Home/Reviews

Latest reviews

Fresh experiences from real customers, collected from Reddit, YouTube and blogs and linked to their sources.

Updated continuously · Most recent first

Copilot MoneyPositive

MoneyRecs · Ben · 10 days ago

I mostly open this to clear the transactions waiting for review and see where the spending is going. That's enough for me. Having the upcoming bills on the same screen is handy, especially when the current balance looks more generous than it really is. I still check the categories instead of accepting everything in one go. Takes a little attention, but I prefer that to opening a spreadsheet and deciding I'll deal with it later.

YNABPositive

Reddit · r/ynab · 19 days ago

Found YNAB through a book at a bookstore, says it transformed their financial life and left them ready for retirement with total command of expenses, using about 40% of its capacity because the philosophy is what works.

YNABNegative

Reddit · r/ynab · 20 days ago

Finds mismatched transactions get auto-approved when buying the same item daily, so the cleared balance stops matching the bank and they must reconcile more often, which is now more work than the old manual approval.

MonarchNegative

Reddit · r/MonarchMoney · 35 days ago

Has the same institutions connected on Robinhood, M1 Finance and Monarch, and says Monarch is the only one that keeps dropping off, often the Bank of America checking account, so they think it is a Monarch problem.

YNABPositive

Reddit · r/ynab · 69 days ago

An early-career high earner who still gets a lot of value from YNAB for spending and saving thoughtfully, and also tracks tax-advantaged savings and net worth with a self-hosted extension for financial independence forecasts.

YNABNegative

Reddit · r/ynab · 105 days ago

An original downloadable-software user who lasted through the first web subscription price hike and then left, finding the company money hungry while offering a lesser product than the software ever provided.

YNABPositive

Reddit · r/ynab · 106 days ago

Has used YNAB for at least ten years, finds it still helpful with prompt real-person chat answers, and despite rising prices finds it worth the money for the peace of mind it gives, filtering out the gimmicky parts.

YNABNegative

Reddit · r/ynab · 123 days ago

Has waited several years for the web app to offer Monday as the first day of the week despite requesting it, sees frequent updates for less important things, and will probably not renew, with Zerosum gaining ground.

YNABMixed

Reddit · r/ynab · 123 days ago

A ten-year user who finds complaints about price overly dramatic but the new transaction interface truly horrid, with a photo above the fold and no easy inflow/outflow toggle; still loves the framework and web app.

YNABNegative

Reddit · r/ynab · 147 days ago

Cancelled YNAB because their banks do not sync and the continual price hikes for what is effectively a glorified spreadsheet requiring manual input left a bad taste, though they had second thoughts since it had worked for them.

MonarchNegative

Reddit · r/MonarchMoney · 149 days ago

Left YNAB for flexibility reasons but finds Monarch's budget disconnected from account balances with no reconciliation or accountability, so they end up using it as a pricey post-spending categorizer and likely will not renew.

MonarchMixed

Reddit · r/MonarchMoney · 149 days ago

Finds the receipt scan feature genius, since on day one it caught a waiter inflating a tip, but says recurring transactions for credit cards show the total balance instead of the minimum payment, making them useless.

MonarchNegative

Reddit · r/MonarchMoney · 150 days ago

Wants a trailing 30-day expense view, and says some accounts like Fidelity and Capital One do not show pending transactions and update only every couple of days, leaving their Monarch view nearly a week out of date.

YNABNegative

Reddit · r/ynab · 161 days ago

A former outspoken YNAB advocate who sees a multi-year pattern of enshittification: odd decisions, ignoring users, breaking price-lock promises to early users, and several price increases while making the product worse.

YNABMixed

Reddit · r/ynab · 162 days ago

Credits YNAB with changing their life and even their job, as they now use it at work, but is leaving over the tinkering with the app and the handling of two well-liked team members' departures, and will not renew personally or for the company.

YNABNegative

Reddit · r/ynab · 165 days ago

Was considering alternatives but realized how good and important the YNAB mobile app was, then an update added many more taps and made entering multiple transactions much longer, prompting a more serious look.

YNABNegative

Reddit · r/ynab · 165 days ago

Says earlier YNAB versions were simpler and did the job perfectly, and asks YNAB to stop interface changes such as turning the inflow/spending button into a dropdown, which makes a one-touch process two steps.

YNABNegative

Reddit · r/ynab · 194 days ago

Dislikes YNAB's charts in general and calls the income-versus-spending chart one of the worst, since low-income months from funding retirement accounts and paying off the mortgage make it show them overspending.

YNABMixed

Reddit · r/ynab · 242 days ago

Says it took months to follow their budget in YNAB, reconciling more often and checking categories before spending, and six years in they are out of credit card debt, a month ahead and building an emergency fund.

MonarchPositive

Reddit · r/MonarchMoney · 292 days ago

Enjoys the quick transaction view, net worth tracking, needs-review feature and budgeting, which made household money talks easier and saved more than the subscription cost; their accounts connect and disconnects resolve within a day.

MonarchNegative

Reddit · r/MonarchMoney · 350 days ago

Says Monarch support is next to hopeless, responding to a simple issue with a boilerplate, irrelevant reply, forcing them to recreate two accounts and recategorize transactions, which they will remember at renewal.

YNABMixed

Reddit · r/ynab · 401 days ago

Uses a spreadsheet for cash balance projections and YNAB only to categorize transactions for historical spending trends, finding the don't-spend-it-unless-you-have-it principle not feasible while paycheck to paycheck.

MonarchPositive

Reddit · r/personalfinance · 411 days ago

They have used Monarch since Mint stopped serving personal finance. They find it useful for tracking overall spending and like the several budgeting styles, though they say it will not rein in overspending by itself.

YNABPositive

Reddit · r/personalfinance · 411 days ago

They pair a spreadsheet with YNAB, using YNAB to link actual spending to their planned budget and adjust as needed. They say they are basically paying for its transaction import and categorization.

YNABPositive

Reddit · r/personalfinance · 516 days ago

A new budgeter of about a month who picked YNAB after Reddit recommendations and says it changed their life; they credit the setup wizard, audiobook, YouTube channel and blog for making it feel easy.

YNABPositive

Reddit · r/ynab · 524 days ago

A ten-plus-year user who approves and matches bank transactions in the app, does main budgeting and reconciling on the web version at the start of each month, and finds it easier with the phone banking app beside it.

YNABPositive

Reddit · r/personalfinance · 567 days ago

After six years calls YNAB their single best financial decision, since planning for future true expenses moved them away from using account balances as a backstop and makes them intentional with money.

MonarchPositive

Reddit · r/personalfinance · 567 days ago

Is more of an expense tracker than a budgeter and has started playing with Monarch's flex budgeting, which lumps categories into fixed, non-monthly and variable buckets with sane defaults based on spending history.

YNABPositive

Reddit · r/personalfinance · 567 days ago

Found zero-based budgeting mechanics counterintuitive and hard to learn, but effective: YNAB revealed hidden risk despite being debt free, and now they are three months ahead and off the credit float.

YNABNegative

Reddit · r/personalfinance · 567 days ago

Has tried YNAB now and then for a decade and finds it too much, with poor bank integration, a dozen clicks to associate charges, and too many buckets causing confusion over where to put expenditures.

MonarchNegative

Reddit · r/personalfinance · 621 days ago

Calls Monarch the best Mint replacement on paper but says it constantly drops connections to institutions like Nordstrom, Target and Acorns, and support blames the institutions while PocketGuard and Simplifi work fine.

MonarchMixed

Reddit · r/personalfinance · 677 days ago

Has used Monarch Money for three years and finds support great, but several credit cards and the mortgage will not stay connected, recent HSA accounts can only be added manually, and they cannot filter by account owner.