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Budgeting apps keep raising prices, breaking bank connections, and shutting down. We looked at what people actually complain about and built something different.
118%
YNAB price increase since 2015
50%
Simplifi renewal hike over promo price
~1 in 3
budgeters use spreadsheets instead
The Problem
YNAB went from $50/year to $109/year. Simplifi advertises promotional pricing as low as $48/year, but many users report renewals jumping 50% or more. Legacy users who were promised grandfathered pricing saw their bills double overnight. Only about 16% of people who budget use a dedicated app—about a third use spreadsheets, mostly because of cost.
How PiggySize Solves This
PiggySize’s core features are completely free—income, bills, assets, debts, net worth, scenario planning, and family sharing. No trial period, no catch. When you’re ready for retirement projections, business tracking, and AI, Pro is $7/month ($77/year)—53% less than YNAB or Monarch Money. We’re not cheaper because we’re lesser—we’re cheaper because we’re a small American company that runs lean. No VC boardroom, no hundreds of paper-pushers. Just a focused team building a great product and passing the savings on to you.
$58M
Plaid privacy settlement
98M
people affected by Plaid data collection
41.8%
of fintech breaches from third-party vendors
The Problem
Every app that uses Plaid, MX, or Finicity has the same problems: connections break every 60–90 days, duplicate transactions, banks requiring re-authentication. Plaid settled a $58 million class-action lawsuit for collecting more financial data than users realized. A 2025 SecurityScorecard report found 41.8% of fintech breaches originate from third-party data aggregators.
How PiggySize Solves This
PiggySize never connects to your bank. No Plaid, no screen-scraping, no third-party financial aggregators. You enter your financial data manually—it takes about an hour a month—and your bank credentials never leave your device.
20M
Mint users at peak before shutdown
3.6M
active users displaced in March 2024
2
major free finance apps shut down since 2024
The Problem
Mint shut down in March 2024 after Intuit decided the free model wasn’t profitable. Users were migrated to Credit Karma, which has no budgeting features at all. Zeta, a free family finance app, died in May 2025 after 7 years. Honeydue’s support team has gone completely dark. The pattern is clear: if the product is free, you are the product—until they pull the plug.
How PiggySize Solves This
PiggySize has a generous free tier AND a sustainable business model. At $7/month, we can keep the lights on without selling your data or shutting down when the venture capital runs out. Your financial history stays with you.
36%
of Americans have a side hustle
$891
average monthly side hustle income
$557B
global gig economy value
The Problem
Over a third of Americans earn income outside their W-2 job. Millennials (44%) and Gen Z (48%) are even more likely to have side income. Yet no consumer finance app handles W-2 salary plus 1099 freelance income plus rental income plus business expenses in one place. Users on Hacker News describe wanting to "run finances like a business" with P&L statements—and finding nothing that does it.
How PiggySize Solves This
PiggySize lets you track multiple businesses alongside your personal finances. Each business gets its own income, expenses, assets, and debts. Shared expenses are split at configurable percentages. Your personal dashboard shows the full picture—W-2 plus side hustle plus rental income—in one view.
0
retirement features in YNAB
0
Social Security modeling in Monarch
62–70
SS claiming ages modeled by PiggySize
The Problem
YNAB is budgeting-only—no investment tracking, no retirement projections, no Social Security modeling. Monarch Money has goal tracking but no year-by-year retirement simulation. If you want to know whether you can actually retire, you need a separate tool, a financial advisor, or a spreadsheet you built yourself.
How PiggySize Solves This
PiggySize Pro includes a full retirement simulation engine. Year-by-year projections, Social Security claiming age optimization (any age from 62 to 70), IRS contribution limit enforcement for 401(k)/IRA/HSA, spouse retirement coordination, business exit strategy planning, and an "Already Retired" mode for withdrawal-phase projections.
66%
of Americans have used AI for financial advice
55%
cite data security as a barrier to AI finance tools
82%
of Gen Z/Millennials have used AI for money guidance
The Problem
Two-thirds of Americans have already used AI for financial advice, and the number is even higher among younger adults. But 55% cite data security concerns and 54% cite privacy as barriers. Monarch’s AI requires bank sync. YNAB has no AI at all. ChatGPT doesn’t know your actual financial data. There’s no option that combines personalized answers with genuine privacy.
How PiggySize Solves This
PiggySize’s AI assistant "Piggy" answers questions about your finances in plain English—using the data you’ve entered, not data scraped from your bank. It can look up current IRS limits, run precise calculations, walk you through the app with on-screen highlights, and escalate to human support. No bank credentials involved.
66%
of parents consumed by money worries
34%
of couples say money causes conflict
45%
of couples lack full financial transparency
The Problem
Most budgeting apps are designed for one person. Couples who want to share a budget face workarounds: Copilot requires two separate subscriptions ($190/year). YNAB allows multiple users but has no family roles. Monarch is built for adults—there’s no concept of children in the financial picture. Meanwhile, 34% of partnered Americans identify money as a source of conflict, and 45% of couples lack full financial transparency.
How PiggySize Solves This
PiggySize models your household as a family unit. Owner, spouse, and child roles with granular permissions—per feature, per operation (create, read, update, delete). Everyone sees exactly what they should. Retirement projections account for both spouses. Income and bills are tracked per family member. One subscription covers the whole family.
How PiggySize stacks up against the two most popular budgeting apps.
| Feature | PiggySize | YNAB | Monarch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $7/mo | $14.99/mo | $14.99/mo |
| Free tier | |||
| No bank sync required | |||
| Retirement projections | |||
| Social Security modeling | |||
| Business tracking | |||
| AI assistant | |||
| Family roles & permissions |
No bank login. Transparent pricing. No risk of shutdown. Just a clear picture of your family's finances.
Accuracy Disclaimer: All competitor pricing, statistics, and claims on this page are accurate as of February 2026 and are sourced from publicly available information including official pricing pages, published research reports, court filings, and community forums. Competitor features and pricing may have changed since this page was last updated. Source links are provided for independent verification. PiggySize is not affiliated with any competitor mentioned on this page.
Statistical Sources: Plaid settlement (Lieff Cabraser, plaidsettlement.com), fintech breach data (SecurityScorecard 2025), budgeting statistics (Debt.com 2018/2024), side hustle data (Bankrate 2024, LendingTree 2025), AI usage (Intuit Credit Karma 2025, Financial Health Network 2024), couples finance (Ipsos/BMO 2024, Bankrate 2024), Mint shutdown (CNBC/Bloomberg 2024), parent financial stress (NCBI, Bankrate).