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YNAB costs $14.99/month. Mint is gone. EveryDollar wants $59.99/quarter for full features. If your goal is to budget your income without paying for the privilege, you have options.
YNAB is a good product. It connects to your bank, categorizes transactions, and enforces zero-based budgeting. For people who need that level of hand-holding, it works.
But here is the thing: a lot of YNAB users report that after 6-12 months, they have internalized the habits and no longer need the app. They know roughly what they spend. They have a system. At that point, $180/year is paying for a habit you already have.
And many people never needed that level of detail in the first place. If you just want to know "how much should I spend on rent, food, and fun this month," a 50/30/20 calculator answers that in 10 seconds.
| Feature | Free budget calculator | YNAB | EveryDollar | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $14.99/mo | $0-$59.99/qtr | $0 |
| Setup time | 10 seconds | 30-60 minutes | 15 minutes | 15 minutes |
| Bank syncing | No | Yes | Paid only | No |
| Tracks transactions | No | Yes | Yes | Manual |
| Monthly time needed | 30 seconds | 15-30 min | 10-20 min | 15-30 min |
| Works in browser | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Account required | No | Yes | Yes | Google account |
| Can shut down on you | No | Possible | Possible | No |
Try the free option first. 30 seconds, no account.
Open Budget Calculator →No bank syncing. You have to know your income and manually check your spending. For many people, this is fine. Checking your bank statement once a month takes 5 minutes.
No transaction categorization. YNAB and EveryDollar sort every purchase into categories. If you want that, use a spreadsheet alongside the calculator, or check your credit card's built-in spending report (most cards have this now).
No goal tracking. The calculator does not track your progress toward a down payment or vacation fund. For that, a simple note on your phone or a savings account with a label works.
Mint was the most popular free budgeting app for over a decade. Intuit shut it down in January 2024 and pushed users to Credit Karma. The lesson: free apps backed by companies that make money elsewhere (ads, credit products) can disappear when priorities change.
A browser-based calculator with no account has no user data to migrate, no company to sell to, and no subscription to cancel. It just works when you open it.
If any of these apply, YNAB might be worth the cost:
For everyone else, start free. You can always upgrade later. Nobody ever regretted trying the simple approach first.
$0/month budget tool. No app to download, no trial to cancel.
Open Budget Calculator →