Net Worth CandlesMoney apps without a subscription: when paying once is enough
Since Mint shut down in March 2024, the best-known budgeting apps have been subscriptions — roughly $95–$110 a year when paid annually. That fee buys automatic bank syncing, along with an account, a recurring bill and your transactions on someone else’s servers. If what you really want is to see whether you’re getting better off, there’s a lighter option. (Written by the developer of Net Worth Candles, so read the comparison with that in mind.)
Why almost every money app is a subscription
Apps that connect to your bank typically pay a data-aggregation service for those connections and run servers that store and categorise your transactions. Those costs come back every month, so the price does too. It’s a fair trade if you need what it pays for.
Apps that never touch your bank have no such running costs. Like a calculator or a camera app, they can be sold once and keep working.
What a subscription buys you
- Automatic transactions. Card and bank activity flows in by itself — where your bank is supported. Coverage is best in the US and Canada.
- Investment balances that update themselves.
- Sharing across devices and the web, often with a partner.
If you have a dozen accounts and hate typing, that convenience is real and may well be worth the fee.
What you get by paying once
- No recurring bill. You pay once and the app keeps working.
- No account and no bank password to hand over.
- Your data stays on your device — optionally synced through your own iCloud, never to the developer.
- Works offline and in any country or currency, because nothing depends on a bank connection.
The trade-off is that you log entries yourself. With a good keypad that’s a few seconds per purchase, and many people find the habit is exactly what makes them notice their spending.
Side by side
| Typical subscription app (YNAB, Monarch, Copilot…) | Net Worth Candles | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | About $95–$110 a year | Free; Pro is a one-time unlock |
| Bank syncing | Yes, where your bank is supported | No — you log entries in a few seconds |
| Account needed | Yes | No |
| Where your data lives | The company’s servers | Your device; optional sync via your own iCloud |
| Works offline | Limited | Fully |
| Net worth view | Reports and charts | A candlestick for every day, week or month |
Which one should you choose?
Choose a subscription app if you want every card transaction imported for you, your bank is supported, and the yearly fee is worth the time it saves.
Choose a pay-once app if you mainly want to know whether you’re getting richer, you’d rather not link your bank, or you live somewhere those apps don’t reach. A spreadsheet is the free version of this — it just takes more discipline.
How Net Worth Candles works
Net Worth Candles draws your net worth as a candlestick chart — the view traders use for stocks. Every entry you log moves today’s candle; zoom out to weeks and months to see the trend.
- Log an entry in about three seconds with the built-in calculator, account and category in one pass.
- Cash, bank cards and credit cards in one place, with net worth worked out for you.
- A monthly review with a spending calendar, savings rate and budgets.
- iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch; 22 languages; offline by default, no account.
Want to see the idea with your own numbers first? The free net worth chart maker draws them as candles right in your browser.
Questions
Is there a free replacement for Mint?
When Mint closed in March 2024, its owner pointed users to Credit Karma, which kept spending and net worth tracking but not Mint’s monthly budgets or custom categories. If you want budgets without a subscription, the usual routes are a spreadsheet or a pay-once app.
Can I bring my data from another app?
Yes. Export your records from the old app (CSV or Excel), let any AI chat convert them using the prompt the app gives you, then pick the file or paste it in. You can also export your own entries as CSV at any time.
Does it sync between iPhone and iPad?
Yes, through your own iCloud, if you switch it on. It’s off by default, and the developer can’t see your data either way.