YNAB alternatives: 6 options for zero-based and envelope budgets (2026)

Why people look for a YNAB alternative

YNAB (You Need A Budget) is built around a clear rule: give every dollar a job before you spend it. Many people who leave YNAB still like that rule. What pushes them to look elsewhere usually comes from YNAB's own published terms:

• Price. At the time of writing, YNAB costs $14.99 a month or $109 a year, after a 34-day free trial. Paying monthly comes to $179.88 over a year (12 × $14.99).
• Bank coverage. YNAB's pricing page says direct import supports "select" US, Canadian, UK and EU banks. Elsewhere you import files downloaded from your bank.
• Fit with how money moves. A method built on bank accounts is harder to apply when part of your spending is in cash, through mobile money, or in more than one currency.

None of this means YNAB is the wrong choice. It includes subscription sharing with up to five other people and a free 365-day trial for college students, which may change the maths for your household.

If you are new to the method itself, read our guide to zero-based budgeting first, and our cash envelope system guide for the envelope version. This page assumes you know the method and want another tool for it. For a broader look at budgeting apps and bank-sync security, see our budgeting app comparison.

What to check before switching

The options, grouped by need

Prices are in US dollars, from each company's own site on 25 September 2026, and can change after the time of writing.

If you want YNAB's method, free and under your control: Actual Budget

Actual Budget is a free, open-source app built on envelope budgeting: you only budget money you already have. It is "local-first", so it runs on your computer and works offline, and you can sync across devices by running your own server or paying for hosting through a third party such as PikaPods.

What matters most for YNAB users: Actual has built-in importers for YNAB4 and the current YNAB, carrying over accounts, categories, budget amounts and transaction history. Its docs flag some clean-up, especially for credit cards, which the two apps handle differently. Bank sync is optional and relies on you signing up with a third-party provider (for example SimpleFIN Bridge in North America or Enable Banking in Europe); the docs note that GoCardless is no longer accepting new accounts.

Best for: people comfortable with a bit of setup who want no subscription.

If you want zero-based with a free starting point: EveryDollar

EveryDollar, from Ramsey Solutions, is explicitly zero-based: income minus planned expenses equals zero. The free version has unlimited budget categories, manual transactions, sinking funds and bill due dates. Premium adds bank connection through Plaid and Mastercard for $17.99 a month or $79.99 a year, after a 14-day trial.

Best for: people who want a zero-based plan and are happy to type transactions, or to pay for sync.

If you want envelopes shared with a partner: Goodbudget

Goodbudget is the digital version of cash envelopes, designed for households that share one budget across devices. The free plan includes 10 regular and 10 more envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices and 1 year of history. Premium, $10 a month or $80 a year, removes those limits and adds automatic sync with US banks only. Anyone can import bank files (QFX, OFX or CSV) on the web, free.

Best for: couples who want envelopes without a bank connection.

If you'd rather live in a spreadsheet: Tiller

Tiller connects to your bank accounts and feeds transactions into Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel, where you run whatever budget you like, from its foundation template or community templates. It costs $99 a year after a 30-day free trial.

Best for: spreadsheet users who want YNAB-level control over the layout but don't want to type transactions. If you'd rather type them, our free monthly budget template does the job without a subscription.

If you want budgets plus your whole financial picture: Monarch

Monarch is not a strict zero-based tool: it lets you budget by category or by group, alongside net worth, investments and cash-flow reports, and a household can share one account. It costs $99.99 a year, or $199.99 for the Plus tier, after a 7-day trial. Its help centre documents a CSV import on the web for transactions from other apps; budgets can't be imported.

Best for: people who want budgets and net worth in one place and don't need YNAB's strict assign-every-dollar screen.

If your money moves in cash, mobile money or several currencies: Binome360

Binome360 is our app, so its limits come first. It does not connect to banks and does not import files, so there is no way to bring your YNAB history in, and it has no "ready to assign" screen: you set a budget for each category yourself and compare it with what you log. It makes no payments or transfers and is not accounting software.

What it does: you type or say "$60 groceries, cash" or photograph a receipt, the assistant prepares the entry with a category, and nothing is saved until you confirm. You keep cash, bank and mobile-money accounts by hand, set per-category budgets, add recurring items and see totals per currency. A shared assistant lets each person in a couple or family add from their own phone. It runs in English and French on Android, on iPhone as a web app installed from Safari, and in any browser: $3.99 a month, $8.99 for three months or $23.99 a year after a 7-day trial, with every module included.

Best for: people whose spending doesn't all go through a supported bank, such as someone paid partly in cash, or sending money home every month.

Side by side

How to leave YNAB with your data

Exporting only works in the YNAB web app, not the mobile apps.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free app that works like YNAB?

Actual Budget is the closest free option: envelope-based, open source, and able to import YNAB history. EveryDollar and Goodbudget also have free plans for zero-based and envelope budgets, both without bank sync.

Can I do zero-based budgeting without an app?

Yes. A spreadsheet or paper works: list your income, assign all of it to categories until the difference is zero, and log spending against each line. Our zero-based budgeting guide includes a template.

What's the cheapest YNAB alternative with bank sync?

Among the options here with a published price, Goodbudget Premium ($80 a year, US banks) and EveryDollar Premium ($79.99 a year) are the lowest annual prices. Actual's software is free, but bank sync depends on a third-party provider that may charge.

Does YNAB work outside the US?

Yes, with limits. Direct import covers select Canadian, UK and EU banks as well as US ones; everywhere else you import files from your bank.

In short

Leaving YNAB doesn't mean dropping zero-based or envelope budgeting. Choose the tool by what you need most: free and open (Actual), a free zero-based plan (EveryDollar), shared envelopes (Goodbudget), a spreadsheet (Tiller), budgets plus net worth (Monarch), or a record that includes cash and other currencies (Binome360). First action: export your plan from the YNAB web app today, so your history is saved whatever you choose.

Sources

• YNAB, pricing page ($14.99/month or $109/year, 34-day trial, direct import for select US, Canadian, UK and EU banks, sharing, college program): ynab.com/pricing, checked 25 September 2026.
• YNAB help centre, "How to Export Plan Data" (updated 18 August 2026): support.ynab.com; "File-Based Import in YNAB": support.ynab.com, checked 25 September 2026.
• Actual Budget, homepage (envelope budgeting, local-first, YNAB4 and nYNAB importers): actualbudget.org; docs, "Migrating from nYNAB": actualbudget.org/docs/migration/nynab; docs, "Bank Sync" (supported providers): actualbudget.org/docs/advanced/bank-sync, checked 25 September 2026.
• Ramsey Solutions, EveryDollar (free version, Premium $17.99/month or $79.99/year, 14-day trial): ramseysolutions.com/ramseyplus/everydollar, checked 25 September 2026.
• Goodbudget, plans page: goodbudget.com/signup; "Manually Import Transaction Information From Your Bank": goodbudget.com/help/using-accounts/import/, checked 25 September 2026.
• Tiller, pricing page ($99/year after a 30-day trial) and homepage (Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel): tiller.com/pricing, checked 25 September 2026.
• Monarch, pricing page: monarch.com/pricing; help centre, "Importing Transactions Manually": help.monarch.com, checked 25 September 2026.

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