Mint shut down in January 2024. Here are the best alternatives — tested, compared, and ranked so you can find the right one for your life.
In January 2024, Intuit shut down Mint — the budgeting app millions of Americans relied on for over a decade. If you've been budgeting on a prayer and a spreadsheet ever since, you're not alone. The good news: the replacement options are genuinely better.
We tested and researched the top budgeting apps of 2026. Here's what's actually worth your money — and your time.
Spreadsheets require you to remember to update them, categorize manually, and do the math yourself. Most people abandon them within weeks. Budgeting apps connect directly to your bank accounts and credit cards, automatically categorize transactions, and show you where your money went — in real time, with zero data entry.
The best apps also set up spending alerts, track your net worth, and help you set goals — things that would require multiple spreadsheets and hours of maintenance to replicate manually.
💡 On Mint's shutdown: Intuit shut down Mint on January 1, 2024, pushing users toward Credit Karma. Most Mint users report that Credit Karma's budgeting features are significantly more limited. The apps below are the actual successors worth considering.
YNAB uses zero-based budgeting — every dollar you earn gets assigned a job before you spend it. It has the steepest learning curve of any app on this list, but also the most devoted following. Users consistently report paying off debt and saving more within months. A 34-day free trial lets you test it before committing.
Forbes Advisor's top-rated budgeting app for 2026. Monarch is the closest thing to what Mint used to be — but better. Excellent bank sync, beautiful interface, investment tracking, net worth dashboard, and couples-friendly. Reddit's personal finance communities consistently recommend it as the best Mint alternative. Pricing: $14.99/month or $99.99/year after a 7-day trial.
Copilot is an iOS/Mac exclusive with a beautifully designed interface and strong transaction categorization powered by AI. It learns your spending habits and improves over time. Highly rated in personal finance communities (Bogleheads, r/personalfinance) for reliability and polish. Android users will need to look elsewhere.
PocketGuard's signature feature is "In My Pocket" — it calculates exactly how much you have left to spend after bills, goals, and necessities are accounted for. A free tier is available with core features. PocketGuard Plus unlocks unlimited budgets and debt payoff tools. NerdWallet recommends it for people who want a simple spending snapshot.
Honeydue is built specifically for couples managing money together. Each partner can see shared accounts and keep individual ones private. You can set bill reminders, chat in-app about transactions, and set monthly category limits together. And it's completely free — making it the go-to recommendation for couples who want transparency without the subscription cost.
Simplifi is Quicken's modern, streamlined app — built to replace Mint with a more polished experience. Strong bank sync, spending plan feature, and watchlists to track recurring charges. Good for households that want a complete financial picture without the complexity of full Quicken desktop software.
| App | Cost | Best For | Free Tier | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YNAB | $14.99/mo or $109/yr | Serious budgeters | 34-day trial | iOS, Android, Web |
| Monarch Money | $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr | Most people / Mint refugees | 7-day trial | iOS, Android, Web |
| Copilot | ~$13/mo or ~$95/yr | iPhone users | Trial available | iOS, macOS only |
| PocketGuard | Free / $12.99/mo Plus | Simplicity | Yes | iOS, Android |
| Honeydue | Free | Couples | Yes (fully free) | iOS, Android |
| Simplifi | ~$3.99/mo (annual) | Value-conscious households | 30-day trial | iOS, Android, Web |
Honestly, not quite — Mint was unusually full-featured for a free product. The closest free options are PocketGuard (limited features) and Honeydue (great for couples). If you're willing to pay $8–$15/month, Monarch Money or YNAB are genuinely better than Mint ever was.
For people who commit to the method, yes — overwhelmingly. YNAB users in surveys consistently report saving more than the annual subscription cost within the first month. The 34-day free trial is generous enough to know if it works for you before paying.
Reputable budgeting apps use bank-level encryption and connect through Plaid or similar read-only data providers — they can see your transactions, but they cannot move your money. YNAB, Monarch, and Copilot all use industry-standard security. That said, always use strong unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication on any financial app.
Intuit shut down Mint on January 1, 2024. The app no longer works. Users were redirected to Credit Karma, which has some financial tracking features but is not a true budgeting replacement. If you were a Mint user, Monarch Money is the most direct upgrade.
Monarch Money is the closest replacement to Mint — it offers bank sync, investment tracking, net worth dashboard, and a clean interface. Forbes named it the top budgeting app for 2026. YNAB is the best option if you want to aggressively pay off debt or build savings, though it has a steeper learning curve.
For most people who use it consistently, yes. YNAB costs about $109/year, but users report saving an average of $600 in their first two months. The zero-based budgeting method forces you to give every dollar a job before you spend it, which eliminates the vague "where did my money go?" feeling most people live with. A 34-day free trial lets you test it before paying.
Yes — reputable apps like YNAB, Monarch Money, and Copilot use read-only bank connections via Plaid, a secure third-party service trusted by thousands of financial institutions. They can see your transactions but cannot move money. All major apps use bank-level 256-bit encryption.
Zero-based budgeting means every dollar you earn is assigned a specific purpose — bills, groceries, savings, debt payoff — until you reach zero. Not zero in your bank account, but zero unassigned dollars. Every dollar has a job. YNAB is built around this method and it's especially powerful for people trying to pay off debt or save aggressively.
PocketGuard has a solid free tier with its "In My Pocket" feature that shows exactly how much you can safely spend after bills and savings. Honeydue is completely free and ideal for couples. For a completely manual but powerful free option, a simple spreadsheet with two columns — income and expenses — still beats nothing.