If you’ve been searching for a Mint budgeting app review, here’s the most important thing to know upfront: Mint no longer exists.
Intuit, the company behind Mint, shut down the app in early 2024 and redirected its millions of users to Credit Karma. For anyone who relied on Mint to track spending and manage their budget, that was a frustrating surprise.
When I heard that Mint was shutting down, I was genuinely caught off guard. It had been part of my monthly routine for so long that losing it felt oddly disorienting. My first thought was simple: “What’s the next free budgeting app I can actually use?”
In this review, I’ll cover exactly what Mint was, why it shut down, and — most importantly — which free budgeting apps are actually worth using in 2026.
What Was the Mint Budgeting App?
Mint was a free personal finance app owned by Intuit — the same company behind TurboTax and QuickBooks. At its peak, it had over 3.6 million active users who used it to sync bank accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts all in one place.
What made it stand out was simple: it was completely free, and it did a lot. You could set monthly budgets, track your spending by category, monitor your credit score, and get bill reminders — without paying a dime.
In my case, I often forgot about the bills that arrived every month, so the bill notification feature was really useful as it helped me remember to pay them.
For a free tool, it was genuinely hard to beat. That’s exactly why its shutdown caught so many people off guard.
Why Did Intuit Shut Down Mint?
Intuit didn’t frame the shutdown as a failure. They called it a platform decision — folding the Mint experience into Credit Karma, which Intuit had acquired in 2020. The idea was to run one unified platform instead of two separate apps.
But the real reason, by most accounts, was simpler: Mint wasn’t profitable enough. It was free for users, which meant Intuit made money through ads and partner product recommendations. That model has limits.
The problem for users was that Credit Karma was never a true replacement. It’s primarily a credit tracking tool, not a budgeting app. Many of the features Mint users had relied on for years — clear spending categories, monthly budget limits, goal tracking — simply weren’t there.
Honestly, it’s hard not to feel frustrated about how this played out. Mint had millions of loyal users — that’s a real asset most companies would kill for. A gradual shift toward a paid model, done transparently and with enough effort to bring users along, might have kept the product alive. Instead, they folded it into Credit Karma and called it a day.
What Mint Got Right — And Where It Fell Short
Even though Mint is gone, understanding its strengths and weaknesses helps you pick the right replacement.
What Mint Did Well
- Completely free — no subscription, no trial period
- Automatic syncing — connected to most major US banks and credit cards
- Spending categories — transactions were auto-sorted, so you could see exactly where your money was going
- Free credit score — updated regularly without a hard inquiry
- Bill reminders — all tracked in one dashboard
- Goal tracking — set a savings target and Mint would show your progress
For a lot of people, especially those just starting to take budgeting seriously, Mint was the perfect entry point.
Where Mint Fell Short
No app is perfect, and Mint had real issues that users complained about for years:
- Syncing problems — accounts would randomly disconnect and need to be re-linked
- Intrusive ads — the free model meant constant product recommendations
- No joint accounts — couples couldn’t share one login
- No multi-currency support — useless if you had any overseas accounts
- Auto-categorization errors — Mint often miscategorized transactions, requiring manual fixes
The synchronization issue, in particular, was incredibly inconvenient, even in retrospect. I also had to re-enter my budget several times because the connection suddenly dropped while I was using it.
Is Mint Still Available in 2026?
No. Mint officially shut down in early 2024.
As of April 2026, visiting mint.intuit.com redirects you directly to the Credit Karma homepage.
If you had a Mint account, your transaction history is no longer accessible. Intuit gave users a limited window to download their data before the app went dark — but that window has long since closed.
Best Free Budgeting App Alternatives in 2026
1. Monarch Money — Best Overall Replacement
Monarch Money is the closest thing to Mint available today. It offers automatic account syncing, spending categories, goal tracking, and investment monitoring — all in one clean dashboard. The main difference is that it’s not free.
- Price: $14.99/month or $99/year
- Best for: Anyone who wants a full Mint replacement and doesn’t mind paying for it
According to reviews from users who have used it firsthand, many say that it is convenient to use as it provides a clean dashboard and allows access to most of the features available in Mint.
2. YNAB — Best for Getting Serious About Your Budget
YNAB (You Need A Budget) takes a different approach from Mint. Instead of just tracking what you spent, it asks you to plan every dollar before you spend it — a method called zero-based budgeting.
It takes more effort than Mint, but that’s kind of the point. Users who stick with it tend to see real changes in their finances.
- Price: $14.99/month or $109/year (34-day free trial)
- Best for: People who want to actively change their spending habits, not just monitor them
→ Read our full YNAB Review 2026 for a detailed breakdown.
3. Empower — Best Free Option
Empower (formerly Personal Capital) is the best completely free alternative to Mint. It syncs your accounts, tracks spending, and shows your net worth in real time — all without a subscription.
The catch is that Empower’s core focus is investment management, not budgeting. The budgeting features are basic compared to Mint.
- Price: Free (investment advisory is paid)
- Best for: Users who want a free dashboard to track accounts and net worth
It is good that you can check your current asset status at a glance for free, but it is a bit disappointing that it only allows for basic management.
4. Simplifi by Quicken — Best Affordable Paid Option
Simplifi is a straightforward budgeting app that does what Mint used to do, without trying to be everything at once. It’s clean, easy to use, and one of the most affordable paid options on the market.
- Price: ~$2.99/month (billed annually, around $36/year)
- Best for: Users who want simple monthly budget tracking at a low cost
Quick Comparison: Best Mint Alternatives in 2026
| App | Price | Free Version | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monarch Money | $99/year | ❌ | Closest Mint replacement |
| YNAB | $109/year | ❌ (free trial) | Zero-based budgeting |
| Empower | Free | ✅ | Free spending + net worth tracking |
| Simplifi | ~$36/year | ❌ | Simple, affordable budgeting |
Final Verdict
Mint was one of the best free personal finance apps ever built. Its shutdown left a real gap — and Credit Karma never filled it.
The good news is that two years later, there are solid alternatives. Here’s the short version:
- Want free? → Empower
- Want the closest Mint experience? → Monarch Money
- Want to actually change your finances? → YNAB
- Want cheap and simple? → Simplifi
If I had to pick one today, I’d go with Empower. The core features are completely free, and for most people who just want a clear picture of where their money is going, that’s genuinely enough. Start with the free version — you might not need anything else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mint still free in 2026? Mint is no longer available. It was shut down by Intuit in early 2024.
What happened to my Mint data? Intuit gave users a limited window to download their transaction history. That window has closed, and the data is no longer accessible through Mint.
What is the best free alternative to Mint in 2026? Empower is the best completely free option. For a fuller experience closer to what Mint offered, Monarch Money is the top choice — though it requires a paid subscription.
Is Credit Karma a good replacement for Mint? Not really. Credit Karma is primarily a credit monitoring tool. It lacks the spending categories and monthly budget limits that made Mint useful for everyday budgeting.
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