The right budgeting app can turn managing your money from a tedious task to a treat. Monarch Money might fit the bill, with an intuitive system that helps you track your expenses, create a budget, and even monitor your investments.
Below, CNBC Select reviews Monarch Money’s features, pricing and whether it’s right for you.
Monarch
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Cost
$8.33/month (billed $99.99 yearly); $14.99/month (billed monthly)
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Standout features
Net worth tracker, investment portfolio tracking, goal creation and progress tracking, budgeting and expense tracking
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Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users can modify
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Links to accounts
Yes, bank and credit cards, as well as IRAs, 401(k)s, mortgages and loans
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Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android); web version also offered
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Security features
Utilizes industry-leading security practices, according to Monarch’s website
Pros
- Includes easy-to-navigate money-tracking dashboard, including a net-worth tracker and investment portfolio tracking and breakdown
- Easily syncs to your bank accounts, credit cards and other financial accounts
- Lets users easily create and prioritize major goals
- Lets users add collaborators (like a financial advisor or partner) for free
- Tracks recurring expenses
Cons
- Not free to use
- Recommendations in the “advice” tab are a bit generic
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Monarch Money pros and cons
As with any fintech platform, Monarch Money has a handful of pros and cons to consider before signing up for the app and committing to an annual subscription.
Pros
- The dashboard is fairly straightforward to navigate, making it easy to set up your account.
- Like many other budgeting apps on the market, Monarch Money allows you to connect your bank accounts, investment accounts, and credit cards so the dashboard automatically updates to reflect your transactions, balances and net worth every time you log in.
- The dashboard shows your monthly recurring expenses, making it easy to identify your subscriptions, memberships, and other regular payments.
- The dashboard also includes a net worth tracker, a monthly progress tracker for your income and expenses, an investment tracker for your portfolio and cash flow, plus spending and income reports.
Cons
- Monarch Money costs $99.99 when billed per year ($8.33 per month or $14.99 billed monthly), which may be more than you’re willing to pay for a budgeting app.
How Monarch Money works
Monarch Money works by syncing information from your bank, credit cards and investment accounts to give you a bird’s-eye view of where your money goes. Users can also connect student loans, other debts and assets (like crypto, property and vehicles). You can create a monthly budget and monitor your transactions and recurring expenses. You can also use the app to track your net worth over time and monitor investment portfolio activity.
Standout features
Some of Monarch Money’s more useful features include:
- Personalized and prioritized goals: You can create a list of custom goals (like “down payment for a house” or “Paris vacation”) and then assign financial accounts to each goal. Monarch will then make some simple recommendations based on the amount you set for each goal, the balances of your linked accounts, and other factors to help keep you on track. While the app’s advice can be helpful, you’ll probably want to use a financial advisor for more complicated goals such as saving for your retirement.
- Zero-based budgeting: On the budgeting side, Monarch Money enables the zero-based budgeting approach, similar to YNAB. It tells users exactly how much money they have left to spend each month, though, it doesn’t force you to give every dollar a job.
Who Monarch Money is for
Monarch Money’s comprehensive dashboard (and subscription fee) is best for those who want to see all of their finances at a glance, and will actually use the app to inform their decisions about what to do with their money.
Plans and pricing
$8.33/month or $99.99/year (billed annually)
$14.99/month (billed monthly)
Monarch Money offers a 7-day free trial.
How to sign up for Monarch Money
You can sign up for Monarch Money on their website or by downloading the app and following the prompts to include your information, like your name and email address. The app is available in Google Play and the App Store.
Alternatives to Monarch Money
Monarch Money is a strong budgeting and expense tracker platform, but it’s not the right choice for everyone.
If you refuse to pay for a budgeting app, then Empower is another platform that syncs to your online accounts so you can track your transactions and monitor your investments. However, unlike Monarch Money, Empower is free to use unless you want to add on investment management services. In this case, you’ll pay 0.89% of your portfolio (for accounts under $1 million).
Empower
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Cost
App is free, but users have option to add investment management services for 0.89% of their money (for accounts under $1 million)
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Standout features
A budgeting app and investment tool that tracks both your spending and your wealth
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Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users can modify
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Links to accounts
Yes, bank and credit cards, as well as IRAs, 401(k)s, mortgages and loans
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Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
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Security features
Data encryption, fraud protection and strong user authentication
Pros
- Free to use
- Includes money-tracking dashboard, plus a net-worth tracker as well as a breakdown of your investment portfolio
- Offers free investing tools, such as a retirement planner and an investment checkup tool
- Syncs to your bank accounts and credit cards as well as other financial accounts
- Offers The Currency blog for financial planning tips
- Security features include data encryption, fraud protection and strong user authentication
Cons
- Budgeting features aren’t as comprehensive as other apps
- Investment management services come with cost
If you’re looking for a budgeting app that takes a different approach to organizing your money, then Goodbudget is worth a look. It enables the cash envelope system virtually. Your first 20 envelopes are free but for unlimited envelopes, this will run you $70 a year. At that price point, Goodbudget is a bit more affordable than Monarch Money but it’s an entirely different budgeting method.
Goodbudget
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Cost
Free for 20 total envelopes; $10/month (or $80/year) for unlimited envelopes
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Standout features
Allows couples to use the envelope system digitally for budgeting, and allows couples to track their debt
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Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users must manually input transactions since the app does not sync to your bank account
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Links to accounts
No, users must manually input purchases and transactions
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Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android) and as a version for laptops
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Security features
Information is secured using bank-grade 256-bit SSL
Pros
- Free version of the app
- Helps couples manage their money together, track spending and track debt
- Ability to share budget with your partner
- Digital envelopes help couples save for big goals that matter to them
- Money management courses and resources available
Cons
- Can’t connect bank accounts so users must manually enter transactions
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staffâs alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
