Checked against each company's own pages ·

Marvin Money vs YNAB, Monarch, Copilot and every other budget app you've heard of.

We put them side by side on price, bank sync, how far ahead each can see, which currencies it speaks and who you can share with. Where another app is the better pick, we say so.

YNABMonarchCopilot MoneyCleoLunch MoneyGoodbudgetEveryDollarPocketGuardRocket MoneyQuicken SimplifiExcel & Google Sheets
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The short version

Five things that set Marvin apart.

Two years ahead, payday by payday.

Swipe through the next two years like a map of your money — every bill, every paycheck, your balance before each payday. Put a trip, a bonus or a new rent on it and see what it does to the two years — like a flight simulator: if there's a mountain, you find out on the screen, not in the air. Ask what buying something today does to a month a year and a half away, then decide. Ten thousand in the account doesn't mean ten thousand to spend. The closest app shows one year. Most stop at the end of the month.

Where it went, down to the shop.

Pick a month, the year so far, or any two dates. See what you spent, how it compares with the time before, and where it went — category, then what kind, then which shop, then the single transaction. Wrong entry? Fix it right there. The whole dashboard is on every plan, including Free.

Every way in.

Type it. Write it the way you'd say it. Snap a receipt. Upload a statement as a photo, PDF, CSV or Excel file. Or connect a bank. Other apps are manual or bank-linked. Marvin is both.

Your currency, anywhere.

Priced in 191 countries, in your own money — 150+ currencies. Share a bill with someone in your household, with a larger group on a trip, or with someone in another country — each of you sees your own currency.

Marvin knows your numbers.

Ask if you can afford something and Marvin answers from your bills, your paychecks and your balance — two years out. Want a human instead? Say so in the chat and a support ticket opens — no forms, no email.

Side by side

Ten apps and a spreadsheet, one table.

Prices in US dollars as each company publishes them. Green means yes. Amber means partly, or only on a higher plan. Grey means no.

Swipe sideways to see every column.

Marvin Money compared with YNAB, Monarch, Copilot Money, Cleo, Lunch Money, Goodbudget, EveryDollar, PocketGuard, Rocket Money, Quicken Simplifi and spreadsheets on price, free plan, countries, bank connection, manual entry, receipt and statement reading, forecasting horizon, spending breakdown, bill reminders, sharing, currencies, investments and AI assistant. Verified 20 August 2026.
App Price Free plan Where it works Bank connection Works without a bank Reads receipts & statements Looks ahead Bill reminders Sharing Currencies Investments Talk to it
Marvin Money US$5.99 · 7.99 · 10.99 /moCA$7.99 · 9.99 · 12.99 · monthly only Yes Worldwidepriced in 191 countries Optional · Pro+ · US & Canada Yes, every plan Photo, PDF, CSV, ExcelStarter and up 2 years, before every paydayswipe through it, edit in place · Starter and up Evening before and morning of 2 · 5 · unlimited peopleStarter · Pro · Pro+ · each in their own currency 150+ · yours, in any country No Yes, on your own numbersPro and up · help & tickets on every plan
YNAB $14.99 /mo$109 /yr · 34-day trial No Sync in US, Canada, UK, 18 EU countriesfile import anywhere Optional Yes File import onlyCSV, QFX, OFX, QIF · web and iPad This month only, by design No upcoming-bill alert Up to 6, own logins One per plan Balances only None in the app
Monarch $14.99 /mo$99.99 /yr · Plus $199.99 /yr · 7-day trial No US & Canadabilled in USD Optional Yes Receipts yes · CSV on web only Long-range, on Plus ($199.99 /yr)"directional accuracy" 3 days before Partner included None¥1,000 shows as $1,000 Yes, in depth Yes
Copilot Money $13 /mo$95 /yr · 1-month trial No US onlyMac, iPhone, iPad, web · no Android Required No No import of any kind Up to today Low balance, big spendno due-date alerts One shared login USD only Yes Yes, in beta
Cleo Plus $5.99 · Pro $8.99 · Builder $14.99 /moPlus $44.99 /yr Yes US & UK Required No — no manual entry, no uploads No No Can't set reminders No No No Yes, a coachadvances $20–250 · express fee $4.49–14.99
Lunch Money $10 /moor pay what you want, from $60 /yr · 30-day trial No Sync in 19 countriesweb first; companion phone app Optional Yes CSV · PDF via a third partyno receipts This period only None built in Unlimited, own logins 160+ Net worth None, by policy
Goodbudget $10 /mo$80 /yr · no trial Yes10 envelopes, 1 account Anywheresync US only Optional · Premium · US only Yes QFX, OFX, CSVno receipts No Email, X days before One shared login2–5 devices One, no symbol No No
EveryDollar $17.99 /mo$79.99 /yr · 14-day trial Yes US onlyfree web version elsewhere Optional · Premium Yes No import of any file This month Due dates Couples, own logins No Net-worth roadmap, Premium No
PocketGuard $12.99 /mo$74.99 /yr · 7-day trial Yes, limits not published US & Canada Optional Cash accounts, on Plus CSV · receipts attach onlyPlus To the end of the month Not documented One shared login One Net worth Support bot
Rocket Money Pay what you want, about $7–14 /mo7-day trial Yes US onlyweb on Premium only Required Premium, phone only No To the next payday Yes 2 people, Premium No Net worth, Premium "Coming"bill negotiation fee 35–60% of savings
Quicken Simplifi $83.88 /yr ($6.99 /mo), annual only$47.88 first year · no trial No US & Canadaone currency at a time Optional Yes Receipts yes · CSV on web only Up to 1 year Yes 1 extra person USD or CAD, not both Yes Yes, in beta
Excel / Google Sheets FreeMicrosoft 365 from $9.99 /mo · Tiller sync $99 /yr Yes Anywhere None built inTiller add-on, US only Everything is by hand No Whatever you build No Shared file If you build it If you build it Generic AI, not your budget

Prices as published by each company on 20 August 2026, in US dollars unless shown. Marvin Money's prices in other countries are on the pricing page. PocketGuard shows Canadian visitors CA$17.99 a month or CA$103.99 a year. Rocket Money lets you pick your price; the range is from their own January 2026 post.

Mint shut down on 23 March 2024. Intuit sent users to Credit Karma, which does not offer monthly budgets or custom categories.

Where Marvin is the better pick

Know before you start.

It shows you two years, not two weeks.

Marvin lays the next two years out as one timeline you swipe through — every bill, every paycheck, and your balance before each payday. Think Google Maps for your money: you see the road before you set off. If a bill is wrong, move it, skip it or change it right there, and the whole two years updates. It handles any number of paychecks on any schedule — weekly, every two weeks, monthly, yearly or one-off — plus a second job or side income, and lets you adjust a single payday when it's different.

Pilots train in a simulator so the first mountain they hit isn't a real one. Marvin's timeline is that for your money. Put the trip, the bonus, the new rent or the contract that ends in June on it and watch what it does to the two years ahead. If a payday goes short next August, you see it now — on the screen, not in your account. Then you change the plan, or take the idea off again, before any of it happens.

Quicken Simplifi projects up to a year ahead. Monarch projects long-range net worth on its $199.99-a-year plan and calls it directional. Everyone else stops at the end of the month or the next payday — YNAB says so on purpose.

On Marvin this starts at Starter, US$5.99 a month.

It tells you what today's purchase does to next year.

Ask Marvin what buying something today does to the months ahead, and you see the effect on every payday for the next two years — built on how you actually spend, not an average — the one that gets tight next spring, the one that goes short a year and a half from now. Then you go ahead, or you don't — today, while it's still a choice. Ten thousand in the account doesn't mean ten thousand to spend; Marvin shows what's already spoken for. The other apps can't see that far.

Asking Marvin is on Pro and Pro+.

It shows where the money went — down to the shop, in your currency.

One number at the top: what you spent this month, and how that compares with last month. Under it, where it went. Tap Groceries, then what kind, then which shop, then the single transaction — and move or delete it right there. Beside that, a month-by-month chart you tap to jump back to any month, a map of your spending by size, and a split by how you paid — card, cash, whatever you tagged. Marvin adds one line on what drove it: your biggest category, what most of it was, across how many places. Pick last month, three months, the year so far or any two dates, and all of it follows. Pick next month and the bills already planned fill it in.

Copilot, PocketGuard, Simplifi and Goodbudget show it in one currency. Monarch shows ¥1,000 as $1,000. Most of the others stop at the end of this month, so next month stays blank until it happens.

On every plan, including Free.

It takes your money in every form you have it.

Type an expense. Write it the way you'd say it. Snap a receipt. Upload a statement as a photo, PDF, CSV or Excel file, even password-protected. Or connect a bank. Cleo, Copilot and Rocket Money need a bank link to work. EveryDollar and Copilot import no files. Monarch and Simplifi take CSV on the web only. Only Monarch and Simplifi read receipts.

Bank connection is optional, on Pro+, in the US and Canada.

It works where you live, in the money you use.

Marvin is priced in 191 countries and speaks 150+ currencies, so you see your own. Monarch shows ¥1,000 as $1,000 — their words. Copilot, PocketGuard, Simplifi and Goodbudget handle one currency. Lunch Money handles many, but has no way to share a bill. Marvin lets you split a bill with your household, a group of friends on a trip, or someone in another country — and each person sees it in their own currency.

It tells you the evening before, and the morning of.

Two nudges for every bill: one the evening before it's due, one that morning. YNAB has no upcoming-bill notification. Copilot says due-date alerts are not supported. Lunch Money documents none. Cleo can't set reminders.

On iPhone and Android.

It answers from your numbers — and gets you a human when you want one.

Ask Marvin if you can afford something and it answers from your bills, your paychecks and your balance. Ask how Marvin works and it answers that too. Want a human instead? Say so in the chat and a support ticket opens for our team — no forms, no email, no leaving the app. YNAB's ChatGPT app can't see your accounts. Lunch Money has no AI by policy. Cleo talks, but can't take a typed expense, a receipt or a statement, or set a reminder.

Conversation is on Pro and Pro+. Help answers and support tickets work on every plan.

It's one of the cheapest — and the cheap plan gives you what $14.99 doesn't.

Starter is US$5.99 a month, CA$7.99 in Canada, billed monthly — stop any month. YNAB and Monarch are $14.99 a month. For that, YNAB shows you this month; Monarch's look ahead is on its $199.99-a-year plan and calls itself directional. Starter shows two years, before every payday, editable in place. Neither takes a PDF or Excel statement; Starter reads photos, PDFs, CSV and Excel. YNAB has no upcoming-bill alert; Starter reminds you the evening before and the morning of. Both live in one currency; Starter speaks 150+, and a bill shared with one other person shows in their currency, not yours.

Simplifi is annual only. Cleo Plus is the same $5.99, and works only in the US and UK. Lunch Money comes out cheaper across a year, if you pay the year up front.

Where another app is the better pick

Honestly, sometimes not Marvin.

Investments & net worth

Monarch, Simplifi or Copilot

Marvin doesn't track portfolios or property, and that's on purpose. Cash is what keeps a household running — the same as a company or a government. You can own a lot, or be profitable on paper, and still not make rent on the 28th. Marvin is built around the cash: what comes in, what goes out, and what's left before the next payday. For tracking what you own, Monarch, Simplifi and Copilot do it well.

Strict zero-based habit

YNAB, Goodbudget or EveryDollar

If you want an app that refuses to let you spend money you haven't assigned, these are built for exactly that. Marvin has the envelope picture too: every planned bill sits in its category, and a meter shows what you've actually spent against it — over, under, or never planned — down to the shop, with a line from Marvin on what drove it (Pro and up). What Marvin won't do is stop you. It doesn't make you assign every last dollar, because cash needs room to move; it shows you what will happen.

Bank sync outside the US & Canada

YNAB or Lunch Money

Marvin is global. The bank connection is the one part that isn't everywhere yet: it runs on Plaid, which isn't available in every country, so today it's the US and Canada on Pro+, with more countries coming. YNAB syncs in the UK and 18 EU countries; Lunch Money in 19. Everywhere else, upload your bank or credit card statement and Marvin reads it — you get the same picture, without a bank login.

Cancelling subscriptions for you

Rocket Money

Rocket Money finds and negotiates bills on your behalf, for 35–60% of the first year's savings. Marvin shows you every recurring bill; ask Marvin and it will help you decide what to drop, and take it off your plan right there. Cancelling with the company is still yours to do.

Cash before payday

Cleo

Cleo offers advances of $20–250, with express fees of $4.49–14.99. Marvin never lends and never nudges you to spend. It tells you two years ahead so you're less likely to need the advance.

Free forever, fully yours

Google Sheets

A spreadsheet costs nothing and bends any way you like. Marvin's Free plan covers manual entry and this week's view; the two-year view starts at Starter.

App by app

What each one is best at.

YNAB

$14.99 /mo · $109 /yr · 34-day trial
Best at
Zero-based discipline. The widest bank sync of any app here: US, Canada, UK and 18 EU countries. Six people on one subscription.
Pick Marvin if
You want the discipline and the view. Pro puts every planned bill in its category with a meter for what's actually spent — over or under — and shows what each choice does to every payday for two years. YNAB stops at this month. Pro+ splits a bill with unlimited people, each in their own currency. Reads receipts and statements, reminds you before bills, and costs under half as much.
Pick YNAB if
You want to be made to assign every last dollar before you spend it, or you need bank sync in the UK or EU.

Monarch

$14.99 /mo · $99.99 /yr · Plus $199.99 /yr
Best at
One dashboard for every account, including investments and property. Partner included. Three bank-data providers and a public reliability page.
Pick Marvin if
You want today's dashboard and the road ahead. Marvin drills spending from the month to the single shop, in your currency — Monarch shows ¥1,000 as $1,000. Its timeline shows every bill, paycheck and payday balance for two years, editable, on its cheapest plan; Monarch's forward view is "directional", at $199.99 a year. And bills split with your household, a trip group or someone abroad, each in their own currency.
Pick Monarch if
You hold investments or a home and want net worth in the same app as your spending.

Copilot Money

$13 /mo · $95 /yr · 1-month trial
Best at
A native Mac app. Investments next to spending. A categorisation model that's trained on you alone.
Pick Marvin if
You want smart sorting without a bank login. Marvin sorts your spending, learns your corrections — from receipts and statements, not just bank feeds — and shows where it went, down to the shop. Copilot needs a bank link and imports no files. Marvin runs in any browser, plus iPhone and Android; Copilot has no Android app. Marvin looks two years ahead, with due-date reminders; Copilot shows up to today.
Pick Copilot if
You're all-Apple, in the US, and want a Mac app with investments next to spending.

Cleo

Free · Plus $5.99 · Pro $8.99 · Builder $14.99 /mo
Best at
A coach you can talk to, with attitude. Cash advances and a credit-builder card.
Pick Marvin if
You want a coach who knows your numbers. Marvin talks too — from your bills, paychecks and balance, two years out — and can skip or change a bill in the chat. It never nudges you to spend and never lends at a fee. Marvin also takes typed expenses, receipts or statements (Cleo takes none; it needs a bank link), sets reminders, and works outside the US and UK.
Pick Cleo if
You need a small advance before payday and you're fine with the express fee.

Lunch Money

$10 /mo · from $60 /yr, pay what you want · 30-day trial
Best at
Multi-currency done properly, 160+ of them. Bank sync in 19 countries. Unlimited collaborators. An API for people who build things.
Pick Marvin if
You want multi-currency that goes one step further. Marvin speaks 150+ currencies, is priced in 191 countries, and can split one bill across currencies so each person sees their own — Lunch Money can't. Pro+ shares a bill with any number of people. Then add a two-year view (Lunch Money shows this period), receipts read for you, bill reminders, a Marvin you can talk to, and a full phone app.
Pick Lunch Money if
You need bank sync in Europe, or you want an API.

Goodbudget

Free · $10 /mo · $80 /yr
Best at
Cash envelopes, digitally. A free plan that's genuinely usable. Works in any country without a bank.
Pick Marvin if
You want envelopes that look forward. Pro puts every planned bill in its category with a meter for what's actually spent — over or under — and shows the result on every payday for two years; Goodbudget shows history and a debt-free date. Marvin's Free plan is genuinely usable as well, in real currencies, in 191 countries. And each person gets their own login; Goodbudget shares one password across devices.
Pick Goodbudget if
You want envelopes and nothing else, free, forever.

EveryDollar

Free · $17.99 /mo · $79.99 /yr · 14-day trial
Best at
A clean zero-based budget, with the Ramsey coaching and courses around it.
Pick Marvin if
You want the same simplicity with more behind it. Marvin starts in a minute with no bank login, sorts your spending for you, and shows every payday for two years instead of this month. For coaching, Marvin answers from your own numbers whenever you ask. It takes uploads of any kind (EveryDollar imports no files), works outside the US, and its top plan costs less than EveryDollar's one paid plan.
Pick EveryDollar if
You follow the Baby Steps and want the app that matches the book.

PocketGuard

$12.99 /mo · $74.99 /yr · 7-day trial
Best at
One number, "Leftover", that tells you what's safe to spend this month. Debt payoff plans.
Pick Marvin if
You like one number. Marvin gives you one too: your balance before the next payday. The difference is you get that number for every payday in the next two years, not just to the end of this month. Add receipts read rather than attached, a login for each person, 150+ currencies, and a lower price — especially in Canada, where PocketGuard charges CA$103.99 a year.
Pick PocketGuard if
A single safe-to-spend number is all you want to look at.

Rocket Money

Pay what you want, about $7–14 /mo · 7-day trial
Best at
Finding subscriptions you forgot about and cancelling them. A human who negotiates your bills down.
Pick Marvin if
You want to see subscriptions before they hit, not after. Every recurring bill sits on Marvin's timeline with a reminder the evening before, and Marvin helps you decide what to drop. Marvin doesn't require a bank link (Rocket does), works outside the US, takes typed expenses, receipts or statements on every plan, includes web access on every plan, and looks two years past the next payday.
Pick Rocket Money if
You want someone to negotiate your cable bill, for 35–60% of the first year's savings.

Quicken Simplifi

$83.88 /yr ($6.99 /mo), annual only · no trial
Best at
A low price for a bank-linked app that also tracks investments. Projected balances up to a year ahead.
Pick Marvin if
You want the projection without the limit, and no year up front. Starter is US$5.99 a month, billed monthly — US$71.88 across a year against Simplifi's regular US$83.88, though Simplifi's first-year offer is cheaper. Marvin shows two years, payday by payday, editable in place; Simplifi projects one. Marvin reads PDF and Excel statements, holds US and Canadian dollars in one account, and works anywhere.
Pick Simplifi if
You want investments tracked alongside spending at a low yearly price.

Excel / Google Sheets

Free · Microsoft 365 from $9.99 /mo · Tiller $99 /yr
Best at
Total control at zero cost, no account needed. Excel's own bank sync ended in 2023; Tiller adds it back for US banks.
Pick Marvin if
You want the control without the maintenance. Marvin's Free plan costs nothing too, and you can move, skip or change any bill and watch two years recalculate — no formulas to fix. Where it went is built in — month, category, shop, transaction — no pivot table. Receipts read themselves, bills remind you, it's on your phone, and a question gets an answer from your own numbers.
Pick a spreadsheet if
You enjoy building it and want it exactly your way.

Questions people ask

Straight answers.

Is Marvin Money free?

There is a Free plan: add expenses by hand, the full spending dashboard, this week on the timeline, and help answers in chat. Paid plans start at US$5.99 a month (CA$7.99) and add receipt and statement reading, the two-year view and bill reminders. Every plan is monthly. There's a 7-day trial of Pro with no card needed on the web.

Does Marvin need my bank login?

No. Type expenses, write them the way you'd say them, snap a receipt or upload a statement as a photo, PDF, CSV or Excel file. Connecting a bank is optional, available on Pro+ in the US and Canada, and Marvin works fully without it.

Which budget apps work without linking a bank?

Marvin works without a bank on every plan — type it, snap a receipt or upload a statement. YNAB, Lunch Money, Goodbudget, EveryDollar and Quicken Simplifi also work without a link, and PocketGuard does on its Plus plan with cash accounts. Cleo, Copilot Money and Rocket Money need a bank link to work.

Which budget apps support more than one currency?

Marvin handles 150+ currencies and can split one bill across currencies so each person sees their own. Lunch Money handles 160+ but can't share a bill. YNAB is one currency per plan. Monarch, Copilot, PocketGuard, Goodbudget and Quicken Simplifi work in one currency at a time — Monarch's help page says ¥1,000 shows as $1,000.

Does Marvin show where my money went?

Yes — on every plan, including Free. The dashboard shows what you spent in any period — this month, last month, three months, the year so far or any two dates — how it compares with the period before, and where it went: by category, then what kind, then which shop, then the single transaction. You can move or delete an entry right there. There's a month-by-month chart, a map of your spending by size, and a split by how you paid. All of it is in your own currency.

Can I test a purchase before I make it?

Yes — that's what the timeline is for. Put the purchase on the date you'd pay it and the two years update. If a payday goes short next spring, you see it on the screen, not in your account. Don't like it? Take it off again. Or ask Marvin whether you can afford it, and it answers from your own numbers. The timeline is on Starter and up; asking Marvin is on Pro and Pro+.

Does Marvin work outside the US and Canada?

Yes. Marvin speaks 150+ currencies and is priced in 191 countries, so you see your own money. Everything except the optional bank connection works everywhere.

Which budget app looks furthest ahead?

Marvin shows your balance before every payday for the next two years. Quicken Simplifi projects balances up to a year ahead. Monarch's Plus plan projects long-range net worth. YNAB, Copilot, Lunch Money, PocketGuard, EveryDollar, Goodbudget and Cleo stop at the end of the month or the next payday.

Mint shut down. Is Marvin a Mint alternative?

Mint closed on 23 March 2024 and sent users to Credit Karma, which doesn't offer monthly budgets or custom categories. If you used Mint for budgeting and want to see what's coming rather than what's gone, Marvin is built for that.

Where can I use Marvin?

On the web at app.marvinmoney.com, and on iPhone and Android — see the download page. Same account, same timeline, everywhere.

How current is this page?

Every competitor fact was read from that company's own pricing or help pages on 20 August 2026. Prices and features change. If you find one that has, tell us and we'll fix it. Read why we built this page →

If you live on what comes in — anywhere in the world — Marvin is the better app.

Start on the web in a minute. No card. Seven days of Pro, then Free if you do nothing.