YNAB vs GlassJar
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
YNAB
This app helps you gain control over your finances by creating a proactive spending plan, paying down debt, and reaching your financial goals. It offers real-time updates for shared plans and securely links to financial accounts for automatic transaction import.
- Proactive spending plan creation
- Debt paydown planning
- Automatic transaction import
- Real-time updates for shared plans
- Goal tracking and visualization
- Manual transaction entry
- Siri integration
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Have you ever worried about money? You are not alone. Download YNAB, get good at money, and never worry about money again. “We started YNAB January 1st with $37 saved and ended the year with $42,000. Plus we paid $14,000 cash for a new roof.” -Kyle, YNAB user since 2020 Start your free 30-day trial and stop feeling like you’re bad at money. “YNAB has removed the stress of money from my life and in doing so has helped make me a better husband. It's like I got to remove a personal flaw I had never been able to fix." -Kyle, again. We didn’t even pay him to say this, but maybe we should. Why YNAB? -92% of YNAB users report feeling less stressed about money since starting. -The average user saves $600 in the first month, and $6,000 in the first year. “A year of YNAB costs less than a massage and is a heck of a lot better for reducing stress.” -Kat, YNAB user since 2016 Benefits and Features STOP ARGUING ABOUT MONEY …and start planning your life, together -Create and share unlimited plans with up to six people with one subscription -Real time updates between devices make it easy to keep everyone informed -Cheaper than couples counseling STOP DROWNING IN DEBT …and start seeing progress with your paydown -Make a plan to pay down debt by calculating time and interest saved with the Loan Planner -Avoid new credit card debt with YNAB’s clever built-in spending categorization feature STOP FEELING DISORGANIZED …and start feeling totally in control -Securely link financial accounts to automatically import transactions -Easily add transactions manually, if you prefer -Ask Siri to update your plan or provide expense category balances on the go START REACHING MORE GOALS …and stop thinking your future is limited -Keep your priorities and goals in focus -Visualize progress as you go -Watch your net worth climb START SPENDING CONFIDENTLY …and stop feeling guilt, doubt, and regret -Calculate your “Cost to Be Me” -Make a flexible, proactive spending plan -Always know how much you have to spend START FEELING SUPPORTED …and stop feeling like you’re alone in this -Talk to our “freakishly nice” award-winning support team (don’t tell them we called them freakish) -Become part of our community of genuine, amazingly supportive people who get it -Attend one of our live events to learn, share, play, and grow with like-minded getting-good-at-money people The first step of never worrying about money again is starting a free 30-day trial. Are you ready to get good at money? (You seem ready! And we already really like you, so please join us.) Free for 30 Days, then Monthly/Annual Subscriptions Available Subscription Details -YNAB is a one-year auto-renewable subscription, billed monthly or annually. -Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. -Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. -Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. -Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. -Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. YNAB is an agent of Plaid Financial Ltd., an authorised payment institution regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (Firm Reference Number: 804718). Plaid provides you with regulated account information services through YNAB as its agent. Terms of Use: https://www.ynab.com/terms/?isolated Privacy Policy: https://www.ynab.com/privacy-policy/?isolated U.S. State Privacy Notice: https://www.ynab.com/privacy-policy/state-privacy-notice?isolated
GlassJar
Easily track shared expenses with roommates, friends, or family. See who paid what, who owes whom, and settle up quickly. Offers detailed spending insights and optional bank syncing for automatic transaction import.
- Track shared expenses
- See who paid and who owes
- Automatic balance calculation
- Settle up payments
- Import expenses via CSV/JSON
- Spending calendar heatmap
- Automatic bank sync (premium)
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Glass Jar is the easiest way to see shared money clearly — what's been spent, who paid, and who owes whom — across any group you share costs with. It's not a budgeting app and it won't lecture you. It's visibility: one clear place where the spending you share with other people finally makes sense. WORKS WHEREVER MONEY IS SHARED • Roommates & households — rent, groceries, the electric bill. See every shared cost and settle up in a tap. • Trips & events — one space per trip; everyone logs as they go, split the tab, square up at the end. • Couples — joint spending, clear picture, no spreadsheets and no judgment. • Small teams — track spend and reimbursements, tag expenses to clients or projects. • Just you — see unusual charges, your busiest days, and where the month actually went. SEE WHO & WHERE Every expense broken down by member and category, with a daily-spending trend that handles big one-offs gracefully. KNOW WHO OWES WHOM Automatic balances across the group and a simple "settle up" plan — record a payment and it reconciles. No awkward math. BRING IN YOUR SPENDING Add expenses as you go, or import a CSV or JSON statement — columns auto-map, charges and payments are sorted out, and duplicates are caught. UNDERSTAND THE MONTH A spending calendar heatmap, year-in-review recap, unusual-spend flags, rich merchant history, subscription detection, tags, and saved views. PREMIUM — AUTOMATIC BANK SYNC Upgrade to connect your bank securely (via Plaid) and import transactions automatically, so the jar stays current without lifting a finger. Manual entry and CSV/JSON import are always free. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your financial data is yours. We never sell it, and we don't use it for advertising. Sign in with Apple or Google supported. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://glassjar.dev/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: GlassJar at 100% against YNAB's 51%. GlassJar also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). YNAB's advantage is ratings volume (62K vs 1) and chart position (#4 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. YNAB sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and GlassJar sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
GlassJar holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: YNAB has 62K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of YNAB's written reviews are positive against 100% of GlassJar's.
YNAB ships an update weekly, GlassJar every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | YNAB | GlassJar |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (62K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 51.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 62K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #4 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 157 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 12+ |
| Developer | You Need A Budget LLC | Home Team Management LLC |
Customer experience
YNAB
GlassJar
Bugs and requests
YNAB
Reported bugs
2 issues- Frequent disconnections from bank accounts
- Syncing issues between mobile and web versions
Requested features
5 requests- Fortnightly budgeting options
- Improved reporting and analytics
- Ability to upload files/documents
- Undo/redo functionality
- Biometric login for mobile app
GlassJar
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
YNAB
- YNAB Subscription1 Month trial$14.991 Month
- YNAB Subscription$14.991 Month
- YNAB Subscription1 Month trial$109.001 Year
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- YNAB Subscription$109.001 Year
GlassJar
- One Bank Sync$1.991 Month
- Yearly Access$3.991 Year
- Sync up to 3 banks$5.991 Month
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- Bank Sync up to 10 banks$9.991 Month
- Bank Sync Unlimited$14.991 Month









