Mint has long been a fixture on nearly every best household finance app list (including ours), but that’s about to change. On March 23rd, the most downloaded personal finance app will be retired. The company originally announced it would be discontinued on January 1st, but extended the deadline. So what are your options for mint alternatives?
Intuit, which owned and operated Mint, recently completed its acquisition of Credit Karma, and the company is encouraging Mint users to switch to its new brand. However, if you use Mint regularly, Credit Karma may not offer the same budgeting tools.
If tracking your savings and spending habits is at the top of your to-do list for 2024, consider these seven options when making the switch from Mint.
pocket guard
Best free budgeting apps
Fee: Free version available, as well as $8 monthly plan, $35 annual plan, $80 lifetime plan, and additional paid options
evaluation: iOS: 4.7 out of 5 stars/Google Play: 3.7 out of 5 stars
Available on: iOS and Android
Similar to Mint, PocketGuard offers a free version that gives you access to basic budgeting features such as spending pie charts and bill tracking. If you want more valuable insights to better manage your money, we have paid options like debt repayment plans, unlimited savings goals, and longer trading history. However, the app’s complicated maze of pricing is a major drawback to the paid version. PocketGuard is actively courting Mint users have the ability to upload data exported from Mint and automatically sync it with that service.
Quicken Simplify
Best low-cost budgeting app
Fee: Just $2/month
evaluation: iOS: 4/5 out of 5 starsGoogle play: 2.8 out of 5 stars
Available on: iOS and Android
Quicken Simplifi caught our attention for two reasons. First, the price is significantly lower than most of its competitors. Second, the company has made it a priority to welcome Mint users. Guide to moving old data to new apps. Mobile app ratings aren’t overwhelmingly stable for Android users, but this tool offers similar functionality to Mint at a lower price.
Inab
The perfect app for serious budget management
Fee: $15/month or $99/year
evaluation: iOS: 4.8 out of 5 stars/Google Play: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Available on: iOS and Android
YNAB (short for You Need A Budget) is not a set-it-and-forget budgeting tool. This app forces you to think carefully about where your money goes. Not only will you get a spending tracker, savings goals, and repayment strategies, you’ll also learn how to live by financial rules that will help you throughout the rest of your life. Additionally, YNAB offers a regular calendar of workshops to help you get the most out of the app.
monarch
The perfect household account book app for couples
rocket money
Best app for bill negotiation
Fee: Free version available, premium version costs $4 to $12 per month, bill negotiation feature costs 30% to 60% of first year savings
evaluation: iOS: 4.3 out of 5 stars/Google Play: 4.3 out of 5 stars
Available on: iOS and Android
If you’ve been putting off canceling your cable because you don’t want to be on hold for a 30-minute call with a customer service representative, Rocket Money is worth a try. In addition to standard savings and spending tracking, Rocket Money also offers the ability to cancel your subscription or ask an expert to negotiate a lower price. PocketGuard also offers a version of this service, but through an external party called Billshark.
Wally GPT
The best AI-powered budgeting app
Fee: free
evaluation: iOS: 3.8 out of 5 stars/Google Play: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Available on: iOS and Android
While all the apps on this list utilize some degree of artificial intelligence to identify spending patterns and automate savings decisions, WallyGPT touts itself as the first AI-powered financial app . With his recently added GPT, users no longer have to analyze graphs and charts themselves, they can simply ask WallyGPT how much their grocery spending has changed over the past six months. If you want to export all your data from Mint, you can ask Wally to do it for you.
albert
The best all-in-one app
Fee: $13/month billed annually or $15/month billed monthly
evaluation: iOS: 4.6 out of 5 stars /Google Play: 4.1 out of 5 stars
Available on: iOS and Android
Instead of syncing your bank data, you can simply replace your bank with Albert. This all-in-one app provides tools for saving, investing, and budgeting. It’s Genius’ service that makes the real difference. It allows you to connect with financial experts and get advice on big decisions like buying or purchasing a car. save for a down payment. To be clear, the company is not an independent bank, but does offer FDIC-insured savings products through Sutton Bank, Coastal Community Bank, and Wells Fargo.
When does Mint close?
Mint’s service will officially end on March 23, 2024. The company has already extended the deadline once, so we will keep you informed of any changes.
What will happen to my Mint account?
After March 23rd, you will no longer be able to access your Mint account. However, it is currently unclear what will happen to all the data. If you want to remove it from Intuit’s servers and permanently remove it from the cyber world, please follow the steps below. If you choose to use Credit Karma, you can migrate most of your data, including three years of transaction history, to the new service. Please note that transfers to Credit Karma are not automatic. To start the transfer, you need to log into your Mint account.
What to look for in a household account book app
Free trial period: Choosing the right budget tool should be like choosing a new car. You need to be able to test drive it. Most budgeting apps offer free trial periods ranging from one week to one month. Use these free windows to compare your options and decide what’s best for your lifestyle.
Ability to grow with you: You may be focused on cutting back on spending or paying off your credit card bill right now. However, in the future, you may need to monitor your investments and plan for retirement. Choose an app that offers features that are robust enough to keep up with your needs as they evolve.
Security protocols: Whenever you share banking information, it’s essential to ensure that the company takes all possible steps to protect your information. Make sure your app uses bank-grade security so your data can be encrypted to the highest level.
What the app does with your data: A household budget app will know everything about you, including what you buy each week, what type of credit cards you have, and how much you spend on your house payment. Some apps use that information to target advertisements for new products or services from marketing partners, so be sure to read their privacy policies before signing up.
How to transfer financial data to another app
If you’ve been using Mint for a long time (the app was introduced in 2009), you don’t want to lose all your data. Fortunately, downloading data from Mint is very easy. Inside a transaction, there is an “Export Transaction” tag in the bottom left corner of the page. You can export up to 10,000 transactions. If your transactions total more than that sum, you can use date filters to split your data.
Exporting transactions saves the transactions to a CSV (comma separated values) file. This format allows you to easily upload your data to another app. Of all the apps we reviewed, Monarch made transferring Mint data the most convenient with a step-by-step guide that eliminates many potential problems. You Need A Budget also provides useful tools for importing spending categories and goal amounts.
Alternatives to using budgeting apps
Budget apps are very helpful, but there are other ways to manage your money. Most major banks offer convenient budgeting features within their apps. For example, PNC’s Virtual Wallet categorizes and displays spending, and Chase’s mobile app includes a breakdown of his daily spending on credit and debit cards.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to use your phone to monitor your cash flow, you can create an Excel spreadsheet or The old-fashioned way: Sit down every week with a pen and paper and crunch the numbers.
FAQ
There are many alternatives to Mint, but the best options tend to be expensive compared to Mint’s $0 price. Monarch, YNAB, and Quicken Simplifi apps have easy ways to import Mint data.
All major budgeting apps use bank-grade security to protect your data. It’s equally important to do your part to protect sensitive information, such as using strong, unique passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and avoiding sharing information on public Wi-Fi networks.
methodology
CNET compares and reviews financial apps based on set criteria. We consider the features and functionality of each budgeting app, including user experience, interface, support options, and overall value compared to price. We’ll also evaluate key features and the ability to transfer data from the Mint app.
Other budgeting apps tested
Empower, Good Budget, Every Dollar, Zeta, Faget, Honeydew.