Monarch vs Copilot Money

The verdict

Pick Copilot Money if your household is all on Apple devices, you’re in the US, and you like the idea of AI sorting your transactions and answering questions about them. It’s slightly cheaper and has the longer trial.

Pick Monarch if anyone in your household uses Android, you live in Canada, or you want each person to have their own login and role. Monarch’s flex budgeting and its Plus tier also reach further into planning, business income and tax-prep exports.

Who Monarch is for

Monarch is for households that want one shared view of their money across any phone. It runs on the web, iPhone, iPad and Android, connects through Plaid, Finicity and MX to more than 13,000 institutions in the US and Canada, and invites household members at no extra cost, each with their own login.

Its default budget is flex budgeting: fixed costs, non-monthly costs and a flexible pool. If you’d rather budget each category, you can switch, and rollovers carry amounts forward. Investments show holdings, performance against benchmarks and allocation. For more, the Plus tier ($199.99 a year) adds retirement forecasting, business income and expenses, gains and losses with tax lots, and tax-prep exports.

Who Copilot Money is for

Copilot is for people who live in Apple’s world. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web, and leans on automation: AI categorization, an AI assistant, and integrations with Amazon and Venmo. Investments update intra-day.

Its budgets are category budgets built from your past spending, with optional rollovers. Copilot says itself that it isn’t built specifically as a zero-based budgeting tool, so it suits people who want to see where money goes and set sensible limits rather than assign every dollar. It’s US only and uses US dollars.

The real differences

Devices and countries

This often decides it before anything else. Copilot has no Android or Windows app, so if one partner uses Android, Monarch is the practical choice. Copilot’s bank sync is US only; Monarch covers the US and Canada.

How couples share

The two take different approaches. Monarch treats a household as several people: each signs in separately, and roles (Admin, Member, Professional) control what they can do. One thing to know is that accounts can’t be hidden from household members. Copilot shares your own account: you send a link, your partner signs in as you, and every signed-in device has full control. That’s simple, but there’s no way to give someone a separate login or less access.

Price and trial

Copilot is $95 a year or $13 a month; Monarch Core is $99.99 a year or $14.99 a month. Over three years on annual plans that’s about $285 against $300. Copilot’s trial is a month and renews automatically; Monarch’s is 7 days with a payment method and a money-back guarantee.

Investments and planning

Both track investments. Copilot’s strength is up-to-date figures. Monarch’s is analysis: benchmarks and allocation in Core, then tax lots, Morningstar data and retirement forecasting in Plus.

Switching between them

From Copilot to Monarch: export all your transactions from Copilot as CSV, then import them into Monarch on the web. Monarch’s imports can’t be undone, so try one account first.

From Monarch to Copilot: Monarch exports transactions and balance history as CSV, even after your subscription ends. Whether Copilot can import a CSV file isn’t something we could confirm on its site; check with Copilot before you rely on it.

Where Kemback fits

Kemback suits households that want separate sign-ins without a subscription. Its Free plan has no time limit and covers two people, with shared and private accounts and owner, editor, viewer and advisor roles. It offers envelope or category budgets (switchable without losing anything), a register with splits and reconciliation, bills, rules and a review inbox, and it reads Monarch’s transactions download.

It’s not a like-for-like replacement for either. There’s no automatic bank sync yet (it’s planned for Plus, which isn’t on sale yet), no investment tracking and no AI categorization; it runs on the web, with an iPhone app in beta and Android in development. Compare in detail: Kemback vs Monarch and Kemback vs Copilot Money.

Questions

Is Monarch or Copilot cheaper?

Copilot is a little cheaper: $95 a year or $13 a month, against Monarch Core's $99.99 a year or $14.99 a month, when checked in October 2026. Monarch's Plus tier, at $199.99 a year, adds planning, business and tax-prep features.

Does Copilot Money work on Android?

No. Copilot runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web, with no Android or Windows app. Monarch has an Android app as well as iPhone, iPad and the web.

Which is better for couples?

Monarch gives each household member their own login, with roles, at no extra cost. Copilot shares your own sign-in through a link, and every signed-in device has full control, so there are no separate logins.

Do Monarch and Copilot work in Canada?

Monarch works in the US and Canada. Copilot's bank sync is US only and it uses US dollars only.

Which is better for investments?

Both track investments. Copilot updates them intra-day. Monarch shows performance against benchmarks and allocation, and its Plus tier adds gains and losses with tax lots.

Is there a free alternative to both?

Kemback has a free plan with no time limit, with budgets, a register, bills, rules and separate sign-ins for a household of two. It has no automatic bank sync or investment tracking yet; sync is planned for its Plus plan, which isn't on sale yet.