The Mint budget app was shut down as of March 23. Check out our compiled list of the best alternative budgeting apps to try instead.
The Mint app launched in 2007 and quickly gained popularity with its comprehensive features. Mint was a personal finance tool that simplified budgeting and expense tracking. It helped individuals manage their finances, set financial goals and track expenses—all in one platform.
Despite being ranked as one of the best tools in the personal finance management space, the Mint app officially closed down on March 23.
If you were a fan of the Mint budget app, then this new development might have put you in a confusing position. Fortunately, in this article, we’ve compiled a list of helpful budgeting tools that are great Mint alternatives. These tools have numerous features designed to improve your financial life.
TL;DR
Running late? Here is a quick rundown of the tools we discussed:
- Rocket Money
- Money Manager
- Empower
- YNAB (You Need A Budget)
- Monarch Money
- Good Budget
- Zogo Finance
What Happened to Mint?
Mint was launched in 2007 and acquired by Intuit in 2009. The app gathered 3.6 million users in 2021. Despite their success, they announced the Intuit Mint app shutting down on March 23.
According to Intuit—the parent company—Mint was not making enough money to sustain the business. Their business model relied heavily on advertising and referral fees, and it became a struggle to cover operational costs. This financial strain made it difficult for Mint to stand alone as a product, hence the company’s decision to shut down.
They planned to migrate their current users to Credit Karma, another finance app owned by Intuit. This suggestion did not get a positive response from subscribers. Although Credit Karma would have some of the Mint features, such as transaction categories and credit score updates, others, like a comprehensive budget tracker, would not be available. Users could migrate to Credit Karma or find an alternative budgeting tool before the stipulated time.
Mint was an effective finance management tool, but it did have downsides. These included slow loading times, problems with bank synchronization and occasional performance issues. Fortunately, you can find powerful Mint alternatives listed in this piece.
What Are the Best Mint Alternatives?
Wondering what to use instead of the Mint app? Here is a list of seven top alternatives:
Rocket Money
Rocket Money is one of the best Mint alternatives in the financial market. It stands out as a strong financial management app for budgeting. It offers a number of personal finance tools, but it’s most known for its ability to identify recurring subscriptions and track and cancel them. This feature-rich platform has helped over 5 million members manage their finances effectively.
Cost:
Free version available
Premium version costs between $6 and $12
Key Features
- Bill negotiation: It has a feature that negotiates bills on behalf of users, saving them money
- Subscription management: Rocket Money is known for identifying and tracking recurring charges. This makes it simple to cancel unused subscriptions.
- Autopilot Savings tool: A specific feature in this app helps you set savings goals and meet them by automating payments.
- Budgeting tools: Subscribers can create a budget according to their spending habits.
- Credit score tracking: This app lets you track your credit score and get regular tips on improving your score.
Target Audience
Rocket Money primarily targets people who get many recurring bills, as well as those who want to keep track of their subscriptions.
This app is highly recommended for individuals looking to manage their finances effectively.
Money Manager
With over 20 million downloads, Money Manager is a leading platform in the personal finance industry. Money Manager has an exceptional interface with a user-friendly design. This makes it easy for members to transact on the platform, simplifying budgeting and expense tracking. It’s an excellent app for tracking multiple accounts since it uses a double-entry bookkeeping system. This allows users to manage both personal and business accounts effectively.
Cost:
Free version available
Premium version: Monthly at $2.49
Key Features
- Budget and expense tracker: Users can set budgets for different categories and track their spending against the set limit.
- Double-entry bookkeeping: It tracks income and expenses accurately, giving subscribers clear visuals of their financial activities.
- Seamless backup and restoration: With Money Manager, members can easily back up their financial data and restore it when needed.
Target Audience
The Money Manager app is best for those looking for a simple approach to budgeting and financial monitoring. People who prefer detailed tracking will enjoy the visual representations of this app. It displays all your accounts at a glance, fulfilling its promise to give users a 360-degree view of their finances.
Empower Personal Dashboard
Empower is a useful tool that combines budgeting and investment tracking features. These can help people build a more stable financial life. This platform allows users to link to several accounts, tracking their overall financial health with ease. Empower also has an investment checkup feature that can give you recommendations.
Cost:
Free version available
Key Features
- Budgeting Tools: Users can create budgets and track spending across linked accounts.
- Investment checkup: With this feature, you can review your investments and get advice.
- Retirement plans: It includes features for analyzing retirement savings based on your personalized data.
Target Audience
Empower targets users seeking a comprehensive finance tool with cash flow management features.
YNAB (You Need A Budget)
YNAB utilizes a strict budgeting approach, encouraging members to either save or invest funds as they come. It creates a debt payment plan, categorizes transactions, and helps you spend wisely.
Cost:
Free trial for 34 days, then $14.99 monthly
Key Features
- Comprehensive learning resources: YNAB offers extensive tutorials designed to help users understand the principles of budgeting. It also provides useful tips for spending and saving, ultimately leading to an increase in the rate of wise budgeting among subscribers.
- Goal tracking: YNAB has customizable categories for savings goals. Users can create categories and save accordingly.
- Zero-based budgeting (ZBB): This strict budgeting tool encourages users to assign a task to every dollar. Income minus expenses should equal zero at the end of the day.
- Reporting tools: YNAB provides visual reports on spending patterns and income, giving members an overview of their financial health.
Target Audience
YNAB is a good app for individuals who want a disciplined approach to budgeting and are interested in gaining financial literacy. If you struggle with saving and need more structure in your finances, then YNAB might be your tool.
Monarch Money
Monarch Money uses effective budgeting, goal setting and tracking to help users take control of their finances. This tool stands out following its holistic financial management approach. By displaying your finances in one place, you have a general overview, which can improve your planning.
Cost:
Free trial for 7 days, then $14.99 monthly
Key Features
- Account aggregation: Monarch Money provides a unified view of all your accounts. The all-in-one dashboard is a helpful feature.
- Collaborative management: It allows users to access and manage finances together. This makes it ideal for a couple or a group finance tracking
- Automated budgeting: The app automatically categorizes transactions and learns spending patterns to simplify budgeting.
- Detailed reporting: Find clear visuals that offer comprehensive insights into income, investments and spending habits.
Target Audience
Monarch Money is a good option for people who appreciate detailed insights. It’s also good for those who are collaborating on finances.
Good Budget
Good Budget utilizes the traditional envelope method of budgeting with virtual envelopes. Subscribers can assign funds to specific purposes. With this method, people can control their spending and meet their financial goals without requiring physical cash.
Cost:
Free version available
Paid version costs $10 monthly
Key Features
- Envelope Budgeting System: It allows users to create envelopes for certain categories of their lives and assign money to them. Once the money from an envelope is spent, no further money can be dispensed for that purpose, unless reallocated from other envelopes.
- Synced budgeting: Users can sync their budgets across multiple devices and share them with family members or partners for collaborative management.
- Resources: Good Budget offers courses and articles to help people improve their budgeting skills.
- Manual transaction tracking: With this app, you need to manually enter transactions, which promotes a hands-on approach to budgeting.
Target Audience
This app is beneficial for those who prefer a hands-on approach to budgeting.
Zogo
Zogo has a unique approach to budgeting and saving. This tool offers subscribers education and rewards for their financial learning. The rewards come in the form of virtual pineapples, which can be redeemed as gift cards. The Zogo tool also utilizes financial literacy quizzes to provide financial education to users in a fun way.
Cost:
Free
Key Features
- Gamification: You can earn rewards for completing modules, making learning engaging and motivating.
- Financial literacy quizzes: Zogo provides interactive quizzes at the end of each module to reinforce what you’ve learned.
- Educational resources: The app covers various financial topics like saving and budgeting.
- Referral program: Zogo offers additional rewards when they refer their friends and family to join the app.
Target Audience
Zogo is a smart choice for young adults looking to improve their financial literacy while managing their finances. If you enjoy a challenge, fun and interactiveness, then Zogo will work for you.
Discover The Best Budget App For You
Having the right app to manage your finances is important. As you’re deciding on your next budgeting tool:
- Assess your financial goals
- Evaluate the key focus of each app
- Consider the user interface of the app and ensure you can work with it
- Read reviews and feedback from others to double-check
The seven top budgeting apps mentioned are powerful Mint alternatives. They each have features designed to improve financial literacy while helping you keep track of your budget. Here’s a recap of the best Mint alternatives and their key benefits:
| App | Key Benefit |
| Rocket Money | It can identify recurring subscriptions and cancel them. |
| Money Manager | It has a user-friendly design. |
| Empower | It is a dynamic budgeting tool. |
| YNAB (You Need A Budget) | It uses a disciplined budgeting approach. |
| Monarch Money | It provides holistic financial management. |
| Good Budget | It has a unique traditional approach to budgeting. |
| Zogo Finance | It encourages financial literacy. |
Transitioning from Mint to another financial management app may feel daunting. Yet there are new features to explore, and you can connect with a new network as you switch apps. Find an app that exceeds your expectations and helps you meet your financial goals.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about the Mint budget app:
Why is the Intuit Mint app shutting down?
Intuit, the parent company of the Mint app, officially shut down the app in March. This was due to Mint’s financial struggles. With this transition, many subscribers began seeking alternative budgeting apps.
What are some alternatives to the Mint budget app?
Some of the best budgeting apps that can be used as a Mint alternative:
- Rocket Money: This app offers budgeting tools, subscription management and bill negotiation.
- You Need a Budget (YNAB): This is an effective budgeting app that focuses on proactive budgeting with a hands-on approach.
- Monarch Money: This app provides several financial management features for comprehensive tracking.
What should I look out for in a budgeting app?
Top budgeting apps include these features:
- Tools for managing subscriptions and bill negotiation
- Customizable budgeting features
- Effective integration with bank accounts
- User-friendly interface
- Effective security features to protect sensitive information
Can I transfer my data from Mint to other apps?
Most top budgeting apps allow users to import their transaction history from Mint and other apps, but it depends on the specific app and its capabilities. You may need to to transfer your data manually.
Photo by: Kaboompics.com/Shutterstock
