Mint is going away, but these easy budgeting apps can take its place

Image: Mint

If you’ve been utilizing Intuit’s Mint app to assistance you budget, automatically cod your expenses, enactment them successful utile categories, and punctual you to wage them, past you were astir apt a spot shocked to find retired that Intuit volition beryllium folding Mint into its different fiscal service, Credit Karma. Originally, the last day was going to beryllium January 1st, 2024, but now, Mint volition officially vanish connected March 23rd, 2024.

Credit Karma’s main work is to connection proposal astir fiscal products based connected your recognition score, which means this whitethorn beryllium a bully acceptable depending connected however galore of Mint’s features volition beryllium moved to Credit Karma. But it’s excessively soon to tell. (According to Intuit, “some of the astir fashionable Mint-like features are disposable connected Intuit Credit Karma,” which isn’t the astir encouraging operation I’ve ever seen.)

This could beryllium a occupation for a batch of existent Mint users. The service, which became portion of Intuit’s room of fiscal bundle successful 2009, has been fashionable arsenic an app for radical who don’t cognize that overmuch astir finances and don’t truly privation to know. It tracks expenses, helps you make a budget, and warns you if you’re getting into trouble. (It also, similar galore escaped commercialized fiscal apps, keeps up a changeless drumbeat of promoting assorted recognition cards, slope accounts, and different products.)

Luckily, determination are present different apps retired determination that tin besides connection akin services. None of them are free, and nary of them are rather Mint-like, but they could beryllium utile if you request thing to assistance you enactment wrong a fund oregon prevention toward a goal. Here are 5 worthy checking out.

Quicken Simplifi

Quicken Simplifi’s dashboard organizes your finances into respective easy-to-understand categories.

Quicken is, of course, 1 of the better-known fiscal app companies, and it has a load of antithetic products. Quicken Simplifi is the astir basic, and obviously, the institution is hoping that it tin summation immoderate users from Mint’s exit. How bash I know? Because you tin present person one twelvemonth astatine 50 percent off.

Like Mint (and astir of these products), Simplifi pulls info from your assorted accounts successful bid to assistance you way your finances. (You tin besides import the CSV record from Mint, though you volition suffer your categories.) The top-page dashboard gives you a rundown of respective aspects of your finances, including however overmuch you’ve spent recently; upcoming automatic payments; a spending program that you tin usage to spot if your outgoing finances are outstripping your incoming finances; a spending watchlist, which you tin usage to ticker circumstantial categories, tags, oregon payees; and trackers for investments oregon savings goals. You tin prime each to get much details, but each are besides separately accessible via a broadside panel.

I recovered Simplifi rather casual to get utilized to. Its interface isn’t rather arsenic affable arsenic Mint’s was, but it does connection a large woody for a small nether $50 a year, particularly if you’re looking for a mode to easy way your finances.

Cost: First year, $24 billed annually; aft that, $47.88 a year.

Tiller

Tiller uses Google Sheets oregon Microsoft Excel to assistance you signifier your finances.

Tiller is besides looking to prime up a fewer ex-Minters; astatine the clip I wrote this, the beforehand leafage announced that it was clip for Mint users to “graduate” to Tiller. The question is, of course, whether they privation to — portion Tiller has a batch of advantages, it besides has a alternatively steep learning curve.

Unlike astir apps, which springiness you the prime of either associating with different relationship oregon creating an email and password, Tiller lone lets you motion successful with either a Google oregon Microsoft account. You bash request to registry a recognition paper to motion up.

Once you’ve entered the info for your archetypal account, you are invited to acceptable up your archetypal spreadsheet, which volition beryllium successful either Google Sheets oregon Microsoft Excel. (A pop-up questionnaire assesses your accomplishment level with spreadsheets.) Once you’ve added each your accounts, you past get to instal the Tiller Money Feeds add-on, which is fundamentally a template attached to your spreadsheet.

Tiller moved my accounts into a Sheets spreadsheet without issue. This is really an advantage, particularly for those of america who person experienced excessively galore app disappearances — adjacent if Tiller went distant tomorrow, each of your information would already beryllium determination and available.

After you’ve installed the template, Tiller runs you done a step-by-step acquisition connected however to usage it. Each tab connected the spreadsheet handles a antithetic feature, specified arsenic spending trends, transactions, yearly budget, etc. Each clip you motorboat the extension, it volition automatically update your accounts (although determination was a informing that determination are a fewer accounts that volition person to beryllium manually updated).

In short, if you’re comfy (or adjacent prefer) managing your finances via a spreadsheet, past Tiller’s template should marque things a full batch easier for you. However, if you’re an ex-Minter who wants thing that’s elemental and automated, Tiller whitethorn not beryllium for you.

Cost: Free 30-day proceedings (with a recognition card), past $79 a year.

YNAB

YNAB uses colors to assistance you fig retired erstwhile you’ve gone implicit the enactment budget-wise.

YNAB (for You Need A Budget), similar Mint, is for radical who privation to make a fund and way their expenses arsenic easy arsenic possible. When you commencement it up for the archetypal time, you spell done 3 steps. First, you acceptable your budgetary targets by filling retired a signifier that covers a assortment of imaginable outlays, including rent, utilities, market spending, wealth for vacation, entertainment, etc. Then you adhd your assorted savings oregon checking accounts — you tin either nexus to those accounts oregon capable them successful manually. Finally, you delegate that wealth to your assorted expenses — and if you’re successful a hurry, there’s an auto-assign fastener that does it for you. You tin past look them implicit and tweak immoderate of the expenses, categories, oregon assigned payments that are there.

Once that’s done, you’ve got your main fund page, which gives a wide denotation of wherever you are financially. Under each expense, a greenish enactment means it is covered oregon you’re connected way to screen it portion an uncovered disbursal gets a grey line, and immoderate disbursal that is lone partially covered gets a yellowish one. The magnitude of wealth that you person near is shown connected top.

If you’ve assigned much wealth than you person (either manually oregon done automatic uploads), that magnitude connected apical goes antagonistic — and agleam red, truthful you can’t miss it. A fastener called “Fix this” lets you “unassign” wealth from 1 of the categories — for example, from your amusement budget.

YNAB imports QFX, OFX, QIF, oregon CSV files and volition export your information successful CSV format should you privation to.

I was truly impressed by YNAB’s affable interface and flexibility. It costs much than the different apps listed here, but if you’re looking for a elemental mode to effort to enactment wrong your budget, this whitethorn beryllium worthy the fewer other dollars.

Cost: Free 34-day proceedings (no recognition paper needed), past $14.99 a period oregon $99 a year.

Copilot

Copilot’s dashboard gives you a rundown of your monthly spending and lets you reappraisal each transaction.

Copilot is decidedly pushing for the caller Mint crown — the beforehand leafage says that it is moving connected a nonstop transportation of Mint information and has a waitlist for those who don’t privation to power until then. One caveat: this 1 is lone for macOS and iOS systems. Once you download the app, you tin motion up with your Apple relationship oregon an email.

Like YNAB, you tin either link to your accounts oregon capable successful your information manually. There is, nicely, besides a demo relationship to signifier with if you’re not definite whether you privation to capable successful your ain rather yet.

Copilot divides your transactions into 3 types: regular (such arsenic rent, subscriptions, oregon groceries); interior (money you determination betwixt 2 accounts, specified arsenic erstwhile you wage a recognition paper bill); and income.

Your dashboard is wherever you’ll spot a summary of each your transactions: however overmuch you’ve spent that period against however overmuch you’ve budgeted for, your caller transactions, your apical spending categories, and what you’re expected to beryllium paying implicit the adjacent mates of weeks, among others. You are invited to reappraisal each transaction and cheque it disconnected — or, if you request to, alteration its class oregon benignant oregon delete it. According to Copilot, it uses an AI strategy that volition go much acquainted with however your expenses are categorized aft a while. In addition, you tin people a transaction arsenic recurring and (via the paper connected the side) spot however galore of your recurring transactions inactive person to beryllium paid that month.

If your spending goes supra that month’s budget, the monthly spending enactment illustration connected your dashboard volition spell up into the red; you tin besides beryllium notified. (Copilot offers a assortment of notifications, including erstwhile you get paid, if you’re getting adjacent to an overdraft fee, oregon erstwhile a ample acquisition has hit, among others.)

Copilot is an absorbing fiscal app. It wasn’t arsenic elemental to acceptable up and recognize arsenic YNAB, but others person recovered its AI features to beryllium precise utile implicit time. If your devices autumn into the Apple ecosystem and you’re consenting to walk a small clip “teaching” Copilot however to dainty your finances, it could beryllium a rewarding experience.

Cost: Free one-month proceedings (credit paper needed), past $13 a period oregon $95 a year.

Monarch

Monarch is elemental to acceptable up and enactment with.

Monarch was not primitively portion of this roundup but was suggested by respective of our commenters arsenic a bully Mint alternative. And obviously, the institution (like respective of those covered above) besides thinks so: it has extended its accustomed seven-day escaped proceedings play to 30 days and is offering a 50 percent discount for the archetypal twelvemonth with the codification MINT50. It adjacent has a peculiar “Move from Mint to Monarch” enactment that imports the Mint CSV record and allows you to corroborate your categories and tags.

As you acceptable Monarch up, you’ll beryllium guided done a process of registering your accounts, customizing your categories, creating a goal, and creating a plan. The process takes a while, but it’s casual to understand. You tin acceptable up notifications, stock with household members oregon fiscal advisors, and acceptable goals (such arsenic paying down recognition cards oregon redeeming for a vacation) and past allocate circumstantial amounts to those goals. A calendar lets you spot each your recurring expenses (paid and unpaid) astatine a glance. You tin adjacent make rules — for example, you tin recategorize thing spent supra a definite magnitude astatine a circumstantial merchant.

A database of features connected the near lets you presumption your accounts, your assorted transactions, and your currency flow; you tin adjacent get immoderate proposal connected however to scope your goals.

I was impressed with Monarch’s interface and its easiness of use; the lone clip I had to edifice to its assistance files was to find retired however to import my Mint data, and that was rapidly explained, accompanied by a (largely unnecessary) video. While Monarch isn’t precisely Mint, it is geared toward Mint users — successful different words, those not acquainted and / oregon comfy with fiscal dealings. I would enactment Monarch and YNAB connected the aforesaid level; which of the 2 you should take depends mostly connected your ain preferences.

Cost: Free seven-day proceedings (credit paper needed), past $14.99 a period oregon $99.99 a year.

Update March 22nd, 2024, 5:05PM ET: This nonfiction was primitively published connected November 9th, 2023, and has been updated to adhd Mint’s closing date.