The 7 Best Budget Apps Compared Side by Side (2025)

Tried a bunch of these after Mint died. Honest takes:

YNAB is the one everyone recommends and they're not wrong, it's genuinely good. The zero-based system takes time to understand and I didn't have patience for it. Cancelled after three weeks. Might actually work if you sit down and learn it properly.

Monarch I liked. Bank sync worked on the first try, interface is clean, felt modern. Costs $10/month. I was on the trial and genuinely couldn't decide if it was worth committing to. Kept the tab open for two weeks then quietly didn't subscribe. Not a knock on the app.

Copilot keeps getting recommended and it's iOS only so it doesn't exist for me (Android).

Empower is good if you care about investments, meh for daily expense tracking. Also free which is nice.

PocketGuard works but the free version is annoying about the upsell.

DrakeAI is what I use now - no bank sync, just type what you spent. Free. Takes some adjustment but I've actually kept the habit which is more than I can say for most of the others I tried.

If I had to narrow it down: Monarch if you're okay paying and want automatic sync. YNAB if you want to get serious about budgeting and will actually do the work. DrakeAI if you hate subscriptions and can live without auto-import.