You Need a Budget (YNAB) is a fintech budgeting app that’s crossed the sea from the United States. And while it’s not the first fintech app to help you control your spending and saving, it is certainly one of the most detailed.
We’ve reviewed it to help you decide whether that level of detail is just what you need.
What is YNAB?
YNAB provides a straightforward system to help you understand your income and outgoings and plan ahead for bills, holidays, insurance and the unexpected. Describing itself as a wealth building tool, it connects to your bank accounts and imports transactions automatically.
You’ll be able to see account balances and transactions wherever you go, as well as prioritise and track spending and savings goals. You can even take advantage of debt management features, such as an integrated loan calculator.
How does YNAB work?
YNAB works from an app on your smartphone; you link your bank accounts to the app. You will be guided through creating your YNAB template, personalising your budgeting categories and adding targets for each one.
The app includes the following features:
Category templates. This offers pre-built templates so you can plan for major life events, such as a wedding or new baby. You can tweak the template to fit your life and goals and import them into your YNAB.
Apple card imports. You can now seamlessly import your Apple card, cash and savings with Apple Card transactions into YNAB
Focused Views. Here, you can view categories that share a common theme but aren’t necessarily grouped together. For example, if you’re saving for roof repairs, this might be under your True Expenses category, while your utility bills are under Immediate Obligations – but Focused Views enables you to see all these home-related categories in one place.
Mobile Widgets. If you’re an iPhone user, this lets you view your categories on your home screen.
Once you’ve created your YNAB template it’s then time to use the ‘YNAB Method’. This involves giving a job to every dollar (or £1) you have in your accounts, right down to zero. The YNAB Method poses 5 questions to help you:
What does this money need to do before I am paid again? (Reality)
What larger, less frequent spending do I need to prepare for? (Stability)
What can I set aside for next month’s spending? (Resilience)
What goals, large or small, do I want to prioritise? (Creation)
What changes do I need to make, if any? (Flexibility)
You can then map your dollars/pounds to the different categories.
Using YNAB abroad
YNAB isn’t a current account, so you won’t be spending money through it whether you are at home or abroad. However, YNAB can help you save for your holiday and keep you from overspending while you’re away. You can start a new budget exclusively for your time abroad, and YNAB will notify you to help you stick to it.
If you're travelling abroad
If you are heading overseas and are thinking about travel money, head to our travel money section for the cheapest deals on foreign currencies, or to our travel section for tips on how to get cheap flights!
YNAB fees, limits and pricing
As mentioned above, YNAB doesn’t offer a current or savings account and so doesn’t come with a long list of fees and limits. YNAB charges a monthly subscription fee of $14.99 (or about £12), or an annual fee of $108 (about £86). YNAB also offers a 34-day free trial, so you can try before you buy. Plus, you can share YNAB with partners, families and groups of up to 6 people for the price of a single subscription.
Is YNAB safe?
YNAB has a number of measures to keep your details safe. First, your information is kept behind a password of your choosing, which is then secured by industry-level encryption. Your data is only held for a limited time, and all account-pairing technology is of the highest standard.
Pros and cons of YNAB
Pros
In-depth breakdown of your income and outgoings.
Customisable and detailed budgeting help.
Manually or automatically enter your bank accounts and balances for YNAB to help you manage.
Helps to keep you on top of your financial responsibilities.
Helps you understand your net worth and the current size of your budget.
Prioritise your spending to customise your experience.
Available on-the-go.
Safe and secure.
Cons
Currently not optimised for use in the UK.
The app cannot pair with many UK banks.
Hefty subscription fee.
Slightly busy user interface in comparison to other budgeting apps.
If you have problems when trying to pair your UK bank account with YNAB, you can manually enter your account balance and details. This will allow you to use the app’s features properly.
Bottom line
YNAB cannot work miracles, and it requires effort on your part to stick to the budget, but it can be an effective tool to help you bring your finances under control.
However, you might struggle to pair your British bank account with it, which could be tiresome. In addition, YNAB’s subscription fee is a tad steep, especially when considered alongside competitors like Emma.
Get started by visiting YNAB’s website and download the app. If you have read this review and the app is not for you, you can also discover more budgeting apps.
Alternatives to YNAB
Accountz
Accountz offers two types of personal finance software. There’s “Home Accountz” for personal budgeting and “Business Accountz” for commercial budgeting. Home Accountz is perfectly adequate for all of your individual budgeting needs. You can manage your bank accounts, track your income and outgoings, set budgets and forecast your future financial position with ease.
BankTree
BankTree offers downloadable personal finance software for a one-off fee, or a cloud-based service which you’ll either pay for monthly or annually. It’s not as intuitive as YNAB, nor as many of the alternatives listed in this guide. You’ll find it takes longer to set yourself up. Still, once you get the hang of it, you’ll find BankTree has everything you would expect from personal finance software. There’s account tracking, goal-setting, investment management, plus plenty of graphs and charts.
Moneydance
If you’re looking for traditional accounting software, Moneydance is as comprehensive as it gets. It is packed with a series of graphs and charts, so you can track your income and spending. It’s possible to categorise your spending as deeply as you wish. You can follow various investments using this software too.
Monzo
Monzo is primarily a mobile-only current account. It comes with a debit card, which doesn’t charge fees on overseas transactions or some cash withdrawals. You can add an overdraft and complete all account management easily from your mobile.
Frequently asked questions
YNAB doesn’t offer a personal or savings current account, and so the need to make money isn’t as urgent. As such, YNAB only makes money through its subscription fee, which it uses to maintain the app.
You don’t, you pay YNAB for its service, but YNAB doesn’t hold any money for you.
While you can still use YNAB if your bank is outside of the US and Canada, it isn’t optimised for use in other countries. You won’t be able to use direct import, for example. You will be able to use manual import, though, and several other features.
Yes, if you’re a student currently enrolled in a US college then you can get YNAB completely free by emailing support@ynab.com with proof of registration.
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Matthew Boyle is a banking and mortgages publisher at Finder. He has a 7-year history of publishing helpful guides to assist consumers in making better decisions. In his spare time, you will find him walking in the Norfolk countryside admiring the local wildlife. See full bio
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