Reddit · r/ynab · yesterday
A decade-long devoted user who still does not understand some of the odd behaviours such as stealing from the future.
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Fresh experiences from real customers, collected from Reddit, YouTube and blogs and linked to their sources.
Reddit · r/CreditCards · 2 days ago
Has done a weekly reconcile-and-pay routine in YNAB since 2022 for peace of mind after past card debt, but is now dropping it for a cheaper alternative and dislikes its renamed menus.
Reddit · r/CreditCards · 2 days ago
Used it for several years before moving to a different budgeting app, feeling YNAB had kept making things harder rather than easier.
Reddit · r/CreditCards · 2 days ago
Uses YNAB with linked accounts and finds it much easier than manual tracking. Calls it pricey but worth the reduced mental effort.
Reddit · r/ynab · 2 days ago
Set the iPhone action button to add a YNAB transaction and now logs purchases right after paying, before the receipt prints.
Reddit · r/ynab · 5 days ago
Uses YNAB because it keeps money set aside for credit cards so they are paid in full each month, and updates and reconciles often.
Reddit · r/ynab · 5 days ago
Enters every transaction by hand at the time of purchase in YNAB, reconciles twice a week and says the routine takes about five minutes a day.
Reddit · r/ynab · 5 days ago
Prefers YNAB's web app and distrusts the mobile app, whose constantly changing functionality they find confusing and fiddly.
Reddit · r/everydollar · 8 days ago
After a decade as a paying member, the budget-locking update made it unworkable overnight, so they built a custom Excel spreadsheet with AI help and cancelled the subscription.
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.
MoneyRecs · Priya S · 11 days ago
Two years in, my husband and I finally know where the money goes. Worth the $109.
Reddit · r/MonarchMoney · 11 days ago
Likes the interface but the endless bugs, Amazon issues and rules that do not work became truly exhausting, so they migrated to Monarch.
Reddit · r/ynab · 11 days ago
Tried Monarch for a while but the lack of zero-based budgeting was the killer, being hardwired to zero-based budgeting.
Reddit · r/ynab · 11 days ago
After seven years on YNAB, was pushed toward Monarch by YNAB's home screen advertisements, finding ads on top of a paid subscription so offensive.
Reddit · r/everydollar · 12 days ago
After years of use, a recent update locks closed monthly budgets completely so you can't go back to log refunds or delayed charges from two months ago.
Reddit · r/ynab · 12 days ago
Tried Monarch for a few months but found the inability to reconcile unsettling and never knew if they could trust their budget.
Reddit · r/ynab · 12 days ago
A long-time YNAB user who tried Monarch for several months, found a beautiful UI but could not warm up to the budget feature, and is now trying Copilot.
Reddit · r/ynab · 12 days ago
A long-time YNAB user trying Copilot after Monarch, calling it a gorgeous app while still finding its budgeting lacking.
Reddit · r/personalfinance · 12 days ago
Likes Monarch after tracking finances for years, making a yearly budget and checking in about halfway through, with the detailed tracking available but the higher-level view working well.
Reddit · r/personalfinance · 12 days ago
Has used Monarch since before it had AI categorization, and says categorization did not seem to get any better.
Reddit · r/personalfinance · 12 days ago
Moved to Monarch but thinks they should have kept YNAB, as they enjoy manual categorizing and kept up with it better by entering transactions as they happened.
Reddit · r/personalfinance · 12 days ago
Finds with Monarch they must wait for transactions to show up before accepting and categorizing them, and cannot enter them manually without creating duplicates.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Switched to Monarch this month after YNAB struggled to connect some accounts, and is very pleased so far.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Says YNAB has not delivered enough value for its price, with silly UI updates, imports that still work only half the time, and the same underwhelming reports for years.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Tried Monarch for a few days and ran straight back to YNAB, which they consider the best budgeting app currently.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Tried Monarch on a promo, calling it slick and great looking, but within six months was back on YNAB and let Monarch lapse, preferring zero-based budgeting to being a passenger.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Uses Monarch for their parents and loves it for investments, better import features, customization, an agentic interface and a more modern feel, though it is not zero-based budgeting.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Tried Monarch and says support was unhelpful and would not even respond to their ticket.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Tried Monarch for a few days and disliked that accounts were not connected, so recording a credit card payment meant two independent transactions that do not update together, a reconciliation risk.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Switched away because YNAB struggled to connect to some accounts during a very active month and, when it synchronized, was completely out of whack, defeating the purpose of automation.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Switched to Monarch recently because YNAB was too much of a pain for logging transactions and linking certain accounts.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Wants zero-based budgeting but switched to Monarch because categorizing in YNAB was so painful they budgeted less, citing weak auto categorization rules and four clicks to split a transaction.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
A long-time YNAB user who switched two months ago and finds Monarch more proactive in tracking and monitoring.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Switched to Monarch permanently to track net wealth and because flex budgeting lets them set aggregate lump sums while still tracking spending, unlike YNAB which encouraged amassing underused cash.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Jumped to Monarch and is never coming back, saying it does not feel like having a second job to keep things organized.
Reddit · r/ynab · 13 days ago
Just signed up for Monarch and is pretty impressed, finding it more streamlined than YNAB, with easy receipt scanning, automatic splits and a helpful AI assistant for budget setup.
Reddit · r/personalfinance · 13 days ago
Started using YNAB 16 years ago but has reached a stage where not every dollar needs a job, and still grinds reconciling every cent while wanting gross-level cash flow and aggregated investments.
Reddit · r/personalfinance · 13 days ago
Says with Monarch you just change the categories you disagree with, that it is very easy to use, and that they love it.
Reddit · r/personalfinance · 13 days ago
Uses Monarch and really likes it, noting a lot of great extensions.
Reddit · r/MonarchMoney · 15 days ago
Had a terrible problem with their bank breaking things via Plaid, and says Monarch help was great at restoring the mess others made.
Reddit · r/ynab · 15 days ago
Says YNAB altered their life for the better six years ago and helped them become debt-free, but the app and atmosphere have changed, and they feel the company is ending the relationship.
Reddit · r/CreditCards · 16 days ago
Uses Monarch for general financial planning; finds it hard to track card points with it, though its automation rules are robust.
Reddit · r/CreditCards · 17 days ago
Loves YNAB despite a steep learning curve; automatic categorisation works well and fixing a wrong category is easy.
Reddit · r/CreditCards · 17 days ago
Uses YNAB as the place every credit card transaction lands and keeps card rewards in a separate spreadsheet, tracking redeemed cash back as its own YNAB category.
Reddit · r/CreditCards · 17 days ago
Uses Monarch to record every transaction rather than for budgeting, and likes how far its categories can be customised.
Reddit · r/ynab · 18 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.
Reddit · r/ynab · 19 days ago
A ten-year customer and evangelist who got half a dozen friends to sign up but will not renew, saying changes over the past 18 months made YNAB increasingly frustrating to use.
Reddit · r/ynab · 19 days ago
Says YNAB has implemented several of their feature requests over the last year, including removing the busywork of approving matched transactions, and the new home tab they did not ask for has grown on them.