Free budgeting apps in Canada (2026): 7 compared
Most well-known budgeting apps bill in US dollars, and the free ones each come with a catch. Here are the options Canadians actually have, what each one leaves out, and where AI Budgie fits.
AI Budgie is made in Canada and costs C$6.99 a month after a 30-day trial, so it’s listed honestly at the end. If you’re coming from Mint, see our Mint alternatives.
Free budgeting apps in Canada, compared
Here is what you can use without paying, and what each one leaves out. Our own app is at the end: it isn’t free after 30 days.
1.AI Budgie’s monthly budget templateOurs
Free, no sign-upBest for: A budget you keep in a spreadsheet.
Fill it in online, then download it for Excel or Google Sheets, or print it. Nothing is tracked for you after that.
2.Goodbudget
Free versionBest for: Envelope budgeting, entered by hand.
Works in Canada because nothing connects to a bank. The free version limits how many envelopes and accounts you can have.
3.PocketSmith
Free planBest for: Seeing your balance months ahead.
The free plan includes bank feeds for 2 accounts and 12 budgets. Canadian feeds run through Plaid and Yodlee, and PocketSmith itself says they are unreliable.
4.Your bank’s own app (RBC NOMI Budgets, TD MySpend)
Free for that bank’s customersBest for: Seeing where money goes, without setting anything up.
They track spending on that bank’s accounts only, so a card from another bank is left out.
5.EveryDollar
Free version (website only in Canada)Best for: Zero-based budgeting by hand.
In Canada only the free website version works; Premium and the phone apps need the US.
6.Credit Karma
FreeBest for: Your credit score.
Where Mint users were sent, but in Canada it has no budgets.
7.AI BudgieOurs
30 days free, then C$6.99/monthBest for: A monthly budget in CAD that you update in a sentence.
Not free: after the trial it’s Premium. No bank connection to break; your bank’s CSV imports too.
Checked October 2026. Free plans change; check each app’s own site before you choose.
Sources: Goodbudget (costbench) · PocketSmith · PocketSmith in Canada · RBC NOMI Budgets (BetaKit) · TD MySpend · EveryDollar · Credit Karma Canada
AI Budgie, Mint, YNAB, Monarch, EveryDollar and Rocket Money
| AI Budgie | Mint | YNAB | Monarch | EveryDollar | Rocket Money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank login required | NoYou add purchases yourself | YesThat was how it worked. It shut down on March 23, 2024 | NoOptional. You can type every purchase | PartlyBuilt around bank sync. A CSV import also exists | NoNot on the free plan. Premium adds US bank sync | YesUS banks. Adding a purchase by hand is a paid feature |
| Free plan you can keep | No30-day trial, then paid | Was free, paid for by ads. The app is closed | No34-day trial, then paid | No7-day trial, then paid | YesFree plan. Bank sync is paid | YesFree plan. Some tools are paid |
| Available in Canada | YesMade in Canada. Amounts in CAD. No bank login | NoMint Canada ended the same day, March 23, 2024 | YesSelect Canadian banks. Billed in USD | PartlySome Canadian banks, often unreliable. Billed in USD | PartlyOutside the US, only the free version on the website | NoUS only |
| Add a purchase by sentence or photo | YesType one sentence, or send a receipt photo | NoPurchases came from the bank | NoTyped in, or imported | NoFrom the bank, or a CSV | NoA form, filled in by hand | NoFrom linked US banks |
Mint closed on March 23, 2024, in Canada and the US. Prices are left out of this table on purpose. “Free plan” means you can keep using it without paying, not a short trial. Checked October 2026 from the same public pages cited on this site’s other comparisons.
Canadian dollars, and no bank login
AI Budgie is made in British Columbia and bills Premium in Canadian dollars: C$6.99 a month after 30 days free, with no card to start. Nothing connects to TD, RBC, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC or any other bank, so there is no bank feed to repair.
What you type to the assistant, and receipt photos, are sent to OpenAI’s API to be read. We don’t keep the photo, and we never sell your data. You can delete your account and the data in it at any time. Details are in the privacy policy.
If Mint is what you used, see Mint alternatives for Canada, including how to import a Mint transactions.csv.
AI Budgie compared with YNAB and Monarch Money, for Canadians
| AI Budgie | YNAB | Monarch Money | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 30-day free trial, then C$6.99/month | US$109/year or US$14.99/month | US$99.99/year or US$14.99/month |
| Billed in | CAD | USD | USD |
| Monthly budget by category | Yes | YesZero-based | Yes |
| Bank sync with Canadian banks | NoYou add purchases yourself | PartlySelect Canadian banks | PartlyThrough Plaid and MX; TD, RBC and BMO often unreliable |
| How a purchase gets in | Type one sentence: “Tim Hortons 4.50 this morning” | From your bank, or typed in | From your bank |
| Import a CSV from your bank | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Prices as published in September 2026. Credit Karma is left out: in Canada it has no budgets.
Where the others are better
- Bank sync. YNAB and Monarch can pull transactions from many banks, including some Canadian ones. AI Budgie doesn’t connect to banks.
- The bigger picture. Monarch tracks investments and net worth; YNAB has a deep budgeting method and lets up to six people share a subscription.
- French. AI Budgie is in English and Simplified Chinese only, for now.
Why Canadians have a harder time finding one
The money is in US dollars. The popular apps charge in USD, so the price moves with the exchange rate and your card may add a foreign-currency fee on top.
Canadian banks and sync don’t get along. Connections to the big banks break more often than US ones, so a sync-based app can end up half-synced, which is harder to trust than no sync at all.
What AI Budgie does instead
No bank connection to break. Adding a purchase is one sentence to the assistant: “Tim Hortons 4.50 this morning” goes under dining out, counted against this month’s budget. With Premium, your bank’s CSV imports too.
Try everything for 30 days: a monthly budget by category, recurring bills, reports, savings goals and 5 AI messages a day. Premium is C$6.99 a month after that, about the price of one coffee, and amounts stay in Canadian dollars.
Bring your history in 5 minutes
Start with the past, not a blank page. AI Budgie reads the files Canadians usually have.
Step 1: Get your file
- From Mint: your transactions.csv, if you downloaded it before March 23, 2024.
- From YNAB: Export Plan, then use Register.csv from the zip.
- From your bank: most Canadian banks let you download transactions as a CSV in online banking.
Step 2: Upload it to AI Budgie
Create an account and start Premium (importing is part of it), then open Transactions and choose Import CSV. Drop the file in.
Step 3: Check the columns, then import
Dates, amounts, and money in and out are matched for you; categories with the same name as yours are filed straight away. Glance at the preview, then import. Duplicates are skipped if you import the same file twice.
Budget in dollars that are actually yours
Free for 30 days, no card. Set a monthly budget in CAD and add purchases in a sentence.
Start my free trialNo bank sync, on purpose. Your data isn’t sold or used for ads.
Questions Canadians ask
Is there a free budgeting app in Canada?
Credit Karma is free in Canada, but it has no budgets. AI Budgie, made in Canada, is free for 30 days with everything included, then C$6.99 a month, with amounts in Canadian dollars. If you want a budget that stays free, our monthly budget template is a spreadsheet you can download with no sign-up.
What replaced Mint in Canada?
Intuit didn’t replace it: Mint Canada ended on March 23, 2024, and Credit Karma in Canada has no budgets. Canadians have moved to apps like YNAB and Monarch Money, which are billed in US dollars, or AI Budgie, which is C$6.99 a month after a 30-day free trial.
Do budgeting apps work with TD, RBC and BMO?
Some can connect through services like Plaid and MX, but connections to the big Canadian banks are known to be less reliable than US ones. AI Budgie doesn’t connect at all: you can download a CSV from your bank and import it, or add purchases one sentence at a time.
Is AI Budgie available in French?
Not yet. AI Budgie is available in English and Simplified Chinese.
Does AI Budgie charge in Canadian dollars?
AI Budgie includes a 30-day trial. Premium, with 50 assistant messages a day, CSV import, overspending alerts, bill reminders and weekly and monthly email summaries and CSV export, is C$6.99 a month, about the price of one coffee.
YNAB, Monarch Money, Mint, Credit Karma, EveryDollar and Rocket Money are trademarks of their owners. AI Budgie isn’t affiliated with them. Prices in the detailed table were checked in September 2026; the wider table leaves prices out.