Escape The Paper

Private budgeting for Mac.

Escape The Paper is a private, Mac-native budgeting app that helps you understand spending, save for goals, and spot patterns in your finances. Get an app that respects your privacy and feels designed for the platform you love.

Download on the Mac App Store

US $14.99 one-time purchase. Local App Store pricing may vary.

Escape The Paper Home screen showing categorisation progress, weekly averages, targets, and spending charts

Built exclusively for Mac One-time purchase Respects your privacy

How it works

From bank export to a clearer budget.

  1. 1

    Bring in your transactions

    Import a CSV export from your bank, or enter transactions manually.

  2. 2

    Organise them your way

    Use custom categories, tags, and smart suggestions to keep the work quick.

  3. 3

    See what is changing

    Review reports, compare trends, and set spending or savings targets.

Read the complete workflow

Why people use it

Budgeting tools that respect your privacy.

Native Mac experience

Designed exclusively for macOS with a clean native interface.

Flexible transaction entry

Import bank CSV exports or add transactions manually.

Categories your way

Customisable categories to match how you think about money.

Smart categorisation

Smart transaction suggestions to help you categorise faster.

Tagging automation

Powerful tags with keyword-based auto-assignment.

Visual reporting

Visual reports for spending, income, and savings over time.

Trend comparisons

Compare monthly, quarterly, and yearly trends.

Savings targets

Set savings targets for holidays, weddings, cars, or any goal you want to work toward.

Unlimited budgets

Keep unlimited separate budget files for personal, household, flatting, or business use.

Private by default

Your data stays on your Mac in budget files you control.

Screenshots

Move from category detail to a clear business snapshot.

Escape The Paper category overview showing spending comparisons, favourites, and frequent payees
Compare favourite categories across time periods and identify frequent or high-value payees.
Escape The Paper category detail showing weekly goal progress, spending history, and payees
Drill into a category to review weekly goal progress, spending history, and the transactions behind it.
Escape The Paper business snapshot showing income, expenses, net result, and category totals
Choose a reporting period and review business income, expenses, net result, and top categories together.
Escape The Paper transaction list showing business flags alongside categories and filters
Filter and flag business transactions alongside ordinary budget activity without maintaining a separate transaction list.

FAQ

Quick answers before you download.

Does Escape The Paper connect directly to my bank?

No. You import CSV exports yourself, so your banking data stays under your control.

Does my data leave my Mac?

No. Escape The Paper is designed to keep budget files on your Mac.

Can I keep separate budgets?

Yes. You can create unlimited separate budget files for different needs.

Who's it for?

  • Personal budgeting
  • Households
  • Flatting
  • Side hustles
  • Sole traders

What does it cost?

It's a US $14.99 one-time purchase, with no upsells or ongoing costs. Local App Store pricing may vary.

Is this in active development?

Yes. Escape The Paper is actively maintained and will continue receiving updates and improvements over time.

Why 'Escape The Paper'?

We're sole traders and side hustlers who wanted a clearer, privacy-respecting way to understand personal and business spending.

Ready to try it?

Get Escape The Paper on the Mac App Store.

Download on the Mac App Store

Private budgeting guides

More ways to compare Escape The Paper.

Private budgeting app for Mac

See just how powerful a local app can be - built exclusively for macOS.

Read the guide

CSV-first budgeting on Mac

Keep in control of your data all the time - no machine or man in the middle, here.

Read the guide

CSV budgeting on Mac

Use bank exports to keep your data private.

Read the guide

Offline Mac budgeting

Keep budget files on your Mac and review spending on your schedule, on the couch, in the woods, or in the sky.

Read the guide