How does PennyPal's zero-based budgeting work?

Every single dollar of income is assigned to a category before the month begins. If you overspend in one category, you move money from another. No dollar is left unassigned, giving you total visibility over your spending.

Why is PennyPal $59.99/yr while YNAB is $109/yr?

We built PennyPal using modern, efficient serverless infrastructure rather than expensive legacy systems, and we do not spend millions on aggressive advertising. We pass those savings directly to you: the exact same zero-based method for less than half the price.

Do I have to connect my bank account?

No. You can connect your accounts via Plaid for automated sync, or you can manage your budget 100% manually. PennyPal supports manual entry, CSV file uploads, and camera receipt scanning.

Do I need a credit card to start the free trial?

No. The 15-day free trial requires only an email address — no credit card is taken. If you decide not to upgrade, your account simply drops to read-only mode so you never lose your data.

Who's behind PennyPal?

PennyPal is built by the team at ScruttLabs Inc., an independent software company dedicated to private, honestly priced financial tools without corporate bloat or data selling.

Can I connect my bank?

Yes. PennyPal connects to over 12,000 US banks and credit unions through Plaid, including Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One, local credit unions, and most fintech accounts. If yours isn't there, you can add it manually and keep it in sync by hand.

What happens after the trial?

Nothing automatic. We'll email you three days before your 30-day trial ends. If you do nothing, your account drops to read-only — your data stays, you just can't add new accounts. Upgrade whenever you're ready. Start the trial.

Is there a mobile app?

Yes. PennyPal is available on iOS and Android, both free with your plan. Everything syncs instantly — start a budget on your laptop and snap a receipt on your phone.

Never. Not to advertisers, data brokers, or "trusted partners." We make money from subscriptions. That's the entire business model.

Will connecting my bank hurt my credit score?

No. Connecting is a read-only data link, not a credit application. There's no hard inquiry, no soft inquiry, and no footprint on your credit report.

Can PennyPal move my money?

No. The connection is read-only by design. We can't transfer, withdraw, or pay anything. Even if someone got into your PennyPal account, there is no button to move a dollar.

What if I want to leave?

Export everything as CSV, then delete your account in two clicks. Deletion removes your data from our systems and revokes every bank connection. We don't keep a copy for analytics.

Do you use my data to train AI?

No. Your transactions never train any model — ours or anyone else's.

What happens if PennyPal shuts down?

You get 90 days' notice and a full export. Your money was never with us, so there is nothing to unwind — just disconnect and go.

Can I disconnect a bank later?

Anytime, instantly. Disconnecting cuts the Plaid link immediately. You choose whether to keep the history or wipe it.

Do I have to connect a bank at all?

No. Plenty of people run PennyPal fully manually with our CSV importer or manual quick-entry mode. You get the exact same zero-based budgeting, categories, and Sankey visualizer without linking a single account.

Can I hide an account?

Yes. Connect everything and show only what you want. It's useful for joint accounts, business cards, or anything you'd rather not stare at daily.

Can my partner see my accounts?

Only if you invite them, and only the accounts you share. Shared budgets are opt-in per account, not per household.

Who's behind PennyPal?

PennyPal is built by the team at ScruttLabs Inc. (background on our About page). We're real engineers and budgeters, with a real support inbox and no offshore chatbot.

Zero-based budgeting|From $59.99/yr — less than half of YNAB's $109|The modern Mint alternative

No credit card required

Gain total
control with
zero-based budgeting.

Name: PennyPal
Brand: PennyPal
Price: 59.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Stop living paycheck to paycheck, get out of debt, and save more money. Built for real people who want an honest, visual Mint alternative that tracks every single penny — all the way down to that $4 parking ticket.

30-day free trial · No credit card required

|See how it compares vs YNAB

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

this month, so far

Net worth

$18,240

+6.2%

Paycheck+$2,410

Rent−$1,200

Parking ticket −$4

the important bit

Your money stays untouchable.

Never sold. Ever.
Your data isn't for sale.
AES-256 encrypted
In transit and at rest, on AWS.
We never see your login
Plaid handles your bank sign-in.
Read-only by design
We can't move a cent.

See how we protect you

New Release 2.0✦30-day free trial✦No credit card required✦Pal Starter $59.99/yr✦Pal Pro $94.99/yr✦Up to 5 bank accounts on Starter✦every price posted✦Bank-level encryption✦Cancel anytime✦New Release 2.0✦30-day free trial✦No credit card required✦Pal Starter $59.99/yr✦Pal Pro $94.99/yr✦Up to 5 bank accounts on Starter✦every price posted✦Bank-level encryption✦Cancel anytime✦

Monthly Income

$9,500

+4.2%

jan '26

Total Expenses

$6,250

-2.1%

dec '25

Saved This Month

$3,250

+12%

this mo

Goals Progress

39%

On track

q1 goal

Pending Review

3 items

Needs attention

check it

scroll to explore

Features that matter

Connect your bank

Securely link your banks, cards, and investments with Plaid. Balances and transactions sync automatically, with read-only access.

Active

Budgeting

Give every dollar a purpose with flexible spending plans, category targets, and a live view of what is safe to spend.

Track recurring

Spot subscriptions and repeating bills automatically, so you always know what is due next and what can be cancelled.

AI insights

Pal AI finds spending patterns, flags surprises, and gives practical suggestions to help your money work harder.

Document vault

Keep important financial documents in one secure place and get reminders before policies, IDs, and warranties expire.

Credit card rewards tracker

See the rewards you are earning, discover the best card for each purchase, and make every point count.

Receipt scanner

Scan a receipt in seconds and PennyPal captures the merchant, total, and line items without manual data entry.

Split transactions

Split a single transaction between budgets, categories, or people so shared costs and mixed purchases stay accurate.

scroll

See it, don't guess it

See where every penny
goes..

the how-it-works bit

How
PennyPal
actually
works

Connect your accounts

Link your bank, credit cards, and investment accounts in minutes via read-only sync — or prefer no bank connection? Enter transactions manually with our quick-entry mode. Same flexible budgets, same reports, total privacy.

Set your intentions

Allocate every dollar before the month starts. Adjust as life changes. No guilt trips, no red warnings — just a clear plan.

Watch the flow

See income cascade through spending buckets, categories, and subcategories in our animated Sankey diagram. Four levels of clarity.

Feel the progress

Small, satisfying signals show what's working. Goals tick forward, savings build, and your Pal AI keeps you honest without being annoying.

Real-time visibility:Every dollar tracked with zero-based precision · No ads · No data selling

256-bit bank encryption✦30-day trial✦Export CSV anytime

real people, real budgets

Loved by people who
finally get it.

4.9 / 5 rating·Based on verified customer stories·Join 30,000+ budgeters on r/pennypal

Verified

"I finally know where my money is going. It's not just about tracking; it's about changing your mindset. The zero-based method gave every single dollar a job."

Sarah Jenkins

Freelance Designer

Verified

"The best budgeting app I've ever used. The zero-based budgeting method just clicks, and it's half the price of YNAB with better cash flow visuals."

Marcus Chen

Software Engineer

Verified

"PennyPal helped me save $14,000 for a down payment in just 8 months. Seeing income cascade into target buckets was an absolute game changer."

David Miller

Small Business Owner

Verified

"I used to be scared of checking my bank account. Now I feel totally in control and at peace — no guilt trips, no shame, just clear categories."

Elena Rodriguez

Teacher

Verified

"Three months in and I've saved $4,000 more than last year while paying off $3,200 in credit card debt. The weekly nudge keeps me completely honest."

Priya T.

Marketing Manager

Verified

"The weekly summary alone changed how I spend. Simple, honest, no guilt trips, and canceling unnecessary subscriptions was painless."

Rina P.

Nurse

Verified

"Switched from a spreadsheet I'd spent years refining. PennyPal replaced it in an afternoon, and the Sankey diagram makes spending instantly intuitive."

Mia W.

Product Designer

Verified

"Finally a budget app I actually open. Two minutes a day and I know exactly where I stand. Paid off our car loan 4 months ahead of schedule."

Aravind S.

Software Engineer

same method. half the price.

Pricing that isn't confusing

Zero-based budgeting shouldn't cost $109/year. PennyPal gives you complete financial clarity at honest prices.

Pal Starter

Perfect for getting started.

$59.99/year

Equivalent to $7.99/mo

Connect Up to 5 bank accounts
Basic categorization
Monthly reports
Budget creation and tracking
Financial goal tracking
Recurring transaction tracking
Mobile app access

Get Started

Pal Pro

Master your financial life.

$94.99/year

Equivalent to $14.99/mo

Connect Unlimited bank accounts
AI-powered insights
Advanced financial forecasting
Split Pal — share and split expenses
Reward Tracker
Vault — organize important documents
Custom categories & tags
Financial goal tracking
Recurring transaction tracking
Detailed spending reports and analytics
Data export

Get Started

Pal Pro for an entire year costs less than two months of YNAB's monthly plan.

Pal Starter is just $0.16/day · 30-day free trial on every plan · Cancel anytime with zero hassle

Every price is posted because pay secrecy — or price secrecy — is just weird.

straight answers, no fine print

Got questions?

The things people actually want to know before they connect an account, start a trial, or trust an app with their financial life.

Yes. PennyPal connects to over 12,000 US banks and credit unions through Plaid, including Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One, local credit unions, and most fintech accounts. If yours isn't there, you can add it manually and keep it in sync by hand.
Nothing automatic. We'll email you three days before your 30-day trial ends. If you do nothing, your account drops to read-only — your data stays, you just can't add new accounts. Upgrade whenever you're ready. Start the trial.
Yes. PennyPal is available on iOS and Android, both free with your plan. Everything syncs instantly — start a budget on your laptop and snap a receipt on your phone.
Never. Not to advertisers, data brokers, or "trusted partners." We make money from subscriptions. That's the entire business model.
No. Connecting is a read-only data link, not a credit application. There's no hard inquiry, no soft inquiry, and no footprint on your credit report.
No. The connection is read-only by design. We can't transfer, withdraw, or pay anything. Even if someone got into your PennyPal account, there is no button to move a dollar.
Export everything as CSV, then delete your account in two clicks. Deletion removes your data from our systems and revokes every bank connection. We don't keep a copy for analytics.
No. Your transactions never train any model — ours or anyone else's.
You get 90 days' notice and a full export. Your money was never with us, so there is nothing to unwind — just disconnect and go.
Anytime, instantly. Disconnecting cuts the Plaid link immediately. You choose whether to keep the history or wipe it.
No. Plenty of people run PennyPal fully manually with our CSV importer or manual quick-entry mode. You get the exact same zero-based budgeting, categories, and Sankey visualizer without linking a single account.
Yes. Connect everything and show only what you want. It's useful for joint accounts, business cards, or anything you'd rather not stare at daily.
Only if you invite them, and only the accounts you share. Shared budgets are opt-in per account, not per household.
PennyPal is built by ScruttLabs Inc., (background on our About page). We're real engineers and budgeters, with a real support inbox and no offshore chatbot.

Claude

Connect

ChatGPT

Connect

PennyPal

Accounts · Transactions · Budgets · Receipts · Investments · Goals

Coming soon

introducing PennyPal MCP

Chat with your money inside Claude & ChatGPT.

Connect PennyPal to your AI assistant and ask about your accounts, transactions, budgets, receipts, investments and goals in plain language.

Try asking

“Where did I overspend last month?”“How close am I to my savings goals?”“How much did I spend on groceries this week?”“Show me my recent transactions.”“What is my current account balance?”

where did your money go? ↓

Start your free trial today

Join thousands of smart spenders who finally know where every penny goes.30 days free, then Pal Starter from $7.99/mo ($59.99/yr) or Pal Pro at $14.99/mo ($94.99/yr).

30-day free trial · No credit card required

Features that matter

Connect your bank

Budgeting

Track recurring

AI insights

Document vault

Credit card rewards tracker

Receipt scanner

Split transactions

See where every penny goes..

HowPennyPalactuallyworks

Connect your accounts

Set your intentions

Watch the flow

Feel the progress

Loved by people whofinally get it.

Pricing that isn't confusing

Pal Starter

Pal Pro

Got questions?

Chat with your money inside Claude & ChatGPT.

Start your free trial today

Get PennyPal

See where every penny
goes..

How
PennyPal
actually
works

Loved by people who
finally get it.