YNAB ("You Need A Budget") is a very good budgeting app with one obvious drawback: it is subscription only. In November 2026 it costs 14.99 US dollars a month or 109 dollars a year after a 34-day trial, and there is no free plan. If you like the idea of giving every franc, euro or dollar a job but not the yearly bill, this comparison is for you.
One note on fairness: this guide is published by the maker of RizKharj, one of the apps below. The weaknesses of RizKharj are listed as plainly as those of the others. Prices are the public list prices in November 2026 and can change, so check the store page before you decide.
The short answer
- You want YNAB's method (zero-based envelopes) for free and can run a small server or pay about 2 dollars a month for hosting: Actual Budget.
- You want envelopes without any setup and can live with limits: Goodbudget's free plan.
- You want a free, private tracker with budgets, several currencies and no account at all: RizKharj.
- You want the fastest possible logging and nothing else: Monefy.
- You want a polished app with a low one-time price for extras: Cashew.
- You want bank sync above everything else: stay with YNAB or look at paid apps such as Monarch or Copilot. No free app does this well.
Comparison table
| App | Price | Account | Bank sync | Data stored |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YNAB | 109 USD a year | Required | Yes | Company servers |
| Actual Budget | Free (hosting ~2 USD/month) | None | Add-on | Device, own server |
| Goodbudget | Free with limits, or 80 USD a year | Required | Paid, US only | Company servers |
| RizKharj | Free, all features | None | File import | Device, own cloud |
| Monefy | Free with ads, Pro once | None | No | Device, own cloud |
| Cashew | Free, Pro 19.99 USD once | Optional | No | Device, own cloud |
| Money Manager | Free with ads, Pro once | None | No | Device |
YNAB's monthly price is 14.99 dollars. Goodbudget's free plan stops at 20 envelopes and one account. "Own cloud" means a file in your own iCloud Drive, Google Drive or Dropbox, not a server run by the app's maker.
What you give up when you leave YNAB
It helps to be clear about this before you switch.
- Automatic bank import. This is the main thing the subscription pays for. Free apps expect you to type entries or import a statement file.
- The strict zero-based method. YNAB makes you assign every unit of money before you spend it. Only Actual Budget and Goodbudget copy that method closely. The other apps here use the simpler model of categories with a monthly budget.
- Teaching material. YNAB's workshops and guides are part of the product. With a free app you learn the method yourself.
If none of the three matters much to you, a free app does the job.
The six alternatives in detail
1. Actual Budget: the closest free copy of YNAB
Actual is open source and local-first. It uses the same envelope method as YNAB, has goal templates, reports and rules, and imports YNAB data. The catch is the setup: to use it on more than one device you need a sync server, either on your own hardware or with a host for roughly 2 dollars a month. There is no official app in the App Store or on Google Play; you use it in the browser or as a desktop app. Bank sync in Europe and the US works through separate services, some of them paid.
Best for: people who want YNAB's method, value open source and do not mind a technical setup.
2. Goodbudget: envelopes without the setup
Goodbudget is the classic envelope app. The free plan has no time limit but stops at 20 envelopes, one account and two devices. You need a Goodbudget account, and your data is stored on their servers. Premium removes the limits for 10 dollars a month or 80 dollars a year, which is not much cheaper than YNAB.
Best for: couples who want shared envelopes and stay inside the free limits.
3. RizKharj: free, private and built for several currencies
RizKharj is free with every feature open: unlimited accounts, a budget for each category, savings goals, debts with people, recurring payments with a bills calendar, a loan tracker, reports with PDF and CSV export, widgets and receipt photos. There is no account and no server; data stays on the device, and automatic backup writes to a file in your own iCloud Drive or Google Drive. It handles 156 currencies with one currency per account, and works in English, German and Persian with the Gregorian or Persian calendar. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Android and in the browser.
What it does not have: no bank sync (you can import bank statements as CSV or camt.053 files), no strict zero-based envelope method, and no long track record. It is a young app from a single developer with few store reviews so far.
Best for: people who want a complete free tracker without an account, especially with money in more than one currency.
4. Monefy: the fastest way to log an expense
Monefy does one thing well: two taps and the expense is saved. No registration, data on the device. The free version shows ads and keeps several features, such as multiple accounts and recurring entries, for the one-time Pro purchase. Budgets are basic, and there are no goals or debt tracking.
Best for: people who only want to know where the money went.
5. Cashew: polished, with a fair one-time price
Cashew is a well-designed tracker for iOS, Android and the web with budgets, goals, subscriptions and loans. The core is free and needs no account; signing in with Google is only for backup and sync. Pro costs 19.99 dollars once, or 1.49 a month, and mainly adds customisation and more budgets.
Best for: people who care about design and want a budget app without a subscription.
6. Money Manager: the bookkeeping style
Money Manager by Realbyte uses double-entry bookkeeping with assets and liabilities, which accountants like. It works without an account. The free version shows ads and limits the number of accounts; a one-time purchase removes both. Sync between devices is a separate paid add-on.
Best for: people who think in assets and liabilities.
How to move from YNAB
- In YNAB on the web, open your budget and choose Export budget. You get a ZIP with a register file in CSV format.
- Decide how much history you need. Many people only carry over the current account balances and start fresh, which takes ten minutes.
- If you want the history, import the register CSV. Actual Budget has a dedicated YNAB importer. RizKharj has no YNAB importer: its CSV import (in Settings, under the data and backup section) reads files with a category column, so try it with a few rows first and expect to tidy up by hand.
- Recreate your categories and monthly amounts. This is a good moment to drop categories you never used.
- Keep your YNAB subscription until the end of the paid period and run both side by side for two weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a completely free version of YNAB?
No. YNAB has a 34-day free trial and a free year for students, but no permanent free plan.
What is the best free YNAB alternative?
For the same budgeting method, Actual Budget. For a free app that needs no setup and no account, RizKharj or Cashew, depending on whether you need several currencies (RizKharj) or prefer Cashew's design.
Which YNAB alternative works without bank sync?
All free alternatives in this list work by manual entry. RizKharj and Actual Budget can also import statement files from your bank, which covers most of what bank sync does without giving a third party access to your account.
Is a free budgeting app safe?
Ask how it earns money. Ads and data sales are a bad sign. Open source (Actual), a one-time Pro purchase (Cashew, Monefy) or voluntary tips (RizKharj) are models where you are not the product. See also why an expense tracker should work offline and without an account.
Which alternative is best outside the United States?
Bank sync is weakest outside the US, so the value of a subscription drops. Look for multi-currency support and data kept on your device. RizKharj was built in Switzerland for people with accounts in several currencies; Cashew also handles more than one currency, while Actual Budget is designed around a single currency.