YNAB alternatives, by what you need.
A YNAB alternative is a budget app you move to when YNAB's $109 a year, its one currency per plan, or its way of budgeting stops fitting. Seven follow, each best for something different: Actual Budget, Copilot Money, EveryDollar, Goodbudget, Monarch Money, Outlayr, and PocketGuard. 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 to bring your YNAB plan with its YNAB importers | 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 |
| Copilot Money | Best if you live in the US, use an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and want linked accounts to sync on their own | $95 a year, after a 1-month trial. No free plan | iPhone, iPad, Mac, web. No Android |
| EveryDollar | Best if you live in the US and want a zero-based monthly budget with a free version | Free version. Premium is $17.99 a month or $79.99 a year, after a 14-day trial | Computer, phone, or tablet |
| Goodbudget | Best if you want envelopes by hand on the web, Android, and iPhone | Free plan. Premium is $10 a month or $80 a year | Web, Android, iPhone |
| Monarch Money | Best if you live in the US or Canada and want net worth, budgets, reports, and goals from linked accounts | $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 spend in more than one currency and want to start free, logging by sentence, voice, or receipt | 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 live in the US or Canada, want linked accounts to sync, and would rather pay once | $12.99 a month, $74.99 a year, or $149.99 once, after a 7-day trial | Web, iPhone, Apple Watch, Android |
Each detail about the other apps links to the page it was read on, checked 23 October 2026.
How we picked
Each app here is a budget app people move to from YNAB, and each one fits a different reason to leave, from price to currencies to how entries get in. 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
Copilot Money
Copilot is a paid money app for Apple devices and the web that syncs linked accounts.
- Price
- $95 a year, after a 1-month trial. No free plancopilot.money
- Adding entries
- Synced from linked US accounts, or by handcopilot.money
- Currencies
- US dollars only, with no conversionhelp.copilot.money
- Runs on
- iPhone, iPad, Mac, web. No Androidhelp.copilot.money
- Watch out for
- No CSV or XLS import, so your YNAB history cannot come inhelp.copilot.money
EveryDollar
EveryDollar is a budget app from Ramsey Solutions whose mobile app is sold in the United States, with bank connections in its paid version.
- Price
- Free version. Premium is $17.99 a month or $79.99 a year, after a 14-day trialeverydollar.help.ramseysolutions.com
- Budget style
- A zero-based monthly budgetramseysolutions.com
- Adding entries
- By hand. Bank connect pulls transactions in Premium. No file importeverydollar.help.ramseysolutions.com
- Available in
- Mobile app and Premium in the US only. Elsewhere, a free budget on EveryDollar.comeverydollar.help.ramseysolutions.com
- Runs on
- Computer, phone, or tabletramseysolutions.com
- Watch out for
- Outside the US you get only the free web budget, and CSV export is Premium, one month per fileeverydollar.help.ramseysolutions.com
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
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
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
- 2 accounts, 2 category budgets plus one for the month, 20 voice or receipt captures every 30 days, and accounts in one currency
- Watch out for
- No web app. A YNAB export comes in as a comma-separated CSV, without accounts or split lines
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
Bringing your YNAB history
YNAB exports from its web app only. Click your plan's name at the top of the left sidebar, then Export Plan, and you get two files: your plan and your transactions. For currencies written with a decimal comma, YNAB writes tab-separated files. The export leaves out targets and category notes, and photos come out one at a time. If you only tried YNAB, export soon: it deletes inactive trial accounts 120 days after the trial ends.
Actual Budget has importers for YNAB4 and nYNAB. Goodbudget, Monarch on the web, PocketGuard, and Outlayr take a CSV. Copilot imports no CSV or XLS files, and EveryDollar imports no files.
In Outlayr, import the transactions file. The date, the payee, and the category come in, while accounts, flags, cleared status, split lines, the plan file, and targets do not. Outlayr reads comma-separated files only and one amount column, so save a tab-separated file as CSV first, and if your file splits outflow and inflow, merge them into one column and add a Type column with Expense or Income.
Questions
What is the best YNAB alternative?
It depends on what you want to keep. Actual Budget keeps envelope budgeting, free, and imports YNAB plans. EveryDollar keeps a zero-based monthly budget in the US. Goodbudget keeps envelopes on the web and both phones. Monarch and Copilot sync linked accounts in the US, and Monarch also in Canada. PocketGuard syncs linked accounts in the US and Canada and can be bought once. Outlayr starts free and logs by sentence, voice, or receipt in 165 currencies.
Is there a free YNAB alternative?
Yes. Actual Budget is free software, though syncing devices needs a server. EveryDollar has a free version, Goodbudget a free plan with 20 envelopes, 1 account, and 1 year of history, and Outlayr a free plan with 2 accounts and 2 category budgets. Copilot, Monarch, and PocketGuard are paid after a trial.
Which YNAB alternative handles more than one currency?
Of these seven, Outlayr is the only one whose own site says it converts between currencies: 165 of them, each purchase at the rate from its day. Actual Budget offers an experimental fixed-rate rule. Goodbudget shows no currency symbols, Monarch shows everything as dollars, and Copilot is US dollars only. EveryDollar and PocketGuard do not say.
Can I move my YNAB history to Outlayr?
Yes, the transactions. Export your plan from YNAB's web app, then import the transactions file in Outlayr under Settings, Import data, CSV file. The date, the payee, and the category come in; accounts, splits, and targets do not. Save a tab-separated file as a comma CSV first.
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, 2 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.
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Keep reading
Guides
The best budget apps, by how you budget.
A budget app sets how much you plan to spend and tracks what you actually spend against it. Eight follow, each best for a different way to budget: Actual Budget, EveryDollar, Goodbudget, Monarch Money, Outlayr, PocketGuard, Spendee, and YNAB. Outlayr is ours; the other seven are not.
Compare
Outlayr as a Goodbudget alternative.
Goodbudget is an envelope budgeting app for the web, Android, and iPhone, with a free plan and bank sync for US banks in Premium.