YNAB is a method: give every dollar a job. If you would rather see where the money went and how much you kept, in several currencies and next to your investments, this is a tracker with a free plan, PDF statement import and Premium at $60 a year.
Two good tools built for different jobs: one teaches a budgeting method, the other measures where your money goes.
| YNAB | MyFinanceTools | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | None. A 34-day free trial, no card needed on ynab.com | Yes: unlimited entries, statement import, savings rate and three months of charts |
| Paid plan | $14.99/month or $109/year (US dollars, plus tax where applicable) | $6/month, $60/year or $249 once, portfolio tracking included |
| Approach | Zero-based budgeting: give every dollar a job before you spend it | Tracking: where the money went, your savings rate, and monthly limits per category on Premium |
| How transactions get in | Direct Import from select banks in the US, Canada and Europe, file import (CSV, OFX, QFX, QIF) or manual entry | File import (CSV, Excel, PDF statements) or manual entry. No bank connection |
| Currencies | One currency per plan, a separate plan for each currency | 30 currencies in one account, converted with daily rates |
| Investments | Tracking accounts: balances you update by hand | Positions with daily prices, gains, ETF look-through and net worth history |
| Languages | English | English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian |
| Apps | Web, iOS, Android and Apple Watch | Web app, installable on your home screen. No store build |
| Sharing | YNAB Together: up to six people on one subscription | Shared household accounts on Premium |
YNAB facts from ynab.com and its help center, November 2026. Prices are in US dollars and change, so confirm them on ynab.com. Prefer a tracker that never connects to a bank? See the expense tracker without bank connection.
A card statement imported the way the app does it: the rows read from the PDF, sorted into your categories, and the month that comes out of it.
We compare honestly. These are real strengths, and for some people they decide it.
YNAB teaches zero-based budgeting: every dollar gets a job before you spend it. If that discipline is what you are after, YNAB is built around it and we are not. Our budgets are monthly limits per category, next to a record of where the money went.
Direct Import pulls transactions in from select banks in the US, Canada and Europe. We have no bank connection at all, by design: you import the statement your bank lets you download.
Native iOS and Android apps, an Apple Watch app, free guides and an active community. We are a web app you can add to your home screen, with no store build.
Not because YNAB is bad. Because one of these matters more to them than the method.
YNAB has no free plan after its 34-day trial. Here, tracking income, spending and your savings rate is free with no time limit; Premium is for longer history and depth.
YNAB keeps one currency per plan and suggests a separate plan for each. Here every entry keeps its own currency and totals convert at daily rates, which suits anyone who earns, spends or saves across borders.
YNAB is in English only. This app runs in English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian, with local number and date formats.
YNAB reads CSV, OFX, QFX and QIF files. Here you can also drop a PDF bank or card statement (experimental), besides CSV and Excel.
YNAB tracks investment accounts as balances you update by hand. Here positions get daily prices and gains, and your spending sits next to your net worth.
Premium is $60 a year or $249 once, against YNAB’s $109 a year, and it covers portfolio tracking, ETF analysis and retirement planning too.
YNAB lets you export your data, and the expense import reads that file.
In the YNAB web app, export your plan data. You get two CSV files: your plan, and every transaction.
An email address and a password. No card and no bank connection.
Drop the transactions file into the expense import. Separate outflow and inflow columns are read as spending and income, and a column the import does not recognise is mapped once. Check the transfers between your YNAB accounts in the review: they move money, they are not spending.
From then on, import your bank’s statement once a month or add entries as you go. Shops you have filed before keep their category.
Unlimited entries, statement import, the month summary with your savings rate, spending by category and three months of history are free. Premium adds 12 months of history, the cashflow diagram, budgets, recurring entries, shared household accounts and AI categories for $6/month, $60/year or $249 once, with every portfolio feature included. More on the expense tracker.
It depends on why you use YNAB. If the zero-based method is what keeps you on track, stay with it: we do not offer that method. If you mainly want to see where your money goes and how much you keep, in several currencies or in a language other than English, next to your investments, and without paying before you see it work, yes.
Yes. Unlimited income, expense and savings entries, statement import, the month summary with your savings rate and three months of charts are free with no time limit. YNAB offers a 34-day trial and then a subscription ($14.99 a month or $109 a year in US dollars; check current pricing on ynab.com).
Yes. Export your plan data from the YNAB web app and import the transactions file into the expense tracker. Separate outflow and inflow columns are read as spending and income, and a column the import does not recognise is mapped once. Look at the transfers between your YNAB accounts before importing, since they are moves between your own accounts, not spending.
No. Premium has monthly budgets per category: a limit, what you spent and what is left. There is no “Ready to Assign” and no giving every dollar a job. If you want that method, YNAB is the better tool for it.
No. There is no bank connection of any kind. You import the CSV, Excel or PDF statement your bank lets you download, once a month or whenever you like, or add entries by hand.
Yes. Each entry keeps the currency it was paid in, and totals, charts and the savings rate are converted to your main currency with daily rates. YNAB recommends a separate plan for each currency.
Yes: English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian, with local number and date formats. YNAB is available in English only.
Create a free account, import your YNAB transactions or last month’s statement, and see your savings rate in minutes.
YNAB is a trademark of its owner; MyFinanceTools is not affiliated with or endorsed by YNAB. Competitor details are from public sources, November 2026, and may have changed. Amounts shown are illustrative. Nothing here is financial advice.