A free YNAB alternative (no bank login)

YNAB is a genuinely good app with a loyal following — this isn't a takedown. But two things send people looking: the price (around $109 a year), and the fact that getting started can feel like a lot when you're brand new to budgeting.

If you want the core idea without the subscription — and without linking your bank — you can have it.

YNAB's real magic isn't the software, it's one habit: before you spend, decide what each euro of income is *for* — needs, wants, savings, that upcoming bill. Money with a job doesn't quietly disappear.

You don't need a $109 subscription to do that. You need income, a few categories, and the discipline to log as you go. BudgetPro is built around exactly this.

• Free to start — with an optional €9 one-time deal, not a yearly subscription
• No bank login required (manual entry, receipt scan, or CSV) — private by default
• Made for total beginners: plain English, gentle guides, less setup
• Beautiful and calm rather than spreadsheet-dense

You still get a live monthly dashboard, category budgets, savings goals, and full history — the everyday budgeting most people actually need.

YNAB has depth we don't chase: automatic bank import, detailed reconciliation, age-of-money, and power-user reporting. If you want that and don't mind the price and the bank connection, YNAB earns its keep — we won't pretend otherwise.

BudgetPro is the right pick if you want simpler, private, and cheap — a calm place to *start* and stick with budgeting, not the most feature-dense tool on the market.

Don't migrate years of history. Set your take-home income, add a handful of categories (rent, groceries, fun, savings), and give this month's money its jobs. Log as you spend. That's the whole method — and it's free to try.