More than 49% of Canadians and 30% of Americans now have a monthly budget. And YNAB, since its initial release in 2004, gave its user a great budgeting option. However, several other YNAB alternatives are now available that come with competitive pricing and additional features.
You must have a monthly budget and long-term financial goal if you don’t want to live from paycheck to paycheck. And budgeting apps and websites give you just that.
So, I took a deep dive into the financial industry to figure out what suits the best for any regular person. But before I have my take, let me first clarify why I looked for an alternative option.
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Reasons To Switch To “You Need a Budget” Alternatives
Not just YNAB; several similar sites work exactly like it. It gives you a budgeting option and lets you learn personal finance hacks through a learning curve.
But I personally don’t like a few things about YNAB and chose to move ahead.
- Very Costly Affair: After the recent hike, you need to pay $14.99/month (or $98.99/year when billed annually). There are many similar apps available that offer way cheaper plans.
- No Financial Future Planning Option: YNAB gives you a detailed insight into your current financial status. But it doesn’t give you the option to set future goals or any retirement planning.
- Lack Of Investment Tracking: Not just your earnings and expenses, your budgeting app should give you options to invest and to track those in real-time. YNAB doesn’t offer anything of that sort!
- 2FA Missing: Not just baking-grade SSL protection, you also need two-factor authentication to safeguard your account from unusual logins and activities. YNAB surely misses that!
You also need to enter your credit card details before you can opt for the 34-day trial period.
Although you can cancel it anytime, why do you even need to give your details before you fix your mind about getting a YNAB account?
17 Best YNAB Alternatives (Websites And Apps)
I tried several YNAB alternatives to find out what suits my needs, preferences, and financial mindset.
And depending on what I found and how I felt, here are the 17 best options you can try (offer competitive pricing and additional features).
1. Mint
Established in 2006, Mint (intuit-owned) is one of the best budgeting and money-tracking platforms. And there is a debate of YNAB vs. Mint these days, although Mint seems a clear winner in many cases!
If I need money now and want to save as well, I’ll surely prefer Mint over YNAB.
Key Features:
- Track all your investments, loans, cards, and bank accounts in a single place.
- Real-time alters for unusual transactions and purchases.
- Insightful tips to avoid ATM fees and other charges.
- Both the desktop version (web) and app version (Android and iOS) are available.
- Offers a personalized marketplace for your future investments.
Pricing: Mint is free to use but ad-supported. No option for premium accounts.
Ratings: 4.3 ratings (200k reviews) on Google Play Store and 4.8 ratings (764.9k reviews) on Apple App Store.
2. Tiller
Tiller is surely among the best sites like YNAB that you can trust. It lets you have a spreadsheet-style approach where you can save data directly on Google Sheets or MS Excel.
Signing up is easy and takes less than a minute. And once you connect all your bank accounts and credit cards, it automatically starts tracking.
Unique Features:
- Use up to 5 spreadsheets (foundation and pre-built templates) for different needs.
- Debt-snowball template.
- Offers real-time synchronization of all your transactions and spending.
- Comes with 256-bit AES (Bank-grade) encryption.
Limitations:
- Can’t track your investments and utility bill payments.
- Exclusively web-based (no app or extension available).
Pricing: Billed $79 annually (around $6.58/month). But Tiller offers a 30-day trial period for free.
Bonus For Users: Weekly webinar on money management and automated daily transaction updates through email.
3. Personal Capital
If you are looking for free YNAB alternatives, Personal Capital can offer you just that! You can easily integrate your bank accounts and can manually include utility bills, investments, and daily expenses.
It can also help you to make money fast with its free portfolio analyzer and asset management to develop a better investment strategy.
Highlights:
- Offers a unique retirement planner and total net worth tracker.
- Complete analysis of your current investments.
- Comes with 256-bit encryption for robust security.
- Available in both web and app (Android and iOS) versions.
Pricing: Both web and app versions of Personal Capital are free.
Wealth Management: It offers WMA through trained financial professionals for a 0.89% advisory fee billed annually. However, you need at least $100k worth of investment.
4. EveryDollar
EveryDollar is undoubtedly among the best “You Need a Budget” alternatives. It is the brainchild of the financial mastermind, Dave Ramsey, famous for his tested money tips.
The primary goal of this tool is to make everyone financially independent and free from debt.
USP Of EveryDollar: It offers a unique strategy called “Baby Steps” (developed by Dave Ramsey himself). This feature guides you to pay off your smallest debt first and gradually move towards repaying the bigger one.
Benefits Of Using It:
- Extremely lightweight app with a minimalistic UI.
- Set up new savings goals in different categories (customizable).
- Allows you to plan monthly budgets efficiently.
Subscription Charge: $79.99/year billed annually (around $6.67/month). It comes with a 14-day trial plan for free.
5. PocketSmith
Not everyone is a fan of an “event-based” strategy for their budget, where they take a calendar-centric approach. But if you love that, PocketSmith is just for you!
It automatically creates a personal calendar for your financial portfolio, which you can also share with others. And that makes it a great choice if you budget together with your better half or have a side hustle.
Key Features:
- Tracks all the activity from multiple income sources.
- Focuses on short-term goals by offering a predictive forecast of cash flow.
- Sync bank accounts and transactions (premium subscription).
- Reminder for upcoming bill payments and EMIs.
- Available in both web and app (iOS and Android) versions.
Subscriptions:
- Free: Completely free to use but offers just six months of projection.
- Premium: $9.95/month or $90/year. It offers 10 years of financial projection and unlimited budgeting profiles.
- Super: $19.95/month or $170/year. This plan offers a financial projection for up to 30 years.
6. Simplifi (By Quicken)
Quicken launched Simplifi as one of the best alternative sites for YNAB. It offers a detailed view of your financial situation and future goals. You can easily integrate all your bank accounts, cards, loans, and investments.
Simplifi also delivers customized notifications for your upcoming utility bill payments.
Unique Features:
- Automated budget plan by tracking income and spending in real-time.
- Allows tagging transactions and gives due date reminders.
- You can set budget percentages for different spending and investments.
Availability: Web-based and app-based (Supports both iOS and Android).
Pricing: $47.88/year, billed annually (around $3.99/month). But it comes with a 30-day free trial period.
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7. PocketGuard
PocketGuard is among the cheap YNAB alternatives that offer predictive budgeting based on your monthly earnings. You can easily link your credit cards and bank accounts to one place to get a complete picture.
In My Pocket: It is a unique feature that can show how much money will be left in a month after your total expenditure. You can use that feature to use that leftover money to invest.
Note: If you are an overspender or shopaholic, this feature will also be helpful, as you can now predict what amount will be left after your actual expenses.
Security Features:
- 2-Factor authentication while login.
- 256-bit SSL (Banking-grade) encryption.
- Multi-layered security model to save you even while you connect to public Wi-Fi.
Pricing: Both free and paid versions are available. The paid one will cost you $34.99/year (approx. $2.92/month), billed annually.
8. Mvelopes
Mvelopes is primarily focused on ensuring a fast-paced and easy-to-use budgeting solution. It takes just 15 minutes or less to create a complete budget. So, if you want to make $300 fast by saving some, it is the best one.
Unique Features:
- Create Envelopes For Every Need: Not just current; you can now even create envelopes for future expenses, such as for a car you want to buy or a family trip you are planning for.
- Debt Reduction: It will automatically find the remaining money after creating an envelope for all your tags. And with that, it helps you to pay off your debt. Mvelopes itself says it helped its users pay off $17,425 on average.
Subscription Plans:
- Basic: $5.97/month
- Premium: $9.97/month (Debt reduction and priority customer support)
- Plus: $19.97/month (Premium features + personal financial coaching)
9. CountAbout
CountAbout can track your earnings and fetch all your expenditure to give you a comprehensive financial report. You can even customize your budget according to your taxes.
Key Features:
- Easy Integration: Import your personal data from Mint and Quicken.
- Small Business Invoicing: You can customize accounts, create receipts, and send invoices.
- All-In-One: Integrate all your cards, bank accounts, loans, and investments.
Availability: Web version and lightweight app (both iOS and Android) version.
Pricing:
- Basic: $9.99/year, billed annually. (Everything is manual)
- Premium: $39.99/year (approx. $3.33/month), billed annually.
Free Trial: Both the Basic and Premium subscription plan come with a 45-day free trial period.
10. Qube Money
If you are looking for unique apps similar to YNAB, Qube Money is definitely for you! It offers an envelope method, and you can save up much faster and even save and make $50k efficiently.
You can make a joint account with your spouse. It also offers a family account that supports up to 10 family members, including children and teens.
Highlights:
- Free access to debit card
- Compatible with both Google and Apple Pay
- Website and app (iOS and Android) available
Subscription Plans:
- Basic: Debit card access + up to 10 Qubes (envelopes)
- Premium: $8/month or $79/year (unlimited Qubes and Qube for couples)
- Family: $15/month (up to 10 family members with unlimited Qubes)
11. Lunch Money
Focused on Gen-Y and Z, Lunch Money is for new-age people. It is probably the only platform in this list that offers multicurrency support. So, you can earn and also spend in euros, pounds, and yen.
It is also suitable for finance auditors and people who have bookkeeping jobs.
Best Suited For: Multiethnic families, travel buffs, side hustlers, and international freelancers.
Automated Integration: Import all your transactions and loans in just the blink of an eye.
Special Features:
- Not just cash, it can also track your crypto wallet.
- Comes with an automated net worth tracker.
- Complete customization of different spending needs.
Pricing: $10/month when billed monthly, and $70/year, billed annually for the first year. The annual plan will cost you $100/year from the second renewal.
12. Goodbudget
It Follows the traditional envelope model but is backboned by Ai. Goodbudget not just gives you a budgeting solution but also understands your spending patterns.
It also supports multiple devices simultaneously and gives you complete control to edit your envelopes manually.
Pricing Plans:
- Free: Completely free to use. It supports up to 2 devices, 20 envelopes (10 regular + 10 bonus), and offers one year of financial history.
- Plus: $8/month or $70/year (billed annually). Offers unlimited envelopes for up to 5 devices. You can create unlimited accounts and can track up to 7 years of financial history.
Limitations: It is a very advanced budgeting tool that mainly depends on the manual entry of expenses. So, no automatic tracking or bank account synchronization is available.
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13. Wally
You can now easily track your expenses and set intermediate financial goals with Wally. It is not just among the trusted YNAB alternatives, but also, the basic version is free.
You can also set your short-term and long-term goals on this app and start working towards them.
Key Features:
- Both manual and automated syncing of transactions.
- Integrate your foreign money accounts and even crypto wallets.
- Automatically creates charts and predictive graphs to give you more insight.
- Take a photo or scan the receipt; Wally will do the rest.
Availability: iOS and Android (No web version)
Pricing:
- Free: Only supports manual entry of transactions and payments.
- Gold: $74.99 (one-time fee). Offers automated syncing.
14. Buxfer
If you want to track multiple foreign accounts having various currencies, Buxfer is for you. It supports more than 100 different currencies and is available in 150 countries.
You can seamlessly integrate, track, and manage all your financial activities in just one place.
Highlights:
- Automated sync of baking transactions with manual entry option.
- Easily upload financial and credit statements.
- Gives you real-time alerts for both transactions and unusual activities.
- Complete investment tracking with predictive financial forecasts.
Pricing Plans:
- Plus: $4.99/month ($3.99/month when billed annually) (Unlimited account and transactions)
- Pro: $5.99/month ($4.99/month, billed annually) (Plus + financial forecast and spam alert)
- Prime: $111.99/month ($9.99/month in annual billing) (Pro + retirement planner and data backup)
15. Spendee
Especially loved by Canadians, Spendee lets you set your financial goals and work for those. Besides your bank accounts, it can automatically track your e-wallets, crypto, and NFT portfolio.
Unique Features:
- Track and manage multiple accounts in multiple currencies.
- User-friendly and simplistic UI with charts and graphs.
- Customized alerts to stop you from a shopping spree or when you go beyond your budget.
Availability: Available in both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. No web version is available.
Subscription Plans:
- Free: Allows one wallet and one budget option (No automated sync)
- Plus: $14.99/year (Unlimited wallet and budget, but no automated sync)
- Premium: $22.99/year (Plus + Automated sync of bank accounts and wallets)
16. Wallet
Developed by Budget Bakers, Wallet is the best YNAB alternative you can have right now that offers a complete receipt archive. It is available for both Android and iOS.
You can now seamlessly integrate up to 3 profiles in a single account and categorize them according to your earning sources. And that makes it great for side hustlers and freelancers.
Key Features:
- Add financial data manually or automatically.
- Offers complete financial insight report with planned payment option.
- Offers colorful financial charts and detailed graphs.
- Easy to use UI and very lightweight.
Pricing:
- Free: No auto sync available and limited to 1 account.
- Premium: $4.49/month (or $26.99/year when billed annually). Offers auto sync.
What We Don’t Like: The free version needs you to manually enter every spending, which is a hectic job!
17. Empower
Empower can help you to double your money by tracking all your transactions and then fixing your goal. It is more than just a budgeting app that can track your banking history, RD, direct & fixed deposits, and investments.
Unique Features:
- Instant payday loan up to $250 without any interest or late payment fees.
- Interest checking account with 0.01% APY.
- Automated spending habit tracking and delivers customized suggestions.
- Fully automated savings account to create a saving habit.
USP: You don’t need any credit history or deposits to get a cash advance.
Availability: iOS and Android (no web version available)
How To Select The Best YNAB Alternatives or Budgeting App/Website?
I have already discussed many YNAB alternatives that you can trust and completely rely on. But not every app or website is suited for every financial budget and need.
So, here are the key considerations when selecting the best-suited budgeting platform for you.
- Fits Your Expertise: While some platforms offer manual entry, some rely on automated sync. So, look for the best option that supports your budgeting skillset and experience.
- Available Customization: Check if you can categorize your income from different sources and understand how it manages it. Besides, it must let you set your financial goals.
- State-Of-The-Art Security: Your budgeting app or website should have at least banking-grade security. It is even better if it offers 256-bit SSL encryption.
- Easy-To-Use UI: The app or website needs to be very easy to use and has a simplistic design where you can focus on financial goals than funky animations.
- Multiuser Compatibility: If you have a family or living with your partner, your budgeting app must have the option to integrate your family members to give you a complete financial picture.
- Free Version/Free Trial: Your app should allow you to have a first-hand experience for free. Even if it is paid, it needs to have a free trial period.
YNAB Alternatives – Final Takeaways
It is better to check the app or website with a free trial first to know if it suits your needs, preferences, and financial planning. Besides, you should also check the reviews of existing users to have more insight into any budgeting app.
So, these are all the best (And cheap) YNAB alternatives I’ve found. If you have any queries or want to give feedback, feel free to start a conversation with me in the comment box below.
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