Another comparison of popular budgeting software, I thought it was worth comparing BudgetSimple to YNAB, and how they are different.
The Basics
YNAB (Or You Need a Budget) came out around the same time as BudgetSimple. While they both started out with similar goals (YNAB was actually just an excel sheet at the time), they’ve ended up in different branches.
The biggest difference between YNAB and BudgetSimple at first glance is that YNAB is desktop software, while BudgetSimple is a web app. This will probably be your biggest decider. With BudgetSimple, you can access your budget from any computer that has Internet, while YNAB only works if it’s installed on a computer that is running Windows or Macintosh, and if you’ve synched your budget file, but conversely will work if your Internet is down.
YNAB and BudgetSimple are very similar in their philosophies. Both are all about allocating where income goes into categories of your choosing. Here it’s pretty hard to find a difference between the two, they both do a good job of helping you categorize your spending, and both insist you do so on a monthly basis.
The Big Differences
From there, the differences start to get much wider. First on cost. BudgetSimple is completely free for 98% of the functionality that YNAB provides. YNAB is $60. If you plan to manually categorize your spending, and are on the Internet more often than not, this is a no brainer in favor of BudgetSimple.
But what if you want to link your bank? YNAB lets you import CSV, QIF, etc… files, but does not provide direct bank linking functionality. With BudgetSimple, you can connect over 6,000 banks around the world, and save yourself considerable time entering data. BudgetSimple also automatically categorizes the spending. This feature is only available with BudgetSimple Plus however, which costs $4.99 per month.
Price
Assuming you are not using the free version of BudgetSimple (which is really more comparable to YNAB), the prices are a little tricky to compare. YNAB is $60, which you pay for once. BudgetSimple is $4.99 per month, $39.99 per year, or $99 for life.
On the face of it, it seems like YNAB would be the cheaper option if you use both for two years. However, while you get all updates both major and minor with BudgetSimple for free, YNAB charges $40 for major updates (but is free for minor updates and bug fixes). Assuming a major update every other year, BudgetSimple is either cheaper or comparable in price. Plus you never need to worry about being up to date, because BudgetSimple is always the latest and greatest version.
Big Picture
If you primarily work always on the same Windows or Mac desktop computer offline, and don’t need bank linking functionality, YNAB may be the choice for you. However, if you want to access your budget from anywhere, and have the option of advanced features such as linking your bank account, or simply want YNAB features for free, BudgetSimple is probably the better option.
