Hisabi

Hisabi isn't just another expense tracker — it's built around a specific insight: your bank already sends you transaction data via SMS. Why re-enter it? That's the core innovation. The tool parses those alerts automatically, turning a notification stream into a clean, categorized log. For privacy-conscious users, this is a breath of fresh air. Everything runs locally, encrypted, and open-source. You can inspect the code, self-host, and never worry about a corporation monetizing your spending habits. That's rare in the personal finance space. But here's the catch: Hisabi is still in pre-launch. The website only offers a waitlist. No GitHub releases yet, no demo you can run. The 'coming soon' features — multi-account support, CSV export — are critical for most users. So you're essentially buying into a vision. When it launches, who is it for? People who (a) get SMS notifications from their bank, (b) want a self-hosted solution, and (c) don't need mobile apps, APIs, or multi-user support. That's a niche — but a passionate one. Compare it to alternatives: Firefly III is a mature open-source finance manager with multi-account and API support, but it requires manual setup and no SMS parsing. Lunch Money is a polished paid tool with auto-import from bank feeds, but it's SaaS-hosted. Hisabi's SMS angle is unique, but narrow. The biggest risk: banks are moving away from SMS alerts. Some now push notifications via apps only. If that trend accelerates, Hisabi's core feature loses relevance. The team can pivot, but it's a dependency worth noting. Bottom line: We'll reach for Hisabi when it's out and we're tired of manual entry in other self-hosted tools. For now, join the waitlist and watch — not a tool for immediate financial management.