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.