Comparison

Goodbudget Budget Planner vs YNAB

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Goodbudget Budget Planner

This app helps you manage your finances and plan your spending using a virtual envelope system. Track expenses, monitor debt, and gain insights with helpful reports. Share your budget with family or friends across multiple devices.

Highlights
  • Virtual envelope budgeting
  • Shared budgets
  • Expense tracking
  • Debt payoff tracking
  • Insightful financial reports
  • Automatic cloud backup
  • CSV transaction export
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Goodbudget is a personal finance app perfect for budget planning, debt tracking, and money management. Share your budget and data across multiple phones (and the web!). MANAGE MONEY WITH PEOPLE YOU LOVE Goodbudget is perfect for sharing a budget with a spouse, family member, or friend because your budget is backed up. Share your budget across multiple devices including iPhones, other smartphones, and the web. * Transactions get backed up to the cloud and are accessible from other devices, including Goodbudget's web app! * Stay on the same page about finances with those close to you * Your data is automatically and securely backed up to Goodbudget's website * Download transactions to CSV (on website) INSIGHTFUL REPORTS Goodbudget helps you make sense of your budgeting and spending with in-app reports. * Know how to modify your budget after analyzing reports * Spending by envelope report (cool-looking pie chart!) * Income vs spending report * Debt progress report (track your payoff!) * Even more reports on the web A PROVEN SYSTEM Goodbudget is based on the envelope budgeting method. But with no physical envelopes...only virtual envelopes! * Check envelopes balances (aka how much you have left to spend) while you're on-the-go * Add transactions and track expenses easily on the go * Use the proven cash envelope budgeting method * Track your bank balances in addition to envelope balances * Pay off debt and manage payments * Live within your means * Schedule transactions and automatically fill envelopes Ad-free, Free Forever version includes 10 regular envelopes & 10 annual envelopes. Use envelope budgeting to plan your spending, not just track it! ================================ SUBSCRIBERS GET MORE FEATURES! ================================ * Unlimited Envelopes AND Accounts * Automatic Bank Sync * 5 devices for sharing * 7 years of transaction history * Personal and friendly email support Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. If you're looking to track where your money goes, plan your spending, or create a budget that works, try us out! Goodbudget: Budget well. Live life. Do Good. Features, bugs? Please email us at support@goodbudget.com! We're happy to help! ** Leading personal finance app downloaded over 2,000,000 times AND previously featured by Apple, The New York Times, Forbes, CNET, LifeTime TV, The Boston Globe, and Lifehacker **

About

YNAB

This app helps users gain control of their finances by creating flexible spending plans, tracking expenses, and managing debt. It aims to reduce financial stress and empower users to reach their goals. Features include account linking, manual transaction entry, and collaborative planning for multiple users.

Highlights
  • Create and share unlimited spending plans
  • Automatically import transactions
  • Manually add transactions
  • Loan Planner for debt paydown
  • Visualize progress towards goals
  • Real-time updates for shared plans
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

Screenshots

Goodbudget Budget Planner4 screens
YNAB4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Goodbudget Budget Planner at freemium against YNAB's subscription. Goodbudget Budget Planner also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). YNAB's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and chart position (#6 vs #72). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Goodbudget Budget Planner sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and YNAB sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

YNAB holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14K and 62K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 59% of Goodbudget Budget Planner's written reviews are positive against 51% of YNAB's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Goodbudget Budget Planner ships an update every 3 weeks, YNAB weekly. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Goodbudget Budget Planner versus YNAB: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoodbudget Budget PlannerYNAB
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (14K ratings)4.8 (62K ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.8% of reviews — better51.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14K62K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#72#6 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB157 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDayspring TechnologiesYou Need A Budget LLC

Customer experience

Goodbudget Budget Planner

All ratings13,520 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.5%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews391 reviews
Positive58.8%
Neutral9.2%
Negative32.0%

YNAB

All ratings61,994 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral1.4%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews1,684 reviews
Positive51.0%
Neutral9.5%
Negative39.5%

User reviews

Goodbudget Budget Planner

From 14K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Excellent app for tracking and managing finances
  • 🤝 Great for couples and families to manage budgets together
  • 📈 Helpful envelope system and budgeting tools
  • 🕰️ Ability to schedule recurring payments and income
  • 🗓️ Useful for budgeting by pay period instead of monthly

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Confusing or unintuitive interface for some users
  • 💰 Paid subscription seen as too expensive by some
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs, crashes, and syncing issues reported
  • 🔢 Limited free version with only 10 envelopes
  • 🔍 Difficulty making changes to existing budgets

YNAB

From 62K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💰 Helps save money
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🚀 Efficient budgeting system
  • 🤝 Helpful for couples/families
  • 🧠 Changes financial mindset

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Steep learning curve
  • 🔌 Connectivity issues with some banks
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🕰️ Reconciliation process could be improved
  • 📱 Mobile app lacks some features of web version

Bugs and requests

Goodbudget Budget Planner

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Transactions not saving properly
  • Envelopes resetting or losing balances
  • Recurring income/payments not working as expected
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to group/organize envelopes
  • Option to reconcile transactions and mark as cleared
  • Transaction search functionality within the app
  • Customizable envelope colors or themes
  • Automatic transaction syncing from bank accounts
Show 1 more
  • More detailed reporting and analytics features

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

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Goodbudget Budget Planner

Subscriptions8
  • Monthly Plus Plan$5.991 Month
  • Monthly Plus Plan2 variants$6.991 Month
  • Monthly Plus Plan$7.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Monthly Premium Plan$9.991 Month
  • Annual Plus Plan$49.991 Year
  • Annual Plus Plan2 variants$59.991 Year
  • Annual Plus Plan$69.991 Year
  • Annual Premium Plan$79.991 Year
One-time2
  • 3 Months of Plus Plan$17.99
  • 6 Months of Plus Plan$29.99
4 purchases

YNAB

Subscriptions4
  • YNAB Subscription1 Month trial$14.991 Month
  • YNAB Subscription$14.991 Month
  • YNAB Subscription1 Month trial$109.001 Year
Show 1 more
  • YNAB Subscription$109.001 Year

Questions

Is Goodbudget Budget Planner free?
Goodbudget Budget Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is YNAB free?
YNAB is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Goodbudget Budget Planner or YNAB?
YNAB is rated higher. Goodbudget Budget Planner averages 4.6 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while YNAB averages 4.8 from 62K ratings.
Do Goodbudget Budget Planner or YNAB have ads?
Neither Goodbudget Budget Planner nor YNAB shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Goodbudget Budget Planner or YNAB?
Goodbudget Budget Planner ships an update every 3 weeks, and YNAB weekly. Most recently, Goodbudget Budget Planner was updated on November 1, 2026 and YNAB on November 1, 2026.
Which is more popular, Goodbudget Budget Planner or YNAB?
Goodbudget Budget Planner currently peaks at #72 in the App Store charts, and YNAB at #6. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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