22seven alternative for South Africans: what to use in 2026
22seven has been South Africa's default free budgeting app for years, but with development slowing since it moved under Old Mutual's wealth business, users are actively looking at alternatives. This is a practical rundown of what to switch to, and what you'll gain or lose.
Why users are looking to switch
- New features have been rare — the app looks and works largely as it did five years ago.
- Live bank feeds occasionally break for weeks at a time.
- The advertising surface has expanded and some users are uncomfortable with it.
- 22seven's data is not easily exportable, and there's no clear path to owning your history.
BudgetIQ — the closest replacement
BudgetIQ was built for exactly this audience. It doesn't rely on live bank feeds — instead, you import statements from any South African bank (CSV, spreadsheet, PDF, or receipt photo). AI categorizes every transaction, and the reports are more detailed than 22seven ever offered: monthly reviews, anomaly detection, cash-flow forecasts, and net-worth tracking.
Price: R450/year (2-month free trial), or R375/year with the early-conversion discount. That's roughly R37.50/month for an ad-free, actively developed, ZAR-native app you own the data in.
What you'll gain
- Real reports — not just spending pie charts.
- AI categorization that improves as it learns your patterns.
- Full data ownership: export everything as CSV at any time.
- No ads.
What you'll lose
- Live bank feeds. You'll upload statements periodically (most users do it once a month). In exchange, your banking credentials never leave your bank.
- The 'free' price tag. BudgetIQ costs R450/year — but 22seven's 'free' is paid for by advertising and data monetization.