The Mint Alternative That Actually Makes You Budget
Mint tracked your spending. BudgetLabs replaces that with zero-based budgeting — every dollar gets a job before the month starts. Free tier included, AI import, debt forecasting, and Family Sharing for 5.
Why Mint users are still looking
Mint shut down in 2024.
Intuit discontinued Mint in early 2024 and migrated its users to Credit Karma — a credit score tool, not a budgeting app. Millions of users are still looking for a real replacement.
Tracking was never budgeting.
Mint was excellent at showing you what you already spent. But knowing you overspent on dining out last month doesn't stop it from happening again next month. Active budgeting — assigning dollars before you spend them — does.
Bank-sync dependence.
Mint's whole model was automatic bank sync, which meant sharing credentials through a third-party aggregator. Many users felt uneasy about it, or dealt with broken connections when banks pushed back on screen-scraping.
Tracking vs. budgeting
| Feature | BudgetLabs | Mint (discontinued) |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Active | Shut down (March 2024) |
| Annual price | $19.99 (free tier available) | Was free (discontinued) |
| Zero-based method | Yes — plan before you spend | No — spend tracking only |
| Transaction entry | Smart AI Import | Automatic bank sync |
| Debt payoff forecasting | Snowball, avalanche, custom | Basic debt summary |
| Annual bill amortization | Built in, one tap | Not available |
| Family Sharing | 5 members included | Not available |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Desktop | Discontinued |
The honest trade-offs
Switching isn't free of compromise. Here's what you give up — plainly.
No bank sync, by design.
Smart Import (paste / PDF / screenshot → review → approve) replaces the always-on automatic pull. You spend about two minutes reviewing each batch. If you want fully hands-off sync, tools like Monarch serve that better.
No native Android yet.
iPad, Mac, and Desktop browser are covered; Android is on the roadmap.
Active budgeting takes more intention.
Mint required zero habit change — it just watched. BudgetLabs asks you to plan your month upfront. That's the feature, not a bug, but it's worth setting the expectation.
If you're considering a paid replacement
~$495
5 years of Monarch (a common Mint alternative, ~$99/yr)
$99.95
5 years of BudgetLabs Pro
$0
BudgetLabs free tier — always free, no card
Frequently asked questions
What replaced Mint after it shut down?
Intuit shut down Mint in early 2024 and migrated users to Credit Karma — a credit-monitoring tool, not a budgeting app. Many former Mint users moved to YNAB, Monarch, or BudgetLabs. BudgetLabs is the zero-based option with a genuinely free tier and no trial clock.
Is BudgetLabs really free like Mint was?
Yes — the free tier covers the full core loop: categories, transactions, debt, assets, and the Lab. The only limits are on AI: 5 Hank chats and 1 Smart Import per day. There is no trial clock and no card required.
What is zero-based budgeting and how is it different from what Mint did?
Mint tracked what you already spent — it showed you the numbers after the fact. Zero-based budgeting (BudgetLabs' method) asks you to assign every dollar of income a job before the month begins, so nothing sits unplanned. The deliberate review step is what changes spending habits, not just awareness of them.
Can I import my old Mint data?
If you exported your data from Mint before shutdown, you can import transactions via CSV. Paste the CSV content into Smart Import and the AI will structure it into clean rows for your review. The step-by-step CSV import guide is at budgetlabs.io/docs/csv-import.
Importing old data? The step-by-step CSV import guide covers the format.
More alternative guides
Budget, don't just track
Free tier included — no card, no trial clock.