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Zedi vs Monarch Money

Monarch adds budgets, goals and a shared household; Zedi has no budgets but starts free and handles receipts and who owes who for you.1,2,3

Facts about Monarch come from its own site and were checked October 10, 2026. Each one links to its source below.

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Pick Monarch if

  • You want budgets and goals in the same app.1,2
  • You and a partner want to share one view at no extra cost.3
  • You want accounts to sync on their own, with apps for iPhone and Android.4,5

Pick Zedi if

  • You want to know where your money goes without linking a bank.
  • You split costs with friends or roommates and want who owes who kept for you.
  • You want to start free, with Pro at just $3.50 a month.
Line by line

Zedi and Monarch, side by side.

A check marks a row an app does well. “Not listed” means we looked on its site and could not find it.

Zedi
Monarch
Price
What it costs to use.
Free; Pro $3.50 a month, plus SimpleFIN’s $1.50 a month

Free with your files. Pro is $3.50 a month to Zedi and SimpleFIN bills $1.50 a month or $15 a year, plus tax, so bank sync is $5 a month all in, before tax.

From $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year

No free plan: your first week is free, then $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year. A Plus plan adds forecasting tools.5

How data gets in
Bank sync, files or typing.
Files, or read-only sync on Pro

Drop in CSV, PDF or QFX statements, Venmo files and receipt photos. On Pro, accounts can also update on their own: read-only through SimpleFIN, about once a day.

Bank sync, or CSV on the web

Monarch links your accounts through outside data providers. A manual account can take a CSV file, on the web only.4,6

Your bank login
Where it goes, if anywhere.
Zedi never sees it

Files link nothing. With sync on Pro, you sign in to your bank through SimpleFIN, and MX or the bank holds that login, so Zedi never sees it.

Goes to its data providers

You sign in to your bank through Monarch’s data providers. Monarch says its access is read-only.4

Copies and transfers
Duplicate rows and card payments.
Counted once: copies out, card payments paired

Upload the same month twice and any row with the same date, amount and description is left out. Card payments and Venmo cash-outs pair up, so they don’t count as spending or income.

Transfers set apart; copies by hand

Card payments and transfers sit in transfer categories that stay out of spending. Its help center has you delete duplicate rows yourself.7,8

Receipts
What a receipt photo becomes.
Every item gets its own category

Snap a receipt and each item lands in its own category, automatically. Split items with friends, and get 10 free receipt scans a month.

Reads items; splits by category

Receipt scanning reads the store, totals and items. It can split one receipt into a few transactions by category.9

Who owes who
Costs you share with people.
Who owes who, kept for you

Receipt splits, Venmo payments and IOUs you jot down roll into one running balance per person. It’s your record, so friends don’t need an account.

Partner shares it; Bill Split retired

A partner joins your household at no extra cost and sees every account. Its Bill Split feature for friends was retired.3,10

Budgets
Plan what you will spend.
Not yet

Not yet. Today Zedi shows exactly where your money went: top categories, and this month next to last month.

Yes: by category, or one flex number

Budget by category, or with Flex Budgeting, which tracks one number: your flexible spending. Rollovers plan for costs that don’t come every month.11

Ads and your data
What they say about both.
No ads; never sold

No ads and no ad trackers. We make money from Pro, not from your data.

Ad-free

Monarch says it is privacy-first and ad-free.4

Where it runs
Apps and browsers.
Any web browser

Runs in any web browser, on a phone or a computer. There is no app in the app stores.

Web, iPhone, Android

The web, plus apps for iPhone and Android.5

Questions

Zedi or Monarch?

Is Zedi a cheaper Monarch Money alternative?+
For knowing where your money goes, yes. Zedi starts free with your files, and Pro is $3.50 a month. Monarch Core is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and it adds budgets, goals and a shared household.5,1,2,3
Does Zedi have budgets like Monarch?+
No. Zedi does not set budgets today. It shows exactly where your money went: top categories, this month next to last month, and the rows behind every number.1
Does Zedi sync my bank like Monarch?+
Yes, on Pro: your accounts update on their own, read-only through SimpleFIN, about once a day. SimpleFIN bills you $1.50 a month or $15 a year, plus tax for it. Free runs on the files your bank already gives you.

Sources

Pages on Monarch’s own site and help center, checked October 10, 2026. Prices and features change, so check them before you decide.

  1. https://help.monarch.com/hc/en-us/articles/360048883631-Creating-Your-Budget-in-Monarch
  2. https://help.monarch.com/hc/en-us/articles/15000751305108-Using-Goals
  3. https://www.monarch.com/for-couples
  4. https://www.monarch.com/security
  5. https://www.monarch.com/pricing
  6. https://help.monarch.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409682789908-Importing-Transactions-Manually
  7. https://help.monarch.com/hc/en-us/articles/360048393292-Transfers-and-Credit-Card-Payments
  8. https://help.monarch.com/hc/en-us/articles/32110313427604-Troubleshooting-Duplicate-Transactions
  9. https://help.monarch.com/hc/en-us/articles/44244210547860-Importing-Receipts-into-Monarch
  10. https://help.monarch.com/hc/en-us/articles/45825314071060-Bill-Split
  11. https://www.monarch.com/features/budgeting

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