Stuffed vs YNAB.
YNAB is the best known budgeting app; Stuffed is a simpler envelope app for iPhone. Here's how they differ, and who should pick which.
Updated 21 October 2026
In one line: pick YNAB if you want bank import, shared budgets and a deep zero based system. Pick Stuffed if you want the simpler envelope method on iPhone, filled on payday, with no account and no bank login.
| Stuffed | YNAB | |
|---|---|---|
| Method | Envelopes, filled on payday | Zero based: give every dollar a job |
| Account needed | No | Yes |
| Bank connection | None, by design | Direct import for selected US, Canadian, UK and EU banks; file import elsewhere |
| Devices | iPhone, plus iPad and Mac via the App Store | iPhone, Android, web, Apple Watch |
| Share with a partner | Not yet | Yes |
| Trial | 7 days | 34 days |
| Price | Monthly, yearly or one time, shown in the App Store | US$14.99 a month or US$109 a year |
| Where your budget lives | On your iPhone | Their servers, synced |
YNAB details are from ynab.com as of 21 October 2026. Check their site for current prices.
Envelopes or zero based?
They're close cousins. YNAB asks you to assign every dollar you have to a job, then adjust as life happens. Stuffed asks you to plan what each envelope gets per pay, then fills them all when you're paid. The envelope version is easier to start and easier to keep up for many people; zero based gives more control once you've learned it.
Where Stuffed is different
- No bank connection. Nothing to link, nothing to break when a bank changes its login. You enter each spend, which keeps you aware of it.
- No account. Your budget is on your iPhone, not on a server.
- Payday first. One tap fills every envelope, goal and debt for the week, fortnight or month.
- Built in Australia, where YNAB's direct bank import isn't offered.
Where YNAB is the better pick
- Bank import if your bank is supported and you'd rather not type spends.
- Sharing and more platforms: Android, the web and Apple Watch.
- Depth. Reports, loan planning and a large community teaching the method.