Stridefly vs YNAB

What YNAB is built for

YNAB is a budgeting method as much as an app. You assign every dollar of income to a category, adjust the plan as the month unfolds and review it regularly. It runs on iOS, Android and the web, connects to banks, and can import transactions from files on the web or iPad. Categories and splits can't be imported that way.

Investments sit deliberately outside that method. YNAB's help center describes investment accounts as tracking accounts, whose balances are kept out of your budget categories, and says gains are recorded by reconciling the account to its new balance. That is a consistent choice for a tool built around a monthly plan, and it suits people who prefer their investments kept apart from it.

Where investors run into limits

Investment accounts are tracking-only. YNAB's help center says investment funds aren't included in your categories, so they don't take part in the plan.
Connecting a brokerage to a tracking account is discouraged. YNAB says it's common for these accounts to import incorrectly or fail to connect, and that it can't troubleshoot connection issues with tracking accounts.
Gains are recorded by reconciling the account to its new balance, and YNAB describes those amounts as informational only.
Individual positions, allocation, targets and drift aren't part of YNAB's documented features. That is a matter of scope for a budgeting tool, and it leaves investors to track those elsewhere.

What Stridefly adds

Positions across brokerage and retirement accounts, viewed by account owner and by taxable versus retirement, in the same app as your budget.
Targets you set, drift and a rebalance plan. Stridefly compares your allocation, by asset class and sub-class, with your own targets and lists the buy and sell amounts that would bring you back. It is arithmetic against your numbers, not advice.
Net worth across bank, card, brokerage, retirement, property and loan accounts in one figure, with a chart from one week to all time, and a mark next to any price that is out of date or any value that is estimated.
Budgets by category, monthly or annual, with optional rollover. Stridefly doesn't use YNAB's zero-based method, so if that method matters to you, it is a real difference.

Side by side

Feature	Stridefly	YNAB
Platforms	iPhone (iOS 18 or later)	iOS, Android and web
Budgeting	Monthly and annual budgets by category, with optional rollover of unused money	Zero-based method: every dollar is assigned to a category
Investment positions	Yes, across brokerage and retirement accounts	Balance only, through tracking accounts
Allocation targets and rebalance plan	Yes. You set the targets; Stridefly shows drift and a plan listing buy and sell amounts	Not documented
Imports	CSV files for transactions, net worth history and positions; skipped rows are listed	Transaction files on the web or iPad; categories and splits can't be imported
Where your data is stored	Your phone and your iCloud account. Connections pass through a service we operate that does not keep copies of your balances, positions or transactions	YNAB's cloud service

Sources

Details checked October 2026. Products change; see each company's site for the latest.

Questions about this comparison

Can I track my investments in YNAB?

YNAB treats investment accounts as tracking accounts. Their balances appear, but they sit outside your budget categories, and YNAB describes the gains you record as informational only.

Does Stridefly use zero-based budgeting?

No. Stridefly budgets by category, monthly or annual, with optional rollover of unused money. It doesn't ask you to assign every dollar.

Where does YNAB keep my data?

YNAB is a cloud service. Stridefly saves your accounts, transactions and positions on your phone and in your own iCloud account.