Bow vs YNAB
Both are built on the same idea: decide what your money is for before you spend it. YNAB runs on the web, Android and iPhone and lets a household share a plan. Bow is iPhone-only, keeps your budget in your own iCloud with no account to create, and costs $49.99 a year instead of $109.
At a glance
| Feature | Bow | YNAB |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99/month, $49.99/year, or $129 once for Lifetime | $14.99/month or $109/year. No lifetime option |
| Free trial | 2 weeks on the monthly and annual plans | 34 days (college students get a year) |
| Works on | iPhone, including iPhone Duo | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android and web |
| Budgeting style | Envelope budgeting: give the money you have to envelopes until nothing is left to assign | Envelope-style: “decide what your money is for—before you spend it” |
| Bank sync | Optional, through SimpleFIN Bridge ($15/year, paid to SimpleFIN). Manual entry, Siri and receipt scanning work without it | Included (Direct Import through MX and Plaid); optional |
| Your data | No Bow account. Your budget is stored on your iPhone and in your own iCloud | YNAB account; your data is stored on YNAB’s servers in the US |
| Sharing a budget | Syncs across your own iPhones through iCloud. Sharing with a partner isn’t supported yet | YNAB Together: up to 6 people, each with their own login, at no extra cost |
| Coming from YNAB | Imports a YNAB export: accounts, balances and your categories as envelopes, from where you left off or with full history | Exports your plan as CSV files from the web app, which is what Bow imports |
YNAB details checked October 2026 on ynab.com/pricing, YNAB’s features page, YNAB’s Direct Import help, YNAB Together help and YNAB’s privacy policy. Prices are in US dollars and can change; check their site for today’s.
YNAB may suit you better if
- You budget with a partner and both want your own login.
- You use Android, a computer or an iPad for your budget.
- You want YNAB’s loan payoff simulator, Apple Watch app or its large community of guides and creators.
Bow may suit you better if
- You budget on iPhone and want an app made only for it, including iPhone Duo.
- You’d rather not create an account or keep your budget on a company’s servers.
- You want to pay less: $49.99 a year, or $129 once and never again.
- You use Siri, Shortcuts or Apple Intelligence to log spending.
Switching from YNAB to Bow
Export your plan from YNAB on the web, save the zip to Files, and choose Coming from YNAB? when you first open Bow. Your accounts and balances come over, each YNAB category becomes an envelope with the money in it, and Ready to Assign should match YNAB’s.
Choose Where I Left Off to start fresh from today, or Full History to bring every past transaction and month. Targets and scheduled transactions stay in YNAB, so set those up again in Bow. The step-by-step guide is in Bow Docs: Move from YNAB.
What’s different day to day
Bow’s envelopes work the way YNAB’s categories do: money comes into Ready to Assign, you assign it, and spending comes out of the envelope you choose. Credit card spending moves money into the card’s payment envelope, as in YNAB.
Bank sync is where they differ most. YNAB includes it in the price. In Bow it’s optional and runs through SimpleFIN Bridge, a separate $15-a-year service, so your bank login never goes through Bow. Many people skip it and log purchases with Siri or by scanning receipts instead.
Questions
Can I import my YNAB budget into Bow?
Yes. Bow reads YNAB’s standard plan export on your iPhone and brings over your accounts, balances, categories (as envelopes) and, if you choose, your full history.
Is Bow cheaper than YNAB?
Yes. Bow is $49.99 a year or $6.99 a month; YNAB is $109 a year or $14.99 a month. Bow also offers Lifetime for $129 once. Bank sync in Bow, if you want it, adds SimpleFIN’s $15 a year.
Does Bow work on Android or the web?
No. Bow is made for iPhone. If you need Android or a web app, YNAB is the better fit.
Can my partner and I share a Bow budget?
Not yet. Bow syncs between your own iPhones through iCloud. YNAB Together lets up to six people share at no extra cost.