Goodbudget vs YNAB

The method: envelopes, or every dollar a job

Goodbudget is a digital version of the cash-envelope system. You divide income into envelopes (groceries, rent, a holiday) and record each purchase against one; when an envelope is empty, that category is done until you refill it or move money across from another. Entering spending by hand is the main way in, which keeps you close to every purchase.

YNAB's method asks the same question of each payment that arrives, "What's it for?", and you assign money to categories until none is left unassigned. The difference is mostly in the tools around it: YNAB has targets for spending and savings goals, bank import that brings transactions in, and a loan planner. Goodbudget's envelopes are simpler to learn; YNAB's targets and loan planner do more of the arithmetic.

Both plans start from the money you have, not the money you expect, and both reward the habit of checking before you spend. If you have ever run a budget with cash in envelopes, Goodbudget will feel familiar at once; if you want a target for each bill and goal, YNAB has them.

Pricing, properly compared

Goodbudget has a free plan with no end date: 10 regular and 10 more envelopes, one account, two devices, one year of history and community support. Debt accounts are on the free plan too and do not count toward the one-account limit; Goodbudget says you can track as many as you need. Premium cost $80 a year or $10 a month on 24 October 2026 and adds unlimited envelopes and accounts, five devices, seven years of history, bank sync for US banks and email support. Its sign-up page does not state a trial, and parts of its help call the paid plan Plus rather than Premium.

YNAB has no free plan. On 24 October 2026 it cost $109 a year or $14.99 a month, plus tax where it applies, after a 34-day trial with no card on its own site; college students get 365 days.

Over two years Goodbudget costs nothing on the free plan, $160 on Premium paid yearly and $240 paid monthly. YNAB costs $218 paid yearly and $359.76 paid monthly, so Goodbudget Premium is $58 cheaper over two years paid yearly and $119.76 cheaper paid monthly. Against twelve monthly payments, paying yearly saves $40 a year on Goodbudget and $70.88 on YNAB. For many people the real comparison is Goodbudget's free plan against YNAB's trial: one keeps going at no cost within its limits, the other ends after 34 days. These sums leave out tax.

Bank connections and countries

Goodbudget's bank sync is a Premium feature, for US banks only, through Plaid, covering checking, savings and credit cards but not investments, crypto or loans. On the web it also imports QFX, OFX and CSV files, which it describes as for advanced users. YNAB's Direct Import is included in every subscription, for select banks in the US, Canada and 18 European countries including the UK, through MX and Plaid, and it imports CSV, QFX, OFX and QIF files on the web and iPad.

Outside the US, YNAB is the one of the two that can connect a bank. Inside the US, both can; Goodbudget only on Premium.

Sharing and devices

Goodbudget shares one household budget through one household login: two mobile devices on the free plan, five on Premium, and unlimited web access. YNAB Together lets the person who pays invite up to five others, six in all, each with their own login, and members share the plans they choose. If each person wants their own login, YNAB offers it; if a couple wants one budget on two phones for free, Goodbudget does.

Platforms and offline

Goodbudget runs on iPhone, Android and the web, which works on computers and tablets; it mentions no native Mac, Windows or dedicated iPad app. YNAB runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch and the web, with no desktop app.

On offline use, YNAB's features page advertises access "even offline!". Goodbudget's help describes it as available wherever you have internet access, syncing each time you open the app or record a transaction, and does not document entering spending offline.

Currencies, debt and AI

Neither handles several currencies. Goodbudget's own comparison table marks multiple currencies as not supported; a YNAB plan holds one currency, and YNAB suggests a separate plan for each.

For debt, Goodbudget tracks debt accounts on both plans, with a debt snowball guide and a debt progress report. YNAB's loan planner calculates how much interest and time each extra dollar toward a loan saves. Goodbudget's pages do not state any AI features; YNAB's privacy policy allows AI for categorizing, cleaning up merchant names, insights and support.

History and reports

Goodbudget's free plan keeps one year of history and Premium seven, which matters if you want to look back at what last year's holidays or repairs cost. For debt it has a Debt Progress Report. YNAB's reports are Net Worth, Spending Breakdown and Age of Money on the web and on phones, Spending Trends and Income v. Expense on the web only, and Income vs. Spending on phones only.

Import and export

Both export to files from the web: Goodbudget exports transactions as CSV, and YNAB exports a plan and its transaction history as two CSV or TSV files, without targets or category notes. Neither describes an importer made for the other. Goodbudget's CSV import maps date, name and amount columns, so a YNAB transaction file could in principle be loaded that way, though that has not been tested here. Most people who switch set up envelopes or categories again and start from today's balances.