Kasa compared with YNAB, Monarch Money, Spendee, Cashew, Actual Budget and Goodbudget
Kasa is the simple one: a free money tracker with nothing to set up beyond your accounts and monthly bills, no bank connection and no method to learn. It still covers what others charge for or leave out: loans with payment plans, and net worth across 31 currencies, bitcoin and gold. YNAB and Goodbudget are envelope budgeting apps, Monarch Money is a paid dashboard built on bank sync, Spendee and Cashew are mobile spending trackers, and Actual Budget is open-source envelope budgeting you host yourself.
| Kasa | YNAB | Monarch Money | Spendee | Cashew | Actual Budget | Goodbudget | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it takes to start | An email; set today’s balances and monthly bills | Learn its method; assign every dollar each month | Link all your bank and investment accounts | Install the app; bank sync on paid plans | Install the app; optional Google account for sync | Run your own server or pay a host | Plan your envelopes each month |
| Price | Free | $109 a year or $14.99 a month | $99.99 a year or $14.99 a month | Free plan; Plus $14.99 and Premium $35.99 a year | Free; optional paid Pro | Free (self-hosted) or paid hosting | Free plan; Premium $80 a year or $10 a month |
| Free plan | Yes, every feature | No (34-day trial) | No (first week free) | Yes: 1 wallet, 1 budget | Yes | Yes | Yes: 10 envelopes, 1 account |
| Bank connection | None, by design | Yes: US, Canada, UK, some EU | Yes, the core of the app | Yes, paid plans | No; can read bank notifications | Optional (SimpleFIN, GoCardless) | Premium only, US banks |
| Budgeting style | Track spending; monthly bills post themselves | Zero-based: every dollar gets a job | Budgets and cash flow | Budgets per wallet | Budgets and goals | Envelope | Envelope |
| Per-category budget limits | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Several currencies | Yes: each account its own, totals converted to your main currency | One currency per budget | No currency conversion | Yes | Yes: each account its own, daily rates | Not supported | Not listed |
| Bitcoin and gold | Yes, priced automatically | No | Crypto via linked accounts | Crypto wallets via bank connect | No | No | No |
| Loans | Payment plans: each payment is spending and lowers the debt | Loan calculator | Pay-down goals for linked debts | No | Lent and borrowed, long-term loans | Loan balances | Debt tracking |
| Net worth | Yes, with debts, bitcoin and gold | Yes | Yes | Wallet totals | Yes | Yes | No |
| Share with others | No | Up to 6 people | Yes, household | Shared wallets (paid) | Through one shared Google account | Yes, your own server | Yes, household |
| Platforms | Web app for phone and desktop | iPhone, Android, web | iPhone, Android, web | iPhone, Android, web | iPhone, Android, web | Web and desktop | iPhone, Android, web |
Why Kasa is the simplest of them
Kasa is built to stay simple. There’s no budgeting method to learn, no bank to link, no server to run and nothing to buy. Sign up with an email, set what each account holds today, add your monthly bills once, and the dashboard is ready. After that, a purchase takes a few seconds to log and the rest posts itself.
Which one fits you
- Kasa if you want a calm, simple overview without handing any app your bank login, hold money in more than one currency or in bitcoin and gold, or are paying off a loan. It’s free.
- YNAB if you want strict zero-based budgeting with bank import and will pay a yearly subscription for it. Kasa vs YNAB.
- Monarch Money if you’re in the US, want everything synced from your banks and brokers, and share finances with a partner. Kasa vs Monarch.
- Spendee if you want a phone app with shared wallets and, on paid plans, bank sync. Kasa vs Spendee.
- Cashew if you want an open-source phone app with budgets, goals and many settings. Kasa vs Cashew.
- Actual Budget if you want open-source envelope budgeting and don’t mind running a server.
- Goodbudget if you want the envelope method, shared across a household.
Where Kasa is different
- Transfers aren’t spending. Money moved into savings, investments or a loan is a transfer, so a month you saved doesn’t look like a month you overspent.
- Loans count twice, correctly. A loan payment counts as spending in its category and lowers what you owe, in one entry. How loans work.
- Many currencies, one total. Each account keeps its own currency, with daily ECB rates, and net worth shows in the main currency you choose. More on currencies.
- No bank login, ever. Card bills can still be split into purchases by importing the card’s CSV statement. How it works.
Where other apps are ahead
Kasa has no per-category budget limits, no shared budgets between people, no app-store app and no bank sync. If automatic imports or envelope budgeting with a partner matter most, YNAB, Monarch Money or Goodbudget will suit you better. If you want a native phone app with budgets and goals, look at Cashew.
Other apps’ prices and features as listed on their own websites, help pages and app-store listings in October 2026. Prices can differ by country and change over time. Kasa isn’t affiliated with any of them.
Questions
What is the simplest budget app?
Kasa is built to be the simplest: sign up with an email, set what each account holds today, add monthly bills once, and you’re done. There’s no budgeting method to learn, no bank to link and nothing to buy.
What is the best free budget app without bank connection?
Kasa is free with every feature and never connects to a bank. Cashew is free with a paid Pro tier and no bank connection, Goodbudget has a free plan with 10 envelopes, and Actual Budget is free if you host it yourself.
Which budget app handles several currencies?
Kasa and Cashew give each account its own currency and convert totals at daily rates; Kasa supports 31 currencies plus bitcoin and gold. Spendee supports multiple currencies too. YNAB uses one currency per budget, Monarch doesn’t convert currencies, and Actual Budget doesn’t support multiple currencies.
Which budget app is best for paying off a loan?
In Kasa a loan is a debt with a monthly payment plan: each payment counts as spending and lowers what you owe, and you see what’s paid, what’s left and the date of the last payment. YNAB has a loan calculator, and Monarch has pay-down goals for linked debts.
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Last updated: 17 October 2026