Seven YNAB alternatives, free and paid

If YNAB's price, its one currency per plan or the work its method asks for is why you are looking, there is an app on each side of it. Actual Budget keeps the same envelope method for free and imports YNAB data; Aspire Budget and EveryDollar keep zero-based budgeting at no cost; Monarch links your accounts for you; Goodbudget is envelopes on two phones; Lunch Money and Tavala hold many currencies in one budget. Each is below with its price on 24 October 2026, who it suits and where it falls short.

The same method, free and open sourceActual Budget
The Ramsey plan, free by handEveryDollar
Every account linked, in the US or CanadaMonarch
Envelopes on two phones, freeGoodbudget
Many currencies, in a web budgetLunch Money
Several currencies, offline, free to startTavala
Zero-based, free, in a spreadsheetAspire Budget

By Dejan Bogatinovski, founder of Tavala. Updated 25 October 2026.

Why people leave YNAB

The price. YNAB is $109 a year or $14.99 a month after a 34-day trial, as its pricing page showed on 24 October 2026. There is no free plan, and the price is in US dollars everywhere; YNAB's page says exchange rates are not reflected in it. Shared by a household of up to six people, each with their own login, that price goes a long way. For one person keeping a simple budget, several apps below cost less or nothing.

One currency per plan. A YNAB plan holds one currency, and YNAB's own guide for money in several currencies is a separate plan for each, with money moved between them by hand, as an outflow in one plan and an inflow in the other. Nothing converts automatically. Someone paid in euros with a card in dollars ends up keeping two budgets and adding them up themselves.

The method's setup. YNAB asks you to give every dollar a job when it arrives, and to move money between categories when plans change. It teaches this with guides and workshops, and for people who want that discipline it is the reason to stay. For people who want a budget that follows what they spend without assigning every dollar first, it is a different kind of app from the one they need.

Two smaller points that come up when choosing a replacement: YNAB has no desktop app (on a Mac or a PC it is the web app), and its services are operated from the United States, where data from other countries is stored.

Seven YNAB alternatives side by side
App	Price	Free plan	Currencies	Bank connections	Works offline
Actual Budget	Free softwareHosting from $2 a month (PikaPods)	FreeOpen source (MIT); you run it	One"does not support multi-currency"	Optional, set up yourselfNeeds your server; SimpleFIN ($15 a year) or Enable Banking	Yes"works regardless of your network connection"
EveryDollar	$79.99 a yearor $17.99 a month (Premium); 14-day trial	Free versionManual entry, unlimited categories, shared household budget	US dollars only"currently only supports U.S. dollars"	Premium onlyThrough Mastercard Connect and Plaid	Not stated
Monarch	$99.99 a yearor $14.99 a month (Core); Plus $199.99 a year	NoneA 7-day trial with a payment method	No conversionShows every amount as $; USD or CAD accounts advised	Included, at the coreUS and Canada only, 13,000+ institutions	Not stated
Goodbudget	$80 a yearor $10 a month on the web (Premium)	Free forever20 envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices, 1 year of history	OneIts own comparison table: multiple currencies "N"	Premium onlyUS banks only, through Plaid	Not documented"available wherever you have internet access"
Lunch Money	$60 to $150 a yearYou set the yearly price (default $100); or $10 a month	NoneA 30-day trial; a plan can be paused	160+ currenciesTotals in a primary currency you can change	OptionalPlaid in the US, Canada and 17 European countries; no UK	Not stated
Tavala	Free; Plus $39.99 a yearor $6.99 a month on the web	Free forever1 synced device, 2 currencies per space, 2 private spaces	Every currency in one space155 currencies and 96 cryptocurrencies; 2 per space on the free plan	Optional add-onBanks in the United States and Canada, through Plaid, $3.99 a month per bank	Every screenChanges sync when you are back online
Aspire Budget	FreeAspire Turbo $5 a month, optional; 30-day trial	FreeThe spreadsheet, in your own Google Drive; no Aspire account	OneYou choose the budget's currency	NoneTurbo imports bank CSV files instead	Not statedAspire Mobile needs internet to save a transaction

Checked on 24 October 2026 on each app's own pages, US prices: Actual Budget, EveryDollar, Monarch, Goodbudget, Lunch Money and Aspire Budget.

Actual Budget, for YNAB's method, free and open source

Price: Free software
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Linux, web
Currencies: One

Actual Budget is the closest thing to YNAB without the subscription: envelope budgeting, which its docs also call zero-based budgeting, in free, open-source software (MIT licence) that keeps your data on your device and has no trackers. You budget the money you have into categories, as in YNAB, and move it when a category runs short; a tracking budget is there if you would rather not.

It is local-first. The desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux works offline and needs no server. To use it on more than one device you run a sync server or rent one, from about $2 a month on PikaPods. Bank sync is optional and set up by you, through SimpleFIN ($15 a year) in North America or Enable Banking in Europe, and it imports CSV, QIF, OFX, QFX and CAMT files from any bank. The official phone apps are deprecated; on a phone it runs as an installed web page.

It is also the one app here with a documented YNAB importer: YNAB4 files directly, and current YNAB through a JSON file taken from YNAB's API, which is not the CSV export.

Where it falls short: One currency, no official phone app, and syncing between devices means running or renting a server.

Actual Budget's own pricing page

EveryDollar, for a zero-based budget, free if you type it in

Price: $79.99 a year
Platforms: Web, iPhone, iPad, Android
Currencies: US dollars only

EveryDollar is Ramsey Solutions' budgeting app, and its method is the one YNAB users know, in other words: plan where every dollar goes before you spend it, so income minus expenses equals zero. The free version keeps that budget with unlimited categories, sinking funds, split transactions and a shared household budget, as long as you enter spending yourself.

Premium, $79.99 a year or $17.99 a month after a 14-day trial, adds bank connections through Mastercard Connect and Plaid. It runs on the web, iPhone, iPad and Android, but the phone apps and Premium are available only in the United States, and it supports only US dollars.

Where it falls short: US dollars only; outside the US it is the web version alone; and it is built around one personal finance program.

EveryDollar's own pricing page

Monarch, for every account linked, in the US or Canada

Price: $99.99 a year
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android, web
Currencies: No conversion

Monarch is the alternative for people who want less budgeting work, not more: it links your accounts at more than 13,000 institutions and builds budgets, cash flow, investments and net worth from them. Its default is flex budgeting (fixed, non-monthly and flexible spending), with classic category budgets as an option, and Monarch says plainly that it is not zero-based.

Core is $99.99 a year or $14.99 a month after a 7-day trial that needs a payment method; Plus is $199.99 a year. A partner is added free with their own login, there is an AI assistant, and it runs on iPhone, iPad, Android and the web.

Where it falls short: Available in the US and Canada only, no currency conversion (every amount shows as dollars), and no free plan.

Monarch's own pricing page

Goodbudget, for envelopes on two phones, free

Price: $80 a year
Platforms: iPhone, Android, web
Currencies: One

Goodbudget is the envelope method on your phone: divide income into envelopes and spend from them. The free plan covers 10 regular and 10 more envelopes, one account, two devices and a year of history, shared by a household on one login, and debt accounts are unlimited even on the free plan.

Premium is $80 a year or $10 a month for unlimited envelopes and accounts, five devices, seven years of history and bank sync for US banks. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web, and imports QFX, OFX and CSV files on the web.

Where it falls short: One currency, one account on the free plan, and its help says it is available wherever you have internet access, with offline use not documented.

Goodbudget's own pricing page

Lunch Money, for many currencies in a web budget

Price: $60 to $150 a year
Platforms: Web, with iPhone and Android apps
Currencies: 160+ currencies

Lunch Money is a web-first budget with iPhone and Android companion apps, and the paid alternative here built for money across borders: more than 160 currencies, every total in a primary currency you can change at any time, and rates fetched daily. Bank imports through Plaid are optional and cover the US, Canada and parts of Europe; CSV and PDF statements import too, and there is a developer API.

You set your own yearly price, from $60 to $150, or pay $10 a month, after a 30-day trial with no card. Any number of collaborators share one budget, each with their own login, and only the admin pays. Its category budgets roll over, it says envelope and zero-based styles fit them, and it publishes a guide for moving from YNAB.

Where it falls short: No free plan, primarily a web app, and offline use is not stated.

Lunch Money's own pricing page

Tavala, for several currencies in one budget, offline

Price: Free; Plus $39.99 a year
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, web
Currencies: Every currency in one space

Tavala is a private, offline-first personal finance app, and a different kind of budget from YNAB: you log what you paid in one typed line, in any currency, and each budget counts down from a monthly limit to show what is left. Safe to spend subtracts the bills due before your next payday. Every entry keeps the exchange rate of its day, so a salary in euros, rent in pounds and a card in dollars add up in one main currency, without a second plan.

It starts with no account and no bank, every screen works offline, and it runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, a native Mac app and the web. The free plan does not end: two currencies at a time in each space you own, and one synced device. Tavala Plus is $39.99 a year or $6.99 a month on the web for every currency, every device and spaces shared with up to six people. A read-only bank connection through Plaid is an optional add-on to Plus, for banks in the United States and Canada, at $3.99 a month per bank.

Where it falls short: Not zero-based, no import from YNAB or any other app, no Apple Watch app, and bank sync only for banks in the United States and Canada. The App Store and Mac App Store listings are not public yet, so on Apple devices it runs in the browser today.

Tavala pricing

Aspire Budget, for zero-based envelopes in a spreadsheet

Price: Free
Platforms: Google Sheets
Currencies: One

Aspire Budget is a free Google Sheets template for zero-based envelope budgeting, kept in your own Google Drive and maintained since 2018. You choose the budget's currency, assign income to categories and record spending in the sheet, on the web or in the Google Sheets apps.

Aspire Turbo, $5 a month after a 30-day trial that needs a payment method, is optional and adds the Aspire mobile app. For someone leaving YNAB over the price who likes spreadsheets, it keeps the method and costs nothing.

Where it falls short: A spreadsheet rather than an app unless you pay for Turbo, one currency, and bank connections are not stated.

Aspire Budget's own pricing page

How to choose

Decide first what you are leaving. If it is the price and you want to keep the method, Actual Budget, Aspire Budget and EveryDollar's free version keep zero-based budgeting at no cost, and Actual is the one that can bring your YNAB history along. If it is the method, and you want the app to do more of the work, Monarch links every account in the US and Canada; Tavala and Goodbudget ask for less setup, in exchange for entering spending by hand.

If it is currencies, the choice is short. Of this list, Lunch Money and Tavala convert accounts in different currencies into one total. Lunch Money is web-first, with bank imports in the US, Canada and parts of Europe; Tavala works offline on every device, with or without a bank, and is free to start.

Then check the rows most lists leave out. Offline: Actual and Tavala work with no connection, and YNAB advertises offline access. Bank countries: YNAB itself reaches 18 European countries, further than most of its alternatives. And your data: Actual keeps it on your device or your own server; Tavala keeps it on your device, synced through Ireland (EU) once you create an account; YNAB and Lunch Money store it in the United States, and Monarch does not say where.

Moving your data out of YNAB

YNAB exports a whole plan from the web app (the plan's name, then Export Plan) as two files, the plan and the transaction history, in CSV, or TSV for currencies with a comma decimal. The export does not include targets or category notes, so write down any targets you rely on before you go. Selected transactions can be exported from a register as well.

Actual Budget imports YNAB4 files directly, and current YNAB through a JSON file downloaded from YNAB's API, which is a different file from the CSV export; its migration guide walks through the steps. Lunch Money has a guide for moving from YNAB and imports CSV files. Monarch imports CSV on the web only, with Account, Amount and Date columns, and the import cannot be undone; Goodbudget imports CSV, QFX and OFX files on the web. Neither names a YNAB importer.

Tavala imports no data from YNAB or any other app yet. The honest way across is to keep YNAB's export as your archive and start from today: a wallet for each account with today's balance, your monthly bills as recurring rules, and the budgets you still use. Debts are the exception: Tavala imports a list of debts, a lender's schedule or past loan payments from a CSV file, with a preview before anything is saved. The free plan does not end, so running both apps side by side for a month costs nothing on Tavala's side.

How this page was made

We picked seven apps that answer the reasons to leave YNAB that its own pages show (the price, one currency per plan, a method that takes setup) and that we could check on their own sites; some keep YNAB's method and some replace it, and each section says which. We compared what can be measured: price, the free plan, currencies, the countries bank connections reach, offline use and import. Every fact comes from the vendor's own pages on 24 October 2026, in US prices, and we check them again every quarter. The import steps are as each app documents them; we have not run every import end to end. Tavala publishes this page and is on it, in sixth place, with its limits stated the same way as everyone else's.

Questions

What is the closest free alternative to YNAB?: Actual Budget: the same envelope method, which its docs also call zero-based budgeting, free and open source, with an importer for YNAB data. Aspire Budget does the same in a free Google Sheets template, and EveryDollar's free version keeps a zero-based budget if you enter spending by hand.
Which YNAB alternative handles more than one currency?: Lunch Money (over 160 currencies, totals in a primary currency you can change) and Tavala (every currency in one space on Plus, two per space on the free plan, each entry at its day's rate). YNAB's own advice is a separate plan per currency.
Which YNAB alternatives work offline?: Actual Budget's desktop app works offline out of the box, and every screen in Tavala works offline, syncing when you are back online. YNAB itself advertises offline access. Monarch, Lunch Money and EveryDollar do not state it, and Goodbudget's help describes it as available wherever you have internet access.
Is there a YNAB alternative that links banks outside the US?: YNAB itself imports from select banks in 18 European countries, including the UK. Of the alternatives here, Lunch Money imports through Plaid in the US, Canada and parts of Europe, and Actual Budget can be set up with Enable Banking in Europe. Tavala's bank connection is for banks in the United States and Canada only.
Can I import my YNAB data into Tavala?: No. Tavala imports debts from a CSV file, but no transactions or plans from other apps. Keep YNAB's export as your archive and start Tavala with today's balances.

Go further

Start with what you spent today.

There is no account to create and no card to enter. Pick your currency, add what you paid, and Home shows what is left.

Open Tavala in your browser Download for phone and Mac

Get Tavala free Open in your browser