The best budget apps in Canada, with or without your bank
Seven budget apps that work in Canada, each best for a different way to budget: Actual Budget, Goodbudget, Monarch Money, Outlayr, PocketGuard, Spendee, and YNAB. Most bill in US dollars and link Canadian banks unevenly, so each one says what it costs and whether it works without your bank login. Outlayr is ours; the other six are not.
| App | Who it fits | Price | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actual Budget | Best if you want free envelope budgeting on a computer and can run a server for bank sync | Free. Syncing between devices needs a server you run or rent, such as PikaPods or Fly.io | Windows, Mac, Linux, and the browser through a server |
| Goodbudget | Best if you want envelopes on the web and both phones, starting free, without linking a bank | Free plan. Premium is $10 a month or $80 a year | Web, Android, iPhone |
| Monarch Money | Best if you want budgets next to net worth from linked Canadian accounts, and can pay in US dollars | $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, after a 7-day trial. Plus is $199.99 a year | Web, iPhone, iPad, Android, in the US and Canada |
| Outlayr | Best if you want to budget in CAD without a bank login, logging a purchase in one sentence | Free. Pro is $7.99 a month, $49.99 a year with 7 days free, or $129.99 once in the US. Prices vary by country | iPhone and Android |
| PocketGuard | Best if you want zero-based, envelope, or category budgets from linked Canadian accounts | $12.99 a month, $74.99 a year, or $149.99 once, after a 7-day trial | Web, iPhone, Apple Watch, Android |
| Spendee | Best if you want a free start with a CAD wallet and other currencies beside it | Free Basic plan with 1 cash wallet and 1 budget. Plus $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year, Premium $5.99 a month or $35.99 a year, after a 7-day trial. Prices vary by country | iPhone, Android, web. Budgets are on the phone only for now |
| YNAB | Best if you want to decide what each dollar is for before you spend it, and are fine paying in US dollars | $14.99 a month or $109 a year, after a 34-day trial. Students get 365 days free | iPhone, Android, web, Apple Watch |
Each detail about the other apps links to the page it was read on, checked 7 November 2026.
How we picked
Each app here plans what you will spend, works for someone living in Canada, and fits a different way to budget. Copilot, EveryDollar, and Rocket Money are left out because they are built for the US. They are in alphabetical order, not ranked.
Every detail about the other apps was read on that app's own site or help center on the date below the table, and links to the page it came from. These are the facts as each app states them, not results of our own testing.
Outlayr is ours. It gets the same facts as the others, including its own Watch out for row.
Actual Budget
Actual Budget is a free, local-first envelope budgeting app for Windows, Mac, Linux, and the browser, open source under the MIT license.
- Price
- Free. Syncing between devices needs a server you run or rent, such as PikaPods or Fly.ioactualbudget.org
- Budget style
- Envelopesactualbudget.org
- Adding entries
- By hand, QIF, OFX, QFX, CAMT.053, and CSV files, importers for YNAB4 and nYNAB, and bank sync through its serveractualbudget.org
- Currencies
- One. It does not support multiple currencies, and an experimental rule converts at a fixed rate you typeactualbudget.org
- Runs on
- Windows, Mac, Linux, and the browser through a serveractualbudget.org
- On a phone
- A web page you install, which works offlineactualbudget.org
- Watch out for
- Devices do not sync until you run or rent a server, and its homepage still lists GoCardless bank sync, which is closed to new accountsactualbudget.org
- In Canada
- Bank sync through SimpleFIN Bridge, which covers North American banks, set up on your own serveractualbudget.org
Goodbudget
Goodbudget is an envelope budgeting app for the web, Android, and iPhone, with a free plan and bank sync for US banks in Premium.
- Price
- Free plan. Premium is $10 a month or $80 a yeargoodbudget.com
- Free plan
- 10 envelopes plus 10 annual or goal envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices, and 1 year of historygoodbudget.com
- Budget style
- Envelopesgoodbudget.com
- Adding entries
- By hand, or QFX, OFX, and CSV files. Bank sync for US banks in Premiumgoodbudget.com
- Currencies
- No currency symbols in the app or on the webgoodbudget.com
- Runs on
- Web, Android, iPhonegoodbudget.com
- Watch out for
- The free plan keeps 1 year of history, 20 envelopes, and 1 accountgoodbudget.com
- In Canada
- Bank sync is for US banks, so Canadian accounts go in by hand or from a QFX, OFX, or CSV filegoodbudget.com
Monarch Money
Monarch is a paid money dashboard that syncs linked accounts in the United States and Canada.
- Price
- $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, after a 7-day trial. Plus is $199.99 a yearmonarch.com
- Adding entries
- Synced from more than 13,000 banks and institutions, manual accounts, or CSV import on the webhelp.monarch.com
- Currencies
- Everything shows in dollars, with no conversionhelp.monarch.com
- Runs on
- Web, iPhone, iPad, Android, in the US and Canadamonarch.com
- Watch out for
- Accounts in different currencies add up as if they were one: 10,000 CAD and 10,000 USD show as $20,000help.monarch.com
- In Canada
- Available, billed in US dollars, with a 7-day trial to check that your banks connectmonarch.com
Outlayr
Outlayr is an open source expense tracker you fill in by sentence, voice, or receipt, free to start.
- Price
- Free. Pro is $7.99 a month, $49.99 a year with 7 days free, or $129.99 once in the US. Prices vary by country
- Budget style
- A limit per category or per month, with where the pace ends
- Adding entries
- One sentence, voice, receipt scan, CSV import
- Currencies
- 165, converted at the rate of the day
- Runs on
- iPhone and Android
- Free plan
- 3 accounts, 2 category budgets plus one for the month, 20 voice or receipt captures every 30 days, and accounts in one currency
- In Canada
- Set CAD as your main currency. Entries are typed, said, scanned, or imported from your bank's CSV, with no bank login
- Watch out for
- Voice entry and receipt scans need an account and a connection, with 20 captures every 30 days on the free plan. There is no web app
PocketGuard
PocketGuard is a paid budget app that syncs linked bank accounts.
- Price
- $12.99 a month, $74.99 a year, or $149.99 once, after a 7-day trialpocketguard.com
- Budget style
- Zero-based, envelopes, or by categorypocketguard.com
- Adding entries
- Synced from linked accounts in the US and Canada, cash transactions, or CSV importpocketguard.com
- Runs on
- Web, iPhone, Apple Watch, Androidpocketguard.com
- Watch out for
- Its pricing page shows no free plan, and its site says it is not available in some regionspocketguard.com
- In Canada
- Supports bank accounts and cards from Canadapocketguard.com
Spendee
Spendee is a budget app with cash wallets in several currencies and bank sync in its Premium plan.
- Price
- Free Basic plan with 1 cash wallet and 1 budget. Plus $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year, Premium $5.99 a month or $35.99 a year, after a 7-day trial. Prices vary by countryspendee.com
- Adding entries
- By hand, bank sync in Premium, or CSV and XLS files on the web, into cash walletshelp.spendee.com
- Currencies
- A currency per wallet, with your own exchange rate per transaction. A wallet's currency locks once it has transactionshelp.spendee.com
- Runs on
- iPhone, Android, web. Budgets are on the phone only for nowspendee.com
- Watch out for
- The free plan exports only the last 365 days, and export works on the phone onlyhelp.spendee.com
- In Canada
- A wallet can be in CAD. Bank sync is in Premium, so check that your bank is on its list firsthelp.spendee.com
YNAB
YNAB is a paid budgeting method built on bank imports.
- Price
- $14.99 a month or $109 a year, after a 34-day trial. Students get 365 days freeynab.com
- Budget style
- You decide what your money is for before you spend itynab.com
- Adding entries
- By hand, Direct Import from select US, Canadian, UK, and EU banks, or CSV filesynab.com
- Currencies
- One per planynab.com
- Runs on
- iPhone, Android, web, Apple Watchynab.com
- Watch out for
- No free plan after the trial, and export is web only, without targets or category notessupport.ynab.com
- In Canada
- Priced in US dollars. Direct Import covers select Canadian banksynab.com
Linking your bank, or not
Linking a bank pulls in transactions on their own, through a third-party connection that has to support your bank. Monarch asks Canadians to use its 7-day trial to check that their institutions connect reliably. If your bank is not covered, a linked app has little left to show.
Without a link, you log purchases yourself or import the CSV your bank lets you download from online banking. It takes a minute a day, works with any bank or credit union, and no app holds your banking password.
Paying and budgeting in CAD
Monarch, PocketGuard, and YNAB list their prices in US dollars, so what you pay in Canada moves with the exchange rate and your card's foreign transaction fee. When a plan is sold through the App Store or Google Play, the store charges in CAD.
Monarch adds accounts in different currencies as if they were one, so a US dollar account next to a CAD one gives misleading totals. Outlayr and Spendee keep each account in its own currency.
Questions
What is the best budget app in Canada?
The one that fits how you budget and whether you want to link a bank. To budget without a bank login, Goodbudget and Outlayr start free, and Actual Budget is free on a computer. To link Canadian accounts, Monarch and PocketGuard sync them, and YNAB imports from select Canadian banks.
Is there a free budget app in Canada?
Actual Budget is free software, with a server needed to sync. Goodbudget's free plan has 20 envelopes, 1 account, and 1 year of history. Spendee Basic has 1 wallet and 1 budget. Outlayr's free plan has 2 category budgets plus one for the month, and 3 accounts. Monarch, PocketGuard, and YNAB are paid after a trial.
Can I use a budget app without linking my bank?
Yes. Goodbudget, Outlayr, Spendee, and YNAB all work by hand or from a file your bank exports, and Actual Budget does without its server. Monarch also takes manual accounts. None of them needs your RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, or CIBC login to budget.
Do Copilot, Rocket Money, and EveryDollar work in Canada?
Copilot syncs only US financial institutions, and Rocket Money works with US banks. EveryDollar sells its mobile app and Premium in the US only. That is why none of them is on this list.
How much does Outlayr cost?
The tracker is free, with budgets, goals, subscriptions, and widgets. The free plan includes 20 voice or receipt captures every 30 days, 3 accounts, 2 category budgets, and accounts in one currency. Outlayr Pro raises those limits and adds sync. In the United States it is $7.99 a month, $49.99 a year with 7 days free, or $129.99 once. Your app store shows the price for your country.
Track every expense in one sentence
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