Meet the New EnvelopeBudget: Rebuilt From the Ground Up
The biggest EnvelopeBudget update yet: a brand-new app that is faster, easier to start, and better at keeping your budget matched to your bank. Here is everything that changed — and why we rebuilt it.
This is the biggest update in EnvelopeBudget's history. We rebuilt the entire app — every screen you use to budget, track spending, and reconcile — and shipped it along with a long list of new features and fixes.
I've been using it for my own family's budget all week, and I updated our budget faster than I ever have. I also found and cleaned up a few errors in my own accounts that the old app was quietly hiding. I'm genuinely excited for you to try it.
Why we rebuilt the app
The old EnvelopeBudget grew one page at a time. Every screen was its own page, loaded from scratch on every click, with its own copy of the same logic. That made it slower than it should have been, and it meant a bug fixed in one place could still be lurking somewhere else.
The new app is built with Svelte, a modern framework for fast, app-like websites. In plain terms, that means:
- It feels instant. The app loads once, then moves between Envelopes, Transactions, and Reports without reloading the page. Changes show up right away.
- Fewer bugs. The new code is fully type-checked, so a whole class of mistakes gets caught before it ever reaches you. Shared building blocks mean something is fixed once and fixed everywhere.
- New features, faster. Because the pieces are reusable and well-tested, building something new takes days instead of weeks. This release is the proof: everything below was built on the new foundation.
Your budget, accounts, and history carry over automatically. There is nothing to migrate and nothing to re-learn — just sign in.
A guided setup that gets you budgeting in minutes
Envelope budgeting clicks the moment you do it once with your own money. So new accounts now start with a short guided setup instead of an empty screen:
- How it works — the one idea behind envelope budgeting, in three simple steps.
- Your account — enter the account you spend from and today's balance.
- Your envelopes — we check the everyday essentials; add your own (with emoji!) and uncheck the rest.
- Give every dollar a job — a live "left to budget" meter turns green when every dollar has a home.
After setup, a Getting started checklist tracks your progress automatically — add an account, choose envelopes, budget your money, record a transaction — and gets out of your way once you're done.
Coming from YNAB? The very first screen links straight to our YNAB importer.
Bank sync that actually reconciles
This is the part I'm most excited about. When you pull transactions from your bank, EnvelopeBudget now compares your budget to your bank the way a person would:
- It understands uncleared and pending transactions. Checks you've written and purchases you entered by hand aren't at the bank yet — so they no longer make your account look "off."
- It shows its work. A simple receipt-style breakdown shows your balance, what's still waiting to clear, what the bank should show, and any real difference.
- It points to the problem. When something doesn't add up, EnvelopeBudget names the transaction that explains the gap — like a duplicate entry or a stray adjustment — so you know exactly where to look.
- It cleans up after the bank. Pending charges that your bank dropped or re-posted are resolved automatically instead of lingering forever.
Reconciling got the same treatment. As you type your statement balance, you see a live preview — your cleared balance, the statement balance, and whether they match — before anything changes.
Amazon orders, right from your inbox
An Amazon charge on your statement tells you nothing. With the free EnvelopeBudget Helper Chrome extension, a Sync Amazon button now lives right in your transaction inbox. One click reads your recent Amazon payments, matches each one to the right transaction (same amount, to the cent), and shows you the item names to approve. Click Apply and they're added to each memo — and you can undo it with one click.
Version 1.1 of the extension, with the in-app button, is rolling out in the Chrome Web Store now.
A clearer way to add accounts
Adding an account now opens a proper page that explains your options side by side: a private account you manage yourself (free, and works with any bank), or SimpleFIN for automatic imports — with honest pros and cons for each.
Everything else
- Subscriptions, all in the app. Plans, the founders offer, and managing your subscription now live inside the app — no more bouncing to separate pages.
- Cleaner menus. The budget switcher and profile menu have icons and a tidier layout.
- More room to work. Key pages now use more of your screen.
- Empty states that help. Every page now tells you what belongs there and the next step to take.
Fixes you'll notice
- Reconciling an account no longer creates a surprise adjustment for your whole balance the first time.
- A new account's starting balance is ready to budget right away.
- New budgets start with one tidy set of envelopes instead of two overlapping ones.
- Pending and uncleared totals in bank sync now add up every transaction, not just one.
- Error pages that could crash now show a helpful message.
- Plus dozens of smaller fixes to envelopes, transfers, and reports.
Try it
If you're already an EnvelopeBudget user, just sign in — the new app is live now.
If you're new, there has never been a better time to start. You get a 34-day free trial with no credit card, and the guided setup will have your first budget done in about three minutes. After that it's $4/month, $40/year — or grab founding lifetime access while spots last.
I'd love to hear what you think. Reply to any of our emails or send us a note — every message comes straight to me.
— Dustin