Comparisons
A Monarch Money alternative you pay for once
Monarch Money is a good fit if you live in the United States or Canada and want your accounts pulled in for you, with a partner seeing the same dashboard. Tobsy is for someone who would rather type spending in, budget their own way, keep the data in their own Google Sheet in any country and currency, and pay once: A$59, after thirty days free.
· 3 min read
Side by side
The Monarch column comes from Monarch's own pages, read on 13 October 2026; where a row says "its help centre", the detail is from Monarch's help articles. The Tobsy column is on this site.
| Monarch Money | Tobsy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Core US$14.99 a month or US$99.99 a year; a Plus plan adds forecasting. No one-time price on its pricing page | A$59 once. No subscription and no renewal |
| Free trial | "Your first week is on us" | Thirty days, every screen. An email address and nothing else |
| Bank connection | Feeds through Plaid, MX and Finicity, its help centre says | None, by design. Quick entry, CSV statement import, or a screenshot read on your device |
| Where its feeds work | The United States and Canada | No feed, so no country list. Any currency, with dates and numbers in your country's format |
| Budgeting | Budgets by category or group, with rollover, its help centre says | Intentions: flexible. Zero-based, envelope-style rollover, 50/30/20 or any percentages |
| Where the data lives | Monarch's servers | A Google Sheet in your own Drive |
| Households | Members under one subscription at no extra cost; "both parties will have full visibility into all accounts and transactions" | Up to six people, two households, splits global or per category, settle-up, and one private category each |
| Forecast | Plus: "plan further ahead with our forecasting tools", which its help centre describes as multi-year | Six months ahead, shown as a range |
| Platforms | Web, iPhone, iPad and Android | Any phone, tablet or computer |
| Currencies | US or Canadian dollars, its help centre says | Any currency, with the rate frozen on the day |
| Languages | Not stated on the pages read | English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Dutch and French |
The one real difference
Monarch is built around bank feeds, and its download page names the United States and Canada. Tobsy has no feed at all: you type a purchase in a few taps, and catch up from a screenshot or a statement, checked before anything saves. That makes it the same app in Sydney, Auckland, London or Lisbon.
Feeds are worth having where they work, and they come with upkeep: Monarch's help centre says some banks grant access for a limited time and then ask you to reconnect through the bank's own login, so a statement is cross-checked either way.
Budgeting and households
Budgeting in Tobsy is called Intentions. Set an intention per category in dollars or as a percent of income, see what is left against your income, and turn on rollover where you want it. A Savings floor lets you pay yourself first, and goals show a suggested amount a month.
For couples, Monarch shares one dashboard and one view. Tobsy splits shared costs the way you choose, each of you sees your own share, the joint ledger works out the settle-up, and each person gets one private category whose totals count while its detail stays theirs. See for couples and families.
Price and data over time
Monarch Core is US$99.99 each year. Tobsy is A$59 once, your key does not expire, and your entries stay in your own sheet whether you pay or not. See Pricing, or look around the demo.
Sources
- Monarch pricing — Core US$14.99 a month or US$99.99 a year, a Plus tier with forecasting tools, "Your first week is on us", 2026-10-13
- Monarch download — web, iPhone, iPad and Android; "United States and Canada", 2026-10-13
- Monarch for couples — no cost to add members, separate logins, "full visibility", 2026-10-13
- Monarch in Canada — Canada support, prices billed in US dollars, 2026-10-13
- Monarch help centre, "Understanding Data Providers and Connections", "Connection Status Messaging", "Forecasting in Monarch", the Monarch FAQs on supported currencies (help.monarch.com, read through search results; direct requests were refused) — feed providers, reconnection through the bank's login, multi-year forecasting, USD or CAD, rollover, 2026-10-13
- Tobsy: For couples and families — up to six people, two households, splits, settle-up, a PIN-protected private category, 2026-10-13
- Tobsy: Staying ahead — intentions in dollars or percent, rollover and roll-under, the six-month forecast as a range, 2026-10-13
- Tobsy pricing — the price, currencies, languages, getting your data out, 2026-10-13
Questions
Does Monarch Money work in Australia?
Monarch's download page names the United States and Canada. Tobsy has no bank feed, so it works the same anywhere: pick your base currency, and dates and numbers follow your country's formatting.
Can I budget with rollover in Tobsy?
Yes. Set an intention per category in dollars or as a percent of income and turn on rollover, and what you did not spend carries into next month's intention. Tobsy shows what is left against your income.
Can my partner and I share Tobsy?
Yes. One copy holds up to six people, and any two can share a household. Shared costs are split the way you choose, and each person has one private category whose detail stays theirs.
Is there a monthly fee?
No. Thirty days free, then one payment of A$59. Your card is charged in your own currency at the checkout's rate.
Can I get my data out?
Yes. It is a spreadsheet in your own Google Drive, so you can open it in Google Sheets any time, and Export in the app gives you everything as a file.
Thirty days free
Try it, or look around first.
The demo is the real app with fourteen months of sample entries. The trial is every screen, for thirty days, with your own.
About ten minutes to set up, once, on a computer. You’ll need a Google account. A$59 after the trial, if you want to keep it.