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 make users budget one way.
- WalletHub offers more non-budgeting features – such as access to your credit score and report, identity theft protection, and credit monitoring – than 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.
- WalletHub offers identity theft restoration services and identity theft insurance, unlike Goodbudget and YNAB.
- WalletHub has the highest average user rating among these apps on Google Play and the App Store.
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Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Key Characteristics
| Features | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average App Rating | 4 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
| Free Plan Available | Yes | No | Yes |
| Premium Plan Cost | $80/year | $9.08/month (billed annually) | $7.99 per month, billed annually (SAVE 50.0%) |
| Number of Authorized Users | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Credit Builder | No | No | Yes |
| Daily Updates to Scores & Reports | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Overall Financial Health Score (e.g. WalletScore) | No | No | Yes |
| Budgeting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Spending Tracker | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Debt Payoff Plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dark Web Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Identity Theft Restoration/Insurance | No | No | Yes |
| Net Worth | No | Yes | Yes |
| Investment Tracker | No | No | Yes |
| Compatible Devices | Web, Apple, and Android | Web, Apple, and Android | Web, Apple, and Android |
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: Budgeting Tools
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spending Tracker | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Budgeting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customizable Transaction Alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Financial Reports | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Share Transactions | Yes | No | Yes |
| Number of Budgeting Methods Supported | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Subscription Manager | No | No | Yes |
| Savings Goals | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Spending Trimmer | No | No | Yes |
| Transaction Validator | No | No | Yes |
| AI-enhanced Transactions | No | No | Yes |
You can make a budget, track your expenses automatically, get spending reports, set and track savings goals, and create a debt payoff plan with any of these apps. Unlike YNAB, however, WalletHub and Goodbudget offer free plans that let you access some of the budgeting features. You must pay for a subscription before you can access any features on YNAB.
WalletHub has the edge in this category since it offers more features than Goodbudget or YNAB. For example, WalletHub has a subscription manager that lets you track your recurring bills in one place. WalletHub will also recommend ways you can trim down non-essential spending to save money, and it uses AI to clean up your transaction data to make it easier to understand. Goodbudget and YNAB don’t do any of that.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Budgeting Methods
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50/30/20 budgeting | No | No | Yes |
| Envelope budgeting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Micro envelope budgeting | No | No | Yes |
| Simple budgeting (income/expenses only) | No | No | Yes |
| Pay yourself first budgeting | No | No | Yes |
| Zero-based budgeting | No | Yes | Yes |
| Rollover Capability | Yes | Yes | No |
Both YNAB and Goodbudget make you budget their way. YNAB follows the zero-based budgeting method, while Goodbudget uses envelope budgeting.
WalletHub gives users multiple budget 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. Users can also incorporate zero-based budgeting by referencing the “Summary” section in their budget when they log into their WalletHub account.
In addition, WalletHub users can create new budget categories or hide the ones they don’t need. The category customization and the multiple budget options allow users to design the budget that works best for their situation. That’s why WalletHub wins this category.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Credit Tools
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Scores | No | No | Yes |
| Full Credit Reports | No | No | Yes |
| Daily Updates to Scores & Reports | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Builder | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Analysis | No | No | Yes |
| Enhanced Credit Report Insights | No | No | Yes |
| Why My Credit Score Changed | No | No | Yes |
| Credit-Improvement Plan | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Score Goals | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Score Simulator | No | No | Yes |
| Debt Payoff Plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Debt Payoff Goals | No | Yes | Yes |
WalletHub is the only app here that gives you access to your credit score and credit report, analyzes your credit to see what’s holding you back, and offers a credit score simulator to show you how different moves are likely to affect your score. WalletHub also offers a credit improvement plan that can show you the steps you need to take to increase your credit score.
In addition, WalletHub has a credit builder feature that allows you to report your on-time rent and utility bill payments to TransUnion to build credit history. Neither YNAB nor Goodbudget offers any credit management features.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Identity Theft Protection
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Report Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Real-Time Credit Inquiry Alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Change of Address Alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Password Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Social Security Number Trace Alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Lock (with alerts and scheduling) | No | No | Yes |
| Identity Theft Restoration | No | No | Yes |
| Dark Web Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| $1,000,000 Identity Theft Insurance | No | No | Yes |
| Enhanced Loan Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Lost Wallet Assistance | No | No | Yes |
| USPS Address Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Bank Account Takeover Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Checking & Savings Account Application Alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Criminal Activity Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| OFAC Sanctions List Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| SMS for Urgent Alerts | No | No | Yes |
WalletHub easily wins this category since it’s the only app among these three that provides credit monitoring to watch for suspicious activity on your credit report and identity monitoring to keep an eye on your personal information. WalletHub also lets you lock and unlock your TransUnion credit report straight from your account, and it offers access to identity theft restoration services and up to $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance in case your identity is ever stolen.
Goodbudget and YNAB don’t provide any identity theft protection features.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Investing & Retirement
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Worth | No | Yes | Yes |
| Investment Tracker | No | No | Yes |
| Investing News | No | No | Yes |
| Sync Real Estate Values | No | No | Yes |
| Sync Vehicle Values | No | No | Yes |
All three apps let you manually track your investments and monitor your net worth. However, WalletHub is the only app here that allows you to sync your investment accounts to automatically track your balances and performance over time. Neither YNAB nor Goodbudget offers automatic tracking of your investments.
WalletHub also provides a detailed breakdown of your investment activities and lets you see investment news within your account. Goodbudget and YNAB don’t offer those features.
Goodbudget vs. YNAB vs. WalletHub: Additional Features
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Goodbudget | YNAB | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive Alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Custom Dashboards | No | No | Yes |
| Auto Insurance Score | No | No | Yes |
| Financial Timeline | No | No | Yes |
| App Store Rating | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| Google Play Rating | 3.3 | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| Details Loaded From Credit Report | No | No | Yes |
| Customer Support (like email/live chat/etc) | Email & Chat Support |
WalletHub offers many specialized features to enhance the user experience, such as a customizable dashboard, a financial timeline that summarizes important alerts, and access to your auto insurance score and WalletScore. Goodbudget and YNAB don’t have these additional features, which is why WalletHub wins this category.
