About
It started with a notebook.
Lekkalu is a private, by-hand finance tracker. I built it because good money habits, and the tools to build them, should belong to everyone.
Saiduth Erlapati
I build Lekkalu from Vancouver, between the ocean and the mountains. It's just me, no team, so the person who wrote the code is the same person who replies when you write in.
“Lekkalu” comes from my native language, Telugu. It means finances or accounts.
Growing up, I watched my parents sit down every evening and write out their daily lekkalu in a notebook. Every expense, every bit of income, by hand. No app, no automation. Just a few quiet minutes that built real awareness and discipline over the years.
That ritual is the whole idea behind this app. Lekkalu isn't just finance tracking, it's a way to build the same steady relationship with money, one transaction at a time.
Why this exists
I was stuck in the same loop for years. Try to track my money, hold the budget for a week, drop it, then watch another YouTube video about the system that finally works and download another app that didn't stick. When I started asking friends about it, I heard the same story back.
What I wanted was the opposite of automation. Something that keeps me in touch with my money day to day, without paying a subscription for the privilege. Financial tools shouldn't be a luxury. The one honest free option was a spreadsheet, which is powerful, and not something you open on your phone every evening.
I tried a lot of apps first. They came down to the same four frustrations:
- Data stored on third-party servers, one breach away from exposure.
- Tracking and analytics quietly sold to advertisers.
- Basic features locked behind expensive subscriptions.
- No way to get your data out, locked in for good.
So I built the thing I wanted, and now I use it every day. It takes about a minute in the evening: open it, type in what I spent, close it. I can see exactly where my money goes, and none of it ever leaves my phone. Now you can do the same.
What I believe, and what I do about it
A belief with no mechanism behind it is just a slogan. Here's each one, and the thing that makes it true.
Private
Your money is nobody else's business. That's why your data is encrypted on your device before it's saved, and why I hold no key that can open it.
Yours to leave with
Lock-in isn't a business model. That's why your whole history is one export away, and why the app keeps working with no connection at all.
Free at the core
The basics aren't a premium feature. That's why everything you need to track your money is free, with no limits and no card on file.
Independent
Ads and data sales would put me on the wrong side of you. That's why the only money Lekkalu takes is optional Pro and donations.
What runs where
You don't have to take my word for any of this. You can check it yourself in about two minutes.
On your device
Your transactions, accounts, budgets, goals and investments. All of it encrypted before it's saved, readable only after you unlock it.
On the server
Your login, and the wrapped key material that lets you get back in. It can't be unwrapped without your secret. Not by me, and not by anyone who walks off with the server.
Check it yourself. Open your browser devtools and watch the network tab. You'll see your login go out. You won't see your transactions, because they never leave. The local database shows them sitting there encrypted. Then turn on airplane mode and keep using the app.
The one thing you can't check is the source code, because it isn't public today. That's a fair criticism and I'll take it.
How Lekkalu stays alive
The core of Lekkalu is free, and it stays free. Nothing that's free today moves behind a paywall later. That's a rule, not a marketing line.
Running and building the app costs money and time. Right now that comes out of my own pocket.
The goal isn't to get rich here. It's to keep Lekkalu alive, independent, and getting better for the people who rely on it.
Chip in
Donations buy you nothing. No badge, no unlock, no feature you didn't already have. But they help me to keep working on this.
Support LekkaluPro, when it's ready
A tier for the handful of things that cost real money to run, like up-to-date investment prices and encrypted personal cloud backup.
See what's free todayEither one helps. Neither one is expected.
If I ever stop, you don't lose anything.
Your records are already on your device, not on mine. Export them all to one Excel file whenever you want and open it in any spreadsheet. That isn't a feature I added to reassure you. It's the reason the app is built this way.
Get in touch
A question, a bug, a feature you wish existed, or just hello. I read every message myself and reply as soon as I can, usually within two days.
Start your own lekkalu.
The same notebook, now on your phone. Private, free, and about a minute a day.
Try Lekkalu today