Is YNAB a Scam or Safe?
You Need a Budget budgeting pros/cons, complaints, fees, BBB rating. Is YNAB app safe
or a scam?
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Is You Need a Budget (YNAB) a Scam? Is It Safe?
There’s a personal finance app that’s becoming more popular. You Need a Budget (YNAB) provides budgeting tools with an easy-to-use interface. But is it safe? Is the company legit? To answer these questions, keep reading.
History of YNAB
YNAB began in 2004 to provide budgeting tools on computers. Since then, the company has built mobile apps for Apple and Android, a feature for Amazon Echo, and an Apple Watch app, all with regular updates that add new tools.
Cost of YNAB
YNAB has a free 34-day trial that doesn’t need a credit or debit card. After the trial, the monthly subscription costs $14.99. There’s also an annual plan for $99, which saves quite a bit. Students get 12 months free, which is a really good deal.
Because YNAB charges a monthly or annual fee, you’ll need a debit or credit card after the trial. This may raise questions about the company’s safety and trustworthiness.
Technical Safeguards
YNAB uses advanced software to protect and encrypt information on its servers. It uses Heroku, which runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS). All data shared between YNAB’s servers and a user’s device is protected with 128-bit encryption. To check its security, YNAB has a bug bounty program that pays ethical hackers to look for flaws in its defenses.
YNAB Promotion
Try YNAB free for 34 days and save up to $6,000 on your expenses!
Mobile App Reviews
YNAB’s apps get mostly good feedback on the Apple and Android stores.
On the Android page for the YNAB phone app, we notice an overall rating of
4.8 out of a possible 5.0.
The tablet version has a 4.7 rating. There are
over 14,000 reviews and a million downloads for the phone app, which shows it’s widely used. Many customers say they have good experiences with the company. Negative feedback points to slow performance from the app’s chat bot and a steep learning curve overall.
On Apple’s store, we find a similar situation: thousands of ratings and
an overall high score. Some reviews show responses from YNAB, which means the company is interested in user feedback. The newest version of the app came out only 8 days ago, showing that YNAB is constantly improving it.
Regulators
YNAB isn’t a bank, insurance firm, futures broker, investment advisor, or securities broker-dealer. As a result, it doesn’t have the same regulators that typical financial firms do. Still, like any business in the United States, it must follow U.S. anti-fraud laws at the federal, state, and local levels.
Insurance
Similar to its regulatory status, there’s no SIPC or FDIC insurance because YNAB doesn’t hold cash or investments.
YNAB Better Business Bureau
Even though regulators and insurance aren’t major factors here, one group does watch YNAB: the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB monitors businesses across North America and assigns ratings. It also receives complaints from customers and attempts to address them.
On the BBB page for You Need a Budget, we found a C+ rating. Their scale runs from A+ (best) to F (worst), so C+ is middle ground. The BBB says this rating is due to YNAB not responding to one customer issue. Altogether, there have been 4 complaints in the last 3 years, mostly about billing via Apple’s App Store and the accuracy of external account information on YNAB.
People can post reviews on a BBB page. YNAB has an average of 2.33 stars out of 5.
But there are only three reviews, and with millions of users, that’s a tiny sample.
Is YNAB Safe Conclusion
You Need a Budget seems to be a real company with a helpful tool that offers many perks,
especially for younger people who haven’t yet learned to handle their finances. Because there is
a free trial that doesn’t require any payment method, it seems like a low-risk choice to sign up and see how it works.
Try YNAB For Free
Try YNAB free for 34 days and save up to $6,000 on your expenses!
Open YNAB Account
Updated on 3/13/2025.
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