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Mint.com has been a good budgeting tool, all things considered. In fact, it’s one I have used myself from time to time. But for some people, it’s not the right budgeting tool.
On top of that, word is out that Mint is closing. They have begun migrating users over to Credit Karma of all places. They describe this as simply “linking” your Mint account to Credit Karma. But as some Reddit users explain, the result is a complete migration to Credit Karma.
So whether you love Mint or have some hangups with it, it’s time to look for different options. These are the best Mint alternatives available to get you exactly what you want. I’ve personally used four of the options below and they’re all very good apps.
Editor’s Choice of the Best Mint Alternatives
Each of the nine best Mint alternatives below are excellent choices but I believe three stand out from the rest and offer users something extra.
1. Empower – When you’re comparing Mint to others, the best comparison has to be with Empower. Like Mint, Empower is free to use, which is something you cannot say about any other brand on our list of Mint alternatives.
Second, Empower goes the extra mile and not only does budgeting but also shows you a detailed look at your investment portfolio. The biggest complaint of Mint users was the inability to track investments and that problem is solved with Empower.
2. Simplifi – Apples to apples, Simplifi is likely the best comparison to Mint. The layout, user interface, and budgeting capabilities are very similar to Mint plus Simplifi is a sister brand of Quicken, the OG of personal finance software.
The Simplifi app is extremely easy to use and descriptive when showing you how your budget is working and how you can improve. Simplifi is also the least expensive “paid” option of all the best Mint alternatives on our list, charging just $2.00 per month when you are billed annually.
3. Tiller – For someone like me (spreadsheets are exciting!), Tiller is amazing because I’m allowed to create and design my budget the way I want to and Tiller’s job is to feed me my transactions in a Google Sheet or Excel file. Mint was excellent at creating a solution for everyone but with Tiller, I’m convinced my budget template is best for ME.
If you’re a little hesitant with Tiller, that’s OK because you’ll start with a 30-day free trial. You can choose from a lot of different budget templates or create your own and if you don’t get the hang of it or it doesn’t happen, you won’t owe anything. Should you decide to stick around, the cost is a flat fee of $79 annually.
Best Mint Alternatives for Budgeting and Investment Tracking
1. Empower: Best Free All-Around Financial App
Empower is arguably the closest alternative to Mint. Like Mint, it’s free, it enables users to link all of their accounts, and it offers budgeting, investment tracking, and retirement planning. If your goal is a free app to manage all of your finances in one place, Empower is the answer.
I like that the interface is as visual as Mint’s. And it also folds in budgeting capabilities. But it has a much more robust investment tracking option.
I don’t personally find budgeting with Empower as easy as I do with Mint. Still, Empower does track your budget, automatically categorizes your spending, tracks your bills, and monitors your cash flow. In addition, its investment tracking and retirement planning features are much better than Mint.
Empower is also the only free option available, now that Mint is shutting down.
2. YNAB: Best for Budgeting
There’s a lot to love about the You Need a Budget (YNAB) budgeting software. But one of the key features that sets it apart from Mint.com is that it allows for longer-term planning. With Mint, you can’t change a budget for that month until the first of the month. That gets frustrating if your budget varies by month and you want to plan for that.
With YNAB, though, you can set up budgets for several months in the future. Another key feature is easy goal setting, which I personally prefer over Mint’s financial goals options. Plus, the point of YNAB is to learn to live on last month’s income. It takes time to get to this point. But it’s a worthy goal that can make your financial life much more stable.
3. PocketSmith: Best for Financial Planning
PocketSmith has many of the same features as Mint, including the ability to look at all of your accounts in one place. But it also lets you plan ahead better with projected daily balances. Another bonus–it gives you the option to track your net worth! You can run income and expense statements at any time.
The most attractive part of PocketSmith is its ability to forecast accurately. But it also has a great backward-looking feature in the form of an excellent search engine. This lets you quickly find and pull up any past transaction, which can be handy if you’re looking for something specific. Overall, this is a great option.
4. EveryDollar: Best for Dave Ramsey Followers
If you’re a fan of Dave Ramsey, his budgeting software may help you stay on top of the Baby Steps. The EveryDollar budgeting software was created by Ramsey’s parent company. It operates similarly to Mvelopes, since Ramsey advocates for the envelope budgeting method. But it also builds in the Baby Steps, so you can see where you are on the plan at all times.
EveryDollar also has a helpful app, so you can track your spending on the go. And it’s got nice visuals that can help you see where you are at any given time.
5. Monarch: Best for Couples
Monarch is one of the more intuitive budget and tracking apps and I can personally attest to it figuring out pretty quickly what I’m looking for. They currently boast having more than 11,000 different banks and financial institutions under their watch so you shouldn’t have trouble linking the accounts you need.
Two of my favorite features of Monarch are:
- Users are allowed to invite a partner to budget with them. A second login is created for the same account and both users can budget together (perfect for a married couple who share finances).
- Your portfolio analysis tool provides a detailed historical performance which offers insight into the peaks and valleys of your investments.
6. Tiller: Best for Experienced Spreadsheet Users
Tiller is a little bit different than most of the apps on our list. It takes all of the data you would normally see in the interface of the app you’re using and publishes it straight to an Excel file or Google Sheet. This allows you to control how to view your budget and finances and gives you more control over what you think is important.
The catch with Tiller is that in order to maximize its potential, you really need some experience in Excel or Google Sheets. The installation is pretty simple and there are a lot of different templates and styles for you to choose from. All users can create up to five different spreadsheets at once and Tiller will feed the data you choose into the sheet you choose.
7. Simplifi: Best for Overspenders
Simplifi is true to its name; focused only on the spending and saving part of your personal finance journey. The app has a terrific dashboard that filters out categories of your choosing and its top priority is showing you how much your spending and how to reduce it.
And while Simplifi is one of the least expensive options on our list, it lacks the ability to track your investments in a meaningful way. I think this app would be a perfect introduction to using a budgeting tool but more experienced users are likely to find better options elsewhere.
8. Quicken: Best for Desktop Users
The OG of budget software, Quicken is still one of the best tracking tools an individual or small business can use to manage their finances. Desktop users have more functionality and of all the best mint alternatives on our list, Quicken does the best job of tracking your investments.
The pricing structure is also more favorable than others on our list. Quicken has price plans that range from $3/mo to $6/mo and users on the high end receive greater ability to parse, split, and categorize transactions.
9. Money Calendar: Best for Calendar-Based Budgeting
Budgeting for all your bills for the month is great. But unless you get all your money on the first of the month, figuring out your actual cash flow can be difficult. Enter Money Calendar. This personal finance tool offers calendar-based budgeting. So you’ll know how much cash you should have on hand at any given time.
Money Calendar is a great option if you have enough money to pay all your bills, just not all at the same time. It lets you schedule upcoming bills and expenses in a calendar. And it creates cash projections and daily bank balances for the future.
When Should You Move on From Mint?
I’ve been using Mint for many years and I’ve been using the app for the last few. The addition of accounts, tracking of spending, and overall ability to keep my financial health in check are just three of many reasons why I love it.
But I’ve also grown frustrated with a few things too. One of those things is that I cannot reset my budget in the middle of the month. It’s a bit of a headache to have to wait until the month closes before being able to properly assess my monthly spending (sometimes) and it’s been that way for a while.
The other pain point I come across using Mint is that as my investment portfolio has grown, other apps do a better job of offering intuitive advice. Mint can track them, but its focus is more on day-to-day spending and less on growing wealth. The best Mint alternatives can do a lot more to enhance your investment strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I Add Transactions Manually?
Yes. Every app listed above allows you to add transactions (and accounts if needed) manually. Be careful if you go this route because it can get pretty tedious trying to track things with individual entries. Hence the whole budget app phenomenon.
Whan Can I Do if My Financial Account Won’t Link?
If your account will not properly link, you have a couple of options. The first thing to do is double-check your login details. Open a request with your financial tracking app of choice to have your account added and most of the time, it will be added. If that does not work, the best solution is to track the account manually.
Is There a Limit to the Number of Accounts I Can Link?
There is no limit so long as you’re being “reasonable”. Some of the apps allow a true unlimited number while others will allow up to one thousand. I’ve never met someone who had even a quarter of that number so you should be OK.
