Mint Update: Mint officially shut down on January 1, 2024. If you're a former Mint user looking for a replacement, this guide compares the best alternatives available in 2026.
Best Mint Alternative: Cognito Money is the best Mint alternative for users who want free budgeting without cloud data risks. It provides transaction tracking, budgets, goals, and reports using local-first storage—your financial data never leaves your device. Unlike Credit Karma (Mint's successor), Cognito is a true budgeting app with $0 free tier or $29/year for advanced features.
Key Takeaways
- Mint shut down January 1, 2024 — 3.6 million users needed to find alternatives
- Credit Karma is not a replacement — It's for credit monitoring, not budgeting
- Free alternatives exist — Cognito Money and EveryDollar offer free tiers
- Most alternatives cost money — YNAB ($180/yr), Monarch ($144/yr), Simplifi ($48/yr)
- Privacy-first options available — Cognito Money keeps data local, unlike Mint's cloud model
What Happened to Mint?
Intuit shut down Mint on January 1, 2024, ending a 17-year run as one of the most popular free budgeting apps. According to CNBC reporting, Mint had over 3.6 million active users who relied on it for expense tracking, budgeting, and financial insights.
Why did Mint shut down?
- Credit Karma acquisition: Intuit bought Credit Karma for $7.1 billion in 2020 and decided to consolidate
- Monetization struggles: Mint was free and made money through financial product referrals, which wasn't as profitable as expected
- Aging infrastructure: Mint's technology stack was old and expensive to maintain
- Competition: Paid apps like YNAB and Monarch offered better features
Intuit offered to migrate Mint users to Credit Karma, but as we'll see, Credit Karma isn't really a budgeting app.
Former Mint User? Cognito Money offers free budgeting with complete privacy. Your data stays on your device—not in the cloud like Mint.
Download for free or learn more about features.
Is Credit Karma a Good Mint Replacement?
No. Credit Karma is a credit monitoring service, not a budgeting app. While Intuit migrated Mint users to Credit Karma, it doesn't replicate Mint's core functionality.
What Credit Karma does:
- Free credit score monitoring (TransUnion and Equifax)
- Credit report access
- Personalized financial product recommendations
- Basic account aggregation
What Credit Karma lacks (that Mint had):
- Budget categories and limits
- Spending reports by category
- Bill tracking and reminders
- Savings goals
- Cash flow analysis
- Net worth tracking
If you primarily used Mint for credit score tracking, Credit Karma works. If you used Mint for budgeting, you need a different solution.
How Do Mint Alternatives Compare?
Here's how the top Mint alternatives stack up on features, price, and how they compare to what Mint offered:
| App | Price | Bank Sync | Best For | Mint Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognito Money | Free / $29 yr | Manual import | Free + Privacy | Medium |
| Monarch Money | $144/year | Yes (Plaid) | Closest to Mint | High |
| Quicken Simplifi | $48/year | Yes (Plaid) | Simple tracking | High |
| YNAB | $180/year | Yes (Plaid) | Zero-based budgeting | Low |
| EveryDollar | Free / $80 yr | Premium only | Dave Ramsey fans | Medium |
| Credit Karma | Free | Yes | Credit monitoring | Low (not a budget app) |
What is the Best Free Mint Alternative?
Cognito Money offers the most complete free tier for former Mint users who don't want to pay for budgeting software.
Cognito Money (Free Tier)
$0 — Free forever for core features
A privacy-first budgeting app that stores all data locally on your device. Unlike Mint, your financial data never goes to the cloud.
Free features include:
- Unlimited transaction tracking
- Custom budget categories with progress tracking
- Financial goal setting and monitoring
- Basic financial reports
- Bill and reminder tracking
- Works completely offline
Pros
- Completely free core features
- Maximum privacy (local storage)
- No account required
- Works offline
Cons
- No automatic bank sync
- Windows only currently
- Manual transaction import
Other free options:
- EveryDollar Free: Basic zero-based budgeting, but no bank sync and limited features
- GoodBudget Free: 10 envelope categories, 1 account, cloud-based
- Spreadsheets: Google Sheets or Excel templates—free but fully manual
Which Alternative is Most Similar to Mint?
Monarch Money is the closest replacement for Mint's feature set and user experience. It was built by former Mint employees who understood what users loved about the app.
Monarch Money
$144/year (no free tier)
A modern budgeting app designed as a Mint upgrade. Automatic bank syncing, beautiful dashboards, and collaborative features for couples.
Mint-like features:
- Automatic bank sync via Plaid
- Spending categorization and reports
- Net worth tracking
- Bill tracking
- Savings goals
- Cash flow analysis
- Investment tracking
Pros
- Most similar to Mint
- Modern, polished interface
- Great for couples
- Excellent mobile apps
Cons
- $144/year (Mint was free)
- Uses Plaid (privacy trade-off)
- Cloud-based data storage
Quicken Simplifi
$48/year
A simpler option from the makers of Quicken. Less feature-rich than Monarch but more affordable.
Pros
- Lower cost than Monarch
- Automatic bank sync
- Simple, clean interface
Cons
- Fewer features than Mint had
- No investment tracking
- Uses Plaid
What About Privacy-Focused Alternatives?
Mint stored all your financial data in the cloud and used Plaid for bank connections. If privacy concerns you, consider alternatives that don't follow this model.
The Mint shutdown reminded many users that cloud-based financial data isn't truly under their control. When Intuit decided to shut down, users had limited time to export their data before it disappeared.
Privacy-first options:
| App | Data Storage | Bank Connection | Privacy Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cognito Money | Local (your device) | Manual import only | Maximum |
| GoodBudget | Cloud | Manual only (no Plaid) | Good |
| Spreadsheets | Local or Cloud | Manual only | Depends on storage |
| Monarch, YNAB, etc. | Cloud | Plaid | Lower |
Why local storage matters:
- Your data can't be exposed in a company data breach
- No third party (like Plaid) ever sees your transactions
- You control backups and data retention
- App shutdowns don't affect your data—it's already on your device
Can I Import My Mint Data?
If you exported your Mint transactions before the shutdown, you can import that history into most budgeting apps.
Mint allowed CSV exports of transaction history. If you saved that file, here's how to use it:
Importing to Cognito Money:
- Open Cognito Money and go to Transactions
- Click "Import Bank Statement"
- Select your Mint CSV file
- Map columns (date, description, amount, category)
- Import and review transactions
Importing to other apps:
- YNAB: Supports CSV import with column mapping
- Monarch Money: Has a Mint import tool
- Quicken Simplifi: CSV import available
Note: If you didn't export before Mint shut down, that data is gone. This is a reminder to regularly export/backup your financial data from any app you use. For maximum control, consider privacy-focused budgeting apps that store data locally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Mint shut down?
Intuit shut down Mint on January 1, 2024 to focus on Credit Karma, which it acquired in 2020 for $7.1 billion. Mint had 3.6 million users but struggled with monetization and maintaining its aging infrastructure.
What happened to my Mint data?
Intuit offered to migrate Mint users to Credit Karma. If you accepted, your accounts transferred. If not, your Mint data was deleted after the shutdown. Mint also allowed CSV exports before closing, so some users saved their transaction history.
Is Credit Karma a good replacement for Mint?
Credit Karma is not a true Mint replacement. It focuses on credit score monitoring and financial product recommendations, not budgeting. It lacks Mint's budget categories, spending reports, and goal tracking features.
What is the best free Mint alternative?
Cognito Money offers the most complete free tier for former Mint users—transaction tracking, budgets, goals, and reports at no cost. EveryDollar also has a free tier but with limited features and no bank sync.
Are there Mint alternatives that don't use Plaid?
Yes. Cognito Money doesn't use Plaid—you import bank statements manually via CSV or OFX files. GoodBudget also works without bank connections. This approach keeps your bank credentials private.
Can I import my old Mint data into another app?
If you exported your Mint transactions as CSV before shutdown, you can import them into apps like Cognito Money, YNAB, or Monarch Money. Each app has different import formats, so you may need to adjust columns.
Conclusion
Mint's shutdown left millions of users searching for alternatives. The good news: several solid options exist, each with different strengths.
For the closest Mint experience with automatic bank syncing, Monarch Money ($144/year) or Quicken Simplifi ($48/year) are your best bets.
For free budgeting, Cognito Money offers the most complete feature set without payment—and unlike Mint, keeps your data on your device where you control it.
For zero-based budgeting, YNAB ($180/year) is the gold standard, though it's a different approach than Mint's tracking-focused model. See our YNAB alternatives guide for more options.
Whatever you choose, the Mint shutdown is a reminder: your financial data should ultimately be under your control. Try Cognito Money free and experience local-first budgeting.
Sources
- CNBC: Intuit is Shutting Down Mint — Original shutdown announcement coverage
- The Verge: Mint is Shutting Down — Details on Credit Karma migration
- Monarch Money — Official site and pricing
- Cognito Money Features — Local-first architecture details