The very best Mint alternate options

The favored budgeting app Mint can be sundown quickly. Dad or mum firm Intuit will shut Mint down on March 24, 2024, and have steered customers migrate to its different private finance app, Credit score Karma. I’ve been a Mint consumer for a very long time, as have 3.6 million others (as of 2021, in keeping with Bloomberg), utilizing the budgeting app to trace all of my accounts in a single place. I additionally use Mint to watch my credit score rating, keep on with a month-to-month spending plan and set objectives like constructing a rainy-day fund or paying down my mortgage quicker.

Given the upcoming shutdown, I gave Credit score Karma a shot however was left unimpressed. It’s not a real Mint substitute, so discovering another app that could possibly be turned a high precedence for me. The next information lays out my experiences, the outcomes of my testing and our picks for the highest Mint substitute apps accessible at present. In the event you’re additionally on the hunt for a Mint substitute, we hope this information may also help you determine which of one of the best funds apps accessible at present might meet your wants as soon as Mint goes away for good.

The best way to import your monetary knowledge from Mint

Mint customers ought to think about getting their knowledge able to migrate to their new budgeting app of selection quickly. Sadly, importing knowledge from Mint just isn’t as simple as coming into your credentials from inside your new app and hitting “import.” In truth, any app that advertises the power to port over your stats from Mint is simply going to have you ever add a CSV file of transactions and different knowledge.

To obtain a CSV file from Mint, do the next:

1. Signal into Mint.com and hit Transactions within the menu on the left aspect of the display.

2. Choose an account, or all accounts.

3. Scroll down and search for “export [number] transactions” in smaller print.

4. Your CSV file ought to start downloading.

Word: Downloading on a per-account foundation might sound extra annoying, however might show you how to get arrange on the opposite aspect, if the app you’re utilizing has you importing transactions one-for-one into their corresponding accounts.

How we examined

Earlier than I dove into the budgeting-app world, I had to do a little analysis. To discover a listing of apps to check, I consulted trusty ol’ Google (and even trustier Reddit); learn opinions of well-liked apps on the App Retailer; and likewise requested pals and colleagues what funds monitoring apps they is perhaps utilizing. Among the apps I discovered had been free, similar to Mint. These, after all, present a great deal of advertisements (excuse me, “affords”) to remain in enterprise. However a lot of the accessible apps require paid subscriptions, with costs sometimes topping out round $100 a 12 months, or $15 a month. (Spoiler: My high choose is cheaper than that.)

Since this information is supposed to assist Mint customers discover a everlasting substitute, any companies I selected to check wanted to do a number of issues: import all your account knowledge into one place; provide budgeting instruments; and observe your spending, web value and credit score rating. Besides the place famous, all of those apps can be found for iOS, Android and on the internet.

As soon as I had my shortlist of six apps, I set to work setting them up. For the sake of totally testing these apps (and keep in mind, I actually was searching for a Mint various myself), I made some extent of including each account to each monitoring app, regardless of how small or immaterial the stability. What ensued was a veritable Groundhog Day of two-factor authentication. Simply hours of coming into passwords and one-time passcodes, for a similar banks half a dozen occasions over. Hopefully, you solely have to do that as soon as.

The very best Mint various: Quicken Simplifi

No pun meant, however what I like about Quicken Simplifi is its simplicity. Whereas different apps attempt to distinguish themselves with darkish themes and customizable emoji, Simplifi has a clear consumer interface, with a touchdown web page that you just simply hold scrolling by to get an in depth overview of all of your stats. These embrace your top-line balances; web value; latest spending; upcoming recurring funds; a snapshot of your spending plan; high spending classes; achievements; and any watchlists you’ve arrange. You too can arrange financial savings objectives elsewhere within the app. I additionally respect the way it affords neat, virtually playful visualizations with out ever trying cluttered. I felt at residence within the cell and internet dashboards after a day or so, which is quicker than I tailored to some competing companies (I’m you, YNAB and Monarch).

Getting arrange with Simplifi was principally painless. I used to be notably impressed at how simply it linked to Constancy; not all funds trackers do, for no matter purpose. That is additionally one of many solely companies I examined that offers you the choice of inviting a partner or monetary advisor to co-manage your account. One factor I might add to my preliminary evaluation of the app, having used it for just a few months now: I want Simplifi supplied Zillow integration for simply monitoring your own home worth (or at the very least a tough estimate of it). Varied rivals together with Monarch Cash and Copilot Cash work with Zillow, so clearly there is a Zillow API accessible to be used. Because it stands, Simplifi customers should add actual property manually like another asset.

In apply, Simplifi miscategorized a few of my bills, however nothing out of the extraordinary in comparison with any of those funds trackers. As you’re reviewing transactions, you may also mark if you happen to’re anticipating a refund, which is a novel characteristic among the many companies I examined. Simplifi additionally estimated my common revenue higher than another apps I examined. Most of all, I appreciated the choice of having the ability to categorize some, however not all, purchases from a service provider as recurring. As an illustration, I can add my two Amazon subscribe-and-saves as recurring funds, with out having to create a broad-strokes rule for each Amazon buy.

The budgeting characteristic can be self-explanatory. Simply test that your common revenue is correct and you’ll want to arrange recurring funds, making observe of that are payments and that are subscriptions. That is vital as a result of Simplifi exhibits you your complete take-home revenue in addition to an “revenue after payments” determine. That quantity consists of, effectively, payments however not discretionary subscriptions. From there, you possibly can add spending targets by class within the “deliberate spending” bucket. Deliberate spending may embrace one-time expenditures, not simply month-to-month budgets. If you create a funds, Simplifi will counsel a quantity based mostly on a six-month common.

Not dealbreakers, however two issues to remember as you get began: Simplifi is notable in you could’t arrange an account by Apple or Google. There may be additionally no choice for a free trial, although Quicken guarantees a “30-day a refund assure.”

The very best Mint various (runner-up): Monarch Cash

Monarch Cash grew on me. My first impression of the app, which was based by a former Mint product supervisor, was that it is harder to make use of than others on this listing, together with Simplifi, NerdWallet and Copilot. And it’s. Enhancing expense classes, including recurring transactions and creating guidelines, for instance, is a bit more difficult than it must be, particularly within the cell app. (My recommendation: Use the net app for fine-tuning particulars.) Monarch additionally didn’t get my revenue proper; I needed to edit it.

When you’re arrange, although, Monarch affords a formidable stage of granularity. Within the budgets part, you possibly can see a bona fide stability sheet displaying budgets and actuals for every class. You will additionally discover a forecast, for the 12 months or by month. And recurring bills may be set not simply by service provider, however different parameters as effectively. As an illustration, whereas most Amazon purchases is perhaps marked as “procuring,” these for the quantities of $54.18 or $34.18 are positively child provides, and may be robotically marked as such every time, to not point out programmed as recurring funds. Weirdly, although, there’s no solution to mark sure recurring funds as payments, particularly.

Not lengthy after I first revealed this story in December 2023, Monarch launched an in depth reporting part the place you possibly can create on-demand graphs based mostly on issues like accounts, classes and tags. That characteristic is accessible simply on the internet model of the app for now. As a part of this similar replace, Monarch added assist for an aggregator that makes it potential to robotically replace the worth of your automobile. This, mixed with the present Zillow integration for monitoring your own home worth, makes it simple to shortly add a non-liquid asset like a car or actual property, and have it present up in your web value graph.

The cell app is generally self-explanatory. The principle dashboard exhibits your web value; your 4 most up-to-date transactions; a month-over-month spending comparability; revenue month-to-date; upcoming payments; an investments snapshot; a listing of any objectives you’ve set; and, lastly, a hyperlink to your month-in-review. That month-in-review is extra detailed than most, delving into money stream; high revenue and expense classes; money stream traits; adjustments to your web value, property and liabilities; plus asset and legal responsibility breakdowns. In February 2024, Monarch expanded on the web value graph, in order that if you happen to click on on the Accounts tab you possibly can see how your web value modified over totally different durations of time, together with one month, three months, six months, a 12 months or all time.

On the primary display, you’ll additionally discover tabs for accounts, transactions, money stream, funds and recurring. Like most of the different apps featured right here, Monarch can auto-detect recurring bills and revenue, even when it will get the class unsuitable. (All of them do to an extent.) Expense classes are marked by emoji, which you’ll customise if you happen to’re so inclined.

Monarch Cash makes use of a mixture of networks to attach with banks, together with Plaid, MX and Finicity, a competing community owned by Mastercard. (I’ve a fast explainer on Plaid, the business customary on this area, towards the tip of this information.) As a part of an replace in late December, Monarch has additionally made it simpler to attach by these different two networks, if for some purpose Plaid fails. Much like NerdWallet, I discovered myself finishing two-factor authentication each time I needed to get previous the Plaid display so as to add one other account. Notably, Monarch is the one different app I examined that means that you can grant entry to another person in your loved ones — possible a partner or monetary advisor. Monarch additionally has a Chrome extension for importing from Mint, although actually that is only a shortcut for downloading a CSV file, which you’ll must do no matter the place you select to take your Mint knowledge.

Moreover, Monarch simply added the power to trace Apple Card, Apple Money, and Financial savings accounts, because of new performance introduced with the iOS 17.4 replace. It is not the one one both; at the moment, Copilot and YNAB have additionally added comparable performance that can be accessible to anybody with the most recent variations of their respective apps on a tool operating iOS 17.4. As an alternative of manually importing statements, the brand new performance permits apps like Monarch’s to robotically pull in transactions and stability historical past. That ought to make it simpler to account for spending on Apple playing cards and accounts all through the month.

Monarch additionally lately launched funding transactions in beta. It additionally says invoice monitoring and an overhauled objectives system are coming quickly. Monarch hasn’t supplied a timeline for that final one, besides to say that the improved objectives characteristic is coming in early 2024.

The very best up-and-comer: Copilot Cash

Copilot Cash is perhaps the best-looking funds tracker I examined. It additionally has the excellence of being unique to iOS and Macs — at the very least for now. Andres Ugarte, the corporate’s CEO, has publicly promised that Android and internet apps are coming in 2024 (extra possible the second half of the 12 months, Ugarte tells me). However till it follows by, I can’t advocate Copilot for most individuals with so many good rivals on the market.

There are different options that Copilot is lacking, which I’ll get into. However it’s promising, and one to regulate. It’s only a quick, environment friendly, effectively designed app, and Android customers can be in for a deal with once they’ll lastly have the ability to obtain it. It makes good use of colours, emoji and graphs that will help you perceive at a look the way you’re doing on all the pieces out of your budgets to your funding efficiency to your bank card debt over time. Particularly, Copilot does a greater job than virtually another app of visualizing your recurring month-to-month bills.

Behind these punchy colours and cutesy emoji, although, is a few refined efficiency. Copilot’s AI-powered “Intelligence” will get smarter as you go at categorizing your bills. (You too can add your personal classes, full along with your selection of emoji.) It’s not excellent. Copilot miscategorized some purchases (all of them do), nevertheless it makes it simpler to edit than most. On high of that, the interior search characteristic could be very quick; it begins whittling down ends in your transaction historical past as quickly as you start typing.

Copilot can be distinctive in providing Amazon and Venmo integrations, permitting you to see transaction particulars. With Amazon, this requires simply signing into your Amazon account through an in-app browser. For Venmo, it’s a must to arrange fwd@copilot.cash as a forwarding deal with after which create a filter, whereby emails from venmo@venmo.com are robotically forwarded to fwd@copilot.cash. Like Monarch Cash, you may also add any property you personal and observe its worth by Zillow, which is built-in with the app.

Whereas the app is closely automated, I nonetheless respect that Copilot marks new transactions for evaluate. It’s a great way to each weed out fraudulent expenses, and likewise be considerably intentional about your spending habits.

Like Monarch Cash, Copilot up to date its app to make it simpler to hook up with banks by networks apart from Plaid. As a part of the identical replace, Copilot mentioned it has improved its connections to each American Categorical and Constancy which, once more, generally is a bugbear for some funds monitoring apps. In an much more latest replace, Copilot added a Mint import choice, which different budgeting apps have begun to supply as effectively.

As a result of the app is comparatively new (it launched in early 2020), the corporate remains to be catching as much as the competitors on some table-stakes options. Ugarte informed me that his crew is nearly achieved constructing out an in depth money stream part, which might launch earlier than the tip of 2023, however extra possible in early 2024. On its web site, Copilot additionally guarantees a raft of AI-powered options that construct on its present “Intelligence” platform, the one which powers its sensible expense categorization. These embrace “sensible monetary objectives,” pure language search, a chat interface, forecasting and benchmarking. That benchmarking, Ugarte tells me, is supposed to provide individuals a way of how they’re doing in comparison with different Copilot customers, on each spending and funding efficiency. Most of those options ought to arrive within the new 12 months.

Copilot does a pair fascinating issues for brand new prospects that distinguish it from the competitors. There’s a “demo mode” that seems like a recreation simulator; no want so as to add your personal accounts. The corporate can be providing two free months with RIPMINT — a extra beneficiant introductory provide than most. When it lastly does come time to pony up, the $7.92 month-to-month plan is cheaper than some competing apps, though the $95-a-year-option is in the identical ballpark.

The very best free budgeting app: NerdWallet

You might know NerdWallet as a website that gives a mixture of private finance information, explainers and guides. I see it usually after I google a monetary time period I don’t know and certain sufficient, it’s one of many websites I’m almost certainly to click on on. Because it occurs, NerdWallet additionally has the excellence of providing one of many solely free funds monitoring apps I examined. In truth, there isn’t a paid model; nothing is locked behind a paywall. The principle catch: There are advertisements in all places. To be truthful, the free model of Mint was like this, too.

Even with the inescapable bank card affords, NerdWallet has a clear, easy-to-understand consumer interface, which incorporates each an online and a cell app. The important thing metrics that it highlights most prominently are your money stream, web value and credit score rating. (Of observe, though Mint itself supplied credit score rating monitoring, most of its rivals don’t.) I notably loved the weekly insights, which delve into issues like the place you spent essentially the most cash or how a lot you paid in charges — and the way that compares to the earlier month. As a result of that is NerdWallet, an encyclopedia of monetary information, you get some notably particular class choices when organising your accounts (suppose: a Roth or non-Roth IRA).

As a budgeting app, NerdWallet is greater than serviceable, if a bit primary. Like different apps I examined, you possibly can arrange recurring payments. Importantly, it follows the favored 50/30/20 budgeting rule, which has you placing 50% of your funds towards belongings you want, 30% towards belongings you need, and the remaining 20% into financial savings or debt repayments. If this works for you, nice — simply know you could’t customise your funds to the identical diploma as some competing apps. You’ll be able to’t at the moment create customized spending classes, although a observe contained in the dashboard part of the app says “you’ll have the ability to customise them sooner or later.” You can also’t transfer objects from the desires column to “wants” or vice versa however “Sooner or later, you can transfer particular transactions to actively handle what falls into every group.” A NerdWallet spokesperson declined to offer an ETA, although.

Lastly, it’s value noting that NerdWallet had one of the onerous setup processes of any app I examined. I don’t suppose it is a dealbreaker, as you’ll solely must do it as soon as and, hopefully, you aren’t organising six or seven apps in tandem as I used to be. What made NerdWallet’s onboarding particularly tedious is that each time I needed so as to add an account, I needed to undergo a two-factor authentication course of to even get previous the Plaid splash display, and that’s not together with the 2FA I had arrange at every of my banks. It is a safety coverage on NerdWallet’s finish, not Plaid’s, a Plaid spokesperson says.

Exactly as a result of NerdWallet is without doubt one of the solely funds trackers to supply credit score rating monitoring, it additionally wants extra of your private information throughout setup, together with your birthday, deal with, telephone quantity and the final 4 digits of your social safety quantity. It’s the identical with Credit score Karma, which additionally does credit score rating monitoring.

Associated to the setup course of, I discovered that NerdWallet was much less adept than different apps at robotically detecting my common revenue. In my case, it counted a big one-time wire switch as revenue, at which level my solely different choice was to enter my revenue manually (which is barely annoying as a result of I might have wanted my pay stub useful to double-check my take-home pay).

Budgeting apps we additionally examined

YNAB

YNAB is, by its personal admission, “totally different from something you’ve tried earlier than.” The app, whose identify is brief for You Want a Finances, promotes a so-called zero-based budgeting system, which forces you to assign a objective for each greenback you earn. A steadily used analogy is to place every greenback in an envelope; you possibly can at all times transfer cash from one envelope to a different in a pinch. These envelopes can embrace hire and utilities, together with unexpected bills like vacation items and the inevitable automobile restore. The thought is that if you happen to funds a certain quantity for the unknowns every month, they received’t really feel like they’re sneaking up on you.

Importantly, YNAB is simply involved with the cash you will have in your accounts now. The app doesn’t ask you to offer your take-home revenue or arrange recurring revenue funds (though there’s a method to do that). The cash you’ll make later within the month by your salaried job just isn’t related, as a result of YNAB doesn’t interact in forecasting.

The app is more durable to study than another right here, and it requires extra ongoing effort from the consumer. And YNAB is aware of that. Inside each the cell and internet apps are hyperlinks to movies and different tutorials. Though I by no means fairly acquired snug with the consumer interface, I did come to understand YNAB’s insistence on intentionality. Forcing customers to draft a brand new funds every month and to evaluate every transaction just isn’t essentially a foul factor. As YNAB says on its web site, “Positive, you’ve acquired pie charts displaying that you just spent an obscene sum of money in eating places — however you’ve nonetheless spent an obscene sum of money in eating places.” I can see this strategy being helpful for individuals who don’t are inclined to have lots of money in reserve at a given time, or who’ve spending habits they need to right (to riff off of YNAB’s personal instance, ordering Seamless 4 occasions per week).

My colleague Valentina Palladino, realizing I used to be engaged on this information, penned a respectful rebuttal, explaining why she’s been utilizing YNAB for years. Maybe, like her, you will have main financial savings objectives you need to obtain, whether or not it’s paying for a marriage or shopping for a home. I counsel you give her column a learn. For me, although, YNAB’s strategy seems like overkill.

PocketGuard

PocketGuard is without doubt one of the solely respected free funds trackers I discovered in my analysis. Simply realize it’s way more restricted on the free tier than NerdWallet or Mint. In my testing, I used to be prompted to pay after I tried to hyperlink greater than two financial institution accounts. A lot without spending a dime, except you retain issues easy with one money account and one bank card. When it comes time to improve to PocketGuard Plus, you will have three choices: pay $7.99 a month, $34.99 a 12 months or $79.99 for a one-time lifetime license. That lifetime choice is definitely one of many few distinctive promoting factors for me: I’m certain some individuals will respect paying as soon as and by no means having to, uh, funds for it once more.

From the primary display, you’ll see tabs for accounts, insights, transactions and the “Plan,” which is the place you see recurring funds stacked on high of what seems to be like a funds. The principle overview display exhibits you your web value, complete property and money owed; web revenue and complete spending for the month; upcoming payments; a useful reminder of when your subsequent paycheck lands; any debt payoff plan you will have; and any objectives.

Like another apps, together with Quicken Simplifi, PocketGuard promotes an “after payments” strategy, the place you enter all your recurring payments, after which PocketGuard exhibits you what’s left, and that’s what you’re presupposed to be budgeting: your disposable revenue. Clearly, different apps have a special philosophy: consider all your post-tax revenue and use it to pay the payments, buy belongings you need and perhaps even save slightly. However in PocketGuard, it’s the “in your pocket” quantity that’s most distinguished. To PocketGuard’s credit score, it does an excellent job visualizing which payments are upcoming and which of them you’ve already paid.

PocketGuard has additionally publicly dedicated to including some well-liked options in early 2024. These embrace rollover budgeting in January 2024, categorization guidelines in February and shared family entry in March.

Though PocketGuard’s UI is simple sufficient to know, it lacks polish. The “accounts” tab is slightly busy, and doesn’t present totals for classes like money or investments. Seemingly small particulars like weirdly phrased or punctuated copy often make the app really feel janky. Greater than as soon as, it prompted me to replace the app when no updates had been accessible. The online model, in the meantime, feels just like the cell app blown as much as a bigger format and doesn’t benefit from the additional display actual property.

Of observe, though PocketGuard does work with Plaid, its main bank-connecting platform is definitely Finicity. Organising my accounts by Finicity was principally an easy course of. I did encounter one hiccup: Finicity wouldn’t hook up with my SoFi account. I used to be in a position to do it by Plaid, however PocketGuard doesn’t make it simple to entry Plaid within the app. The one method, so far as I can inform, is to knowingly seek for the identify of a financial institution that isn’t accessible by Finicity, at which level you get the choice to strive Plaid as a substitute. Like I mentioned: the expertise may be janky.

What’s Plaid and the way does it work?

Every of the apps I examined makes use of the identical underlying community, known as Plaid, to tug in monetary knowledge, so it’s value explaining in its personal part what it’s and the way it works. Plaid was based as a fintech startup in 2013 and is at present the business customary in connecting banks with third-party apps. Plaid works with over 12,000 monetary establishments throughout the US, Canada and Europe. Moreover, greater than 8,000 third-party apps and companies depend on Plaid, the corporate claims.

To be clear, you don’t want a devoted Plaid app to make use of it; the know-how is baked into a big selection of apps, together with the funds trackers I examined for this information. As soon as you discover the “add an account” choice in whichever one you’re utilizing, you’ll see a menu of generally used banks. There’s additionally a search discipline you should use to look yours up immediately. As soon as you discover yours, you’ll be prompted to enter your login credentials. If in case you have two-factor authentication arrange, you’ll have to enter a one-time passcode as effectively.

Because the intermediary, Plaid is a passthrough for data which will embrace your account balances, transaction historical past, account kind and routing or account quantity. Plaid makes use of encryption, and says it has a coverage of not promoting or renting buyer knowledge to different firms. Nonetheless, I might not be doing my job if I didn’t observe that in 2022 Plaid was compelled to pay $58 million to shoppers in a category motion swimsuit for accumulating “extra monetary knowledge than was wanted.” As a part of the settlement, Plaid was compelled to vary a few of its enterprise practices.

In a press release supplied to Techpion, a Plaid spokesperson mentioned the corporate continues to disclaim the allegations underpinning the lawsuit and that “the crux of the non-financial phrases within the settlement are targeted on us accelerating workstreams already underway associated to giving individuals extra transparency into Plaid’s function in connecting their accounts, and guaranteeing that our workstreams round knowledge minimization stay on observe.”

My high Mint various picks: Quicken Simplifi and Copilot Cash

To conclude, you is perhaps questioning what app I made a decision on for myself in any case of this analysis. The reply is definitely two apps: Quicken Simplifi, my total high choose, and Copilot Cash. For now, I’m actively utilizing each apps and nonetheless deciding, long-term, which I really feel extra snug with. I are inclined to choose Copilot’s quick, colourful consumer interface, however as I defined above, it is too missing in table-stakes options for me to go as far as to call it one of the best total choice.