Side by side
| Feature | UrBudget | Goodbudget |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9 once, on all your own computers, with future updates | Free plan. Premium is $10 a month or $80 a year, with a full refund in the first 30 days |
| Free trial | 30 days of everything, with no account or card | The free plan has no time limit: 20 envelopes (10 regular, 10 annual or goal), 1 account, 1 year of history and 2 phones. Premium makes envelopes and accounts unlimited, with 7 years of history and 5 phones |
| Runs on | Windows 10 and 11, macOS 12 or later | The web, iPhone and Android. On a computer, you use it in a browser |
| Where your budget lives | In a file on your computer. Works offline, with automatic backups | In your Goodbudget household account, on Goodbudget's servers |
| Between devices | Optional sync for $2 a month, encrypted with your passphrase before it leaves your computer | Included, across the website and your phones |
| Bank connections | None. Import statement files (CSV, OFX, QFX, QIF), checked row by row | Premium: automatic bank sync through Plaid, US banks only. Any plan: import OFX, QFX or CSV files |
| Sharing | Your own computers; no shared budget for several people | Share a household by signing in with the same login on each phone. Phones count toward the plan's limit; the website doesn't |
| Method | Envelopes with targets, credit-card payment categories, rollover and Quick assign | Envelopes you fill from income, plus annual and goal envelopes, debt accounts and payoff tracking |
| Getting your data out | CSV in YNAB's layout, or a full JSON backup | CSV export of your transactions from the website. Envelope amounts have no export |
What it costs over time
Goodbudget's free plan costs nothing for as long as your budget fits its limits. Premium removes the limits and adds bank sync for $80 a year; over five years that's $400, or $600 paying monthly. UrBudget is $9 once, or $129 over five years if you keep sync on the whole time.
Which one fits you
Goodbudget, if you
- can live within the free plan's 20 envelopes and one account
- budget on your phone as you spend, or share envelopes with a partner on their phone
- want transactions from a US bank to arrive on their own (Premium)
- use a Chromebook or another computer that isn't Windows or a Mac
UrBudget, if you
- budget at your computer and want a desktop app that works offline
- want your budget in a file you own rather than in an online account
- need more envelopes and accounts than the free plan, without $80 a year
- want targets, credit-card payment categories, a loan planner and twelve reports
- are leaving YNAB and want your whole budget to come over in one click
If your budget fits the free plan, or you and a partner both budget from your phones, Goodbudget is hard to beat. UrBudget is for people who'd rather budget at a desk, keep the data themselves and pay once.
Moving from Goodbudget to UrBudget
UrBudget has no Goodbudget importer, and Goodbudget exports transactions but not envelope amounts. Your envelopes take a few minutes to set up by hand; transactions can come over as a CSV file, one account at a time.
- Export your transactions. On Goodbudget's website, use the Export CSV link above the Transactions list. The export saves what the list shows, so filter it to one account first and repeat for each account.
- Tidy the file. Open it in a spreadsheet and delete rows that only moved money between envelopes, such as fills; they aren't bank transactions. UrBudget reads a Date column, a payee column called Name or Payee, an Amount column and Notes as the memo, so rename any header that differs. Spending should show as negative amounts; if it doesn't, tick Purchases are positive when you import. Save as CSV.
- Add the account and import. In UrBudget, add the account with its balance from before the first transaction in the file. Choose Import file in its register, pick the file, and choose the date order your Goodbudget household uses (month/day/year or day/month/year). Check the rows before saving.
- Set up your envelopes. Make a category for each envelope and assign it what the envelope holds in Goodbudget today, until Unassigned reaches zero. Annual and goal envelopes become categories with a target, and UrBudget works out what to set aside each month.
- Replace bank sync with statement files. Download OFX or QFX files from your bank and import them into each account. Overlapping files are safe: rows you've already imported are marked as duplicates.
If you pay for Premium, cancel it when you're done. Goodbudget keeps your household on Premium until the paid period ends, then turns it into a free household. Export everything you want to keep before then, since the free plan includes only 1 year of transaction history.
Try UrBudget for a month
Free for 30 days, with no account and no card. Your Goodbudget household stays as it is.
Goodbudget is a trademark of its owner. UrBudget isn't affiliated with Goodbudget.