Editor's Overview:
- The Winner: WalletHub
- WalletHub and Goodbudget offer free plans that allow users to make a budget, track expenses and create debt payoff strategies. YNAB does not offer a free plan.
- WalletHub gives users multiple ways to make a budget, while Goodbudget and YNAB offer users only one way to budget.
- WalletHub offers more non-budgeting features, such as access to your credit score and report, identity theft protection, and credit monitoring, compared to Goodbudget and YNAB.
- WalletHub is the only app among these three to offer a subscription-manager feature that can help users find recurring subscriptions and easily cancel the ones they no longer need.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Key Characteristics
| Characteristics | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
| Average App Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.8 / 5 | 4.8 / 5 |
| Free Plan Available | Yes | No | Yes |
| Premium Plan Cost | $10 per month or $80 per year | $14.99 per month or $109 per year | $47.90 for the first year, $95.90 after that |
| Automatic Bank Sync | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Debt Payoff Plan | Yes (included in free plan) | Yes | Yes (included in free plan) |
| Subscription Manager | No | No | Yes |
| Account Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of Budgeting Templates | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Customer Support | Email & in-app messaging | Email (priority support with premium) | |
| Access to Credit Scores & Reports | No | No | Yes |
Below, you can get a more detailed breakdown of the differences between the three apps. We will also list which app is the best for each category.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Cost
Winner: WalletHub
| Company | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
| Free Plan Available | Yes | No | Yes |
| Monthly Premium Plan Cost | $10 per month | $14.99 per month | Not offered |
| Yearly Premium Plan Cost | $80 per year | $109 per year | $47.90 for the first year, $95.90 after that |
Both WalletHub and Goodbudget offer a free plan, unlike YNAB. With a free WalletHub account, users can do things like make a budget, create debt payoff plans, import transactions, track their net worth, and view a timeline of important financial alerts, among other things. With a free Goodbudget account, users can create a budget, make a debt payoff plan and get access to a community forum.
If you want more advanced budgeting features, WalletHub’s premium plan costs less than Goodbudget and YNAB, allowing WalletHub to take the top spot in this category. A WalletHub Premium starts at just $3.99 per month for the first year and costs $7.99 per month after that (billed annually). Goodbudget’s premium plan costs $10 per month, while YNAB is $14.99 per month.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Automatic Bank Sync
Winner: WalletHub
| Company | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
| Types of Accounts to Link | 1. Bank accounts 2. Credit cards |
1. Bank accounts 2. Credit cards |
1. Bank accounts 2. Credit cards 3. Loans 4. Investments |
| Accounts Loaded From Credit Report | No | No | Yes |
| Countries Accepted | U.S. accounts only | U.S. and European accounts | U.S. accounts only |
All three apps allow you to sync your bank and credit card accounts to have your expenses automatically tracked. WalletHub tops this category since it is the only app here that will also allow you to link your loans and investments to get more insight into all your finances.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Debt Payoff Plans
Winner: WalletHub
| Company | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
| Debt Payoff Tool | Debt accounts | Loan planner | Debt payoff plan |
| Available for Free | Yes | No | Yes |
All three apps offer some sort of debt payoff plan. WalletHub’s and YNAB’s tools allow you to adjust your plan to find the fastest way to become debt-free at the lowest cost, while Goodbudget’s tool tracks how much you owe.
Both Goodbudget and WalletHub offer their debt payoff plans for free, unlike YNAB. However, WalletHub has the edge over Goodbudget since its tool automatically fills in your debt information from your credit report, so you don’t have to. Goodbudget’s debt payoff tool does not do this.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Account Sharing
Winner: WalletHub & YNAB
| Company | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
| Number of Authorized Users | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Separate Logins | Not offered | Yes | Yes |
| Available for Free | Yes (up to 2) | No | No |
WalletHub, Goodbudget, and YNAB all let you share your account with others. With Goodbudget, other people on your account will have the same username and password as you. However, WalletHub and YNAB both provide separate login credentials for everyone on your account. WalletHub and YNAB also allow you to add up to five other people on your account, which is more than Goodbudget allows. That is why WalletHub and YNAB tie in this category.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Budgeting Templates
Winner: WalletHub
| Company | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
| Number of Budgeting Templates | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Both YNAB and Goodbudget offer users only one way to budget. YNAB follows the zero-based budgeting method, while Goodbudget uses envelope budgeting.
WalletHub gives users five different budget templates/strategies to choose from. WalletHub users can do simple budgeting with their total income and expenses only or create a budget using the 50/30/20 rule, the pay-yourself-first strategy, envelope budgeting, or micro-envelope budgeting. The multiple options allow WalletHub users to pick the strategy that works best for their situation. That’s why WalletHub wins this category.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Customer Support
Winner: YNAB
| Company | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
| Customer Support | Email & in-app messaging | Email (priority support with premium) | |
| [email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected] |
All three apps offer email support. However, YNAB wins this category since it also offers chat support. In addition, YNAB users get access to streamed workshops where they can ask experts questions about using the YNAB app.
WalletHub comes in second since the app offers premium users priority support, giving them quick and personalized assistance for any problems they have.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Non-Budgeting Features
Winner: WalletHub
| Company | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
| Access to Credit Scores & Reports | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Analysis | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Identity Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Identity Theft Insurance | No | No | Yes |
| Access to Auto Insurance Score | No | No | Yes |
| Recommendations on Financial Products | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Score Simulator | No | No | Yes |
| Net Worth Tracking | No | Yes | Yes |
| Real Estate Values | No | No | No |
| Sync Vehicle Values | No | No | No |
WalletHub has the most non-budgeting features among these apps, giving users the ability to view their credit score and report, along with access to services like credit monitoring, identity monitoring, net worth tracking, and customized credit analysis – all for free since these are included with a basic account. Goodbudget and YNAB do not offer nearly as many non-budgeting features. That is why WalletHub takes the top spot here.
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