YNAB Review

Sunday, February 9th

2025 Personal Finance Software Reviews

YNAB

• Costs $14.99 monthly or $99 per year
• Includes budgeting, bills, international transactions, and payments
• 34-day free trial
• Mobile app and desktop option
• Designed for multiple platforms
• High ratings for mobile app

YNAB, or You Need a Budget, adopts a unique approach to personal finance. This online financial tool operates on the principle that every dollar you anticipate earning should have a designated purpose, whether for spending or saving.

Automatically imports transactions

YNAB links to your financial accounts, importing balances and transactions directly into your budget. This gives you real-time insights into your financial situation. While YNAB might have somewhat of a learning curve, it offers a wealth of educational resources, including tutorials and philosophical guidance, to assist users in mastering its distinctive method.

Unique budgeting but a steep learning curve

YNAB sets itself apart from the crowd with a unique and dynamic budgeting system. Unlike most budgeting apps, it doesn't solely involve allocating predetermined amounts to spending categories. Instead, it operates as a "living budget" that adapts as the month progresses. However, navigating its distinct system might not be intuitive from the start, so you might have trouble from the get-go even if you've used other personal financial software in the past.

Known for its collaborations

YNAB collaborates with various bank connection providers, including Plaid. YNAB offers the flexibility to switch to a different provider if you're dissatisfied with the one you initially chose, a feature not commonly found in personal finance services. Once you've linked your accounts, YNAB guides you through the setup, which is the most user-friendly part of the software. However, unlike some other financial platforms, YNAB doesn't automatically categorize transactions, which could be frustrating if you want help with keeping track of different expenses.

Pricey, but competitive trial period

YNAB is available for $14.99 monthly or $99 annually, which stands out as being much more expensive than other options we evaluated. YNAB offers a generous 34-day free trial, extending beyond the typical month-long trial period. This way, you have a few extra days to cancel the membership if you decide you don't want one. The best part is there's no need to provide credit card information during the trial sign-up.

Extremely popular with reviewers

In some respects, YNAB doesn't have a top-tier reputation. The company only holds a "C+” rating from the Better Business Bureau. However, when we checked out the reviews for YNAB through the mobile app stores, the company had a much better reputation. At Google Play YNAB shows a 4.7-star average out of 5, and from the Apple store the software has an impressive 4.8 stars out of 5, and this is with tens of thousands of individual reviews to back up the ratings. Customers particularly praised the budgeting features of YNAB with one review calling it "using budgeting as a GPS” for your finances.

Mid-tier due to high prices

At the end of the day, YNAB is a solid option for budgeting software but it has a steep learning curve, which makes it harder for customers to get into the groove with YNAB than with other personal finance software. On top of that, YNAB stands out for being much more expensive than its competitors without offering any clear ideas as to why the price is so high. However, a 34-day free trial and rave reviews for the mobile version balance out some of the negative aspects. At the end of the day, YNAB gets a middle-ground rating as it has some standout options for those looking for budgeting software. But, its drawbacks balance out the positives, keeping YNAB from being a top contender for personal finance management.