YNAB Too Expensive? Cheaper Alternatives That Actually Work

Let's not bury the lede: YNAB now costs $14.99 per month ($99/year). For a budgeting app.

If that number made you wince, you're not alone. YNAB's pricing has been a sore spot for years. The app launched as a one-time $60 purchase. Then it moved to subscription at $50/year. Then $84/year. Then $99/year. Each increase came with the same justification — more features, better service, continued development.

And look, YNAB is a good app. It popularized envelope budgeting for a generation of users. The methodology works. But at some point, a budgeting app that costs $180/year (monthly plan) starts to feel like the kind of expense a budgeting app would tell you to cut.

If you're here because you're frustrated with YNAB's price — or because you tried YNAB and couldn't justify the cost — this guide is for you.

Why People Love YNAB (And Why They Leave) #

Understanding what makes YNAB good helps you find a worthy replacement. YNAB's strengths:

• Envelope budgeting methodology — "Give every dollar a job" is genuinely effective
• Bank syncing — Transactions import automatically (when it works)
• Clean interface — Well-designed, especially on desktop
• Educational content — Great workshops and guides for learning budgeting
• Active community — Huge subreddit, helpful forums

So why do people leave?

Price. This is the big one. $14.99/month or $99/year is premium pricing for a budgeting app. For context, that's more than Netflix Basic, more than most music streaming services, and more than many people's entire "subscriptions" budget category.

Bank syncing issues. YNAB uses Plaid for bank connections, and the reliability varies wildly depending on your bank. Broken connections, duplicate transactions, and random disconnects are common complaints.

Complexity. YNAB's learning curve is real. The interface has improved over the years, but new users often spend weeks just figuring out how credit cards work in the system. For an app about simplifying your finances, that's ironic.

The price increases themselves. It's not just the current price — it's the pattern. Users who've been through multiple increases have lost trust that the price will stay stable. Paying $99/year when you signed up at $50/year feels like a bait-and-switch, even if the app has improved.

What to Look for in a YNAB Alternative #

If you're switching from YNAB, you probably don't want to downgrade your experience. Here's what matters:

Must-Haves #

• Envelope budgeting — If you've internalized YNAB's methodology, you want to keep using it. The core concept (assign money to categories, spend from those categories) should work the same way.
• Bank syncing — Going back to manual entry after having auto-import feels like going from a dishwasher to hand-washing. It's technically fine, but you'll hate it.
• Mobile app — You need to check your budget on the go. Desktop-only doesn't cut it.

Nice-to-Haves #

• Simpler interface — If YNAB felt over-engineered, look for something more streamlined.
• Stable pricing — Ideally something that won't double in cost every few years.
• Data export — Never get locked into an app you can't leave.

Dealbreakers #

• No bank syncing — Unless you genuinely enjoy manual entry. Some people do. Most don't.
• Ad-supported "free" apps — If the product is free, you're the product. Your financial data is valuable.
• Abandoned apps — Check when the last update was. A budgeting app that hasn't been updated in a year is a budgeting app that's dying.

The Alternatives, Honestly Reviewed #

Spreadsheets (Google Sheets / Excel) #

Cost: Free (or included with Office 365)

The nuclear option. Build your own budget from scratch or use a template.

Pros: Completely free, infinitely customizable, you own your data.

Cons: No bank syncing (unless you bolt on Tiller, which costs $79/year). Requires discipline to update manually. Easy to break formulas. Not great on mobile.

Best for: People who love spreadsheets and don't mind manual entry. If you're leaving YNAB because of cost and don't care about convenience, this works.

Honest take: Most people who switch from YNAB to spreadsheets switch back to an app within 3 months. The friction is real.

Goodbudget #

Cost: Free (limited) or $10/month / $80/year

Goodbudget is the closest thing to old-school envelope budgeting. It's designed around the physical envelope concept.

Pros: True envelope methodology. Syncs between partners. Available on web and mobile. The free tier covers basic use.

Cons: No bank syncing on any plan. Everything is manual entry. The interface feels dated. Limited reporting.

Best for: Couples who want shared envelope budgeting and don't mind entering transactions by hand.

Honest take: The lack of bank syncing is a hard sell for former YNAB users. If auto-import was part of your workflow, Goodbudget will feel like a significant downgrade.

Actual Budget #

Cost: Free (open source, self-hosted) or $7.50/month (cloud)

An open-source budgeting app inspired by YNAB's methodology. If you're technical, you can run it on your own server for free.

Pros: Open source, strong privacy. Envelope budgeting. Active development. Bank syncing available via SimpleFIN for North American banks (the same provider EnvelopeBudget uses) or GoCardless for European banks. Can self-host.

Cons: Self-hosting requires technical knowledge. The cloud version's bank syncing is limited depending on your region. The interface is functional but, frankly, not pretty — it looks like a developer built it for developers. Mobile experience is a web app, not native.

Best for: Technical users who value open source and privacy. If you're comfortable with Docker, this is a great option.

Honest take: Excellent if you're tech-savvy. Frustrating if you're not. The self-hosted version is genuinely free and capable, but "set up a Docker container" isn't most people's idea of simple.

Monarch Money #

Cost: $9.99/month or $99.99/year

Monarch is a full-featured financial dashboard — budgeting, net worth tracking, investment tracking, and more.

Pros: Beautiful interface. Excellent bank syncing (Plaid + MX). Comprehensive financial picture. Good mobile apps.

Cons: Not envelope budgeting. Uses traditional category-based budgeting (set limits, track spending). Expensive — basically the same price as YNAB. No lifetime plan. Monarch is VC-backed, and the app has that polished-but-corporate feel — you're always aware it's a product designed to scale and extract recurring revenue, not a passion project.

Best for: People who want a financial dashboard more than an envelope budgeting tool.

Honest take: If you're leaving YNAB because of price, Monarch doesn't solve that problem — it's the same $99.99/year. If you're leaving because you want a different approach, Monarch is polished and capable — just not envelope-based. It feels like a Silicon Valley product built to impress investors as much as users.

EnvelopeBudget #

Cost: $4/month, $40/year, or $40 lifetime

Full disclosure: this is us. But we built EnvelopeBudget specifically because we thought envelope budgeting shouldn't cost $100+/year.

Pros: True envelope budgeting methodology. Bank syncing via SimpleFIN (which connects to most US banks and credit unions). Clean, straightforward interface. Mobile-friendly. And the pricing: $4/month, $40/year, or a $40 one-time lifetime purchase (limited to the first 500 subscribers) — pay once, budget forever.

Cons: Newer app, smaller community than YNAB. Fewer advanced features (no loan tracking, no investment tracking). SimpleFIN bank syncing works differently than Plaid — most US financial institutions are supported, but check yours.

Best for: YNAB users who love envelope budgeting but are tired of paying premium prices. People who want simplicity over feature bloat.

Honest take: We're not trying to be YNAB. We're not trying to track your entire financial life. We do one thing — envelope budgeting with bank syncing — and we try to do it well, at a price that doesn't make a budgeting app one of your bigger monthly expenses. The 34-day free trial gives you plenty of time to see if it fits.

EveryDollar (Ramsey Solutions) #

Cost: Free (manual) or $79.99/year (Premium with bank syncing)

Dave Ramsey's budgeting app. Zero-based budgeting approach, closely tied to the Ramsey ecosystem.

Pros: Clean interface. The free version is genuinely usable. Bank syncing on Premium. Strong methodology if you follow Ramsey's approach.

Cons: Premium is still $80/year. Heavily pushes Ramsey products and philosophy. Not true envelope budgeting — it's zero-based with categories. Free version has no bank syncing. Does not support credit card accounts — EveryDollar is built around Ramsey's anti-debt philosophy, so if you use credit cards (even responsibly for rewards), this app actively works against your workflow.

Best for: Ramsey fans. People who want a free manual-entry budgeting app and don't mind the Ramsey branding.

Honest take: Solid if you're in the Ramsey ecosystem. The free version is limited, and the premium version is still expensive. The constant upselling gets old.

Quick Comparison #

The Real Question: What's Envelope Budgeting Worth? #

Here's the uncomfortable math. YNAB costs $99/year. If you use it for 5 years, that's $495 — assuming they don't raise the price again (they will).

EnvelopeBudget's lifetime plan is $40. Total. Forever.

Even the annual plan at $40/year saves you $59/year compared to YNAB. Over 5 years, that's $295 back in your pocket. For a budgeting app, the irony of overpaying is hard to ignore.

Of course, price isn't everything. YNAB has a bigger team, more features, and a decade head start. If YNAB's specific features (detailed reports, age of money, loan tracking) are critical to your workflow, the price might be worth it to you.

But if what you actually use is the core envelope budgeting + bank syncing + a mobile-friendly way to check your categories? You might be paying for a lot of features you never touch.

How to Switch Without Losing Your Mind #

If you decide to leave YNAB, here's how to make the transition smooth:

1. Export your YNAB data. Go to Settings → Export Budget. You'll get a CSV of your transactions and budget. Keep this as a reference.

2. Don't try to recreate everything. Your new app doesn't need 47 categories. Start fresh with broader categories and refine over time.

3. Overlap for one month. Run both apps simultaneously for your first month. This lets you verify everything's working before canceling YNAB.

4. Set up bank syncing first. Get your accounts connected and transactions flowing before worrying about perfecting your categories.

5. Give it 30 days. Any new app feels weird at first. You've built muscle memory in YNAB — give yourself time to build new habits.

Bottom Line #

YNAB is a good app at a bad price point — and it keeps getting worse. If the methodology works for you but the cost doesn't, you have options.

If you want the closest experience to YNAB's envelope budgeting with bank syncing at a fraction of the cost, try EnvelopeBudget. The 34-day free trial is genuinely no-strings-attached, and the lifetime plan means you'll never deal with another price increase email again.

Your budgeting app should help you save money — not be the reason you need to.