Best Mint Alternatives in 2025 (Now That Mint Is Gone)

In January 2024, Intuit shut down Mint — the app that taught millions of people what a personal finance dashboard should look like. For over a decade, Mint was the default recommendation for anyone who wanted to see their spending, track their net worth, and get a bird's-eye view of their financial life without paying a cent. Then, seemingly overnight, it was gone — migrated into Credit Karma, a tool designed around credit monitoring and product recommendations rather than budgeting.

If you are still looking for a replacement, you are not alone. Millions of former Mint users have spent the past year testing alternatives, switching apps, and rethinking how they want to manage their money. The good news is that the budgeting app market has matured significantly since Mint shut its doors. Today there are genuinely excellent options for almost every type of user — whether you want automatic bank sync and investment tracking, a structured system for changing your financial habits, or a more private and calm approach that does not require handing over your bank credentials.

This guide breaks down the best Mint alternatives available today, compares them on the criteria that matter most — privacy, price, features, and philosophy — and helps you decide which one is actually right for the way you think about money.

Why Mint shut down — and what it says about your privacy

Mint was free. And like most free products, the cost was not visible at first glance. Intuit's business model relied on showing ads for financial products — credit cards, loans, insurance — based on your spending data. When you searched for a new apartment, Mint saw the spending pattern. When you had a baby, Mint noticed the diaper purchases. When your car broke down, Mint knew before you did that a repair bill was coming. That data was valuable to advertisers, and Intuit monetized it aggressively.

When Intuit decided that model was no longer profitable enough, they shut down Mint and migrated users to Credit Karma. The pitch was seamless: your data would transfer automatically, your accounts would stay connected, and you would barely notice the change.

The problem: Credit Karma is an advertising platform, not a budgeting tool. Its primary function is to show you financial products you might click on — personal loans, credit cards, savings accounts with affiliate kickbacks. The migration was not designed to give you a better budgeting experience. It was designed to preserve Intuit's ad revenue by moving Mint's engaged user base into a product optimized for monetization.

The real lesson of Mint's shutdown is this: when a financial app is free, your data is the product. Apps that connect to your bank account, read your transactions, and categorize your spending have access to extremely sensitive information about your life. They know your income, your rent, your eating habits, your medical expenses, your relationship status, and your financial stress level. Understanding who sees that data — and what they do with it — is now a fundamental part of choosing a budgeting tool.

Mint also demonstrated another risk of free apps: they can disappear at any time. When the business model stops working, users have no recourse. Their data, their categories, their years of transaction history — gone. A paid app with a sustainable revenue model is not just a better product. It is a more stable one.

What to look for in a Mint replacement

Mint did a few things well: it showed you where your money went, organized spending into categories, and gave you a bird's-eye view of your finances in one place. A good replacement should do at least that — and ideally, do it better. But the landscape has expanded since Mint launched, and today's apps offer far more variety in approach, philosophy, and feature set.

Here is what you should evaluate before choosing a new app:

• Spending categories and trends. Does the app automatically organize transactions and show you where you are overspending? This was Mint's core value — seeing your spending broken down by category without any manual effort. Most apps do this now, but the quality of categorization varies widely. Some apps use merchant codes to auto-categorize, others rely on machine learning that improves over time, and some require you to tag transactions yourself.
• Bank sync vs. CSV import vs. voice logging. Automatic sync is convenient but requires sharing your bank credentials with a third-party aggregator. CSV and voice logging keep your data private — but require more active participation. The right choice depends on how much privacy you value and how much friction you are willing to accept. For a deeper look at how different apps handle input methods, see our guide on voice tracking for expenses.
• Price. Most serious apps charge between $10 and $15 a month. That is reasonable if the app genuinely changes your habits or saves you time. Free apps with ads, as Mint proved, are not actually free — you pay with your data. Some apps offer free tiers with limited features, which can be enough if you only need basic tracking.
• Privacy. Who stores your data? Is it sold or shared with advertisers? Is there a local option that does not send your transactions to a server? If financial anxiety is already a factor for you, adding privacy concerns to the mix makes it harder to build a healthy relationship with your finances.
• Budgeting methodology. Some apps just show you where your money went. Others actively help you plan where it should go. The difference matters. Passive tracking (like Mint offered) gives you visibility. Active budgeting (like YNAB offers) gives you a plan. Decide which one you actually need.
• Investment tracking. If you have a brokerage account, retirement fund, or other investments, some apps can aggregate those alongside your spending accounts. Not every app does this, and not every app does it well. If net worth tracking is important to you, make sure the app supports it natively.
• Couples and shared finances. If you manage money with a partner, collaborative features matter. Some apps let both partners see the same data, set shared goals, and coordinate spending. Others are designed for single users and offer no way to share.
• Platform availability. Some apps are iOS-only, some are Android-only, and some are cross-platform. If you switch between devices or share a household with someone on a different platform, this matters more than you might think.

The best Mint alternatives in 2025

There is no single “best” replacement for Mint — because different users have different needs. Below are six apps that represent the strongest options based on different priorities. Each one takes a fundamentally different approach to personal finance, and understanding those differences is the key to choosing the right one for you.

Savlo — the best option if you want privacy and do not want to link your bank

Savlo takes a fundamentally different approach to expense tracking. Instead of connecting to your bank, it allows you to log expenses by voice (“$42 at the grocery store”) or import a CSV directly from your bank. All data stays on your device — no third-party access, no aggregators, no ads. Ever.

This approach matters for a reason that goes beyond privacy ideology. When you log an expense yourself — whether by voice or by importing a file — you are making a conscious decision to engage with your spending. You are not passively watching a dashboard update itself. You are participating in the process of tracking your money, which research consistently shows leads to better financial awareness and more intentional spending decisions.

Savlo also includes independent Accounts to organize your money, Funds (sinking funds with custom names for planned expenses), and Streak system that encourages consistency. The app is designed to help you quickly log transactions and keep daily control in minutes.

The app is available on Android and coming soon to iOS. It is the right choice for active daily control and management of your finances in minutes. For more on this approach, see our guide to how to budget money without the overwhelm.

Monarch Money — the best option for automatic sync and net worth tracking

Monarch Money is the most direct replacement for the connected dashboard experience that Mint offered. It links to your bank accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts to give you an all-in-one view of your net worth and spending in real time. The interface is clean, the categorization is strong, and the investment tracking is genuinely useful — not an afterthought tacked onto a budgeting tool.

At $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, it is a paid product — but unlike Mint, it does not monetize your data with advertising. Monarch is particularly strong for couples managing shared finances, with collaborative features built into the core product. Both partners can see the same data, assign transactions, and work toward shared goals without needing to share login credentials.

The main trade-off is the bank connection itself. Monarch relies on Plaid and other aggregators to pull your transaction data, which means your financial information passes through a third-party intermediary. For most users, this is an acceptable trade-off for the convenience of automatic sync. But if Mint's shutdown made you uncomfortable about data sharing, it is worth understanding what you are signing up for. For more on this, see our privacy section below.

YNAB — the best option for changing financial behavior

YNAB (You Need A Budget) is the gold standard for those who want to fundamentally change their relationship with money. It uses a zero-based budgeting system: every dollar of income gets an assignment before you spend it. You do not just track where your money went — you decide where it will go, and then you follow that plan.

It costs $14.99 a month or $109 a year, has a real learning curve, and does not include investment tracking. The methodology requires active participation: you manually assign every dollar, reconcile your accounts regularly, and adjust your budget as life changes. It is not passive. It is not “set it and forget it.” It is a system that asks you to engage with your money on a weekly basis.

That engagement is also its greatest strength. No app has a stronger track record of breaking the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. Users consistently report that YNAB changed not just their budgeting habits but their entire relationship with money. The learning curve is steep, but the payoff is real. If you want high-level visibility, Monarch is better. If you want behavior change, YNAB wins.

One important caveat: YNAB is not a passive tracker. If you are looking for something that just shows you where your money went after the fact — like Mint did — YNAB will feel like overkill. It is designed for people who want to be proactive about their money, not reactive. For some, that is exactly what they need. For others, it is more system than they are willing to adopt.

Empower — the best free option for tracking net worth

Empower (formerly Personal Capital) offers free account aggregation, net worth tracking, and basic budgeting. Its budgeting features are lighter than Mint's — you get spending categories and some trend data, but not the deep customization or goal-setting tools that dedicated budgeting apps provide. Where Empower genuinely excels is the net worth dashboard: it pulls in your investment accounts, retirement funds, and savings accounts to give you a comprehensive view of your total financial picture.

For people who primarily want to see their net worth grow over time — and track investment performance alongside daily spending — Empower is one of the best free tools available. The retirement planner and fee analyzer features are genuinely useful for anyone with a 401(k) or IRA.

The catch: Empower's free tier exists to channel users toward their wealth management services. If you have significant assets — generally $100,000 or more in investable accounts — you will receive sales calls from financial advisors trying to earn your business. If you just want a free tracker, it works — but expect the pitch. This is, in a sense, the same business model Mint used: the product is free because you are the product. The difference is that Empower is upfront about it.

PocketGuard — the best option to see at a glance how much you can spend

PocketGuard focuses on one essential question: after paying bills and setting aside savings, how much do I have left to spend? Its “In My Pocket” number is a single, actionable figure rather than a complex dashboard. You connect your bank accounts, and the app calculates your available spending money based on your income, recurring bills, and savings goals.

This simplicity is PocketGuard's main appeal. If you do not want to categorize every transaction, set up detailed budgets, or learn a new financial methodology — you just want to know whether you can afford dinner out tonight — PocketGuard gives you that answer instantly. It is the most Mint-like experience in terms of simplicity and ease of use.

It has a free tier, with PocketGuard Plus at $12.99 a month. It requires bank sync via Plaid. The free version has limited categorization and budgeting features, but the core “In My Pocket” calculation works without paying. For users who want a quick, no-fuss way to check their spending capacity, it is a solid middle ground between Mint's simplicity and YNAB's depth.

EveryDollar — the best option for Ramsey followers

EveryDollar is Dave Ramsey's budgeting app, built around the zero-based budgeting methodology that Ramsey has taught for decades. Like YNAB, it assigns every dollar a job before the month begins. The interface is clean and straightforward, and the app is designed to walk you through the budgeting process step by step.

The free version allows manual transaction entry and basic budgeting. The paid version (EveryDollar Plus) adds bank connectivity for automatic transaction import, which costs around $17.99 a month. The free tier is genuinely usable if you are willing to enter transactions manually — which, for some people, actually increases financial awareness because you are physically entering every purchase.

EveryDollar is a good fit if you already follow Dave Ramsey's methodology or if you want a zero-based budgeting system that does not require learning the terminology and workflows of YNAB. It is less flexible than YNAB in terms of customization and does not include investment tracking, but it is simpler to learn and the free tier is more generous. For more on this approach, see our guide to zero-based budgeting.

One thing to note: EveryDollar is closely tied to Ramsey Solutions, which means the app occasionally promotes Ramsey products and services. If you are not a Ramsey follower, this may feel intrusive. If you are, it feels like a natural extension of an ecosystem you already trust.

Quick comparison

The privacy question — what actually happens to your data?

When you link your bank to an app, your transaction data generally passes through a financial data aggregator — companies like Plaid, Finicity, or MX. These aggregators act as intermediaries between your bank and the app. Most have privacy policies that allow them to use anonymized transaction data for analytics and, in some cases, sell it to financial institutions and research firms.

This does not mean apps with bank sync are dangerous. But it does mean that your spending history — what you buy, where, and how often — becomes part of a data chain you do not fully control. The aggregator sees every transaction. The app sees every transaction. And depending on the privacy policy, that data may be used for purposes beyond just showing you a budget.

For most people, the convenience of automatic sync is worth that trade-off. You get real-time transaction updates, automatic categorization, and a complete financial picture without any manual effort. That is a genuine benefit, and it is why the majority of budgeting apps offer bank sync as their primary input method.

For others, it is not. If you are someone who prefers to keep your financial data as private as possible — or if you are concerned about what happens to your data if the app shuts down or gets acquired — there are two main alternatives.

CSV import lets you export your transactions directly from your bank's website and manually upload them to the app. No shared credentials, no aggregator involved. You control exactly what data enters the app, and you can strip out anything you do not want tracked. The downside is that it requires regular effort — you have to remember to export and upload. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our guide to CSV import budgeting.

Voice logging keeps everything local from the moment of purchase. You speak your expense into the app, and it records the amount, category, and optional note without ever sending your data to an external server. It is the most private option available, and it has the added benefit of making you more aware of your spending in real time. You cannot log an expense by voice without thinking about the purchase you just made.

If Mint's shutdown taught us anything, it is that “free” has a cost. Choosing a paid app with a clear privacy policy is, in most cases, the safest choice in the long run. You are not the product. Your subscription fee is the business model, and that alignment of incentives matters more than most people realize.

How to migrate from Mint

If you have not yet moved on from Mint — or if you started using Credit Karma after the migration and want something better — here is a practical guide to switching.

Step 1: Export your Mint data before it disappears. Intuit has said that historical data will eventually be deleted. Log into Mint (or Credit Karma if you migrated) and export your transaction history as a CSV file. This gives you a backup of your spending history that you can import into any new app that supports CSV import. Do this now — do not assume the data will be available forever.

Step 2: Decide what you actually used Mint for. Be honest about which Mint features you relied on. Did you check your spending categories weekly? Did you look at your net worth once a month? Did you set budgets and ignore them? Did you mainly use the credit score feature? Your answer determines which replacement matters most. If you mostly used Mint for spending visibility, a simple tracker like PocketGuard or Savlo may be enough. If you used it for net worth and investment tracking, Monarch or Empower is the better fit.

Step 3: Start with one app and commit for 30 days. Do not try to test three apps at once. Pick the one that best matches your priorities, connect your accounts (or set up your import method), and give it a full month. Most apps feel confusing in the first week. The real value shows up after you have a month of data and the categorization has learned your patterns.

Step 4: Recreate your categories and goals.If you had specific categories or savings goals in Mint, set them up in your new app. This is also a good time to clean up your category structure. Mint's categorization was decent but not perfect — your new app might offer better options, and this is a chance to organize your spending in a way that actually makes sense to you.

Step 5: Set a reminder to check in weekly.The biggest risk of switching budgeting apps is not choosing the wrong one — it is losing the habit of checking. Mint's automatic notifications and weekly summaries helped with this. Your new app may or may not have similar features. Either way, set a recurring reminder on your phone to check your budget for five minutes every week. That single habit is worth more than any app feature. Consider linking it to something you already do — Friday evening with your coffee, Sunday morning before the week starts — so the new habit has an existing anchor point.

Free vs. paid — what you actually get for your money

One of Mint's biggest appeals was that it was free. Now that most serious alternatives charge $10 to $15 a month, it is worth asking: what are you actually paying for?

Free appstypically make money in one of three ways: advertising (like Mint did), selling anonymized data to third parties, or upselling premium services (like Empower's wealth management). The free tier gives you basic functionality — usually transaction tracking and simple categorization — but limits advanced features like goal setting, investment tracking, or detailed reporting.

Paid apps make money from your subscription fee. That means their incentive is aligned with yours: they need to provide enough value that you keep paying. This generally results in better features, more thoughtful design, and a stronger commitment to privacy — because a paid app that got caught selling user data would lose subscribers fast.

The math is straightforward. If a $13-a-month budgeting app helps you reduce impulse spending by even $50 a month — a conservative estimate for most people who actively use a budget — it pays for itself nearly four times over. The question is not whether you can afford a paid app. The question is whether the app will actually change your behavior enough to justify the cost. That depends entirely on you.

Here is a rough breakdown of what you get at each price point:

• Free tier (PocketGuard, Empower, EveryDollar free, Savlo trial): Basic transaction tracking, simple categorization, limited goals or reporting. Good enough if you only need visibility into your spending.
• $10-$15/month (Monarch, YNAB, PocketGuard Plus, Savlo subscription): Full feature sets including goals, detailed reporting, investment tracking (where available), and collaborative features. The sweet spot for most serious budgeters.
• $15+/month (EveryDollar Plus): Premium features like automatic bank sync on top of the zero-based methodology. Worth it if you specifically want the Ramsey approach without manual entry.

For a deeper look at building a budget on any income level, see our guide to budgeting on a low income.

Which alternative to Mint is right for you?

The right app depends on your relationship with money and how much friction you are willing to accept in exchange for control or privacy. There is no universally correct answer — but there is a framework that can help you decide.

A simple decision framework

Ask yourself these three questions:

1. Do I want automatic bank sync, or do I prefer to keep my data private? If automatic sync is non-negotiable, your options are Monarch, YNAB, Empower, PocketGuard, or EveryDollar Plus. If privacy is a priority, Savlo is the strongest option.
2. Do I want to just see where my money went, or do I want a system that tells me where it should go? If you want visibility, Monarch, Empower, or PocketGuard will work. If you want a methodology that changes your behavior, YNAB, EveryDollar, or Savlo are better fits.
3. Do I need investment and net worth tracking? If yes, Monarch or Empower. Most other apps focus primarily on spending and budgeting.

Based on those answers, here is the short version:

• Choose Savlo if privacy matters to you, if linking your bank makes you uncomfortable, or if you want a polished, clear, stress-free, and guilt-free interface to stay aware of your daily spending. The app emphasizes CSV imports, voice logging, and a calmer daily budgeting rhythm. Available on Android and coming soon to iOS.
• Choose Monarch Money if you want a true Mint replacement with automatic sync, visual reporting, and couples budgeting all in one place. It is the most complete all-in-one option for people who want everything Mint offered and more.
• Choose YNAB if you are determined to change your financial behavior and willing to invest time in learning a new system. The learning curve is real, but so are the results.
• Choose Empower if you want free portfolio and net worth tracking and do not mind receiving occasional wealth management pitches. Best for people who prioritize investment visibility over budgeting depth.
• Choose PocketGuard if you just want a simple number that tells you how much it is safe to spend today. The closest to Mint's simplicity in terms of day-to-day use.
• Choose EveryDollar if you follow Dave Ramsey's methodology or want a straightforward zero-based budgeting system without the complexity of YNAB. The free tier is generous, and the paid tier adds convenience.

If you are still unsure, consider what motivated you to look for a Mint alternative in the first place. Was it the loss of a free tool? The privacy concerns? The realization that you never actually used Mint the way you intended? Your answer to that question points directly to the right replacement. A tool that solves the problem you actually have will always be better than one that checks every feature box but does not match how you think about money.

The best budgeting app is the one you will actually use — and that starts with finding one whose design philosophy matches your way of thinking about money. If you are not sure, start with the free tier of whichever app interests you most and commit to 30 days. You will know quickly whether it is the right fit.

Frequently asked questions

Is Mint really gone?

Yes. Intuit shut down Mint in January 2024 and migrated users to Credit Karma. Credit Karma is a credit monitoring and financial product recommendation tool — it is not a budgeting app. Some Mint features have been incorporated into Credit Karma, but the core budgeting experience that made Mint popular is no longer available.

Can I still get my Mint data?

It depends on your timeline. If you migrated to Credit Karma, some of your transaction history may still be accessible through Credit Karma's interface. However, Intuit has indicated that historical Mint data will eventually be deleted. Export your data as a CSV file as soon as possible — do not assume it will remain available. If you never migrated, your Mint data may already be inaccessible.

Is Credit Karma a good replacement for Mint?

Credit Karma is useful for monitoring your credit score and discovering financial products, but it is not a budgeting tool. It does not track spending by category, set budgets, or give you the kind of financial visibility that Mint provided. If budgeting was your primary use of Mint, you need a separate app.

What is the safest budgeting app for my data?

The safest option is an app that keeps your data on your device and never sends it to a server. Savlo is the strongest option here — it uses voice logging and CSV import, with no bank sync and no third-party data sharing. If you prefer bank sync, apps like Monarch and YNAB do not sell your data, but they do use third-party aggregators to access your transactions.

Do I need to pay for a budgeting app?

No. Several apps offer free tiers — PocketGuard, Empower, EveryDollar, and Savlo all have free options. However, free tiers typically have limitations such as restricted categories, fewer reports, or no bank sync. If you want the full feature set of any serious budgeting app, expect to pay $10 to $15 a month. As discussed above, the return on that investment — in terms of reduced impulse spending and better financial awareness — usually far exceeds the cost.

Can I use more than one budgeting app?

You can, but it is usually not recommended. Using multiple apps creates fragmented data, makes reconciliation a headache, and increases the chance that you will abandon all of them. Pick one app that fits your primary need and commit to it. If you later find it is missing something, switch — but do not try to run two or three apps simultaneously.

How often should I check my budget?

Once a week is the sweet spot for most people. Daily checking can lead to obsessive monitoring and anxiety. Monthly checking means you discover problems too late to adjust. A weekly five-minute check-in — ideally on the same day each week — lets you catch overspending early, adjust your categories, and stay connected to your financial reality without turning it into a source of stress. For tips on building this habit, see our guide to why traditional budgets fail and how to build one that actually sticks.

Will any of these apps be exactly like Mint?

No — and that is actually a good thing. Mint was a product of its era: a free, ad-supported dashboard that showed you where your money went. The apps available today are more specialized, more thoughtful, and more aligned with how people actually manage money. You may miss some Mint features, but you will likely find that the alternatives do certain things much better. Give yourself time to adjust, and resist the urge to compare every new app to a memory of Mint that may be rosier than the reality.