Goodbudget

Dayspring Technologies

Manual envelope-budgeting app with shared partner access. Free tier exists with envelope and account caps; the Plus tier raises the limits and adds bank import.

Last updated: May 3, 2026

Best for

  • Couples who want a shared envelope budget
  • Manual-entry purists who don't want bank credentials in the loop on the free tier
  • Households with a small number of envelopes

Not ideal for

  • Power users with many envelopes (free tier is capped)
  • Users who want fully automatic transaction import on the free tier
  • Users who want zero-based YNAB-style envelope semantics

Pricing

Verified Free tier

$10/month · $80/year

Free tier: 10 regular envelopes + 10 'more' envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices, 1 year of transaction history, community support. Plus: $10/month or $80/year, unlimited envelopes and accounts, 5 devices, 7 years of history, automatic US bank sync, email support.

Platforms

Web Yes
iOS Yes
Android Yes
Desktop No

Features

Bank sync Yes
Plaid support Yes
Manual transactions Yes
Envelope budgeting Yes
Zero-based budgeting Unknown
Couples / shared budget Yes
Google Sheets integration No
CSV import Yes
CSV export Yes
Recurring transactions Yes
Bill calendar Unknown
Net worth tracking No

Privacy

Verified Does not sell user data Data export Account deletion

Budget data is stored on Goodbudget's servers. The Plus tier uses Plaid for US bank sync; the free tier is manual-only, so no aggregator touches bank credentials at that tier. Goodbudget's privacy policy explicitly states personal information is never sold or rented.

Account deletion requested by emailing support; PII removed within 30 days, complete log/backup removal within 12 months per the policy.

Pros

  • Real envelope budgeting with a free tier
  • Cross-platform: web, iOS, Android
  • Shared partner access supported

Cons

  • Free tier capped on envelopes and accounts
  • Bank import is a paid feature
  • UI feels dated relative to newer competitors

Compared head-to-head

  • Okane vs Goodbudget — Okane vs Goodbudget: both have a real free envelope budgeting tier. Okane has unlimited envelopes and Google Sheets sync; Goodbudget caps the free tier at 20 envelopes.
  • YNAB vs Goodbudget — YNAB vs Goodbudget: both are envelope budgeting apps but with different price tags. YNAB is $109/year and polished. Goodbudget has a real free tier capped at 20 envelopes, with a $80/year unlimited tier.

Featured in

Alternatives

  • Okane Budgeting — Mobile envelope budgeting app whose backing store is a Google Sheet on the user's own Drive. Free tier with unlimited envelopes; $5/month Premium adds Plaid bank sync and on-device AI categorization.
  • YNAB (You Need A Budget) — Subscription envelope-budgeting app built around the zero-based method. Web-first with iOS and Android companions. Mature ecosystem and large community; no permanent free tier.
  • EveryDollar — Ramsey Solutions' zero-based budgeting app. Free tier supports manual budgeting; paid Premium tier adds bank sync and additional features.
  • Actual Budget — Open-source local-first envelope budgeting app. Free if you self-host on a server, Pi, or your own machine; the project also offers a paid hosted sync service.

Sources

  1. Goodbudget homepage — Dayspring Technologies. Accessed May 2, 2026.
  2. Goodbudget plans (signup page) — Dayspring Technologies. Accessed May 3, 2026.
  3. Goodbudget privacy policy — Dayspring Technologies. Accessed May 3, 2026.
    Direct quote: 'Your Personal Information is never sold or rented, to anyone, for any reason, at any time.'