You Need A Budget (YNAB) is an award-winning personal finance software that has helped thousands of users manage a budget, improve their personal finance management, and get out of debt quicker.
Founded in 2004 by Jesse and Julie Mecham, a young married couple struggling to balance college expenses with living expenses, YNAB relies on a simple four-rule system to propel users towards better money management.
This rule-based system yields impressive results—on average, new users of YNAB’s money management software save $600 by their second month, and over $6,000 in the first year!
For those who want dynamic, effective, and comprehensive money management software, YNAB is one of the best personal finance software programs available on the market.
Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Top Finance Apps
Below, please find a detailed list of the features which led to the selection of YNAB on our list of the best personal finance software.
Device Compatibility
Budgeting software from YNAB is available for download across a wide range of devices, including:
  • Android
  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • Apple Watch
  • Alexa
There is also a web version of YNAB for home use, making it easy to use this best money management software regardless of whether you have a Windows or an Apple computer.
Affordable Personal Finance Software
Although this top money management software is not a free personal finance software, it is still a great choice for those looking for affordable budgeting and financial management.
YNAB is available for download and use at a cost of $50 per year, or just over $4 each month. For younger users, using YNAB can be particularly beneficial, since college students get their first year free (and a 10 percent discount afterwards).
Even if you aren’t a student, trying out YNAB’s personal finance software can still be affordable. They offer a 34-day free trial and even a money-back guarantee if you feel as though YNAB is not the best personal finance software for you.
Four Rules
Part of what makes YNAB such valuable and effective personal finance software is that it operates on a uniquely simple set of budgeting principles.
The backbone of YNAB’s financial planning software relies on four distinct budgeting rules:
For YNAB, “giving every dollar a job” means being intentional with your spending, and making sure that each decision is thought-out beforehand.
“Embracing expenses” means being practical about paying long-standing bills, like car payments, mortgages, or even future expenses like home improvements and car maintenance.
Being able to “roll with the punches” helps users feel more comfortable with changing their budget as needed. This financial planning software looks to alleviate stress and guilt that often comes with adjusting a budget, creating a truly user-friendly interface for even the most inexperienced of budgeters.

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Finally, YNAB seeks to help users “age their money,” which means focusing on only spending money that was earned 30 days ago or more.
Free Workshops
Budgeting isn’t easy for everyone, especially if you have never used the tools and practices outlined in money management software.
YNAB is a personal finance software that is uniquely invested in helping all users succeed, no matter how inexperienced at budgeting they may be. As a result, they offer free online workshops that allow users to learn enhanced budgeting and money management strategies.
Offered as live webinars, these workshops are a great way to interact with financial experts, ask questions, and receive hands-on instructions alongside other people who are also in the process of learning about budgeting.
Some of their recent workshop topics include:
  • “Master Credit Cards with Your Budget”
  • “Aggressive Debt Pay Down”
  • “Reach Your Savings Goals”
  • “Break the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle”
  • “Pay for Big Expenses Without Borrowing”
User Support
YNAB is one of the best personal finance software in terms of user support, offering a wide range of resources to help new users learn about personal budget software and improving their personal finance management.
Uniquely, their support section is divided into how much time you can devote to learning about budgeting:
  • Five minutes
  • Your lunch break
  • An evening without Netflix
Included within these categories are the webinars mentioned above, a weekly newsletter, weekly videos, podcasts, detailed guides, help docs, and the email address for the support team.
A link to contact customer support is included on every page, making it both easy and convenient to reach out to customer service if need be.
Could YNAB Be the Best Personal Finance Software for You?
YNAB is the best personal finance software for users who are looking for focused, dedicated, and effective budgeting software.
In comparison to its biggest competitors—Mint and Personal Capital—it’s important to know that YNAB is purely focused on helping users create and successfully maintain a budget. If you have investments that you want to track or manage, you will be much better off going with Personal Capital.
If the ability to get money management software for free is important to you, then using Mint’s personal finance software will likely be a much better fit.
Still, YNAB is a highly competitive force—their simplified process, extensive user support, and friendly, quirky tone makes them a great choice for young or new budgeters.
With a free trial, student discount, and a satisfaction guarantee, YNAB is an affordable personal finance software that is certainly worth trying out.
Related: FreshBooks vs QuickBooks – Rankings & Review
Conclusion: Choosing the Best Personal Finance Software for You
Searching for personal finance software can be an intimidating process, especially if you have never used money management software before.
Thankfully, the best personal finance software does not require all users to be professional investors or seasoned accountants. Not only are these top finance apps technologically advanced and financially effective, but they are also accessible and user-friendly.
Because affordability is also an important factor when choosing the best personal finance software, we’ve included the best paid and free personal finance software to help you find financial tools that fit within your budget.
While managing your finances seems like tedious, complicated work, using personal finance software and money management software can quickly turn personal finance management into a simple, effective, and highly rewarding process.
Image sources:
  • https://pixabay.com/en/analytics-computer-hiring-database-2697949/
  • https://www.mint.com/
  • https://www.mint.com/how-mint-works/alerts#toc
  • https://quickbooks.intuit.com/reporting/
  • https://www.quicken.com/content/stay-connected-your-money
  • https://www.youneedabudget.com/
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