Alternatives
YNAB alternatives, honestly ranked.
People leave over the price, the country, or money that stopped fitting in a bank.
Prices read off each product's own pages on 28 August 2026. Orla is one of five here, and not the answer to all three reasons.
The shortlist
Five, and what each is actually for.
Including the one we would send you to if you want the envelope method itself.
| Best for | Price | The catch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actual BudgetOpen source | Keeping the envelope method without the subscription | Free, self-hosted | You host it, or pay a small host to. Nobody is on call when it breaks |
| Lunch MoneyIndependent | The cheapest honest subscription, with a rules engine and an API | 10 euros a month, or 100 a year with the price set by you | Crypto is a balance only, in their own words |
| MonarchHousehold | A polished household budget with planning and net worth | $99.99 a year, or $14.99 a month | United States and Canada only. No free tier, and the trial asks for a card |
| Copilot MoneyApple | The best made of them, if your money is American and in dollars | $13 a month paid yearly | US institutions only, USD only, no Android |
| OrlaThis site | Money in several currencies, or partly on exchanges and wallets | Free plan with no time limit; paid from $25 a month | The dearest of the paid plans here, and no app in the stores yet |
If you are leaving over the price
You probably want Actual Budget, and we will say so.
The method, open source and local first, with optional end-to-end encryption.
- →The envelope system, kept whole, without a subscription
- →Your data stays yours, on a machine you control
- →The cost is that hosting and upgrades are your job, and there is nobody to email at midnight
Where Orla fits
One reason, and it is narrow.
Not the cheaper answer, but the one for money that stopped fitting.
- →Coins that move, not coins that sit: a sale, income in stablecoins, a transfer between your wallets, each with a cost basis
- →Several currencies at once, each account in its own, totalled in the one you pick
- →Invoices, if part of your income arrives because you asked for it
- →Separate books for a household, a trip or a company, on the same login
Questions
The questions the table does not answer.
What is the closest thing to YNAB itself?
Actual Budget. It keeps the envelope method whole, it is open source and local first, with optional end-to-end encryption and sync across devices, and it costs nothing beyond hosting it. If you are leaving YNAB over the price rather than over what it can see, that is where we would send you.
Which of these work outside the United States?
Lunch Money and Orla. Monarch says web, iPhone, iPad and Android “in the United States and Canada”; Copilot says it supports only US financial institutions and only USD. Actual Budget is agnostic because you bring the data yourself.
Is Orla the cheapest option here?
No. Actual Budget is free if you host it, Lunch Money is 10 euros a month, and our lowest paid plan is $25. Our free plan has no time limit, but live bank and exchange sync is paid. If price is the deciding factor, we are not the answer.
Didn't find your answer? [email protected]
Read next: Orla vs YNAB, side by side, Orla vs Lunch Money.
Start
Free plan, no card, no countdown.
If one of the other four fits you better, take it. A comparison that cannot say that is an advert.