Source-backed analysis9
Review basis
Research-based review: the AppDuo Editorial Team compiled it from official pages, documentation, app stores, press and user feedback, without hands-on testing. Every claim links to a source with the date it was checked.
9 reference sourcesInformation updated Nov 11, 2026
How we review
Monarch Review
Paid, ad-free budgeting and net-worth app built mainly for the US market.
By AppDuo Editorial Team · Fact-checked
- Web
- iOS
- Android
On this page
Decide at a glance
Our verdict
A fit for US-based users willing to pay for one place to track accounts, budgets and net worth, with a partner added free. The trade-offs are an English-only interface, no free plan, and low Trustpilot ratings that cite data errors and slow support.
Best for: US couples or households sharing one budget
Skip it if: Users who need a multi-language interface or banks Monarch cannot connect to
Pros
- The pricing page promises no ads and no sale of financial data.
- SOC 2 Type 2, encryption and multi-factor authentication, per the help center.
- Rated 4.89/5 from 117,000+ ratings on the US App Store and 4.8/5 on Google Play.
Cons
- English-only interface, per the App Store.
- No permanent free plan; the 7-day trial requires a payment method, and App Store subscriptions are excluded from Monarch's refund guarantee.
All pros and cons · Who is it for?
More pros
- A partner can be added for free, and read-only access can be shared with a financial professional.
- No-questions-asked refund of the remaining subscription time for direct (non-App Store) purchases.
More cons
- On Trustpilot (33 reviews, 2.0/5) reviewers report duplicate or missing transactions, dropped bank connections and slow support; Trustpilot notes the company does not invite reviews, so the sample may be unrepresentative.
- Advertising cookies may share device data with ad partners, per the privacy policy.
Best for
- People leaving free, ad-supported apps for an ad-free one
Skip it if
- Anyone who wants a permanent free plan
Experience & key features
Monarch is a personal finance app and website from Monarch Money, Inc. (US). Per its App Store listing it pulls bank, investment and other asset accounts into one dashboard, auto-categorizes transactions and tracks budgets.
Per the pricing page, Core covers net worth, budgeting, reports and goals; Plus adds retirement forecasting, small-business tracking, P&L reports and deeper investment analysis. Bank accounts connect through Plaid, Finicity and MX, with Spinwheel for optional credit data. Both plans list the AI assistant and a free partner seat.
Core costs $14.99/month or $99.99/year, while Plus is sold yearly at $199.99. The 7-day trial requires a payment method. Co-founder and CEO Val Agostino has written that a free personal finance app "is simply not a viable business" because of data fees, which is the vendor's own case for charging.
Compared with YNAB, Monarch leans towards a whole-picture net-worth view and automation; compare price and budgeting method before choosing. Outside the US, note the English-only interface; an iTunes lookup found no Vietnam App Store listing.
Screenshots
Plans & pricing
Prices last verified Nov 11, 2026
Core
Personal$14.99/mo
$8.33/mo billed yearly
$14.99/month billed monthly, or $99.99/year ($8.33/month). Per the pricing page: net worth, budgeting, custom reports, savings and debt goals, connections to 13,000+ banks and institutions, and a partner added for free.
Plus
Personal$16.67/mo
$199.99/year ($16.67/month); the pricing page lists Plus with yearly billing only. Everything in Core plus retirement forecasting, business income and expense tracking, P&L reports and tax-prep exports, advanced investment analysis and will creation (provided by Trust & Will).
- Free plan limits
- No permanent free plan; a 7-day free trial is offered.
- Free trial
- 7-day free trial · credit card required
Cancellation & refunds
Monarch offers a no-questions-asked guarantee that refunds the remaining time on a subscription; access ends immediately once refunded. Subscriptions bought through the Apple App Store are excluded and must be refunded by Apple. Monarch may decline requests it considers fraud or promotion abuse.
Privacy
Monarch's privacy policy says "We will never sell your financial data" and that it does not sell personal data for monetary consideration, but advertising cookies may pass device, IP and web-analytics data to ad partners, which depending on the state may count as "selling" or "sharing"; users can opt out via a form or Global Privacy Control. Account data arrives via Plaid, Finicity or MX, with Spinwheel for optional credit information. Per its help center, Monarch never stores bank logins, cannot move money, is SOC 2 Type 2 certified, encrypts data at rest and in transit, stores it in US-based AWS data centers and offers multi-factor authentication. The policy also says vendors such as OpenAI power parts of the service. Deleting an account in settings is permanent but does not erase every copy at once.
Controversies & incidents
Issues documented by the press, regulators, courts or the vendor itself. Every item is sourced; unproven claims are labelled as allegations. Last researched: Nov 11, 2026
- Low impactResolvedOutage ·
Billing and sign-up incident on 16 Dec 2025
Per Monarch's status page, the incident affected about 10% of users for 3h26m and was resolved.
Read the full account
The status page logs a billing and sign-up problem from 00:15 to 03:41 UTC on 16 Dec 2025, a partial outage on web and mobile. A fix was deployed at 02:47 UTC and the incident was marked resolved at 03:41 UTC. No source opened reports data loss or incorrect charges from it.
Vendor response
The Monarch team said it had diagnosed the issue, deployed a fix and monitored the result.
Frequently asked questions
Does Monarch have a free trial?
Yes, 7 days. After that Core costs $14.99/month or $99.99/year and Plus $199.99/year. A payment method is required to start the trial.
Can I get a refund if I cancel Monarch?
Per the help center, Monarch refunds the remaining subscription time with no questions asked. App Store purchases are excluded and must be refunded by Apple.
Does Monarch sell my data?
The policy says "We will never sell your financial data", but advertising cookies may share device and usage data with ad partners; you can opt out via a form or Global Privacy Control.
Does Monarch support Vietnamese or work in Vietnam?
The App Store lists English only, and an iTunes lookup found no Vietnam App Store listing. Sources describe a US-oriented product.
Can Monarch move money out of my accounts?
Per the help center, no: Monarch cannot move money in or out and does not store bank usernames or passwords.
Review evidence & sources9
Scores
- Ease of use
- 7.5
- Features
- 8.0
- Value for money
- 6.5
- Performance
- 7.0
- Support
- 6.0
- Privacy & security
- 7.5
Why this score
Available on web, iPhone, iPad and Android with high store ratings (4.89/5 App Store, 4.8/5 Google Play). Points lost for an English-only interface and Trustpilot reviews citing data errors that need manual clean-up.
Why this score
Budgets, net worth, goals, reports, 13,000+ institution connections and an AI assistant; Plus adds retirement forecasting, business tracking and P&L reports.
Why this score
Core costs $14.99/month or $99.99/year and Plus $199.99/year, with no permanent free tier; offset by no ads, a free partner seat and pro-rata refunds on direct purchases.
Why this score
High store ratings suggest most users are satisfied, but Trustpilot reviews cite duplicate transactions and sync drops, and the status page logged a billing and sign-up incident on 16 Dec 2025 affecting about 10% of users for 3h26m.
Why this score
A help center and email are offered; Trustpilot reviewers describe replies taking from 24 hours to 5+ days and no phone support.
Why this score
SOC 2 Type 2, encryption, no stored bank passwords and a pledge not to sell financial data; points lost for advertising cookies that may share data and the use of AI vendors such as OpenAI.
What users say
- App Store (US)4.9/5 · 117,925
- Google Play (US)4.8/5
- Trustpilot2.0/5 · 33
Sources
- Vendor-providedOfficial pricing pageNov 11, 2026
- storeApp Store listing (US)Nov 11, 2026
- Vendor-providedOfficial privacy policyNov 11, 2026
- Vendor-providedHelp center: Privacy and SecurityNov 11, 2026
- review-siteTrustpilot reviewsNov 11, 2026
- Vendor-providedMonarch status page: Billing and Sign up IssueNov 11, 2026
- Vendor-providedMonarch blog: Mint is shutting down (2023-11-07)Nov 11, 2026
- Vendor-providedHelp center: Monarch's Money-back GuaranteeNov 11, 2026
- storeGoogle Play listing (US)Nov 11, 2026
Specs & compatibility
- Developer
- Monarch Money, Inc.
- Headquarters
- United States
- Launched
- 2020
- Category
- Finance
Capabilities
- AI features
- Real-time collaboration
- Integrations
- Mobile app
Platforms
- Web
- iOS
- Android
Interface languages
- English
Integrations
- Plaid
- Mastercard Connect (Finicity)
- MX
- Zillow
- Coinbase
- Apple Card
Support
- Help center
Change history
- Update.Billing and sign-up incident affected about 10% of users for 3h26m and was resolved.
- Company.After Intuit announced Mint's shutdown, co-founder and CEO Val Agostino published a post positioning Monarch as an alternative.
- Launch.First release date of the app on the US App Store.
About the author
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