Budgeting App Comparison

When Mint shut down in March 2024, it sent millions of people looking for a replacement. Most of what they found costs more than Mint did and still works the same way: link your accounts, let the app sort everything into categories, and read a dashboard.

Left Unspent works differently. You enter your income, your fixed costs, and your set-asides, and it gives you your One Number, what you have to spend this month. No bank login, no forty categories. Here's the side-by-side, including the places where the other tools are the better pick.

Left Unspent

Core approach
One Number, no categories to sort
Bank linking
None, you enter the numbers
Setup
Minutes
Investment tracking
No
Net worth
Yes, you enter it
Free option
14-day trial, no card
Price
Personal $9 / month or $79 / year. Business $29 / month or $290 / year
Best for
One honest number, privacy, and setup in minutes

Monarch

Core approach
Full dashboard, many categories
Bank linking
Required
Setup
Moderate
Investment tracking
Yes
Net worth
Yes, from linked accounts
Free option
7-day trial, no free tier
Price
$14.99 / month or $99.99 / year (Plus tier $199 / year)
Best for
Deep tracking of investments and net worth in one place

YNAB

Core approach
Zero-based, assign every dollar
Bank linking
Optional (sync or enter by hand)
Setup
Steep, often 2 to 4 weeks
Investment tracking
No
Net worth
No
Free option
34-day trial; free for students
Price
$14.99 / month or $109 / year
Best for
Strict, hands-on category budgeting, if you'll invest the learning time

EveryDollar

Core approach
Zero-based categories (Ramsey method)
Bank linking
Free is manual; Premium links
Setup
Moderate
Investment tracking
No
Net worth
No
Free option
Free forever (manual entry)
Price
Free, or Premium $17.99 / month or $79.99 / year
Best for
Ramsey followers, and anyone wanting a free manual budget

Mint

Core approach
Dashboard, auto-categorized
Bank linking
Was required
Setup
n/a
Investment tracking
Had it
Net worth
Had it
Free option
Was free
Price
Discontinued March 2024
Best for
No longer available

Competitor prices verified July 2026. Check each provider for current pricing before you decide.

Where each one fits

If you want investments and net worth tracked live in one place, Monarch does that well; Left Unspent has a net-worth view, but you keep it current yourself. If you want strict, hands-on category budgeting and you're willing to spend a few weeks learning it, YNAB is built for exactly that.

EveryDollar is the closest to us on the surface, so it's worth being clear about the difference. It has a genuinely free tier, and like us it lets you enter everything by hand with no bank link. The method underneath is the opposite, though: EveryDollar is zero-based, so you split every dollar across categories and keep them all balanced through the month, the same many-bucket upkeep whether you pay or not. Left Unspent gives you your One Number for the whole month. Free but forty categories, or the One Number for $9. That's the real choice, and it's why we think the One Number is worth paying for even against free.

Left Unspent is narrower on purpose. One honest number, no bank login, and setup measured in minutes, for people who can hold their own line and mostly want the figuring-out done for them. If that's the shape of what you're after, it's the simplest way there.

Want a closer look at one of these? Read the Monarch Money comparison or the YNAB comparison.

See your number

The fastest way to know whether this fits is to get your own number. Put your income, fixed costs, and set-asides into our calculator and it gives you your One Number in about a minute. No account needed.

When you want it to keep running, the app holds your number month to month and gives you the one figure to check your card against. Personal is $9 / month or $79 / year, with a 14-day trial and no card to start.

Not ready for either? Join the list and follow along. No spam, and we never ask for your bank login.