Comments on: Battle of the Money Management Tools: Comparing YNAB Pro and Quicken

By: Soraya

Soraya — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:39:08 +0000

Doesn’t YNAB have a mobile app for on the go tracking?

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 21:00:49 +0000

I agree, Sean – it all comes down to personal needs.

By: Sean SR

Sean SR — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 20:28:02 +0000

Though I started off with MS Money, I have been a Quicken user for the past many years. After reading a lot of positive YNAB reviews, I thought of giving it a spin.

In one sentence, its not an apples to apples comparison. YNAB is a Budgeting tool ( a uni-tasker). Which it does extremely well. So if your single purpose is Budgeting then YNAB is certainly better than Quicken. It uses a simple flash based interface, which doesn’t overwhelm you.

Quicken on the other hand is a comprehensive Financial Management software. You can do Budgets, financial goal setting tracking, assets and liability tracking, investment portfolio management, debt management etc etc.

I have used Quickens budgeting feature for years and have had a good amount of success with it. But for me, YNAB being a unitasker is a deal breaker and also that YNAB Pro costs twice as much as what I normally pay for Quicken Delux makes it even more of a hard sell.

By: Sukee

Sukee — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:51:33 +0000

Can one import an Excel or QIF file from an electronic credit card statement into YNAB ?

By: Freda

Freda — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:20:24 +0000

Here is what I am battling with — I NEED a budget tool. I have a MAC. Got “Essentials for MAC” despite reviews and am very frustrated since there is no manual and it is not intuitive in terms of how to get started with it.
Thus I am looking for another software package.
Can anyone comment about pushing forward to get over the learning curve with MAC Essentials vs YNAB?

Thanks much!!

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:01:02 +0000

Freda, YNAB 3 runs on Adobe Air, so it is compatible with Macs. If all you are looking for is a solid budgeting tool, then I would give YNAB 3 a try. You can get a free trial at their site.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 14 May 2010 23:23:21 +0000

Jeff, I wrote this over a year ago, and while Mint.com was good then, I think they are better now.

I would probably put this in a three way heat between Mint.com, YNAB, and Quicken’s desktop software, depending on your needs. YNAB excels at budgeting, Mint is great for the online/portability, and Quicken is still the most robust of them all, particularly if you want to integrate it with your taxes, business, rental properties, etc.

In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with any of these tools.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 14 May 2010 20:03:29 +0000

Great review. I think the real battle is between Mint and YNAB. Wonder if this will be in the next installment. I haven’t tried YNAB yet, but will be based on the reviews. I’ve been using Mint for about a year. Couple advantages right off the bat…
1. Mint is online. I can access from anywhere.
2. Mint is free.

Any other thoughts?