Quicken on Linux by 2020 for Those Rejecting Windows 10 (15 Legacy & 2 Merged Votes)

Bill Tucci
Bill Tucci Member ✭✭
edited October 2023 in Product Enhancements
With many Windows users looking for an alternative to Windows 10, I expect many will be seriously looking to Linux as an alternative in 2020 when MS ends Win 7 support.  And if enough software vendors release a Linux version of their product, I think there could be a substantial market for Linux software.  Maybe even as big as the current macOS market.

I realize that much of the current development budget is being spent on updating the Mac version, with the rest on enhancing and streamlining the Windows code.  But I think a background project to port Quicken to Linux over the next 3 or 4 years might find enough of a market to make the investment worthwhile.  You might at least want to keep an eye on that segment as 2020 approaches.
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  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    I would certainly vote for that; the W10 interface is awful, so I got a mod for it that changes the user interface to be more like W7/W8. However Windows is still a bloated monster and resource hog that leaves little PC power available for applications. Unfortunately the deafening silence from the Quicken HQ on this topic doesn't encourage much hope. That said, there are ways to run some relatively recent versions of Quicken on Linux, using a paid app or a virtual machine. 
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited August 2019
    Make a Linux version. Microsoft is porting some of it's stuff to Linux so, It might be easier to convert programs that use SQL or VS and others. Not sure how fast Microsoft is porting their stuff. It might be worth looking into If only to get idea of when programming for Linux might be practical. I'll have to keep using the wine program for now. Wine lets you run Windows or Mac programs on Linux. No wine is not an emulator nor does it violate any copy writes. If It did, I wouldn't use it. Even the FBI knows it's legit.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    "How do I make suggestions to make quicken better?"

    You did it exactly right.  Quicken Inc takes suggestion by you posting them as an IDEA.

    As for wine, have no worry, Quicken Inc doesn't think it is any kind of violating of the copyrights and such (they aren't about to go after people for using Quicken in it).  But just know it isn't a "supported" configuration.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    Not yet. Eventually there will come a day when all major operating systems are equally supported by all programs. It's kinda like woman getting the vote. It takes a few years to change the way people think.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited December 2017

    Not yet. Eventually there will come a day when all major operating systems are equally supported by all programs. It's kinda like woman getting the vote. It takes a few years to change the way people think.

    Actually when I said it isn't a supported configuration I was referring to Wine.
    As for Linux, that is even harder uphill battle.  It would mean almost to total rewrite for what is by far the smallest number of users, way lower than Windows and Mac.
  • smayer97
    smayer97 SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    As a related aside, Quicken uses a Wine bottler to run the QWin to QMac conversion, built into the QMac version. 

    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

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  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited August 2018
    I'm of the opinion the Quicken developers are being pushed to keep development on Windows/Mac because of their programming tools and .Net which is anathema to Linux. A port to base Linux or Ubuntu would be well accepted and is a market that can grow. Financial management is one weak area in Linux but there are a few products in that sphere that can't quite compete with the Win version in capability. I dearly hope they do a port to Lunix as I have my business on Quicken and have had it that way for11 years and I don't relish running it in a VM mish mosh. I administer VMs in server environments and it's not for the lighthearted.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited July 2018
    It's really a puzzle why they won't port to Linux seeing as Quicken on Android & Mac has to run on unix-based machines. How hard can it be?  Well, I'll continue to run the older version forever, if necessary. Definitely not paying for a new version until it runs on Linux.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited December 2017

    As a related aside, Quicken uses a Wine bottler to run the QWin to QMac conversion, built into the QMac version. 

    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

    So - should I try downloading the Mac version and running that in Wine?  I downloaded Quicken 2018 Deluxe, Windows version, and got an error 1627 attempting to install in Wine.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited December 2017
    QPW said:

    "How do I make suggestions to make quicken better?"

    You did it exactly right.  Quicken Inc takes suggestion by you posting them as an IDEA.

    As for wine, have no worry, Quicken Inc doesn't think it is any kind of violating of the copyrights and such (they aren't about to go after people for using Quicken in it).  But just know it isn't a "supported" configuration.

    I'm running Wine on Debian Linux - emulating Windows 7.  I got an error 1627 when running the install of the Windows version of Quicken 2018 Deluxe.  I was not able to determine what error code 1627 is caused by.

    Thanks.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited December 2017

    As a related aside, Quicken uses a Wine bottler to run the QWin to QMac conversion, built into the QMac version. 

    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

    Wine is for emulating Windows.  The Mac version has to run on the Mac operating system.

    As for the install error.  Since Quicken isn't supported on Wine, I doubt there is anyone that can give you any tips on the error.  You will probably have to find someone supporting Wine and ask them.
  • chad101
    chad101 Member ✭✭
    edited August 2018
    I'm waiting for this as well.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited August 2018
    I would love to see Quicken on Linux.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited August 2018
    I've been hoping for a Linux version of Quicken for years. I run Ubuntu on my machines, and only use Windows, currently Windows 10, for financial support. So far, I have not encountered a financial program that is as easy to use as Quicken, perhaps it's my advancing age that makes it harder for me to transition to another program. But, please, please make it happen soon.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited August 2018
    YES, PLEASE, Quicken for linux. I can then abandon MS.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited July 2018
    Microsoft released .Net Core which looks like it runs on Linux.  But my guess is the various .Net Forms libraries on which some of Quicken is probably built are are very windows api specific.  Also my guess is there is a lot of pre-.Net code in Quicken Windows that is very very Windows Api specific.

    Like someone said above, since Mac OS is a unix derivative maybe someday that can be ported to Linux.
  • Patrick Larkin Jr
    Patrick Larkin Jr Member
    edited August 2018
    YES!  Please Do It!
    I am experimenting with running Win10 in a VirtualBox VM on an Ubuntu host.   Until I'm comfortable with that, or we get a native Linux port of Quicken, I have to continue to dual-boot Windows... which is pretty much the only Windows app I rely on.   Full-blown Win10 (on bare metal, or as a VM) is a complete waste of resources when all I want to run is Quicken (2017 H&B currently)
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited August 2018
    If windows is involved in any way, Microsoft has you. VM doesn't free you from MS.
  • Rick Gumpertz
    Rick Gumpertz Member ✭✭✭
    edited August 2018
    While I think a Linux version would be great, the programmers seem to be overloaded just getting Windows and Mac versions working correctly.  They should make those two versions work well before taking on a third platform.  (And when they are ready to take on a third platform, should Chrome have priority over Linux?  I don't know.)
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited August 2018
    The problem with doing Chrome is that it's not designed for local apps so we're back to using the cloud. Mac is already a Unix platform with Apple specific modules for the bios so it should not be a reach to port it to Unix/Linux sans the Mac modules. Programmers being overloaded is a result of going for the cloud platform without ever perfecting the local version in a push to monetize it for management. I don't rust any cloud platform nor should anyone else with a functioning brain cell as all one needs to do is look at the news.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited September 2018
    Window 10 dumped on my husband's machine, Linux added We have been using Quicken for over 20 years would love to keep using it.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited December 2018
    Frankly the only way I think you will ever see Quicken on Linux without running a virtual machine is using wine.  And there are several problems around running wine (as in wine keeping up with all the changes/installs made to Quicken).
  • Bill Tucci
    Bill Tucci Member ✭✭
    edited September 2018
    QPW said:

    Frankly the only way I think you will ever see Quicken on Linux without running a virtual machine is using wine.  And there are several problems around running wine (as in wine keeping up with all the changes/installs made to Quicken).

    Unfortunately, I think you're right, especially given the current desktop Linux numbers.  It's just that I think a lot of the current non-business Win 7 users just don't want our data collected for sale (why I don't Facebook or tweet), or our data in the cloud (why we're using Quicken instead of Intuit's Mint).  My hope is that enough people decide they'd rather switch than fight, so that the market for a Linux version would be large enough to make a Linux version a financially viable product.

    I'd have to think long and hard about what to do if there isn't native Linux version.  As mentioned, Wine can have compatibility issues, and running a VM just for 1 application is hardly worth the install and maintenance (of the VM) effort.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    QPW said:

    Frankly the only way I think you will ever see Quicken on Linux without running a virtual machine is using wine.  And there are several problems around running wine (as in wine keeping up with all the changes/installs made to Quicken).

    It's not the install and maintenance effort that gets me, it just the time spent starting and stopping an extra layer of operating system when you just want to start one application.  Also, since you have to allocate a chunk of resources RAM and CPU to the VM machine, it makes Linux a slug while the VM machine is up.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    QPW said:

    Frankly the only way I think you will ever see Quicken on Linux without running a virtual machine is using wine.  And there are several problems around running wine (as in wine keeping up with all the changes/installs made to Quicken).

    I wonder if the Quicken folks think about how many users they'd lose instantly if a product came up that would both replace Quicken and run natively (or perhaps with wine) on Linux.  It seems to be that it would be somewhat trivial for them to get it capable of running under Wine.  They still wouldn't have to support it.  But would make many linux users very happy.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    QPW said:

    Frankly the only way I think you will ever see Quicken on Linux without running a virtual machine is using wine.  And there are several problems around running wine (as in wine keeping up with all the changes/installs made to Quicken).

    This is funny.  How many users do you think Quicken would lose if a suitable Windows competitor came out?

    That's the puzzle.  Wheres the competition?
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited August 2019

    Frankly the only way I think you will ever see Quicken on Linux without running a virtual machine is using wine.  And there are several problems around running wine (as in wine keeping up with all the changes/installs made to Quicken).

    John Ervin They probably think about it, but not for very long.

    To do a native application they would have close to a total rewrite.  And they have a very vivid example of what that would take.  Quicken Mac was totally rewritten starting in about 2007, here it is 2018, and it still doesn't have feature parity with Quicken 2007 Mac let alone subscription (2018/2019) Quicken Windows.

    And it isn't like there hasn't been time or a desire for this.  [removed] has been around for probably over 20 years, and there is [removed], which is written in Java so it can run on Linux.  So there is even programs like this on Linux, the catch is always that they are not a feature rich as Quicken.  Well that is because it takes a lot of work, time, and money to produce a program like that.

    As far as wine goes, some versions of Quicken already run on it.  The problem is because of the way things are simulated every time a patch comes out the people maintaining wine have to make changes to allow for the whatever new library or whatnot that is being used.

    And frankly not only are Linux Desktop users a very small percentage of users, I have the feeling most of them wouldn't want to pay for it, they would expect it to be free like all the other things they get when using Linux.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    QPW said:

    Frankly the only way I think you will ever see Quicken on Linux without running a virtual machine is using wine.  And there are several problems around running wine (as in wine keeping up with all the changes/installs made to Quicken).

    Well, I finally got it running on my Ubuntu system with crossover.  I wasn't crazy enough to ask for a total re-write so that it would run on linux.  I just wanted them to make it easier to run under something like wine.  Which I think, basically would just take some information sharing.  I'm OK with a little instability due to patches and wine.

    Also, I run a small business using Quicken (formerly QUicken HAB), have my investments in Quicken etc.  And I haven't found any one thing that would do the job.  I like Quicken and I don't normally run Windows.  I own (or subscribe) Quicken and would like to run it directly one my Ubuntu system w/o firing up Virtualbox which is how I did it until today.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    QPW said:

    Frankly the only way I think you will ever see Quicken on Linux without running a virtual machine is using wine.  And there are several problems around running wine (as in wine keeping up with all the changes/installs made to Quicken).

    BTW, I'm not holding my breath for a version of Quicken that will run natively on Ubuntu.
  • NotACPA
    NotACPA SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    QPW said:

    Frankly the only way I think you will ever see Quicken on Linux without running a virtual machine is using wine.  And there are several problems around running wine (as in wine keeping up with all the changes/installs made to Quicken).

    John,
    Good plan.

    Q user since February, 1990. DOS Version 4
    Now running Quicken Windows Subscription, Business & Personal
    Retired "Certified Information Systems Auditor" & Bank Audit VP