# What are the best YNAB alternatives?

The best YNAB alternative depends on why you are leaving. If YNAB is more work than you want, use Portio: it plans each payday from one number, your income, and has a free plan. If you like YNAB's method but not its price, use Actual Budget. If you want a free zero-based budget, use EveryDollar. For envelopes, use Goodbudget, and for automatic tracking across all your accounts, Monarch Money. Try the split Portio uses, next to three common rules, on your own income below.

## Which apps are the closest alternatives to YNAB?

| App | Method | Bank connection | What you type | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portio | giving first, then bills, then the rest by percentages, as a payday checklist | none | your income, once a month | yes, one income a month |
| Actual Budget | envelopes, the closest to YNAB, open source | optional | every purchase, or a file from your bank | yes, if you host it yourself |
| EveryDollar | zero-based | paid plan only | every purchase | yes |
| Goodbudget | envelopes | paid plan only | every purchase | yes, with a limit on envelopes |
| Monarch Money | automatic tracking, with budgets and net worth | yes, it is built on it | very little | no |
| A spreadsheet | whatever you build | none | everything | yes |

Plans and prices change. Check each app's own page before you choose.

## Why do people look for a YNAB alternative?

- **Price.** YNAB is a paid subscription after its trial.
- **Time.** Every purchase has to be given a category, every week. People who stop doing it find the budget out of date within a month.
- **The method.** Giving every unit a job is powerful and takes a while to learn. Some people want a plan they can set once.
- **Bank connection.** It is not offered in every country, and some people prefer not to link an account at all.

## Which alternative fits which reason?

- **"It takes too much time."** Portio. You set your giving, your bills and your percentages once. Each month you type your income, and the plan is a short list of transfers to tick. There are no purchases to record.
- **"It costs too much, but I like the method."** Actual Budget. It works the same way with envelopes, and it is free if you run it yourself.
- **"I want free, and I am happy to type."** EveryDollar's free version or Goodbudget's free plan.
- **"I want it all to happen by itself."** Monarch Money. It reads your accounts and sorts your spending. It is a paid subscription, at a price close to YNAB's.
- **"My bank is not supported", or "I am paid in cash."** Portio, Goodbudget or a spreadsheet. None of them needs a bank.

## How is Portio different from YNAB?

| | YNAB | Portio |
|---|---|---|
| What it answers | where did my money go, and what is each unit for? | where does this salary go, today? |
| When you use it | several times a week | on payday, and when you tick a transfer |
| What you enter | every purchase | your income |
| Categories | as many as you create | giving, your bills, and a few percentage shares |
| Bank login | optional | never |
| Languages | English | English, French and Arabic |

On an income of 3,000 with 5% giving and 1,050 of bills, Portio shows 150 to give, 1,050 of bills, and 1,800 split into 450 savings, 360 investment, 270 trips and 720 debt. You move the money at your own bank and tick each line.

## What do you give up by leaving YNAB?

Detail. YNAB knows what you spent on food last March, and Portio does not. If you use those reports, stay with YNAB or choose Actual Budget. If you opened them twice and never again, you were paying for something you did not use.

## Can I use Portio and YNAB together?

Yes. Some people plan payday in one and track spending in the other. But if the reason you are leaving is time, one tool is enough: decide on payday where the money goes, move it, and spend what is left without recording it. [What to do on payday](/blog/what-to-do-on-payday) describes that routine.

## How do I switch?

1. Write down your fixed bills as real amounts.
2. Choose a giving share, or leave it at zero.
3. Choose percentages for the rest. [How to split your salary](/blog/how-to-split-your-salary) has starting points.
4. On your next payday, enter your income and make the transfers.

There is nothing to import. A plan starts from this month's income, not from last year's history.