Honest comparison
Owdyn vs Steady
Steady is a New Zealand personal finance app (steady.nz) built around an AI money coach, with automatic Akahu bank connections on its roadmap.
Facts last checked: 25 August 2026
At a glance
Both apps are NZ-built and both centre on a safe-to-spend number. The practical difference today is access: Owdyn is live — you can sign up, connect a bank and use it this evening — while every Steady plan, including its free one, is still behind a waitlist. Steady’s AI coach is genuinely likeable; Owdyn’s automatic bank sync is running now on Plus and Wise, its free tier is substantially more generous, and its forecasting goes considerably further.
Side by side
| Owdyn | Steady | |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Live now — sign up free today, no waitlist | Waitlist — every plan, including the free one, is “join waitlist” (checked August 2026) |
| Built for NZ | Yes — NZD-first, NZ merchants, Auckland-based | Yes — NZ-built, NZ banks, Akahu-based |
| Getting your data in | Automatic bank sync on Plus and Wise, via Akahu — your bank login is never shared with Owdyn. CSV import from any NZ bank stays free on every plan, including Free. | CSV statement import on the paid Plus plan; automatic Akahu bank sync is on the roadmap and not yet available to users (checked August 2026) |
| Safe to Spend | Safe to Spend is the headline number — balance minus upcoming bills, BNPL instalments, budgets and goal contributions | Has a safe-to-spend calculation as one of several features |
| Forecasting | Cash-flow forecasting up to 1 year on Plus and 5 years on Wise | 30-day cash-flow forecast on paid plans (checked August 2026) |
| BNPL (Afterpay, Laybuy, Zip) | Afterpay, Laybuy and Zip tracking built in | Not a listed feature |
| Free tier | Unlimited accounts and transactions, CSV import and export, budgets, goals, bills, BNPL and Debt Cockpit — free, no card | 1 bank via CSV upload, 1 budget, 1 goal, 30-day transaction history, no AI and no data export (checked August 2026) |
| AI | AI categorisation suggestions and weekly spending insights (Plus and Wise) | AI coach personas and natural-language questions, capped at 50 questions a month on Plus (checked August 2026) |
| Pricing | Free plan always free; Plus NZ$9.99/month and Wise NZ$17.99/month (free during beta) | Free plan, Plus at NZ$12.99/month and Family at NZ$19.99/month (checked August 2026) |
Where Steady shines
- The AI coach personas are genuinely charming, and asking your money a question in plain English is a lovely way in.
- Automatic Akahu bank sync is the centre of the product they are building — once it reaches users, connected accounts will update without manual imports.
- Gamification — streaks, XP, challenges and a friends feed — will suit people who want budgeting to feel like a game.
- A household Family plan is on their pricing page, which is useful if you want several people under one subscription.
Where Owdyn shines
- You can use Owdyn today — no waitlist, no invite waves, free during beta.
- The free tier is a real product: unlimited accounts and transactions, CSV import and export, budgets, bills, goals, BNPL and the Debt Cockpit — no AI paywall on the basics and no 30-day history cutoff.
- Safe to Spend is the entire organising idea, not one feature among many — bills, BNPL instalments, budgets and goal contributions are already subtracted from the number you see, and you can open the breakdown to check the maths.
- Forecasting goes a year ahead on Plus and five years on Wise, rather than 30 days.
- Afterpay, Laybuy and Zip instalments are tracked as first-class commitments, not left to guesswork.
- Your bank login is never shared with Owdyn either way — automatic sync runs through Akahu, an accredited NZ open banking intermediary, and CSV import keeps your credentials with your bank entirely.
Pick Steady if you want a chatty AI coach with a personality, like budgeting that feels a bit like a game, and don’t mind waiting for an invite.
Pick Owdyn if you want one honest number tonight — with bills and BNPL already accounted for — a free tier you can actually live on, forecasting that looks further than a month, and no bank credentials shared anywhere.
Good questions. Clear answers.
Is Owdyn or Steady free?
Both offer a free plan. Owdyn Free includes unlimited accounts and transactions, CSV import and export, budgets, goals, bills, BNPL tracking and the Debt Cockpit, and you can start using it right now. Steady’s free plan (checked August 2026) covers one bank via CSV upload, one budget, one goal and a 30-day transaction history, and is currently waitlisted like its paid plans. During Owdyn’s beta, every feature is free.
Can I use Steady right now?
Not yet, as at August 2026 — every plan on steady.nz, including the free one, invites you to join a waitlist rather than sign up. Owdyn is live: you can create a free account and import your first bank statement today.
Which app connects to my bank automatically?
Owdyn does, today. Automatic bank sync runs on the Plus and Wise plans through Akahu, New Zealand’s accredited open banking intermediary, so your bank login is never shared with Owdyn — and CSV import from any NZ bank stays free on every plan. Steady plans automatic Akahu bank sync, but its current plans are built around CSV statement uploads.
Do both apps have a safe-to-spend number?
Both calculate one. In Owdyn, Safe to Spend is the headline number the whole app is built around — your balance with upcoming bills, Afterpay, Laybuy and Zip instalments, budgets and savings goal contributions already subtracted, updated as your data changes, with an itemised breakdown so you can see exactly where the number came from.
How far ahead can each app forecast?
Steady’s paid plans include a 30-day cash-flow forecast (checked August 2026). Owdyn forecasts up to a year ahead on Plus and up to five years on Wise, which matters if you are planning around a house deposit, a car or a long savings goal rather than just the next payday.
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No waitlist
Try the difference tonight.
Owdyn is live now — import your first bank statement in minutes and see your real Safe to Spend. Free during beta, no credit card, and your data stays yours.
Free during beta · No credit card · Works with every NZ bank via CSV