- Connects all your accounts in one dashboard, including checking, savings, credit cards, loans, and investments, so you see your full financial picture at a glance
- Tracks net worth automatically and shows how it changes over time
- Custom, flexible budgets that adapt to your actual spending instead of locking you into rigid categories
Monarch Money is worth it if you want one place that shows every account, tracks net worth, and forecasts cash flow, and you are willing to pay for it. It is the app most people landed on after Mint shut down, it is genuinely well built, and there is a working promo code that takes 50% off your first year. It is not worth it if you want a free budgeting app or you only need to track one checking account.
Here is the honest breakdown: what it costs, the promo code that actually works, what it does better than the alternatives, and where it falls short.
Monarch Money promo code: 50% off your first year
The working code is MONARCHVIP, which takes 50% off the annual plan for new users. That brings the first year down to roughly $49 instead of about $99, though pricing changes so check the current number at checkout.
How to use it:
- Start at Monarch and start the free trial
- Choose the annual plan, not monthly, since the discount applies to the annual price
- Enter MONARCHVIP at checkout
Two things worth knowing. Most coupon sites list expired Monarch codes, and the generic public code that circulates only gets you 30%. The 50% code applies to the first year only, so year two renews at full price unless another promotion is running. Set a calendar reminder before renewal if that matters to you.
What is Monarch Money?
Monarch is a personal finance app that connects your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investment accounts into one dashboard. It handles budgeting, net worth tracking, spending categorization, and cash flow forecasting.
Its real moment came when Intuit shut down Mint. Millions of people needed somewhere to go, and Monarch became the most common destination, partly because it imported Mint data and partly because it is the closest thing to what Mint was supposed to grow into.
The philosophical difference from Mint: Monarch has no ads and does not sell your data, because you are the customer rather than the product. That is the tradeoff for the subscription price.
What Monarch does well
- Every account in one view. Checking, savings, credit cards, mortgage, brokerage, retirement, even manual assets like a car or property. Net worth updates automatically.
- Cash flow forecasting. It projects your balance forward based on recurring income and bills, so you can see a shortfall before it happens. This is the feature most people say justifies the cost.
- Shared households. Partners get access on one plan, with a shared view of the same budget. Most competitors charge extra or do not support it well.
- Customizable categories and rules. Transaction rules actually stick, so you are not recategorizing the same merchant every month.
- Clean interface. Genuinely nice to use, which matters more than it sounds. A budgeting app you avoid opening does nothing.
Where Monarch falls short
Being straight about the downsides, because they are real:
- There is no free tier. After the trial you pay or you lose access. If your budget genuinely cannot support a subscription, that is a legitimate reason to skip it.
- Bank connections break sometimes. This is an industry-wide problem with the data aggregators every app relies on, not unique to Monarch, but you will occasionally reconnect an account.
- It is overkill for simple situations. One checking account and one credit card does not need cash flow forecasting.
- Investment tracking is good, not great. It shows balances and allocation well, but dedicated portfolio tools go deeper.
- The year-two price. The 50% discount is first year only. Budget for the full price at renewal.
Monarch Money vs YNAB vs Copilot
The three names that come up most often, and they are genuinely built for different people.
Monarch is the best all-rounder and the best fit for couples or anyone tracking real net worth across many accounts. It is a tracking-and-forecasting tool first, budgeting second.
YNAB is a budgeting methodology as much as an app. Every dollar gets assigned a job before you spend it. People who commit to it tend to love it, but it demands more from you and it costs more. If you want to change spending behavior rather than observe it, YNAB is the stronger tool.
Copilot is the design-forward option and is Apple-ecosystem focused. Beautiful app, strong automatic categorization, weaker if you are on Android or want shared household access.
The short version: pick Monarch to see everything clearly, YNAB to change your habits, Copilot if you live on Apple devices and care most about the interface.
Free trials available on all three. We may earn a commission if you subscribe through our link, at no extra cost to you.
Still comparing options? See our roundup of the best budgeting apps for the wider field.
Is Monarch Money worth it?
Worth it if: you have accounts spread across several institutions, you share finances with a partner, you want net worth and cash flow in one place, or you were a Mint user who still has not replaced it properly.
Not worth it if: you want free, your finances are simple enough for a spreadsheet, or you have tried budgeting apps repeatedly and never open them. No subscription fixes that.
The honest math: at roughly $49 for the first year with the code, it costs about $4 a month. If having every account visible in one place stops one overdraft, one missed subscription renewal, or one late fee, it has paid for itself. That is a low bar, which is why most people who try it keep it. Start the free trial and see if it clicks before the trial ends.
Monarch Money FAQ
- Connects all your accounts in one dashboard, including checking, savings, credit cards, loans, and investments, so you see your full financial picture at a glance
- Tracks net worth automatically and shows how it changes over time
- Custom, flexible budgets that adapt to your actual spending instead of locking you into rigid categories
