EveryDollar vs Monarch in 2026: which should you pick?

EveryDollar vs Monarch price and trial

EveryDollar is the cheaper app by the year, and the only one with a free plan. Premium is $79.99 a year, about $6.67 a month. Monarch is $99.99 a year, so EveryDollar Premium is $20 cheaper.^[1][6]

Paid monthly, the order flips. Monarch is $14.99, which is $179.88 over twelve months. EveryDollar Premium is $17.99, which is $215.88. And Monarch's App Store listing also shows a Plus plan at $199.99 a year that the pricing page says adds forecasting, several income sources and deeper investment tracking.^[6][7] EveryDollar's App Store listing shows plans its plans page does not, including Plus at $12.99; see EveryDollar pricing.^[1][3]

Trials. Premium includes a 14-day free trial, for new users only.^[1] Monarch's page says "Your first week is on us" and the App Store says 7 days; neither says whether a card is needed.^[6][7] Monarch also lists WELCOME for 30% off the annual Core plan for one year, for new users only.^[6] Reviewers of both describe billing trouble, so read the cancel steps before you start.

How budgeting works

EveryDollar is zero-based. You plan every dollar before the month starts until income minus planned spending is zero.^[2] Its free version has unlimited categories, split transactions, sinking funds and bill due dates.^[1][2]

Two ways to budget: Flex, which splits spending into fixed, flexible and non-monthly buckets and gives one main number to watch, or Category budgeting.^[7][12] Rollovers: money left in a category carries into the next month, to cover bills that do not come every month.^[12] Monarch's pages do not call either style zero-based. If the rule that every dollar gets a job before you spend it is the point, EveryDollar states it and Monarch does not. For other apps built that way see zero-based budget apps.

Bank sync and what it tracks

Connects bank accounts, credit cards, loans, investment accounts and real estate, through 13,000+ financial institutions.^[9] Tracks net worth across all connected accounts.^[7][9] On EveryDollar, importing from a bank is Premium, and so are net worth tracking, custom reports and CSV export.^[1][3]

Both have connection complaints. Connections that drop. App Store reviewers describe accounts that "disconnect all the time" and a bank that stayed broken for a month.^[14] Bank connections that drop or need reconnecting. Several 2026 reviews describe transactions arriving days late or needing a reconnect.^[5]

EveryDollar vs Monarch for couples

Monarch: A partner joins at no extra cost under the same subscription and gets their own login. The page says, "Partners will each have their own login, but can view each other's data."^[10][11] Both partners see everything. The page says, "both parties will have full visibility into all accounts and transactions associated with it," and tells people to check they are comfortable with that first. The help center adds: "You cannot hide bank accounts or transactions in Monarch."^[10][11][15]

EveryDollar: A Household feature lets a couple manage one budget together, even when each partner signs in with a separate email. The page does not say whether it is free or Premium only.^[1][2] Its pages describe one shared budget and do not say what each person sees.^[1][2]

On cost, a couple on Monarch pays one $99.99 subscription. A couple on EveryDollar can pay nothing and type everything, or pay for Premium; the page does not say whether Household needs it. Neither page describes splitting a shared bill between two people. For that, try the fair split calculator or read budgeting for couples. One 3-star Monarch reviewer from August 2026 says they could not make a spouse's membership work with the account already started, so test the invite on day one.^[14]

Past months and the new monthly close

At least eight of the 150 newest EveryDollar App Store reviews, dated October 28 to November 1, 2026, describe a monthly close that locks a past month. EveryDollar's help center did not load for us, so this is what reviewers report, not Ramsey's wording.

Monarch goes the other way on leftover money: its budget carries unspent money into the next month as a rollover.^[12] The pages we read for Monarch describe no lock on past months.

What people say

Reddit was not readable for this page, so these are public App Store reviews, word for word, with links.

EveryDollar

Monarch

Ratings: Monarch is 4.9 on the App Store (116K) and 4.8 on Google Play (26.1K). EveryDollar is 4.7 (84K) and 4.3 (15.5K). Monarch's Trustpilot page shows 2.0 from 33 reviews, and App Store reviewers report being billed after cancelling.^{[7][8][14][16][3][4]}

Choose EveryDollar or Monarch

For other options, see EveryDollar alternatives and Monarch alternatives.

A third option

We make Wonderful, so weigh this accordingly. It is not free and not zero-based: a free week, then $14.99 a month or $99 a year for both of you. Every paycheck gets a plan for bills, spending and saving before it lands.^[19] Each person chooses, account by account, whether the other sees everything, only totals, or nothing.^[18] It runs in the browser with no iPhone or Android app yet, and it gives no investment advice. If you want a free budget or a zero-based one, use EveryDollar.