Monarch Money Review: A Sleek Budgeting App for Couples
By CreditVana
Monarch Money is a sleek, user-friendly budgeting app designed with couples in mind. Available on both mobile and desktop, Monarch lets users track shared and personal accounts, manage bills, monitor spending, and set goals — all in one place. No more hopping between apps, spreadsheets, and bank websites.
Personally, the appeal of moving away from our clunky shared Google spreadsheet was strong. So, my husband and I decided to test out Monarch Money for a month.
We’ve been hunting for ways to reduce household spending, and our usual system — tossing shared purchases on a joint credit card and hoping we don’t exceed our self-imposed cap — just isn’t cutting it anymore.
We were drawn to Monarch’s couple-focused features and flexible budgeting styles — enough to justify the price for a real-life trial.
How Much Does Monarch Cost?
Unlike some budgeting apps, Monarch doesn’t offer a free tier. You get a seven-day free trial, but that may not be enough time to decide if it’s the right fit.
Monthly plan: $14.99
Annual plan: $99.99 ($8.33/month)
Promotional discount: 30% off the first year (available only via Monarch’s website)
There’s only one subscription tier — all users get access to all features, and there are no ads. Monarch also assures users their financial data is secure and won’t be sold.
For better subscription control and to access promotional pricing, Monarch recommends signing up on their website rather than through the Apple App Store or Google Play.
How Does Monarch Work?
Over the course of a month, I used both the app and desktop version of Monarch. I tested how easily accounts synced, how intuitive the tools were, and how well the app worked for managing shared finances.
Since Monarch is tailored for couples, collaboration features were a top priority for us.
Easy Setup and Account Integration
Getting started was pretty seamless. After signing up with my name and email, I linked my accounts and invited my husband by email. He added his personal checking, savings, and credit card accounts.
Together, we added:
Kids’ 529 savings accounts
Joint high-yield savings and checking accounts
Car loan
Store credit cards (e.g., Target, Old Navy)
Most accounts connected easily, especially on desktop where browser-saved passwords helped. Our mortgage account was the only one that wouldn’t sync.
We were able to rename accounts for clarity — a small but helpful touch.
Choosing a Budgeting Style: Flex vs. Category
After account setup, the next decision was budgeting style:
Flex Budgeting (default): Focuses on variable expenses (e.g., gas, groceries, dining out). Fixed expenses like rent and utilities are tracked separately.
Category Budgeting: Traditional approach where all expenses are assigned to categories.
We initially chose the category option because it matched our old system — but later realized that wasn’t the best fit for us (more on that below).
Collaboration Tools for Couples
Monarch shines in its shared financial tracking features:
The dashboard shows a full picture of both partners’ finances.
Credit score tracking is available for both users.
Expense tagging lets you assign who made each purchase. A privacy icon lets you hide transactions (great for surprise gifts!).
You can create shared savings goals, such as vacations, emergency funds, or a down payment on a home. Monarch tracks your progress toward target dates and amounts.
What I Liked About Monarch
Month-in-Review Reports: We got a summary of top spending areas (our fridge broke, so “shopping” topped the list), cash flow trends, and net worth tracking.
Visual Reports: Easy-to-read charts and breakdowns by category, plus the ability to click through for detail.
Account Visibility: I could easily check balances for the kids’ 529s, which my husband usually manages.
What I Didn’t Love
Misleading Alerts: Some notifications confused me — like thinking I was getting a refund when I had just paid a bill.
Data Syncing Problems: Accounts requiring two-factor authentication sometimes failed to sync — annoying over time.
No Savings Bucket Integration: Our joint high-yield savings account has sub-buckets (e.g., travel, auto, gifts), but Monarch doesn’t recognize them. You can manually create separate savings goals, but they don’t auto-sync.
Custom Categories Were Clunky: It took digging to figure out how to create a category for mixed Costco purchases or how to classify credit card payments. Monarch offers customization, but it’s not intuitive.
Is Monarch Worth It?
That depends.
Overall, I love how clean and modern Monarch looks and how it supports couples managing shared finances. But in practice, it wasn’t the best fit for us. Our expenses didn’t always align with Monarch’s default categories, and customizing them was frustrating.
Switching from category to flex budgeting helped. We didn’t budget for “coffee shops” or “travel and lifestyle” at first, so we kept getting overspending alerts. Once we switched styles, things started making more sense — and the flexibility to change budgeting methods mid-month is a strong feature.
Monarch continues to evolve. A newer feature allows you to split and categorize items in Amazon or Target purchases so they don’t just default to “shopping.” That’s promising.
Even though we’re probably going back to spreadsheets, Monarch gave us a clearer view of our finances, and helped spark more productive conversations about money — a win in itself.
