When to choose Era
Era is the right call if any of these matter more than ownership:
- You want bank sync to "just work" out of the box. Era ships with aggregator-grade automatic transactions across thousands of US institutions; Finlynq is currently file / email import only.
- You want a native iOS / Android app today. Era's Agency is a real native mobile app; Finlynq has a mobile-friendly web UI but no native app yet.
- You want regulated investment advisory or brokerage. Era's Thesis (private beta) is an SEC-registered investment adviser with brokerage via Alpaca. Finlynq is not — and explicitly never will be.
- You don't want to think about Postgres, Docker, encryption keys, or password recovery. Era is hosted; that's the whole pitch.
- You want shared household finances baked in. Era's multi-user shared views are first-class.
When to choose Finlynq
Finlynq is the right call if any of these matter:
- You want the source code. Finlynq is AGPL v3, fully on GitHub. Era is closed-source, so you can't audit the MCP tool implementations, the encryption story, or what gets sent to your AI assistant.
- You want to self-host. Finlynq runs on your hardware via Docker + PostgreSQL. Era cannot be self-hosted at any price.
- You want per-user encryption with keys derived from your password. Finlynq's envelope encryption (AES-256-GCM with scrypt-derived KEK) means even the operator cannot read your transaction notes, payees, tags, or display names. Era's "AES-256 at rest"is a blanket claim about Era's infra; the operator holds the keys.
- You want the bigger MCP surface. Finlynq exposes 91 HTTP tools and 87 stdio tools across budgets, transactions, portfolios, goals, loans, subscriptions, and rules. Era's public Context surface is 27 tools spanning accounts, connections, insights, billing, and a handful of other domains.
- You want plaintext-accounting workflows. Finlynq is built for users who already think in ledger files; Era is not.
- You want to own your data on the day Era pivots, gets acquired, or shuts down. With Finlynq, you do.
Side-by-side
| | Finlynq | Era |
|---|
| License | AGPL v3 | Closed source |
|---|
| Hosting | Self-host (Docker + PostgreSQL) or managed cloud | Hosted SaaS only |
|---|
| First-party MCP | Yes — 91 HTTP / 87 stdio tools | Yes — Era Context, 27 tools (per Anthropic directory listing, 2026-05-11) |
|---|
| MCP auth | OAuth 2.1 + DCR, Bearer API key, or stdio | OAuth 2.1 with scoped permissions |
|---|
| REST / HTTP API | Yes — full surface mirrored from MCP | Not publicly documented outside MCP |
|---|
| Bank sync | File / email import + connector framework. No first-party Plaid integration today. | Aggregator-based auto-sync (partner not publicly named); credential storage delegated to a SOC 2 Type II aggregator |
|---|
| Encryption at rest | Per-user envelope encryption: AES-256-GCM with scrypt-derived KEK. The operator cannot decrypt user data. | "AES-256 at rest" — Era holds the keys |
|---|
| Multi-currency | Native, with per-currency cost-basis bucketing | US-bank-feed centric (no public multi-currency claim) |
|---|
| Investment / portfolio | Cost basis, dividends, FX-aware aggregation across accounts; not advisory | Thesis (private beta): SEC-RIA portfolio analysis + brokerage via Alpaca |
|---|
| Native mobile app | No (mobile web UI only) | Yes — Agency |
|---|
| Multi-user / household | No (single-user) | Yes — shared views |
|---|
| Pricing | Donation-based; same features on self-host and managed cloud | Freemium with paid tiers (specific amounts not disclosed publicly) |
|---|
| Funding | Bootstrapped, donations | $3M+ seed (Northzone et al.) |
|---|
| Revenue model | Donations | Subscriptions |
|---|
| Anthropic Connectors Directory | Submitted 2026-05-09; awaiting review | Press-announced 2026-05-06; visible in directory's Financial services category from 2026-05-11 |
|---|
Migrating from Era
- Export the raw transactions you can. Use Era's UI export if available, or screenshot category and recurring rules. (Verify Era's current export options on era.app before relying on them.)
- Import into Finlynq. Use the staging-review pipeline at
/import/reconcile — upload a CSV, review and edit each row, approve. Multi-currency, transfer-pair detection, and dedup are all built into the staging flow. - Hook up your AI client. Open Claude → Customize → Connectors → "+" → paste
https://finlynq.com/mcp. OAuth handles the rest. For self-host, point Claude at your own deployment's /mcp URL.
FAQ
Why are you comparing yourself to a paid product when you're free?▾
Because the comparison isn't price — it's where your data lives, who can read it, and what happens if the operator pivots. Finlynq's argument is structural, not a discount.
Doesn't Era's bank sync just make this a non-comparison for most users?▾
For users who want one-click bank sync and don't care about source code or self-hosting, yes — Era is the better default. Finlynq's audience is users who specifically don't want a third-party aggregator holding their bank credentials, even one that's SOC 2 Type II.
Why does this read like a hit piece?▾
It isn't. Era ships real things — first-party MCP, OAuth-scoped tools, native mobile, an investment-advisory product Finlynq legally cannot offer. The honest difference is: Era is hosted convenience for users who trust an operator with their financial life, and Finlynq is the substrate for users who don't want to.
Does Finlynq have a mobile app?▾
Not yet. The web UI is mobile-friendly, but a native iOS / Android wrapper isn't shipped. If you need native mobile, Era is ahead.
Will Finlynq ever offer regulated investment advisory like Era's Thesis?▾
No. Becoming an SEC-registered investment adviser is incompatible with the AGPL self-hostable design — the regulator wants a single accountable entity; the design wants none. Finlynq is the database; the user can hire whatever advisor they want against the data.
Sources
- Era homepage— fetched 2026-05-07
- Era Context explainer— fetched 2026-05-07
- Anthropic Connectors Directory — Era listing— 27 tools, visible from 2026-05-11
- Las Vegas Sun — Era launch coverage— 2026-05-06
- Finlynq on GitHub— AGPL v3 source
- Finlynq MCP guide— connect Claude, Cursor, Windsurf and more
Try Finlynq
Free, open source, AGPL v3. Run it on our managed cloud or self-host with one Docker Compose file. Same features either way.