Spend & Invest vs Monarch Money: Which Budget App Is Right for You?
Monarch Money has become one of the most popular Mint replacements. Spend & Invest takes a different approach with PDF uploads and no bank login. Here's an honest comparison to help you decide.
Two Very Different Approaches
Monarch Money and Spend & Invest both help you understand your spending. But they get there in completely different ways. Monarch connects to your bank accounts through Plaid and pulls transactions automatically. Spend & Invest asks you to upload your bank statement as a PDF.
That single difference shapes everything else: pricing, privacy, what banks are supported, and how the apps feel to use day to day. Neither approach is universally better. It depends on what you value most.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Spend & Invest | Monarch Money |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $99.99/year ($14.99/mo monthly) |
| Bank login required? | No | Yes (Plaid) |
| PDF upload | Yes | No |
| AI categorization | Yes (learns from corrections) | Basic rule-based |
| Multi-currency | 10+ currencies | USD primary |
| Privacy approach | No credentials shared | Bank login via Plaid |
| Free tier | Yes (full access) | 7-day trial only |
| Platforms | Web (any device) | Web + iOS + Android |
| Household support | Yes | Yes (included in subscription) |
| Transaction splitting | Yes | Yes |
| Recurring charge tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Investment signals | Spending-based insights (Peter Lynch style) | Net worth and portfolio tracking |
Where Monarch Money Excels
Monarch is a polished, full-featured financial app. It does a lot of things well, and it deserves its popularity.
Automatic Bank Sync
Monarch connects to over 11,000 financial institutions through Plaid. Your transactions show up automatically, usually within a day. You never have to download or upload anything. For people who want a completely hands-off experience, this is hard to beat.
Clean, Modern Interface
Monarch has one of the best-looking UIs in personal finance. The dashboard is well-organized, charts are readable, and the overall experience feels premium. It earned a 4.9-star average rating for a reason.
Flex Budgeting and Net Worth
Monarch's "Flex" budgeting system is more forgiving than strict envelope budgeting. It also tracks your net worth across all linked accounts, including investments, real estate, and debt. If you want a single dashboard for your entire financial picture, Monarch does that well.
Established Brand
Monarch has been around since 2019, raised significant funding, and built a large user base. It has native apps for iOS and Android. The company is well-funded and actively developing new features. There is less risk of the product disappearing compared to newer alternatives.
Where Spend & Invest Wins
Free Tier (Not Just a Trial)
Monarch costs $99.99 per year. There is no free tier, only a 7-day trial. Spend & Invest is free during early access with full features. You can upload statements, get AI categorization, view dashboards, and ask natural language questions without paying anything.
No Bank Login Required
You never share your bank username and password with Spend & Invest. You download a PDF statement from your bank (something you can already do) and upload it. The app reads the PDF, not your bank account.
Works with Any Bank Worldwide
Monarch depends on Plaid, which only covers US and Canadian banks. If you live outside those countries, or use a bank that Plaid does not support, Monarch simply will not work. Spend & Invest reads PDFs, so it works with any bank that produces a statement. That includes banks in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean.
AI Categorization That Learns
When you correct a category in Spend & Invest, the AI remembers your preference for that vendor. The next time that vendor appears, it uses your correction automatically. Monarch uses rule-based categorization that often requires manual fixes for the same vendors over and over.
Multi-Currency for Expats and Travelers
Spend & Invest supports 10+ currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, TTD, and more. If you hold accounts in multiple countries or travel frequently, you can upload statements in different currencies and see unified spending data. Monarch is focused on US dollar accounts.
Who Should Choose Monarch?
Monarch is the right choice if you want automatic bank sync and do not mind paying $99.99 per year for it. If you use US or Canadian banks, want net worth tracking across all your accounts, and prefer a hands-off experience where transactions just appear, Monarch delivers that.
It is also a good fit if you want native mobile apps. Monarch has dedicated iOS and Android apps, while Spend & Invest is a web app that works on any device through a browser.
Who Should Choose Spend & Invest?
Spend & Invest is the better fit if any of these apply to you:
- You do not want to share bank credentials. If the idea of giving a third party your bank login makes you uncomfortable, PDF upload removes that concern entirely.
- You bank outside the US or Canada. Plaid coverage is limited. If your bank is not supported, Monarch is not an option. Spend & Invest works with any bank that produces a PDF statement.
- You want free. Monarch's 7-day trial is not enough time to evaluate a budget app properly. Spend & Invest is free with no time limit.
- You are uncomfortable with Plaid. Plaid has faced lawsuits about data collection practices. If you have been following those stories, a PDF-based approach sidesteps the issue completely.
- You deal with multiple currencies. Expats, digital nomads, and frequent travelers need multi-currency support that Monarch does not offer.
The Privacy Question
This is the fundamental difference between the two apps. Monarch requires you to authenticate with your bank through Plaid. That means a third-party aggregator maintains an ongoing connection to your bank account and pulls transaction data on a regular schedule. You are trusting Plaid with read access to your financial data.
Spend & Invest never connects to your bank. You download a PDF statement (which your bank generates for you), then upload that file. The app reads the PDF, extracts transactions, and categorizes them. There is no ongoing connection, no stored credentials, and no background data pulls. You control exactly what data the app sees and when it sees it.
For some people, Plaid's convenience outweighs the privacy tradeoff. For others, the idea of a company having persistent access to their bank account is a dealbreaker. Neither position is wrong. It comes down to your personal comfort level with data sharing.
The Bottom Line
Monarch Money is a great app. It has earned its reputation. But it costs $100 per year, requires Plaid, and only works with US/Canadian banks. If those are not issues for you, Monarch is a strong choice.
If you want something free, private, and global, Spend & Invest gives you spending analytics without asking for your bank credentials. Upload a PDF, get your data categorized by AI, and see where your money goes.
Read more about budget apps that do not require bank login or see our full comparison of Mint alternatives in 2026.