NetTrack Blog

Tag: budgeting apps

  • Best YNAB Alternatives in 2026

    Best YNAB Alternatives in 2026

    YNAB has the most committed user base in personal finance, and for good reason: zero-based budgeting genuinely changes behavior. But two things send people looking for alternatives — the ~$109/year price, and the realization that YNAB is a budgeting app first, with net worth and investment tracking as afterthoughts.

    The right replacement depends on which of those pushed you out. Here's how to choose.

    The best YNAB alternatives at a glance

    App Best for Price Free tier
    NetTrack Net worth + investments, with budgeting Paid for unlimited accounts Yes
    Actual Budget Free, self-hosted zero-based budgeting Free (self-hosted) Yes
    Monarch Money All-in-one budgeting + households ~$100/year No
    EveryDollar Simple envelope budgeting Free tier; ~$80/year premium Yes
    Copilot Money Design-first Apple users ~$95/year No

    1. NetTrack — best if you outgrew budgeting

    There's a stage most YNAB users reach: the categories are dialed in, spending is under control, and the daily budgeting ritual stops earning its time. What you want now is to watch net worth climb and know whether your investments are actually performing.

    That's NetTrack. It connects your bank, brokerage, retirement, and credit accounts and tracks net worth with full history — plus month-over-month attribution explaining why it changed. It still budgets, envelope-style, so you don't lose the discipline; it just isn't the whole app.

    On investments it goes well beyond anything YNAB attempts: flow-adjusted returns separate market performance from your own contributions, so a month where you deposited $2,000 doesn't masquerade as a gain. Dividend tracking, portfolio analytics, real estate values, and goals with projections round it out, on web, iOS, and Android.

    • Best for: people whose budget is working and whose question is now "am I building wealth?"
    • Pricing: free tier (limited connections); paid plan for unlimited accounts

    2. Actual Budget — best free YNAB clone

    Actual is open-source, local-first, and deliberately modeled on YNAB's envelope method. If you love the methodology and object only to the subscription, this is the closest thing to a drop-in replacement — and it costs nothing if you self-host.

    The trade-off is real: you're running your own sync server, and bank connections take setup. It's the enthusiast option.

    • Best for: technical users who want YNAB's method for free
    • Pricing: free self-hosted; small fee for managed hosting

    3. Monarch Money — best all-in-one

    Monarch does budgeting, goals, investments, and net worth in one polished app with strong household sharing. Its budgeting is flexible rather than strict — closer to guardrails than YNAB's give-every-dollar-a-job discipline, which is either the appeal or the dealbreaker.

    At roughly the same price as YNAB, you're trading methodological rigor for breadth.

    • Best for: couples who want one app for everything
    • Pricing: ~$100/year

    4. EveryDollar — best simple envelope budget

    Ramsey's app implements a straightforward zero-based budget with a much gentler learning curve than YNAB. The free tier requires manual entry; the paid tier adds bank connections. No meaningful investment or net worth tracking.

    • Best for: budgeting beginners who found YNAB overwhelming
    • Pricing: free tier; ~$80/year for connected accounts

    5. Copilot Money — best design on Apple platforms

    Copilot has the best interface in the category and excellent automatic categorization, with solid spending and investment views. It's Apple-only, so mixed-platform households should look elsewhere.

    • Best for: iPhone/Mac users focused on spending insights
    • Pricing: ~$95/year

    How to pick

    Answer one question: what stopped working?

    • The price → Actual Budget, or NetTrack's free tier
    • The daily maintenance → NetTrack or Monarch — automated tracking with lighter-touch budgeting
    • The missing net worth and investment picture → NetTrack
    • The complexity → EveryDollar
    • Your partner won't use it → Monarch or NetTrack, both with household support

    Don't lose the habit

    Whatever you switch to, the reason YNAB works is that it forces a regular check-in with your money. Losing the tool is fine; losing the habit is what causes the backslide.

    If you're moving from budgeting to balance-sheet thinking, how to calculate net worth is the right starting point, and net worth percentile by age will tell you where you currently stand.

    Ready for the bigger picture? Try NetTrack free — connect your accounts and see your true net worth and investment returns in minutes.

  • Best Monarch Money Alternatives in 2026

    Best Monarch Money Alternatives in 2026

    Monarch Money became the default Mint replacement for a reason: it does budgeting, goals, and net worth in one polished app. But after its price increase, plenty of users are asking whether ~$100 a year is worth it — especially if they only use a fraction of the feature set.

    That's the key to choosing an alternative: figure out which part of Monarch you actually use. Most people fall into one of three camps — net worth and investments, hands-on budgeting, or bill management. Here's the best option for each in 2026.

    The best Monarch alternatives at a glance

    App Best for Price Free tier
    NetTrack Net worth + investment performance Paid for unlimited accounts Yes
    Empower Free net worth tracking Free Yes
    YNAB Zero-based budgeting ~$109/year No
    Copilot Money Design-first Apple users ~$95/year No
    Rocket Money Bills + subscription management ~$6–12/month Limited

    1. NetTrack — best for net worth and investments

    If you open Monarch mostly to look at your net worth graph and your accounts, NetTrack does that job better — because it's the entire focus of the app.

    NetTrack connects your bank, brokerage, retirement, and credit accounts, tracks net worth with full history, and explains why it changed with month-over-month attribution. On investments it's a clear step up from Monarch: flow-adjusted returns separate market performance from your own deposits, so a month where you contributed $2,000 doesn't masquerade as a 4% gain. Dividend tracking, portfolio analytics, real estate values, goals with projections, and envelope-style budgeting round it out, on web, iOS, and Android.

    • Best for: the big-picture camp — net worth, investments, long-term progress
    • Pricing: free tier (limited connections); paid plan for unlimited accounts

    2. Empower Personal Dashboard — best free option

    Empower (formerly Personal Capital) remains the strongest free net worth and investment dashboard, including a good retirement planner and fee analyzer. The catch is well-known: it's run by a wealth manager, so larger balances attract advisory sales calls, and budgeting is weak.

    • Best for: free net worth tracking, if you can tolerate the outreach
    • Pricing: free

    3. YNAB — best for serious budgeters

    If Monarch's budgets never actually changed your spending, YNAB's zero-based "give every dollar a job" method probably will. It's a philosophy with software attached — more work, more results. Net worth tracking is an afterthought.

    • Best for: people who want to actively control spending
    • Pricing: ~$109/year

    4. Copilot Money — best design on Apple platforms

    Copilot has the best-designed interface in personal finance, with standout automatic categorization. It covers spending, budgets, and investments well — but it's Apple-only, so mixed-platform households should look elsewhere.

    • Best for: iPhone/Mac users focused on spending insights
    • Pricing: ~$95/year

    5. Rocket Money — best for bills and subscriptions

    Rocket Money's strength is finding and cancelling subscriptions and negotiating bills. As a full finance dashboard it's shallow, but as a money-saving utility it pays for itself quickly.

    • Best for: cutting recurring costs
    • Pricing: free tier; premium ~$6–12/month (choose your price)

    How to choose

    • You mostly watch net worth and investments → NetTrack
    • You want free above all → Empower
    • You need to fix your spending → YNAB
    • You're all-in on Apple and love good design → Copilot
    • Your problem is subscriptions and bills → Rocket Money
    • You genuinely use all of Monarch → stay. It's still the best all-in-one.

    Frequently asked questions

    Is there a cheaper app that does everything Monarch does?
    Not really — all-in-one apps with reliable bank syncing cost money to run, so true Monarch clones price similarly. The savings come from picking a focused app that does the part you use.

    What's the best Monarch alternative for couples?
    NetTrack supports households, so partners can track combined net worth together without sharing logins. Monarch is also genuinely strong here — it's one of its best features.

    Can I switch without losing my history?
    Your transaction history generally doesn't transfer between apps, but your balances and holdings sync fresh from your institutions. Most aggregators also backfill some transaction history on first connect.

    Tracking net worth is the part that matters most. Start free with NetTrack and see your whole financial picture in one place.