Monarch review
8.4/10★★★★★Household budgeting app with an AI assistant, weekly recaps and receipt scanning
- Best for
- Couples and households who want one shared, detailed view of their money
- Price
- Free trial · from $14.99/month
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Monarch Money, Inc.
- App store ratings
- iOS 4.9★ (113K) · Android 4.8★ (25.6K)
What it is
Monarch pulls all your accounts into one view, auto-categorises transactions and offers flexible or category-based budgets you can share with a partner. Its AI assistant, added in December 2025, answers questions about your spending, net worth and debt, and AI insights flag unusual spending across the app.
Latest: Monarch added email forwarding of receipts for automatic matching in August 2026, after bringing receipt scanning to the web in June 2026.
What the AI does
- AI assistant that answers questions about your finances
- Automatic transaction categorisation
- AI insights that flag unusual spending and net-worth changes
- Weekly Recap summaries
- Receipt scanning that splits purchases into categories
Pros and cons
- Very highly rated on both app stores
- Share budgets with a partner or invite a financial professional
- Works on web, iPhone and Android
- Steady stream of new features through 2026
- No free plan after the 7-day trial
- AI assistant explains your money but can't make changes or move money
- Plus plan costs twice as much as Core
How it scores
The most complete all-round budgeting app here, with strong sharing and a capable AI assistant. Subscription-only pricing keeps value from the top.
Feature checklist · 6 of 9
- Ask an AI assistant questions about your money (yes)
- Sorts transactions into categories automatically (yes)
- Links to bank and card accounts automatically (yes)
- Finds and tracks subscriptions and recurring bills (no)
- Cancels subscriptions or negotiates bills for you (no)
- Shared budgets for partners or households (yes)
- Tracks net worth and investment balances (yes)
- Works on the web as well as on your phone (yes)
- Free plan available (no)
Alternatives
See all Monarch alternatives, ranked →
- Rocket Money 8.2/10People who want an assistant that actually cuts recurring costs, not just reports them
- Copilot Money 8.1/10iPhone and Mac users who want the most polished budgeting app
- Origin 7.9/10People who want budgeting, forecasting and planning tools in one subscription
- Quicken Simplifi 7.8/10Budget-conscious users in the US or Canada who want AI help at a low price
Monarch vs Rocket MoneyMonarch vs Copilot MoneyMonarch vs OriginMonarch vs Quicken SimplifiMonarch vs EmmaMonarch vs CleoMonarch vs SnoopMonarch vs YNABMonarch vs Albert