Why limits matter more than price for households
Two apps can cost about the same and still fit a household very differently. One may cap connected banks, another may charge per person, and another may not import investment accounts automatically. Price is covered in our price comparison. This guide covers the limits you find out about in week one: how many accounts and banks, how many users, how much history, how many budgets, and which currencies.
Everything comes from official pricing and help pages read on 30 October 2026. 'Not stated' means we did not find the limit on the vendor's pages, not that none exists.
Documented limits by plan
| App and tier | List price (USD) | Accounts and bank connections | Users | Budgets | Currencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YNAB (single plan) | $109/yr or $14.99/mo | No cap stated. Direct import covers select North American banks and banks in 18 European countries, including the UK | Subscriber plus up to 5 more people (YNAB Together) | Not stated | One currency per plan |
| Monarch Core | $99.99/yr or $14.99/mo | No cap stated | Household members free under one subscription | Not stated | Not covered on the pages read |
| Monarch Plus | Not stated on the pages read | No cap stated. Adds forecasting, business tracking and advanced investment tools | Same as Core | Not stated | Not covered |
| PocketSmith Free | $0 | 2 accounts. No bank feeds, per the Free plan help page | Collaborator access listed on all plans | 12 budgets; 2 dashboards; 6-month projection | Multi-currency listed on all plans |
| PocketSmith Foundation | $9.99/mo billed annually; $14.95 monthly | Unlimited accounts; 6 connected banks from 1 country | As above | Unlimited; 6 dashboards; 10-year projection | As above |
| PocketSmith Flourish | $16.66/mo billed annually; $24.95 monthly | Unlimited accounts; 18 connected banks from all countries | As above | Unlimited; 18 dashboards; 30-year projection | As above |
| PocketSmith Fortune | $26.66/mo billed annually; $39.95 monthly | Unlimited accounts and connected banks | As above | Unlimited; unlimited dashboards; 60-year projection | As above |
| Lunch Money | Not stated on the help pages read | No cap stated. Investment and loan accounts get no automatic transaction import; US and Canadian investment accounts can still be connected | Unlimited collaborators; only the budget admin pays | Unlimited budget accounts per subscription | 160+ currencies, converted to a primary currency |
History limits on first import
How far back you can see on day one depends more on the bank and aggregator than on the plan.
| App | What the vendor says |
|---|---|
| YNAB | A linked account starts from a Starting Balance on the day you link. Earlier transactions are not imported and need file-based import. |
| Monarch | Each account pulls a different amount, from a few months to years, depending on the bank. More can be imported manually on the web. |
| PocketSmith | Depends on the provider: Plaid up to 2 years, Basiq 2 years, Salt Edge up to 1 year, Yodlee and Akahu up to 1 year but sometimes 90 days. Older history comes from bank files. |
| Lunch Money | No maximum stated. You can set an earliest import date, and CSV or PDF import fills in history. |
Worked example: two users, 14 accounts
This is an invented US household. Two partners have 14 accounts spread across 6 institutions: 2 checking, 2 savings, 4 credit cards, 2 retirement accounts, 1 brokerage account, 1 HSA, a mortgage and a car loan. Both want their own login.
PocketSmith: Free is out, with its 2-account limit and no feeds. Foundation fits on paper, because accounts are unlimited and 6 institutions in one country is exactly the 6-bank cap. With no headroom, confirm with PocketSmith how a second login at the same bank would be counted. The second partner joins as a collaborator with a free PocketSmith account. Collaborators get full permissions and must use the web app. Adding a seventh bank, or a single Canadian account, pushes the household to Flourish at $16.66 a month billed annually, about $199.92 a year.
YNAB: the second partner takes one of the five YNAB Together places. No account cap is stated. Retirement and brokerage accounts would normally be tracking accounts, which show balances without affecting the plan.
Monarch Core: the partner is added free, and no account cap is stated. Every member sees every connected account, so personal accounts cannot be hidden from the other partner.
Lunch Money: one budget with the partner as a free collaborator. However, the automatic imports guide says automatic transaction import is not supported for investment and loan accounts. US investment accounts can still be connected through Plaid with the 'I want to sync an investment account' option. That leaves the mortgage and car loan with no imported transactions, and the investment accounts with no transaction detail.
How sharing works in each app
| App | Model | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| YNAB | A group manager pays and invites members. Members’ plans are automatically shared with the manager, and owners choose which other plans to share. | A member with access to a shared plan can do everything except manage sharing, delete it or Fresh Start it. |
| Monarch | Household members, each with their own login and the same access. | You cannot hide accounts from a member. Someone who already has a Monarch account cannot be invited with that email. |
| PocketSmith | Collaborator access to one account; a Family Group for separate accounts | Collaborators get full permissions. A Family Group gives 40% off a monthly subscription for each member account. |
| Lunch Money | Collaborators on a budget; pricing is per budget | A collaborator who creates their own budget becomes an admin and needs a paid subscription after a 14-day trial. |
Sizing checklist before you pick a tier
- Count institutions as well as accounts. PocketSmith caps connected banks, not accounts, on paid plans.
- Note the countries. PocketSmith Foundation connects banks from only one country.
- List the investment and loan accounts. Lunch Money does not auto-import their transactions, although US and Canadian investment accounts can still be connected.
- Decide whether partners need privacy. Monarch members see everything. PocketSmith collaborators have full permissions.
- Check currencies. YNAB does not mix currencies in one plan.
- Check how far the first import goes back, and keep older bank files if you need more history.
- Confirm the limits again at checkout. Vendors change tiers, and two official PocketSmith pages already disagree about feeds on the Free plan.
Questions before you decide
How many people can share one budgeting app subscription?
YNAB: the subscriber plus up to five others through YNAB Together. Monarch: household members are free under one subscription. Lunch Money: any number of collaborators per budget, and only the admin pays. PocketSmith: collaborator access is on every plan, and the collaborator needs their own PocketSmith account, which can be free.
Does PocketSmith count accounts or banks?
Both, on different plans. Free is capped at 2 accounts. Paid plans have unlimited accounts but cap connected banks: 6 from one country on Foundation, 18 from any country on Flourish, and unlimited on Fortune. The plan pages count connected banks, not accounts, but do not say how two separate logins at the same bank are counted, so ask PocketSmith support if that applies to you.
Which app supports more than one currency in a budget?
YNAB's pricing page says you cannot mix currencies in a single plan. Lunch Money supports over 160 currencies, converted to a primary currency. PocketSmith converts accounts in other currencies to your base currency. Monarch's multi-currency handling was not covered on the pages we read.
Follow the sources
- YNAB official pricing page Checked Oct 30, 2026
- YNAB Help: YNAB Together Checked Oct 30, 2026
- YNAB Help: How Direct Import Works Checked Oct 30, 2026
- YNAB Help: The Starting Balance Checked Oct 30, 2026
- Monarch Help: Updating Your Subscription (lists Core prices) Checked Oct 30, 2026
- Monarch Help: Add Members to an Existing Account Checked Oct 30, 2026
- Monarch Help: Getting Started with Monarch Checked Oct 30, 2026
- Monarch Help: Monarch Plus Tier Checked Oct 30, 2026
- Monarch official pricing page Checked Oct 30, 2026
- PocketSmith official plans page Checked Oct 30, 2026
- PocketSmith Learn Centre: The Free plan Checked Oct 30, 2026
- PocketSmith Learn Centre: The Foundation plan Checked Oct 30, 2026
- PocketSmith Learn Centre: The Flourish plan Checked Oct 30, 2026
- PocketSmith Learn Centre: Collaborator shared access overview Checked Oct 30, 2026
- PocketSmith Learn Centre: Family group overview Checked Oct 30, 2026
- PocketSmith Learn Centre: Multi-currency in PocketSmith Checked Oct 30, 2026
- PocketSmith Learn Centre: Feed transaction history Checked Oct 30, 2026
- Lunch Money Help: Unlimited Budget Accounts Checked Oct 30, 2026
- Lunch Money Help: Collaborators Checked Oct 30, 2026
- Lunch Money Help: Multicurrency Checked Oct 30, 2026
- Lunch Money Help: Automatic Imports Checked Oct 30, 2026
- YNAB Help: Direct Import in Europe Checked Oct 30, 2026
Provider terms can change. Recheck the linked source before applying or subscribing.