Head to head
YNAB vs Copilot Money
YNAB and Copilot Money are both paid budget apps that link your bank accounts, and they ask very different things of you. YNAB is a method: you decide what each dollar is for before you spend it. Copilot does more of the work for you, tagging each transaction with AI that learns your patterns, and adds investments and net worth, on Apple devices and the web.
Who each one is for
Choose YNAB if
You want a method that changes how you spend, your household includes Android phones or banks outside the US, or you want to share one subscription with family.
Choose Copilot Money if
Everyone uses an iPhone or a Mac, your banks are in the US, and you want the app to sort spending and follow investments for you.
YNAB and Copilot Money, side by side
Checked against both vendors' own pricing, product and help pages on October 26, 2026. Prices are in US dollars and exclude tax. Plans change often: confirm the details on each vendor's site before you decide.
- Approach
- YNAB: A method: plan what each dollar is for before you spend it
- Copilot Money: Automatic tracking: AI tags each transaction, with budgets, investments and net worth
- Price
- YNAB: $14.99 USD a month, or $109 USD a year
- Copilot Money: $95 a year, billed yearly
- Free trial
- YNAB: 34 days, no credit card when you sign up with YNAB directly
- Copilot Money: 1 month
- Students
- YNAB: A free 365-day trial for college students, with proof of enrollment
- Copilot Money: No student offer on Copilot's pages
- Platforms
- YNAB: iPhone, Android, the web and Apple Watch
- Copilot Money: iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web; no Android app
- Countries
- YNAB: Direct import from select US, Canadian, UK and EU banks; file import elsewhere
- Copilot Money: US financial institutions and the US App Store only; USD only
- Budgets
- YNAB: A plan made before you spend, adjusted as the month goes
- Copilot Money: Budgets that roll unspent money into next month
- Investments and net worth
- YNAB: Not the focus of YNAB's pages, which are about the plan
- Copilot Money: Live performance, allocation across stocks, ETFs, crypto and cash, and home value from a Zillow link
- Subscriptions
- YNAB: Not described on YNAB's pages
- Copilot Money: Spots recurring subscriptions
- Sharing
- YNAB: One subscription for up to six people
- Copilot Money: Not described on Copilot's pages
The differences that decide it
Doing the budget or watching it
YNAB asks you to act: give each dollar a plan before it's spent and change the plan when the month changes. Copilot asks less. It tags transactions as they come in, learns from your spending and shows the picture back to you, with budgets that carry unspent money forward. One builds a habit; the other keeps you informed.
Android and banks outside the US
Copilot runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web, supports US financial institutions only and works in US dollars. YNAB runs on Android too and imports directly from select Canadian, UK and EU banks, with file import for the rest. For anyone outside the US, or a household with an Android phone, the choice is made here.
Price and trial
Copilot is $95 a year. YNAB is $109 a year or $14.99 a month. Copilot's trial is a month; YNAB's is 34 days, and college students get a year. Neither has a free plan once the trial ends.
Budgeting as a family
YNAB shares one subscription with up to six people, which suits a family running one plan. Copilot's pages don't describe sharing, so check its current options if you budget with a partner.
How to choose
Decide how much you want to do
If your spending feels out of control and you want a system that changes it, YNAB's method is the point of the app, and the 34-day trial gives you a full month to learn it. If you mostly want to see where the money goes without a daily routine, Copilot's automatic tagging is the lighter fit.
The question isn't which app has more features. It's whether you want to run a budget or read one.
Check devices and banks first
Copilot needs an Apple device or a browser and US banks. If anyone who shares the budget carries an Android phone, or your accounts are in Canada, the UK or the EU, YNAB is the one of the two that fits. Connect your own banks during the trial either way.
What neither keeps
Both apps work from what your bank reports: a merchant and an amount. YNAB lets you add photos and memos to a transaction, but neither is built around the itemized receipt you need to split a purchase by item, return something or back up a deduction.
Where Smartbills fits
Smartbills isn't a budget app. It keeps the itemized receipt behind each charge, on iPhone, Android and the web. Receipts sent through Smartbills arrive on their own, and you can split a purchase by item with people who have a free account, get reminded before a return window closes and find the receipt at tax time. It's meant to run next to YNAB or Copilot: the budget app plans or tracks the money, Smartbills keeps the proof of what it bought. We've written our own comparison against each.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Where these facts come from
Get started
Keep your budget. Add the receipts.
Get the app for free. Receipts sent through Smartbills arrive on their own, and you can split, return or claim from each one.