Cadence Money
a budgeting app with no AI features, just an MCP server
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I thought I could make a personal finance app that was simpler, smarter and more privacy-focused than Monarch, YNAB and Copilot. I believe I have, but today that's up to you.While the classic story of using a variety of "analog" tools to manage money does apply to me, the main pillars that pushed me to build Cadence Money were:- Pay for the level of syncing that's used including none- No built-in AI- Fully cross-platform including mobile browsers- Passkeys available day one- Proper Canadian support- No ads even for a bookAfter seven years at 1Password as a Lead PM, I can safely say working on Cadence has been the most fulfilling part of my career. Really thankful for friends, family, and now strangers for helping shape Cadence. It has every feature we needed, and nothing we didn't. I also created an MCP server so you can choose how much AI you want in your finances. Read-only at this point, but open to adding write access in the future to clean up CSV imports. Fair warning that Claude gets sassy if you flex your ability to buy a new monitor.Plans start at $2.49 CAD/$1.99 USD monthly billed annually. 14-day trial (card required). iOS, Android, web. Proudly made in Canada.
HN · launched Jul 29, 2026 · 8 upvotes (top 54%) · 0 views
Niche: personal finance and budgeting apps · 424 launches, 53 in the last 7 days ▲ +4% · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Fintech
- Vertical SaaS
- B2C
- Not AI
- Commercial product
Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗
More like this: all 424 launches in personal finance and budgeting apps →
Could you build this?
Partial While the budgeting UI and MCP server are easy to vibe code, integrating reliable, secure bank aggregators (Plaid, Flinks) and compliance for financial data requires production backend rigor.
What it would actually take: A functional production personal finance app requires direct integration with banking aggregators like Plaid, MX, or Flinks with complex webhook handling, token refresh flows, and multi-currency deduplication pipelines. The backend needs robust zero-knowledge or client-side encryption architectures, regulatory compliance for financial privacy, and multi-tenant financial sync state machines. Real-world financial integrations and strict data security compliance represent the hard barriers.
Discussion
2 comments analyzed.
Concerns raised: Difficult market to make money in, Budgeting app market has high competition
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one : 323 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #141 of 324 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 273 days after the earliest competitor.
- We charge $10/mo for wealth management that costs $100 elsewhere · hn · 2025-11-13 · 7 upvotes · similarity 0.52
- Pane · hn · 2026-03-03 · 10 upvotes · similarity 0.51
- I quit coding years ago. AI brought me back · hn · 2026-01-19 · 314 upvotes · similarity 0.48
- Track Token usage for major platforms,know your token flow · hn · 2026-07-03 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.48
- Fungible · hn · 2026-05-25 · 30 upvotes · similarity 0.47
- Stoke Money · hn · 2026-10-16 · 33 upvotes · similarity 0.46
- I made a simulator for personal finance (5 year update) · hn · 2026-05-03 · 7 upvotes · similarity 0.46
- Maali · hn · 2026-10-19 · 7 upvotes · similarity 0.46
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