The Mint budgeting app officially shut down on March 23, 2024, and users can no longer access their data on the app.
Intuit, which owns Mint and other personal finance platforms like QuickBooks Workforce and TurboTax, suggested users migrate to Credit Karma, which it also owns. But that's far from the only option.
Budgeting apps are a great way to get a grip on your finances. Typically, they link to your banking, credit card and investment accounts and can track your purchases and show you how close you are to reaching your savings goals.
Below, CNBC Select looks at budgeting apps to consider when Mint closes.
What we'll cover
Credit Karma
Intuit told Mint users to switch to Credit Karma, its free app best known for tracking credit scores. You can access some Mint-style features with Credit Karma — including viewing linked accounts, transactions, cash flow and your spending and net worth over time — as well as unique offerings like credit monitoring of your Experian and TransUnion reports and recommendations for responsible credit use.
Mint still have to create a Credit Karma account if they don't have one, however, and Credit Karma lacks Mint's budgeting features.
Credit Karma
Cost
Free, with some paid features available to opt in
Credit bureaus monitored
2-bureau credit monitoring, alerts and reports: Equifax and TransUnion®
Credit scoring model used
VantageScore® 3.0
Dark web scan
Yes
Identity theft insurance
No
Terms apply.
Rocket Money
Rocket Money is best known for being able to cancel unwanted subscriptions but it offers a suite of personal finance tools. The free tier allows users to link their accounts, track spending, create budgets, get balance alerts and manage subscriptions.
The subscription-cancellation concierge service, which cancels unwanted subscriptions for you, is part of Rocket Money's paid Premium tier — along with credit score monitoring and unlimited budgeting.
The Premium tier also includes a bill-negotiation service that involves a live representative working with your service providers to lower your bills. On top of the monthly premium fee, however, you'll have to pay a sliding scale of between 35% and 60% of first year savings if negotiation is successful. (Bill-negotiation is also available for free users. They don't pay a monthly premium fee, only the 35%-60% of first year savings if negotiation is successful.)
Rocket Money
Cost
The basic plan is free. Rocket Money Premium is $7 to $14 a month with a 7-day free trial. Bill negotiation services cost 35% to 60% of the first-year savings, if the negotiation is successful.
Standout features
Easily cancel unwanted subscriptions, track your spending and credit score, automate savings and get help lowering bills. Rocket Money Premium includes additional services like net-worth tracking, credit reports and a subscription cancellation concierge service
Security
Rocket Money accesses transaction data via an encrypted token, uses Plaid API so user credentials are never stored, provides bank-level 256-bit encryption and hosts servers on Amazon Web Services
Availability
Offered online and on both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
Terms apply.
Pros
- Allows you to easily view and cancel unwanted subscriptions
- Offers a free version
- A+ from Better Business Bureau
Cons
- Nonrefundable bill negotiation fee can be up to 60% of savings
- Premium pricing varies
You Need a Budget (YNAB)
While Mint showed you where your money went after you spent it, YNAB uses the zero-based budgeting system to assign every dollar a "job." That can be more helpful if you're focusing on future spending.
While it is a paid service, YNAB claims the average user can save $600 in the first two months and $6,000 in the first year.
You Need a Budget (YNAB)
Cost
34-day free trial then $109 per year ($9.08 per month) or $14.99 per month (college students who provide proof of enrollment get 12 months free)
Standout features
Instead of using traditional budgeting buckets, users allocate every dollar they earn to something (known as the "zero-based budgeting system" where no dollar is unaccounted for). Every dollar is assigned a "job," whether it's to go toward bills, savings, investments, etc.
Categorizes your expenses
No
Links to accounts
Yes, bank and credit cards
Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
Security features
Encrypted data, accredited data centers, third-party audits and more
Terms apply.
Empower
Both a budgeting and investing tool, Empower has several free features, like being able to track spending and view your net worth. If you want to use their investment management service, you'll have to pay a percentage of the funds being managed.
While Mint allowed you to connect investment accounts to track your net worth, there wasn't any way to manage those accounts.
Empower
Cost
App is free, but users have option to add investment management services for a fee
Standout features
A budgeting app and investment tool that tracks both your spending and your wealth
Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users can modify
Links to accounts
Yes, bank and credit cards, as well as IRAs, 401(k)s, mortgages and loans
Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
Security features
Data encryption, fraud protection and strong user authentication
Terms apply.
Compare investing resources
Goodbudget
If you want a free alternative to Mint, Goodbudget uses the envelope method, with users allocating specific amounts to various categories like groceries, rent and bills. It doesn't automatically sync accounts, so you must manually add transactions.
Goodbudget's paid version allows you to create an unlimited number of envelopes and store account history for up to seven years, among other premium features.
Goodbudget
Cost
Free for 20 total envelopes; $8/month (or $70/year) for unlimited envelopes
Standout features
Allows users to plan their household's spending using the "envelope method," where they allocate a certain amount of their income into categories like groceries, rent and debt payoff. Users are only supposed spend what's in their envelopes and if they go beyond their budget the envelope will show red to indicate that they overspent
Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users can customize
Links to accounts
No, users manually create "envelopes" and input their transactions
Availability
Has a web-based version, and also offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
Security features
256-bit bank grade encryption in a data center
Terms apply.
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Bottom line
Mint is gone but many other budgeting apps can help you on your personal finance journey. Whether you choose a free service or spring for a subscription, make sure it has features you'll use.
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