is it only the ability so sync only that is in the cloud?
We didn’t change where your data is stored. Your files live on your computer. If you use our cloud sync, then encrypted versions rest on our servers.
We haven’t changed anything about document storage. The files still reside on your local device. If you decide to use our Cloud Sync, an encrypted copy will be on our server.
I have been a Banktivity user for a long time (since 2003) and have gone thru many versions. I have resisted Apple’s push to Catalina because it breaks old 32 bit apps.
But I am most upset that there does not appear to be any useful way to migrate from V7 to V8. In the V8 FAQ, users are explicitly warned NOT to try to migrate V7 data to V8. WHY? Am I just supposed to abandon all of my history to go to a new version???
I switched to Banktivity when Quicken for Mac was abandoned, and I’ve promoted Banktivity to lots of other people. Now I feel abandoned.
Hi Mike. You can DEFINITELY migrate from v7 to v8. I believe the FAQ you found suggests syncing between v7 and v8 is not recommended.
By the way, not sure if you’ve realized, but the one single thing you’ve mentioned the most in the comments here is “subscribe and don’t renew”. Really, press Cmd+F and search for “renew”. You’ll see I’m not exaggerating.
How does that even make sense to you as the business owner? Do you really think the company will survive with one lifetime sale per customer?
The market has spoken to you. Your offerings are mismatched with the needs of many of your customers, who bothered to come here and tell you this. Not sure what proportion of your customers this represents, but seeing as the high price connected services are essentially US-centric, it’s clear you’re alienating the rest of the world.
Please, rethink this. I love the product, I think it’s best-in-class, and I’d hate to see it fail. But you’ve basically made Banktivity a US-only product. It may somewhat work elsewhere (no Direct Access, no stock quote updates, …), but users get the feeling you’re showing them the middle finger by charging them for stuff they can’t use.
Being able to subscribe and not HAVE to renew to keep accessing your data is one of the things that differentiates us from so many other subscriptions. So yes, I’m trying to communicate that 🙂
Couple of questions
1) when will cloud sync stop for 7?
2) does the new version make use of open banking in the UK
Thanks
I just LAST MONTH paid you a year’s Direct Access subscription (which by the way isn’t working very well) and now you want the same amount or twice the same amount to make me a “subscriber”? This feels like a huge betrayal of users like me, who’ve had iBank/Banktivity for over ten years. You know what we thought we were purchasing — namely, software — and it’s not this convoluted new mess of a model. I’m not happy about the bait and switch. (Especially while you are still getting away without offering real support. E.g., are you ever going to fix that bug that causes some reconciled accounts to unreconciled themselves?)
You can convert your remaining Direct Access time to your new subscription.
As for the reconcile issue you mention: you’ll want to reset the sync data on the server. This will resolve the issue. On Banktivity 7 see File > Manage Banktivity Services > Sync Setup
On Banktivity 8 go to File > Subscription > Sync Setup
How can I “convert” my 11 months of Direct Access to a new subscription, when Direct Access is what the new subscription is paying for? Either you are saying 1) that you’ll call the $44.99 I paid for Direct Access even with the $44.99 subscription — which I kind of doubt — or 2) I’ll buy a one-year subscription to Banktivity 8 and my Direct Access subscription will continue for a year after the subscription runs out … at which point I’ll have to get another subscription for Banktivity 8 anyway if I want to keep using it, which will again bump my eleven months of Direct Access another year ahead, and so forth? In which case I am out $44.99 for the Direct Access subscription because I will never catch up.
And there is no “Sync Setup” option under File > Subscription in Banktivity 7.5.3
This article explains how to move your old DA time to the new system: https://www.iggsoftware.com/support/articles/banktivity-7/how-do-i-transfer-my-existing-direct-access-subscription-towards-banktivity-8/
I believe 1 is the answer, you can move 11 months of your DA time to the new system and you’ll get 11 months “free” on the new system.
Ian, one of us is not thinking clearly. I understand I can move my old Direct Access time to a (prospective) new subscription. Let’s say I do that today. I will have a one-year subscription to Banktivity 8 — the price of which includes Direct Access — with credit for 11 more months of Direct Access after the subscription ends.
But to use that 11 months, I will need a new subscription — the price of which, again, includes a year of Direct Access — so the 11 months gets pushed out once again past the second year’s subscription. And so on. Meaning that I will only get my money’s worth for the Direct Access subscription I purchased last month if I stop subscribing to Banktivity for 11 months.
Is that really how you want this to work?
I’ll try to explain in more detail how it works.
If you download Banktivity 8 and start your subscription, you’ll enter the 30 day free trial. This means you credit card won’t get billed until the end of November. If during this time you convert your Direct Access time from the old v7 system to the new subscription, it will push your renewal date out until October of 2021 (11 months from November 2020). So you’ll essentially get to use Banktivity 8 for a year before you pay anything. Does this help clear things up?