# Budget: free zero-based budget app, a YNAB alternative

Budget is a free zero-based (envelope) budget app, and a free alternative to YNAB and Monarch Money. Each month you give every dollar a job, category by category, until nothing is left without one. Then you track what you spend and move money when life changes. No subscription, no ads, no sign-up and no bank login.

Open it: https://budget-free.openapps.xyz/

- No subscription, no ads, no limits
- Quick entry on your phone, or import your bank's CSV file
- Share one budget with your partner, live

## How it works

1. **Add your accounts.** Type in what your checking, savings, cash and cards hold today. That money becomes ready to assign. No bank login, ever.
2. **Give every dollar a job.** Assign money to rent, groceries, savings and the rest until ready to assign is zero. Targets tell you how much each category needs.
3. **Spend and adjust.** Log spending in a few taps. Overspent? Move money from another category. What is left rolls over to next month.

## Everything a zero-based budget needs

- **Monthly plan with rollover:** assigned, spent and available for every category. Leftovers carry into next month; overspending shows plainly.
- **Targets:** a monthly amount, a total by a date, or a balance to keep. One button assigns what every target needs.
- **Credit cards done right:** card spending moves money into the card's payment category, so the payment is ready when the bill comes.
- **Fast entry on phones:** a keypad for the amount, payees that remember their category, today's date already set. Split one receipt across categories.
- **Transfers, schedules, reconcile:** move money between accounts, repeat rent and paychecks, and check each account against your bank balance.
- **CSV in, CSV out:** import your bank's export with column matching and duplicate checks. Export every transaction and the whole plan any time.
- **Reports:** spending by category and by payee, income against spending by month, and your net worth over time.
- **Shared budgets:** invite a partner with a link. You both see the same budget and every change, on any device.
- **On every device:** works in any browser and installs to your home screen. Sign in with your email to use it everywhere.

## Budget compared with paid budget apps

Prices and limits as reported in 2026 on each app's site or store listing; they change, so check before you decide. The paid apps can connect to banks; Budget does not.

| App | Price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | Free | Everything, no limits |
| YNAB | $14.99 a month or $109 a year | None (34-day trial) |
| Monarch Money | $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year (Core) | None (first week free) |
| Copilot Money | $13 a month or $95 a year | None (one-month trial); no Android app |
| Goodbudget | Premium $10 a month or $80 a year | Limited: 10 regular and 10 more envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices, 1 year of history; bank sync is Premium only |

## What Budget does not do

- It does not connect to your bank or import transactions automatically. You type them, import the CSV file your bank offers, or let an assistant add them. Bank connections cost money for every account, every month; if bank sync is added later, it will be optional and charged at cost.
- It does not track investments beyond their balance.

## For AI assistants

Budget has a public API, so an assistant can log a receipt as a transaction and answer "how much is left for groceries". The budget's owner creates an API key in the app (Settings, then Assistant API, then Create key) and gives it to the assistant. A key works for one budget. Anyone with it can add transactions and read balances and recent transactions, so keep it private; the owner can revoke it any time. The API cannot change the plan or see other budgets.

- API base: https://functions.bounded.sh/apps/e4fe6272d152c03d11432fc6/api
- OpenAPI description: https://budget-free.openapps.xyz/openapi.json
- Notes for assistants: https://budget-free.openapps.xyz/llms.txt

```
# How much is left for groceries?
curl 'https://functions.bounded.sh/apps/e4fe6272d152c03d11432fc6/api/categories?name=groceries' \
  -H 'x-budget-key: bk_YOUR_KEY'

# Log a receipt
curl -X POST https://functions.bounded.sh/apps/e4fe6272d152c03d11432fc6/api/transactions \
  -H 'x-budget-key: bk_YOUR_KEY' \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"outflow": "23.40", "payee": "Corner Market", "category": "Groceries"}'

# Ready to assign, every category and account
curl https://functions.bounded.sh/apps/e4fe6272d152c03d11432fc6/api/budget \
  -H 'x-budget-key: bk_YOUR_KEY'
```

## Questions

**Is Budget really free?**
Yes. There is no paid plan, no trial that runs out, no ads and no limit on budgets, accounts, categories or transactions. Storing a budget costs very little, and OpenApps pays for it.

**How is Budget different from YNAB?**
It uses the same zero-based method: give every dollar a job, let what is left roll over, cover overspending by moving money, set targets, and handle credit cards with a payment category. The difference is that Budget is free and does not connect to your bank: you type transactions on your phone or import a CSV file. YNAB was reported in 2026 at $14.99 a month or $109 a year, with no free plan.

**Why is there no bank connection?**
Bank connections cost money for every connected account, every month, and they mean giving a data company access to your bank. Budget skips that: you enter transactions in a few taps or import the CSV file your bank already offers. If bank sync is added later, it will be optional and charged at cost.

**Do I need an account?**
No. You start as a guest in your browser. When you want your budget on your phone and laptop, choose Keep my budget on all devices and sign in with your email; your budget moves into your account.

**Can I share a budget with my partner?**
Yes. Send an invite link from Settings. It works once, for 7 days. Everyone in the budget sees changes live, and only the owner can remove someone.

**Who can see my budget?**
Only the people in it. The rule that only members can read a budget is enforced on every read and write, and it is published in the app's public source.

**How do credit cards work?**
When you spend on a card, the money moves from the spending category into the card's payment category, so the money to pay the card is already set aside. Debt you had before you started is shown separately until you assign money to pay it down.

**Can my AI assistant use Budget?**
Yes. The budget's owner creates an API key in Settings. With it, an assistant can log a receipt as a transaction and tell you how much is left in a category. It cannot change the plan or see other budgets.

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Budget is an OpenApp: free, with public source and its own agent. Part of OpenApps, the app store of free alternatives: https://free-apps.openapps.xyz/