YNAB alternatives that work with Nordic banks
Co-founder of Penge · Published 25 August 2026 · 6 min read
If YNAB's dollar price or bank list is the problem, you can change apps without abandoning zero-based budgeting. The useful question is whether the replacement connects to your banks, keeps the budget current and lets you take your data with you.
Key takeaways
- Penge is free, has no ads and connects read-only to more than 2300 banks through Open Banking.
- YNAB costs 14.99 dollars a month or 109 dollars a year, plus applicable tax. It is priced in US dollars, so the price in kroner moves with the exchange rate.
- YNAB lists Denmark, Norway and Sweden among its Direct Import countries, but only selected banks are available.
- The zero-based method itself is free. You can run it in any app, or on paper.
- YNAB's web app exports plan data and transactions as separate CSV or TSV files, but targets are not included.
Why do people in the Nordics look for a YNAB alternative?
Mostly because YNAB bills in US dollars and Direct Import only reaches selected European banks. YNAB lists 14.99 dollars monthly or 109 dollars annually, so the price in kroner moves with the exchange rate. Penge is free and connects to more than 2300 banks. If your bank is missing from YNAB, you need one of its other transaction entry methods.
- YNAB lists 14.99 dollars monthly or 109 dollars annually, plus applicable tax, and says exchange rates are not reflected in the price.[1]
- YNAB's Direct Import page includes Denmark, Norway and Sweden, but says it works with selected European banks.[2]
- If a bank is missing, YNAB lets you suggest the institution and points you to other ways to enter transactions.[2]
- Penge runs on iPhone. There is no Android app yet.
What is worth keeping from YNAB
The software is a subscription. The method is not. Give every krone a job, budget the money you have rather than income you still expect, and move money between categories when the plan changes.
You can use the same method with categories and live budgets in another app. Our guide to zero-based budgeting explains how to set it up.
What to check before you switch
- Whether your actual banks connect. Not the country, the bank. This is the one thing that decides whether the app saves you work or moves it around.
- Whether budgets update during the month. A budget that only reports afterwards is a report, not a budget.
- Which platforms you need. Penge has an iPhone app, but no Android app yet.
- How a joint account is handled, and whether you need a shared budget rather than a shared bank account.
- What currency the bill is in, and whether it is a subscription at all.
- How you get your data out again if you change your mind.
The first one takes about twenty seconds to answer. Look up your bank
| What it costs | Bank connection | Suits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penge | Free, no ads | 2300+ banks via Open Banking | People with accounts at several Nordic banks who use iPhone |
| YNAB | 14.99 USD monthly, 109 USD yearly | Select European banks | People who want its targets or subscription sharing for up to six people[1] |
| Actual Budget | The desktop client works without a server; hosting may cost[4] | A server and your own provider credentials for bank sync[5] | Technical users who want to run their own tools |
| A spreadsheet | Free | Manual entry | Full control, if you keep it up |
Moving your history over
In YNAB's web app, export the plan and transaction data before your subscription ends. YNAB creates separate CSV or TSV files for the plan and transaction history. Targets are not included, so note those separately if you want to recreate them.[3]
Connect each bank in Penge for the current month, and the previous one too when you connect in the first half of a month. To bring older transactions into Penge, export selected transactions from YNAB per account and import each CSV into the matching Penge account. Category structures and budgets need to be set up again.
Every transaction arrives with a category suggested from your own history, and you confirm it with one tap. Turn on automatic categorization in settings and Penge applies the most confident ones by itself, never overwriting a category you set. Our guide to automatic categorization explains how the suggestions are built.
Is YNAB a bad app?
No. YNAB includes target setting and subscription sharing for up to six people. Penge is free and publishes a searchable list of more than 2300 banks, but it runs on iPhone; there is no Android app yet. YNAB may fit better when its sharing or platform options matter more than the price.
Get a full overview with Penge
Connect your bank and let the app categorize and budget automatically.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a free alternative to YNAB?
- Yes. Penge is free and has no ads. Actual Budget's desktop client works without a server, but bank sync needs a server and provider credentials. That takes more setup, and hosting may cost money.
- How much transaction history does Penge fetch when I connect a bank?
- The first sync fetches the current month, plus the previous month if you connect in the first half of a month. Older transactions can be added by exporting them from YNAB per account as CSV and importing each file into the matching Penge account.
- Will I lose my budget history if I cancel YNAB?
- Use YNAB's web app to export before your subscription ends. The export includes plan data, categories, category groups and transaction history in separate CSV or TSV files, but it does not include targets.
- Does Penge do the four YNAB rules?
- Penge does not copy the rules as features. You can create categories, set budgets by week, month or year and follow live progress. Those tools let you use a zero-based method yourself.