Monarch Pricing 2026: Monthly, Yearly and the WELCOME Discount

Monarch costs $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year for Core in 2026, and $199.99 a year for Plus, which is sold on annual billing only. Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial that needs a payment method, and new members who sign up on the web can take 30% off their first Core year with the code WELCOME. There is no free plan.

Prices were read on Monarch's pricing page and its promo codes page on 18 October 2026. Our view: the yearly Core plan is the right buy for almost everyone who gets past the trial, because monthly billing costs 80% more over a year, and Plus only earns its price if you run a side business or want the retirement forecast.

Toolradar data: Monarch's entry paid plan, at $8.33 a month billed yearly, ranks #12 of 21 (joint) on price among the personal finance tools on Toolradar with a verified entry price, against a median of $8.25 a month, as of October 2026. It is also listed as an alternative to 19 other tools, #2 of 63 in the category, so it is priced like the middle of the market and shopped like a leader. Its directory page is Monarch Money on Toolradar.

Monarch plans at a glance

Monarch adds tax where applicable. The effective monthly cost of the WELCOME year is our arithmetic on the published 30% discount, which puts the first Core year at about $69.99.

How much does Monarch cost per month?

The headline monthly price is the most expensive way to pay. Billed yearly, Core works out to $8.33 a month, so the annual plan costs 44% less than twelve monthly bills, by our arithmetic. The pricing page shows the monthly toggle only for Core; Plus appears with an annual price and no monthly option.

The break-even point is short. Seven months of monthly billing cost $104.93, which is already more than a full year on the annual plan, so anyone who expects to keep Monarch past six months should pay yearly. The money-back guarantee lowers the risk of committing early, since Monarch describes it as no-questions-asked.

What does the WELCOME code save?

The WELCOME code takes 30% off Core for one year. Monarch's terms limit it to new members, to the annual Core plan, and to subscriptions billed directly by Monarch, so it does not work on Plus, on monthly billing, or through the Apple App Store or Google Play. It cannot be combined with other offers, and Monarch says codes may expire or be deactivated at any time.

The two-year totals are our arithmetic on Monarch's list prices and assume the price does not change at renewal. The code is worth about $30 in year one, a smaller saving than switching from monthly to yearly billing, which saves roughly $80 a year on its own. Sign up on the web rather than in an app store if you want the code, which is also what Monarch's FAQ recommends for easier subscription management.

Core vs Plus: is the upgrade worth $100 a year?

Plus costs twice the yearly Core price, so the question is whether its five additions do a job you would otherwise pay for. Plus adds a retirement forecast, business income and expense tracking, P&L reports with tax-prep exports, deeper investment analysis, and a will prepared through Trust & Will, not by Monarch.

For a freelancer or a household with a side business, Plus can replace a separate bookkeeping app for simple income tracking, and the tax-prep exports save hours at filing time. Monarch's own disclosure says a tax professional should review those exports before you file. For a salaried household that only budgets and tracks net worth, Plus adds nothing it will use, and Core is the right plan.

The will is the hardest feature to price. Monarch notes that Trust & Will is not a law firm and that you should have an attorney confirm the will meets your state's rules, so treat it as a convenience, not a reason on its own to pay an extra $100 a year.

Is there a free version of Monarch?

No. Monarch has no free plan, only a 7-day free trial on Core and Plus, and the trial requires a payment method. If you do not cancel in settings before the trial ends, the plan you picked starts billing. Monarch argues on its pricing page that a paid app has no ads and does not sell your financial data, which is the trade it asks you to make against free apps.

Households get one useful break: Monarch says it costs nothing to add other household members under the same subscription, each with their own login. A couple on yearly Core pays about $50 each per year by our arithmetic. The catch is privacy, because every member sees every account and transaction in the shared household.

Is Monarch cheaper than YNAB, Copilot, Rocket Money or Simplifi?

Monarch sits in the middle of the budgeting-app price range, so price alone rarely decides between it and its closest rivals. Prices read on each vendor's own page on 18 October 2026:

On a yearly plan, Monarch Core is $9.01 cheaper than YNAB and $4.99 more than Copilot Money, so the three cost about the same and should be chosen on method and platform rather than price. Simplifi is the cheapest yearly option, and its first-year rate is an introductory offer for new members ordering by November 13, 2026. Rocket Money is the only one with a free tier, and its Premium price is set by you within its range.

What separates them is fit. YNAB charges for a strict give-every-dollar-a-job method, Copilot Money undercuts Monarch slightly on the yearly plan, and Rocket Money adds bill negotiation on its higher tier. Our comparisons go deeper: YNAB vs Monarch, Monarch vs Copilot Money and Rocket Money vs Monarch. The single-app reviews are the YNAB review, Copilot Money review, Rocket Money review and Simplifi review, and the best budgeting apps ranking puts all five side by side. Toolradar keeps directory pages for YNAB, Copilot Money and Rocket Money too.

Which Monarch plan should you pick?

Start the 7-day trial on Core and connect every account you own during that week, because the trial is too short to judge a budget any other way. If the app holds up, switch to yearly billing before the first charge and apply WELCOME if you sign up on the web, which gives you the lowest first-year price Monarch publishes.

Move to Plus only when one of its features replaces something you already pay for or do by hand. A freelancer who tracks invoices in a spreadsheet and hands a tax preparer a shoebox of receipts gets real time back from the business tracking and exports. A household planning a retirement date gets a forecast it would otherwise build in a spreadsheet. Everyone else should stay on Core and put the $100 difference toward savings.

Stay on monthly billing only if you are testing Monarch against another app and expect to decide within a few months. Past six months, the monthly plan is the most expensive way to own the same product, and the money-back guarantee already covers the risk of an early yearly commitment.

Is Monarch worth the price?

It is worth it for a household that wants every account, budget and net-worth figure in one place and will check it weekly, because the yearly plan costs less per month than most streaming subscriptions and replaces a spreadsheet you would otherwise maintain by hand. Couples get the most value, since a second member costs nothing. Our Monarch review covers the features in detail.

It is not worth it if you only want to see your balances: a free tier elsewhere does that. It is also a poor fit if you want a strict zero-based method with coaching built in, which is YNAB's angle, or if you will not use the app beyond the first month, since the trial needs a card and auto-renews. For the AI tools that sit next to a budgeting app, see AI for personal finance.

How we checked these prices

Louis Corneloup, founder of Toolradar and Dupple, wrote this page from Monarch's pricing page, its promo codes page and its couples page, read on 18 October 2026, with rival prices read on the vendor pages linked in the comparison table the same day. The yearly, two-year and per-person totals are our arithmetic on those published prices. Finpresso runs no test lab; this page is built on the vendors' published prices and terms. We re-check the page when Monarch changes a plan or a code.

This page is general information, not personalized financial advice. Confirm current prices, trial terms and discount conditions with Monarch before you subscribe.

FAQ

How much does Monarch cost in 2026?

Monarch Core costs $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, which works out to $8.33 a month. Plus costs $199.99 a year and is sold on annual billing only. Each plan starts with a 7-day free trial that requires a payment method, and tax is added where applicable.

Does Monarch have a free plan?

No. Monarch offers only a 7-day free trial, and you must cancel in settings before it ends to avoid being charged. It also offers a no-questions-asked money-back guarantee after you subscribe.

How does the Monarch WELCOME code work?

WELCOME takes 30% off the first year of annual Core, about $30 off the list price by our arithmetic. It is for new members only, cannot be combined with other offers, and works only on subscriptions billed directly by Monarch, not through Apple or Google.

What is the difference between Monarch Core and Plus?

Core covers net worth, budgets, custom reports and savings and debt goals. Plus adds retirement forecasting, business income and expense tracking, P&L reports and tax-prep exports, advanced investment analysis, and a will through Trust & Will, for twice the yearly Core price.

Can two people share one Monarch subscription?

Yes. Monarch says adding household members under the same subscription costs nothing, and each person gets their own login. Every member can see all accounts and transactions in the household, so agree on that before you invite anyone.

Is Monarch cheaper than YNAB?

Yes, slightly. Yearly Monarch Core costs $9.01 less than YNAB's $109 annual plan, and the two charge the same month to month. YNAB's trial is longer at 34 days and needs no card, while Monarch's 7-day trial requires one.

Cite this: Finpresso, "Monarch Pricing 2026: Monthly, Yearly and the WELCOME Discount", October 2026.

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