Stay Steady vs YNAB
Last updated: 30 October 2026
YNAB (“You Need A Budget”) is a well-known budgeting service built around giving every euro a job. Stay Steady is a free app that keeps your transactions on your device and reads the statement files your bank gives you. This page sets them side by side so you can pick the one that fits. We built Stay Steady, so we say where YNAB is the better choice too.
Get Stay Steady, free: App Store (iPhone and iPad) · Mac App Store · Google Play
Competitor details were checked on YNAB’s own pages on 30 October 2026. Prices are quoted in US dollars as YNAB publishes them. Check YNAB’s pricing page for today’s figures.
At a glance
| Stay Steady | YNAB | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. No subscription, no ads, no in-app purchases | $14.99 per month or $109 per year; 34-day free trial |
| Getting transactions in | Import CSV, OFX/QFX, Belgian CODA or SWIFT MT940 files; optionally fetch from a service you subscribe to | Direct import from “select US, Canadian, UK, and EU banks”, or file-based import |
| Bank login | Never typed into the app | Typed into YNAB’s import flow where direct import is available |
| Where your transactions live | On your device; optional sync through your own iCloud | In YNAB’s cloud service |
| Separate household, company and club books | Yes, as “Financial Environments” | Separate budgets, one per plan |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android | iOS, Android, web |
Where Stay Steady fits
- You bank in Belgium. YNAB’s pricing page lists direct import for “select US, Canadian, UK, and EU banks” and does not name Belgium. Stay Steady reads the files Belgian banks already produce, including CODA and MT940, and checks them against the statement’s balances.
- You do not want a subscription. Stay Steady is free and stays free. If you want to chip in, there is a Buy Me a Coffee link, and you get nothing extra for it.
- You would rather not hand over a bank login. Stay Steady never connects to your bank. Since version 2.3 it can also fetch transactions from a service you subscribe to, such as Lunch Flow or SimpleFIN Bridge. You sign in to your bank at that service, never in the app.
- You keep several sets of books. Household, company and club each get their own accounts, budgets and categories, and no total mixes them. Each can use its own currency.
Where YNAB fits
- You want transactions to arrive on their own through direct import, and your bank is one it supports.
- You want a web app as well as phone apps.
- You like YNAB’s method of giving every dollar a job and its teaching material.
About “no ads”
We do not show ads, but that is not what sets us apart here. YNAB says it only wants to make money from you paying it, and does not sell your financial data. The real differences are price, where your transactions are stored, and how they get in.
Try it
Stay Steady is on the App Store, the Mac App Store and Google Play. Not sure how to get your bank’s file? See the import help. Other comparisons: Stay Steady vs Monarch Money and Stay Steady vs Copilot Money.