A YNAB alternative for iPhone
Bow is an envelope budget that works the way YNAB does: give every bill, goal and grocery run its share before you spend. It imports your YNAB budget, keeps your data in your own iCloud with no account to create, and costs $49.99 a year, or $129 once.
What stays the same
The method you know carries over. Money comes into Ready to Assign, you assign it to envelopes until there’s nothing left, and each purchase comes out of its envelope. Overspend one and you cover it from another. Unspent money rolls into next month.
Targets tell each envelope what it needs: a set amount every month, a bill on its due date, or a savings goal by a deadline. Credit cards work the same way too: spend on a card and the money moves to that card’s payment envelope, so the bill is already covered.
What’s different
Made for iPhone. Bow is a native iPhone app, including iPhone Duo, with Siri and Shortcuts, Face ID lock, and Apple Intelligence that fills in purchases from a receipt, a photo or a few words, on your iPhone.
No account, no Bow server. Your budget lives on your iPhone and in your own iCloud. There’s nothing to sign up for.
Bank sync is optional. Plenty of people log spending by hand, with Siri or from receipts. If you want bank transactions to come in automatically, Bow connects through SimpleFIN Bridge, a separate service at $15 a year.
What you’d give up. Bow is iPhone-only: no Android, iPad or web app. You can’t share a budget with a partner yet. If either matters to you, YNAB may still be the better fit.
Bow and YNAB side by side
| 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.
Switch from YNAB in a few minutes
- In YNAB on the web, click your plan’s name at the top left and choose Export Plan.
- Save the zip to iCloud Drive, or AirDrop it to your iPhone and save it to Files.
- Open Bow and tap Coming from YNAB? on the welcome screen.
- Tap Choose YNAB Export and pick the zip. Bow reads it on your iPhone.
- Check your accounts, then choose Where I Left Off to start fresh from today, or Full History to bring every past transaction.
- Tap Bring It Over. Set up your targets and scheduled bills in Bow, since those stay in YNAB.
Export right before you switch, and log new spending in Bow from then on, so nothing is missed or counted twice. The full guide is in Bow Docs.
Other YNAB alternatives
Bow isn’t the only option. If you need Android, a web app or a free plan, these may fit better; each comparison lists where the other app is the stronger pick.
- Bow vs Goodbudget: A long-running envelope app with a free plan, on iPhone, Android and the web.
- Bow vs EveryDollar: Ramsey Solutions’ zero-based budget, with a free version and Premium bank sync.
- Bow vs Monarch: A full money dashboard with investments and forecasting, built around linking every account.
- Bow vs Copilot: A polished Apple-first tracker with AI categories, built around linked accounts.
Questions
Is Bow like YNAB?
Yes, in the way that matters most: you decide what the money you have is for before you spend it. Money lands in Ready to Assign, you move it into envelopes, and spending comes out of them. Credit card spending sets the payment aside, as in YNAB.
Can I bring my YNAB budget to Bow?
Yes. Export your plan from YNAB on the web and open it in Bow. Your accounts, balances and categories (as envelopes, with the money in them) come over, with your full history if you want it.
How much does Bow cost compared with YNAB?
Bow is $49.99 a year, $6.99 a month, or $129 once for Lifetime. YNAB is $109 a year or $14.99 a month. Optional bank sync in Bow adds SimpleFIN Bridge at $15 a year.
What doesn’t Bow do that YNAB does?
Bow is iPhone-only, so there’s no Android, iPad or web app, and you can’t share a budget with a partner yet. YNAB includes bank sync in its price; in Bow it’s optional through SimpleFIN.
Is there a free trial?
Yes, 2 weeks on Bow’s monthly and annual plans. Bow shows the date and amount of the first charge before you start, and can remind you 3 days before it.