A YNAB alternative that keeps track for you
Brixa is a YNAB alternative for people who want to see where their money goes without running a budgeting method: it connects 10,000+ US banks through Plaid, categorizes every transaction with AI, and fills in monthly category budgets on its own.
YNAB is a method as much as an app: you give every dollar a job before you spend it, review each imported transaction, and adjust the plan when life changes. If you want an accurate picture of your spending without that weekly upkeep, Brixa takes the other approach.
Brixa and YNAB, side by side
Automatic AI categorization
BrixaYes, on every transactionYNABNo, it reuses your last category for each payeeNew transactions
BrixaArrive sorted, nothing to approveYNABFlagged for you to review and approveSplitting with friends
BrixaSplit a dinner or a trip with friends and see who owes whomYNABNot built in, its guide pairs YNAB with SplitwiseCharges in other currencies
BrixaEach charge kept in its own currency, converted at that day’s rateYNABOne currency per budgetLanguages
Brixa19, including SpanishYNABEnglish only
Where Brixa is different from YNAB
- No method to learn: connect your banks and your spending is already sorted
- AI on top of Plaid’s categories, so a new merchant gets a sensible category the first time
- Subscriptions found from your transactions, with price increases flagged
- A read-only view for your partner, scoped to the accounts or categories you choose
What that looks like
Sorted on arrival
Every transaction lands with a category already on it. Correct one and it sticks.
Where it actually went
The month split by category, so the number that hurts is the first one you see.
Point it at something
Set a target and a date, and Brixa works out what you need to put aside each month.
YNAB asks one question before every purchase: which job did you give this dollar? Answering it takes time. Dollars need assigning, imported transactions need reviewing, and when you skip a week the plan drifts away from your bank.
Brixa starts from your bank instead of a plan. It connects to 10,000+ US banks, credit unions and card issuers through Plaid, imports up to two years of history, and puts a category on every transaction as it arrives, using Plaid’s categories and AI. Monthly budgets per category fill in on their own, so you can see how the month is going without entering anything.
Brixa also finds your subscriptions and flags the ones that get more expensive, keeps a charge made abroad in its own currency, and lets you share a read-only view with your partner, scoped to the accounts or categories you choose. If you want to see your spending without running a system, Brixa asks for almost nothing: connect your banks and look.
Your data stays yours
Read-only access
Brixa can see your transactions but can never move money. Your bank login is never stored.
Connected through Plaid
US and Canadian banks connect through Plaid, the service behind thousands of financial apps. You sign in with your bank, and can remove access anytime.
Hosted in the EU
Your data lives in the EU and is handled the GDPR way. It is yours, and you can delete it anytime.
No ads, no data selling
Brixa is paid for by a simple subscription, so your financial data is never the product.
Questions people ask
You set a monthly budget for any category and Brixa fills it in from your real spending, with a pace bar that shows whether you are on track. There is nothing to assign in advance.
YNAB is $14.99 a month or $109 a year. Brixa is one subscription with every feature included, and the App Store shows its price before you subscribe.
No. Transactions arrive with a category already on them. Open any of them to change it, and Brixa uses your correction for that merchant next time.
Yes. Connect your banks in Brixa and up to two years of history comes in already categorized, so you start with a full picture instead of an empty budget. There is nothing to export from YNAB first.
Brixa connects through Plaid with read-only access. You sign in with your bank inside Plaid, Brixa never sees or stores your bank password, and nothing in Brixa can move money. You can remove the connection in Brixa or at my.plaid.com at any time.
Brixa is an iPhone app, available on the US App Store, and runs on iOS 16.4 or later.
Try it with your own bank
Find yours among 10,000+ US banks, credit unions and card issuers, and up to two years of history arrives already sorted. Read-only, and free to try.
Details about You Need A Budget were last checked on October 12, 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm them on YNAB’s own site before you decide. Brixa is not affiliated with You Need A Budget.