When comparing YNAB vs Monefy - Money Manager, the Slant community recommends Monefy - Money Manager for most people. In the question“What are the best personal finance tracker apps for iPhone?” Monefy - Money Manager is ranked 4th while YNAB is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Monefy - Money Manager is:
Monefy is extremely simple to use. Just tap either plus for a new income or minus for spending and then select the category for the transaction and your done.
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Pros
Pro Provides a method for budgeting
Provides a 4 step method for budgeting money, that really makes budgeting simple and powerful.
Pro Free trials available
YNAB lets you try it's software free for just over a month. This gives you a bit of flexibility when doing a monthly budget - 4 extra days to review your budget and determine whether YNAB helped out enough to justify the $5 price.
If you're a student, you can get an additional 12 months for free (for a total of 13 months) and after that you can get 10% off yearly subscriptions.
Pro Online web app
Pro Mobile apps for easy expense tracking
Pro Free online workshops.
YNAB regularly offers live workshops on a variety of different topics. These workshops include time for Q&A which is very helpful.
Pro Frequent updates.
The YNAB team does a great job of offering rapid response times to support requests, listening to user feedback and implementing commonly requested features into the app via frequent updates as well providing live financial workshops on a daily basis at no additional charge. All of these features make the subscription model well worth the cost to me.
Pro Easy to manage and flex budgets
I've tried several including Quicken desktop app and I just like the way YNAB works. It is easy to learn and actually works as advertised.
Pro Understands human beings and reality
It allows you to move around budget allocations. Sometimes you just need to spend that extra money in one category and take it out of another budget without losing control of the overall budget. It's flexible, clever and understands life.
Pro User friendly
Monefy is extremely simple to use. Just tap either plus for a new income or minus for spending and then select the category for the transaction and your done.
Pro Can be synced with Dropbox
There is no web application but Monefy can be synced with Dropbox to keep finances updated even without a phone. This feature is pro only ($2.48).
Pro Free without advertisements
Monefy is free without advertisements but there are some features reserved for Pro ($2.48) users such as: password protection, Dropbox Sync, adding new categories, and changing icons. Fortunately these features are not completely necessary.
Pro CSV export of data
Export (in CSV) actual data by 1 click to defined folder on SD card with defined name and defined period. It's quite easy to use it on a shared folder on a phone and customize data source in excel to upload this file.
Pro Secure
Monefy requires that all entries are added manually, so there is no need to give the app bank information.
Pro Support for everyone
Monefy offers support for any country because the app is completely independent of financial institutions. If your financial institution is not supported by apps such as Mint and BillGuard just use Monefy and switch the currency.
Cons
Con Subscription based
Instead of a one-time purchase, you will need a subscription to use YNAB after the free trial. Subscriptions can be bought annually for $83.99, which is about $6.99 per month.
Con Data is stored in the Cloud
All budget data is stored in the cloud on AWS servers which are most likely based in the United States. HOWEVER, there is an option to save budget data locally as well.
Con Learning curve
There is a learning curve to the YNAB method.
Con Poor web-support
There is almost zero support on the website. There are no details to guide through sync process. Other apps allow simple sign-in sync, but this needs a 3rd party Dropbox. It's over complex for what it is.
Con Budget information must be inputted manually
Transactions are added in the form of notes; first the amount is added, and then the category. It is a quick process but it can become tedious, especially if multiple transactions have been missed.
Con The website is as clear as mud
The language is so vague there is little app help, nor is it clear what you can or cannot do with either the Pro or free version.
Con No web login
There is no webpage login to see your expenses from computer.
Con No automatic exchange rate
Con Numeric passcodes only
No alphanumeric passcode feature available.
Con The iPhone version is missing some features
Compared to the Android app, the iPhone app is missing budget mode and some languages.