Bow vs Monarch
Monarch is a whole-picture money app: it links your accounts, tracks investments and net worth, and lets a household share at no extra cost. Bow is a focused envelope budget for iPhone, with no account to create, bank sync only if you want it, and a lower price.
At a glance
| Feature | Bow | Monarch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99/month, $49.99/year, or $129 once for Lifetime | $14.99/month or $99.99/year |
| Free trial | 2 weeks on the monthly and annual plans | 7 days |
| Works on | iPhone, including iPhone Duo | iPhone, iPad, Android and web |
| Budgeting style | Envelope budgeting: give the money you have to envelopes until nothing is left to assign | “Flex” budgeting (fixed, non-monthly and flexible buckets), or a budget per category with rollovers |
| Bank sync | Optional, through SimpleFIN Bridge ($15/year, paid to SimpleFIN). Manual entry, Siri and receipt scanning work without it | Included; built around linking 13,000+ institutions |
| Your data | No Bow account. Your budget is stored on your iPhone and in your own iCloud | Monarch account; data on Monarch’s servers. “We will never sell your financial data” |
| Sharing a budget | Syncs across your own iPhones through iCloud. Sharing with a partner isn’t supported yet | Invite a partner or advisor at no extra cost |
Monarch details checked October 2026 on monarch.com/pricing, monarch.com and Monarch’s privacy policy. Prices are in US dollars and can change; check their site for today’s.
Monarch may suit you better if
- You want investments, net worth and forecasting alongside your budget.
- You want every account linked automatically, included in the price.
- You share finances and both want your own login, or you use Android or the web.
Bow may suit you better if
- You want an envelope budget: assign the money you have, then spend from envelopes.
- You’d rather not link your bank, or not create an account at all.
- You want to pay less: $49.99 a year or $129 once.
- You budget on iPhone and want an app made only for it, including iPhone Duo.
Tracking or envelopes
Monarch starts from your linked accounts and shows where money went. Bow starts from the money you have now and has you decide where it goes before you spend it. If you want a budget that tells you what’s safe to spend in each envelope, Bow is the closer fit; if you want a dashboard of everything you own, Monarch is.
Questions
Is Monarch an envelope budget?
Not by default. Monarch’s default is Flex budgeting, with category budgets and rollovers as an option.
Does Bow track investments?
Bow tracks loans, investments and other assets as off-budget accounts in your net worth, but you update their balances yourself. Monarch syncs them automatically.