Monarch Money alternative
Looking for a Monarch Money alternative?
Piggey shows you where your money goes — AI does the categorizing, no bank login, no budgeting homework. Free to start.
Try the alternative freeWhy people look for Monarch Money alternatives
Monarch picked up the most Mint refugees, and it earns the praise — it's polished and complete. The complaints that send people looking elsewhere are consistent though: the price ($99.99/yr after intro pricing), bank connections that break and need re-linking, and the quiet realization that you're paying for a budgeting suite when all you wanted was to see where the money goes.
- $99.99/yr with no free tier
- Useless without linking your banks through third-party aggregators
- Bank connections break and need maintenance (an aggregator problem, but your problem too)
- It's a budgeting suite at heart — more app than many people need
What to look for in an alternative
Does it need your bank password?
Most finance apps only work if you hand your bank credentials to a third-party aggregator. If that's the part that makes you uneasy, look for an app that works from data you export yourself.
How much work does it demand?
Budgeting apps fail when the maintenance burden wins. Be honest about whether you'll do weekly check-ins — and if not, pick a tool where the insight is automatic.
Who does the categorizing?
Categorization is where spending clarity lives or dies. Rule-based systems miscategorize constantly; manual systems get abandoned. AI that reads real bank descriptions is the difference between a chore and a dashboard.
Piggey vs Monarch Money, side by side
Monarch is the best traditional do-everything finance app: bank sync, budgets, goals, net worth, shared household access. It's also $99.99/yr and built entirely around connecting your bank accounts through aggregators. Piggey is the opposite bet: no bank login ever, no budgeting required, AI does the categorization — free to start, $16/mo for Pro.
| Piggey | Monarch Money | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, or $16/mo Pro — first month free | $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr |
| Free plan | Yes — a real one, forever | No — 7-day trial |
| Bank login | Never. Import a CSV — your credentials stay at your bank | Required for everything useful (Plaid/MX/Finicity) |
| Budgeting required | None required | Core feature — flexible or category budgets |
| AI categorization | Automatic — AI tags your whole history at once | Rules + some AI assistance |
| Subscription detection | Yes (Pro) — flags the charges worth cancelling | Yes |
| AI assistant | Penny — ask anything about your money in plain English | AI features in beta |
| Setup time | ~5 minutes | ~30 minutes of linking and tuning |
| Platforms | Any browser | Web, iOS, Android |
| Privacy | No bank credentials, no data selling | Paid product, no ads — but aggregators see your credentials |
Switch to Piggey if…
People who looked at Monarch's feature list and thought "I just want to know where my money went." And anyone who refuses to hand bank credentials to an aggregator — Piggey never asks.
Stick with Monarch Money if…
Households that want one shared, always-synced view of everything — budgets, goals, investments, net worth — and are comfortable with bank aggregator access. As all-in-one finance apps go, it's the one to beat.
Making the switch
Export your transactions from Monarch as CSV (or pull fresh exports from your banks) and import into Piggey. AI categorization means there's no category mapping to redo.
- 1Export a CSV from your bank (or from Monarch Money, if it offers exports)
- 2Drop it into Piggey — the AI categorizes your whole history at once
- 3Review the dashboard, correct anything the AI got wrong (it learns)
- 4That's it. Repeat monthly — about five minutes
Other Monarch Money alternatives worth knowing
Piggey isn't the right fit for everyone — different tools suit different people. Here are the other serious options, with honest one-liners:
- Mint
The free budgeting pioneer that Intuit shut down in 2024, sending millions of users looking for a new home.
- YNAB
The envelope-budgeting methodology with devoted fans, a real learning curve, and a $109/yr price tag.
- Rocket Money
The subscription-cancellation app with a concierge service — and a cut of your savings.
- Copilot Money
The prettiest finance app in the room — genuinely smart ML categorization, but Apple-only and $95/yr.
- PocketGuard
The "In My Pocket" app — boils your finances down to one spendable number, behind a bank link and a $74.99/yr Plus tier.
- Empower
Free net-worth and investment dashboard (formerly Personal Capital) — with a wealth-management sales team attached.
Frequently asked questions
Is Piggey a good Monarch Money alternative?
If you mainly use Monarch to see spending and catch subscriptions: yes — Piggey does both with AI, without bank linking, and has a free tier. If you rely on Monarch's shared budgets, goals, and investment tracking, Monarch remains the more complete suite.
Does Piggey require connecting my bank like Monarch does?
No. Piggey never asks for bank credentials — you import CSV exports from your bank instead. It's a minute of work per month in exchange for never trusting an aggregator.
Is Piggey cheaper than Monarch Money?
Yes. Piggey's core is free; Pro is $16/mo with the first month free. Monarch is $99.99/yr (or $14.99/mo) with only a 7-day trial.