Which one fits your money?
The apps below are good at tracking spending from bank feeds, mostly in one currency. cent4cent does two things differently. It keeps proper books, so money you’re owed, a second currency and everything you own each get a real place, checked against your bank. And it does the sorting for you, asking only what it can’t work out, so staying on top of your money isn’t a second job. Each page starts with when the other product is the better choice.
cent4cent vs
PocketSmith
Calendar budgets, long-range forecasts and Australian bank feeds.
free, or from about A$120 a year
When it’s the better choice, and where it runs out →cent4cent vs
YNAB
Envelope budgeting, for people who want to change how they spend.
about US$110 a year
When it’s the better choice, and where it runs out →cent4cent vs
Monarch
A complete budgeting app built on bank feeds, for the US and Canada.
from about US$100 a year
When it’s the better choice, and where it runs out →cent4cent vs
Copilot Money
The best-looking of the feed-based apps, with an AI model that learns from your edits.
about US$95 a year
When it’s the better choice, and where it runs out →cent4cent vs
Lunch Money
The strongest consumer app for a second currency, with feeds and a full API.
about US$100 a year
When it’s the better choice, and where it runs out →cent4cent vs
A spreadsheet
The one tool that holds everything, and the one with no rules at all.
free, plus your evenings
When it’s the better choice, and where it runs out →Side by side.
From each product’s own help centre and pricing page, as read in September 2026, paraphrased and rounded. Each product’s page links to its sources. If something here is wrong, write to support@cent4cent.com and it will be fixed.
| cent4cent | PocketSmith | YNAB | Monarch | Copilot Money | Lunch Money | A spreadsheet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sorting your transactions | Done for you, and re-sorted back through your history as it learns | Your bank’s categories, then keyword rules you set | Remembers the last category for each payee | Sorted by its AI, with a rule offered when you change one | Its own AI model for you, learning from your edits | Rules made from your edits, and no AI | By hand |
| When it isn’t sure | Asks you in plain words, and keeps the answer as a rule | An optional review of imports | Asks for a category the first time it sees a payee | Can flag new ones for you to review | Holds back guesses it isn’t sure of, for you to review | Marks every import as unreviewed | You decide every line |
| Money owed to you | Kept by person, and closed automatically when they pay you back | A refund, or an asset you update | A category, or a tracking account | A tag, or a hidden transaction | Netted into the original category | Grouped with the repayment | A cell you remember |
| A private holding and its terms | Your figure, with its terms said in a sentence: a co-owner, a loan against it, tax to come | A balance you update, with loans against it | A tracking account you update | A balance you update, plus company share grants | A balance you update, and a mortgage linked to a home | A balance you update | A cell |
| A second currency | Each account in its own currency, with what the rate did on its own line | Yes, converted | No, one currency per plan | No conversion | No, US dollars only | Yes, converted | If you build it |
| What moved your net worth | Every month split into saved, markets and currency, to the cent | A chart of assets and debts | A snapshot at the end of each month | Explained in words by its AI | A chart, with investment returns shown apart | A chart by account or type | If you build it |
| Checks every account against your bank | Every account, every month, to the cent | No, you compare with your banking | Yes, against the balance you type in | No | No | No | Only if you do it |
| Australian banks | Any bank or fund, from its statements | Yes, live bank feeds | By importing files | No, US and Canada only | No, US accounts only | Through a paid add-on, or files | You type it in |
| Price | A$10 a month or A$100 a year | Free, or from about A$120 a year | About US$110 a year | From about US$100 a year | About US$95 a year | About US$100 a year, or set your own | Free, plus your evenings |
If your app works for you, keep it.
The apps above are good at what they do, and most of their paid plans cost more than cent4cent. It’s built for money that doesn’t fit them: a second currency, a company that owes you, holdings without a ticker, a joint account beside separate ones, money fronted for someone else. And it’s built for anyone who stopped tracking because keeping an app tidy became a second job.
If you’ve never tracked your money at all, a proper set of books is a good place to start, because there’s nothing to set up first.
See who it’s built forSee last month in cent4cent, next to what you use now.
Bring last month in and compare the two. 14 days free, no card needed.