Head to head
Liquid Budget vs YNAB
Liquid Budget ($5/mo) vs YNAB ($14.99/mo). Liquid Budget costs less per year. Pick Liquid Budget for people who want a low-cost, web-first envelope budget with mobile apps and optional bank sync, including those moving an existing envelope budget over; pick YNAB for people who want a proven, well-supported zero-based method and polished apps on every device, and are happy to pay a premium and put in some time to learn it.
Key differences
- Price
- Liquid Budget is cheaper: about $50 a year versus $109 a year for YNAB, a difference of $59.
- Budgeting method
- Liquid Budget is built for envelope, zero-based, forecasting and expense tracking budgeting; YNAB for envelope and zero-based. They overlap on envelope and zero-based.
- Platforms
- Both run on Android, iOS and Web.
- Feature differences
- Liquid Budget lists multi-currency, which YNAB’s listing does not confirm. YNAB lists debt payoff tools and shared / household budgets, which Liquid Budget’s listing does not confirm.
- Trying it first
- Liquid Budget 45-day free trial, no credit card required
- YNAB 34-day free trial, no credit card needed when signing up directly (6 weeks via a friend's referral link, per YNAB, rolling out Sept 2026)
- Separate logins for shared budgets
- Liquid Budget Not confirmed. Check whether each person gets their own login.
- YNAB Yes. YNAB Together includes the subscriber and up to five additional people, each with their own login, under one subscription. Share selected plans with group members. The group manager can access every member's plans; other members see plans shared with them.
- Bank sync
- Liquid Budget Plaid (included) or SimpleFIN (optional, requires own account).
- YNAB Optional Direct Import through MX and Plaid, plus select Apple Wallet accounts. Accounts usually refresh once or twice a day. Countries supported were not confirmed in the pages I read; YNAB shows a country label next to each institution.
Which should you choose?
Side-by-side comparison
| Rating | ||
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5/mo | $14.99/mo |
| Yearly price | $50/yr | $109/yr |
| Lifetime option | — | — |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | 45-day free trial, no credit card required | 34-day free trial, no credit card needed when signing up directly (6 weeks via a friend's referral link, per YNAB, rolling out Sept 2026) |
| Platforms | Android, iOS, Web | Android, iOS, Web |
| Founded | — | 2004 |
| Envelope budgeting | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic bank sync | Yes | Yes |
| Manual transaction entry | Yes | Yes |
| Goal tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Debt payoff tools | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Investment tracking | Not confirmed | No |
| Bill reminders | Not confirmed | No |
| Reports & charts | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Yes | No |
| Family & team access Invite family or teammates to the same budget with their own logins. Sharing one password or sign-in link does not count. Separate logins do not necessarily mean private accounts or transactions. | ||
| Shared / household budgets | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Separate logins for shared budgets | Not confirmed. Check whether each person gets their own login. | Yes. YNAB Together includes the subscriber and up to five additional people, each with their own login, under one subscription. Share selected plans with group members. The group manager can access every member's plans; other members see plans shared with them. |
| Visit | Visit | |
Prices and features change. Confirm the details on each app’s site. Listings last updated 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-11.
Questions
Is Liquid Budget or YNAB cheaper?
Liquid Budget is cheaper: about $50 a year versus $109 a year for YNAB, a difference of $59.
Which is better, Liquid Budget or YNAB?
Liquid Budget ($5/mo) vs YNAB ($14.99/mo). Liquid Budget costs less per year. Pick Liquid Budget for people who want a low-cost, web-first envelope budget with mobile apps and optional bank sync, including those moving an existing envelope budget over; pick YNAB for people who want a proven, well-supported zero-based method and polished apps on every device, and are happy to pay a premium and put in some time to learn it.
Do Liquid Budget and YNAB have mobile apps?
Both run on Android, iOS and Web.