If you’ve ever searched on Google for the best budget software, chances are you’ve run across YNAB and its legions of passionate fans. The app has been around for more than 20 years now, first as a software download and later as a cloud-based subscription.
If you’re wondering if the hype is real, I can report that YNAB is worth all the fuss.
I have been using YNAB for over a decade. When I first bought the software in 2014, it was a one-time purchase, synced across devices using DropBox. YNAB evolved to a subscription model in 2015, supporting features like the ability to automatically import transactions from different financial accounts.
I use YNAB daily to keep a tight rein on my household’s finances. On more than one occasion, it’s helped me to identify fraudulent transactions quickly—not to mention how it has also prepared me for the unexpected.
Here’s a look at what I love about YNAB, what I think it could do better, and when I’d consider using an alternative.
My experience tells me it’s worth paying for YNAB
I’ll cut to the chase: YNAB has been well worth the cost. It has saved me countless headaches, and while it is true that the platform has a steep learning curve, there are plenty of resources—free workshops, written guides, and countless blog posts—to help newcomers find their way.
The goal-setting features of YNAB have made it easy for my husband and I to handle big expenses like home improvement projects and vacations. Here’s one example: After just one year of marriage, I established a budget category for our 10th anniversary. When a last-minute opportunity to travel to New Zealand arrived just in time for the event, we already had the funds set aside to pay for the trip, and had an incredible time living out our dreams of visiting the land that played Middle Earth in “The Lord of the Rings” films.
Similarly, I built a Disney fund with a target date of January 2024 back when I got pregnant with our first child in 2016. By the time both of our kids were old enough to appreciate the trip and make memories, we had a fully established vacation fund and got to enjoy both Disneyland and Super Nintendo World without any guilt about going into debt.
YNAB has also helped us plan ahead for financial emergencies such as job loss without feeling stressed. I have clear data that shows me how we are using our funds, and if I ever doubt we’re making progress, all I have to do is open the “Reflect” tab to see exactly where things stand—viewing the net worth chart is a great way to see persistent habits paying off.
In spite of regular price increases over the past few years, I have continued to happily pay for YNAB because, quite frankly, no one has produced a comparable alternative for zero-based budgeting.
YNAB’s top features: Zero-based budgeting and custom categories
There are many things that YNAB excels at, which is why it has such a passionate fanbase (you can even go to conventions!). These are just a few of my favorite aspects:
- Zero-based budgeting works well for me; I’m always planning with the money I already have in the bank and there’s no guesswork.
- Automatically syncing transactions with my bank makes reconciliation a breeze.
- Being able to customize my categories with emojis and whatever name I want adds some fun personalization.
- The ability to reallocate funds helps fulfill the recommended rule of “rolling with the punches” when I need to adjust my priorities rather than following a strict plan
- It’s easy to share with family members through YNAB Together, either with collaborative budgets or multiple budgets on the same account
Where YNAB falls short: Carrying a deficit and budget forecasting
In the spirit of honesty, there are certainly areas where I think YNAB could use some improvements. I miss the “red arrow right” feature from the pre-subscription days, which allowed you to carry over a deficit from one month to the next without removing those funds from your budget.
This is probably the feature I see requested most often on Reddit or other forums with long-time users. It was helpful for situations like waiting on reimbursements from a job, a health savings account, or any other sort of refund. Instead, I often find myself fudging dates to keep my budget in line with what I know is happening rather than what the software thinks to be true.
Sometimes a company name that gets imported from external accounts is strangely formatted or straight-up nonsense. There is a “Manage Payees” feature to clean these up, but it’s not widely advertised and renaming things is tedious.
There are also times when I’d like to be able to forecast more than one month in advance, especially when juggling multiple savings goals. However, there’s a workaround for this, where you can set up another budget for “playing around” that won’t impact your main budget.
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Some YNAB features are a mixed bag
There are other features that I love in some respects but aren’t flawless. For example, loan accounts are a great way to run some calculations and determine how quickly you can pay off debt with different payment amounts. But while the overall concept is great, I’ve found that the way it calculates interest doesn’t necessarily line up correctly with what’s reflected on my statements, and I often need to make corrections to the total balance.
Similarly, I sometimes wind up experiencing errors with credit card payments. Every so often, the platform will say I don’t have enough funds to pay off my credit card even though all of the budget categories are green or gray. I’ve never figured out what causes this and usually just end up adding funds to the category to cover it, but it’s annoying to have to subtract that money from the following month’s budget.
And then there’s a big one: Platform pricing. The subscription rate has increased regularly over the years, even after YNAB4 users were initially told they’d keep the “grandfathered” rate of $45 per year. Even since ending this practice, the price has continued to gradually increase without what many would call “major” innovations. The interface and functionality are still essentially the same, leading many users to feel like the costs are just increasing to keep up with inflated pricing like everything else.
I’m still going to pay for it for now, especially since it doesn’t impact my monthly budget very much—currently under $11 per month—but I have to admit that I don’t blame some users for jumping ship to other options.
If YNAB isn’t right for you, there are plenty of alternatives
Let’s say zero-based budgeting just isn’t your thing, or you can’t justify the subscription pricing for whatever reason. Even if YNAB is my personal preference, I’ll be the first to tell you it’s not right for everyone. Here are a few other options you might check out:
- Try a 50/30/20 budget and build your own tracker
- Need accountability? Rocket Money will analyze your transactions and send you alerts when you’re close to maxing out your monthly spend. However, pricing can fluctuate based on the services you opt into.
- If you previously used Mint and were sad to see it go, you may want to check out Monarch Money. It regularly costs a bit more than YNAB, but new users who commit to paying for a year up front can save 50% using code NEWYEAR2025 for a limited time.
