Copilot vs Monarch Money: Premium Budgeting Apps Compared for 2026

Copilot and Monarch Money represent the premium tier of personal finance apps—both paid, both excellent, both trying to fill the void Mint left behind. But they take different approaches: Copilot bets on AI and Apple-ecosystem polish, while Monarch prioritizes comprehensive tracking and couples collaboration.

This guide breaks down which approach fits your situation—and what to consider once budgeting becomes the easy part of your financial life.

Last reviewed: January 18, 2026.

Quick verdict

Choose Copilot if: You're deep in the Apple ecosystem and want the most beautiful, AI-enhanced budgeting experience available. Copilot's interface is genuinely delightful, and the AI categorization learns your patterns faster than any competitor. Worth it if you value design and automation.

Choose Monarch Money if: You need cross-platform access (Android, web), want investment tracking alongside budgeting, or manage finances as a couple. Monarch's collaboration features are unmatched, and the comprehensive dashboard gives you a complete financial picture.

Choose X1 Wealth if: Your net worth is $1M+ and you've realized that knowing where your money went matters less than optimizing where it grows. Tax strategy, estate planning, and advisor coordination have higher ROI than tracking your coffee spending.

Comparison at a glance

Understanding Copilot

Copilot launched with a clear thesis: budgeting apps should be delightful. Built exclusively for Apple devices (until a recent web launch), it combines beautiful design with genuine AI capabilities that make financial tracking feel almost effortless.

What sets Copilot apart

1. AI that actually works

Copilot's AI categorization is the best in the industry. It learns your patterns quickly and gets smarter over time. But the standout feature is the AI chatbot—ask questions in plain English like "How much did I spend on restaurants last month?" or "Am I on track for my savings goal?" and get instant answers.

2. Design that delights

This sounds superficial, but it matters. Copilot's interface is genuinely beautiful—the kind of app you actually want to open. For people who've bounced off uglier budgeting tools, this can be the difference between using it daily and abandoning it.

3. Unique integrations

Copilot offers Amazon and Venmo integrations that no competitor matches. Sign into your Amazon account and see itemized transaction details instead of just "Amazon.com $47.82." For heavy Amazon users, this alone might justify the subscription.

4. Behavioral nudges

Push alerts when you're overspending in a category, notifications about unusual transactions, and proactive suggestions. Copilot tries to coach you, not just track you.

Copilot pricing

• Monthly: $13/month
• Annual: $95/year ($7.92/month effective)
• Free trial: 1 month, no credit card required

Copilot limitations

• Apple only: No Android app. If anyone in your household uses Android, Copilot doesn't work for shared finances.
• Limited sharing: Couples features exist but aren't as robust as Monarch's unlimited user sharing.
• Newer platform: Less established than Monarch, smaller user community.

Understanding Monarch Money

Monarch was built by former Mint employees who saw their creation decline under Intuit's ownership. It's designed to be the comprehensive financial dashboard Mint should have become—tracking spending, investments, and net worth across every account type.

What sets Monarch apart

1. Cross-platform everything

iOS, Android, web—Monarch works everywhere. For couples where one partner uses iPhone and another uses Android, this is non-negotiable.

2. Investment and net worth tracking

While Copilot added investment tracking, Monarch was built for it. Portfolio views, allocation analysis, performance tracking, and net worth history over time. It's a complete financial dashboard, not just a budgeting app.

3. Unlimited household sharing

Add your spouse, partner, adult children, financial advisor—anyone who needs visibility. No per-seat charges, no user limits. For couples managing money together, this is transformative.

4. Multiple data aggregators

Monarch uses Plaid, MX, and Finicity for bank connections. If one fails, you can try another. This triple-redundancy means better reliability than single-provider apps.

5. Credit score monitoring

Monthly credit score updates with trend graphs and change notifications—a frequently requested feature that Copilot lacks.

Monarch pricing

• Monthly: $14.99/month
• Annual: $99.99/year ($8.33/month effective)
• Free trial: 7 days with full feature access

Monarch limitations

• Steeper learning curve: More features means more complexity. The mobile app in particular can feel overwhelming at first.
• No free tier: Unlike Empower's free dashboard, Monarch is paid-only.
• Limited retirement modeling: No Monte Carlo simulations or advanced retirement projections.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Budgeting approach

Copilot: Flexible budgeting with AI assistance. Categories are automatically assigned and learn from your corrections. The approach feels more automated and hands-off than traditional budgeting.

Monarch: Offers both traditional category budgeting and simplified "Flex Budgeting" (needs, wants, savings). More control than Copilot, but requires more manual input.

Winner: Copilot for automation, Monarch for control.

Investment tracking

Copilot: Added investment tracking, but it's not the core focus. Basic portfolio views and performance.

Monarch: Built-in investment dashboard with allocation analysis, performance tracking, and holdings details. Connects to 13,000+ institutions including crypto via Coinbase.

Winner: Monarch for comprehensive investment visibility.

User interface and design

Copilot: Objectively the most beautiful budgeting app available. Modern, intuitive, and genuinely pleasant to use.

Monarch: Functional and comprehensive, but more utilitarian. The mobile app can feel cluttered compared to Copilot's minimalism.

Winner: Copilot, definitively.

AI and automation

Copilot: Leading-edge AI with natural language chatbot, smart categorization, and behavioral nudges. Ask questions in plain English and get answers.

Monarch: Basic auto-categorization with rules, but no conversational AI.

Winner: Copilot.

Couples and sharing

Copilot: Sharing exists but is limited. Works best for individual use.

Monarch: Unlimited household members at no extra cost with customizable permissions. Built for families managing money together.

Winner: Monarch, by a wide margin.

Bank connectivity

Copilot: 10,000+ institutions via Plaid.

Monarch: 13,000+ institutions via Plaid, MX, and Finicity with automatic failover.

Winner: Monarch for coverage and reliability.

Platform availability

Copilot: iOS, Mac, and recent web launch. No Android.

Monarch: iOS, Android, and web. True cross-platform.

Winner: Monarch for accessibility.

Unique features

Copilot: Amazon itemization, Venmo integration, AI chatbot.

Monarch: Credit score monitoring, Bill Sync for recurring expenses, Zillow home value integration.

Winner: Depends on what you need. Amazon users: Copilot. Credit monitoring users: Monarch.

Who should choose Copilot?

Copilot is right for you if:

• You're an Apple household (no Android users)
• You value beautiful design and enjoy using polished apps
• You want AI assistance with budgeting questions
• You're a heavy Amazon shopper who wants itemized transactions
• You prefer automated categorization over manual control
• You primarily need budgeting, with investment tracking secondary

Ideal Copilot user: A single professional or Apple-only couple making $150k+ who wants the most pleasant possible budgeting experience with minimal manual work.

Who should choose Monarch Money?

Monarch is right for you if:

• Anyone in your household uses Android
• You want comprehensive investment tracking alongside budgeting
• You manage finances as a couple or family
• You want credit score monitoring included
• You're a former Mint user looking for a true replacement
• You want maximum bank connectivity reliability

Ideal Monarch user: A dual-income couple with mixed Apple/Android devices who wants one dashboard for all their finances—checking, credit cards, investments, and net worth.

What neither Copilot nor Monarch offers

Both apps excel at tracking where money goes. But once you've mastered that, new questions emerge that neither answers:

Tax optimization

Neither app helps you:

• Evaluate S-corp election for your business ($10k-$30k potential savings)
• Optimize asset location across account types
• Time income and deductions strategically
• Identify deductions your CPA isn't proactively finding

Estate planning

Your net worth tracker shows $2M. Great. But:

• Do you understand your trust documents?
• Are beneficiary designations current?
• Does your estate plan coordinate with your financial accounts?

Neither Copilot nor Monarch touches this.

Advisor coordination

If you have a CPA, financial advisor, and estate attorney, who's making sure they're all aligned? Who tracks whether recommendations get implemented?

These apps show you the numbers. They don't help you optimize them.

X1 Wealth: for when budgeting is the easy part

X1 doesn't compete with Copilot or Monarch for expense tracking. We think both are excellent at what they do.

Instead, X1 provides the strategy and coordination layer that sits above budgeting:

Tax Strategy Discovery: Finds optimization opportunities your CPA isn't proactively recommending—S-corp structures, asset location, timing strategies.

Estate Plan Analysis: Upload your trust documents and get plain-English explanations of what you paid attorneys to create.

Advisor Coordination: Single source of truth for your professional team with decision tracking and outcome measurement.

Family Office Capabilities: Governance frameworks, values documentation, and planning tools previously reserved for $25M+ families.

Best for: High-income professionals ($250k-$2M) with $1M+ net worth who've solved the budgeting problem and want to optimize everything else.

See what X1 covers →

Methodology

This comparison was developed through:

• Direct analysis of both platforms' current features and pricing
• Review of user feedback on App Store, Google Play, and Reddit
• Comparison with official product documentation
• Pricing verified as of January 2026 (may change)

We have no affiliate relationship with either Copilot or Monarch Money.

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Looking for other comparisons? See our guides to Monarch Money vs YNAB, Best Mint Alternatives 2026, and YNAB Alternatives for High Earners.