YNAB

Envelope and zero-based budgeting

About YNAB

Zero-based budgeting app where you assign every dollar to a category before you spend it, then adjust as the month goes.

YNAB, short for You Need A Budget, is a budgeting app built on one rule: give every dollar you have right now a job. When money arrives, you assign it to categories such as rent, groceries, car repairs or a holiday fund until nothing is left unassigned. When you overspend in one category, you move money from another, so the plan always matches the cash you hold.

It runs on the web and on phones, and it can import transactions from linked bank accounts or take them entered by hand. Many people pick it because it plans with money already in the account rather than with next month's income. It has a free trial and then a paid subscription, with no free plan. Expect a learning period; the method takes a few weeks to feel natural, and the company publishes guides and classes for that.

Details

  • Free plan or free versionNo
  • Connects to bank accounts

    Yes
  • Mobile app

    Yes
  • Open sourceNo

Not enough info yet on uses AI to sort or explain your money. Check the tool's own site.

Listing written by NeedSaving, checked 2026-11-03. Report a correction or request removal. Back to envelope and zero-based budgeting.