Monarch alternative for multi-currency budgets

The short version

Monarch is a web and mobile budgeting app for the US and Canada, with bank sync with 13,000+ institutions, AI receipt reading and its own MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and other AI tools. Its help centre says it shows every amount with a $ sign and does not convert between currencies, and it imports CSV files only. Balans.finance keeps several currencies in one account, converts totals into your default currency at each day's rate, imports Excel, CSV and PDF statements from banks including Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank, and has a free plan with no time limit.

Feature by feature

What Monarch offers was read off its own pages on 2026-11-08 and 2026-11-09.
Feature	Balans.finance	Monarch
Accounts in different currencies	Yes. One account can hold several currencies, each with its own balance.	No. Every amount is shown with a $ sign; USD or CAD accounts are recommended.
Totals in one base currency	Yes, automatic. Each transaction is converted at the exchange rate of its own day.	No. Amounts in different currencies are added without conversion.
Transfers between currencies	Yes. A transfer records both the amount sent and the amount received.	Not mentioned on its website.
Statement import	Excel (XLSX), CSV and PDF files from any bank; a layout it has not seen before is mapped by AI. No bank connection.	CSV files, on the web. Bank sync with 13,000+ institutions in the US and Canada.
Georgian banks	Yes. Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank statements, with Georgian or English column titles.	No. It is available in the US and Canada only.
Receipt scanning	Yes. AI reads the store, date, items and amounts into categorised expenses.	Yes. AI reads a receipt photo or a forwarded receipt email and matches it to a transaction.
Zero-based budgeting	No. A budget sets a target for each category; income does not have to be assigned in full.	Partly. Budgets are flex or per category; its guide says you can budget zero-based using "left to budget".
Forecasting	Yes. Where your total balance is heading, from its recent trend: three months ahead on every plan, and a year ahead on paid plans.	Yes, on Plus. Net worth and yearly cash flow, projected to age 90 by default.
Your own AI assistant	Yes. Connect Claude or another MCP client that supports OAuth to its MCP server, once you approve access. No built-in chat.	Yes. Its own MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and other AI tools, and a built-in AI assistant. No public API is mentioned.
Platforms	Web. An Android app is coming to Google Play, and an iOS app will follow.	Web, iPhone, iPad and Android.
Languages	11: English, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Swedish and Georgian.	English only.
Free plan	Yes, with no time limit: 3 receipt scans a month and 1 statement import a month.	No. A 7-day free trial.
Price	Starter: €3.99 a month or €39.00 a year	Core: US$14.99 a month or US$99.99 a year. Plus: US$199.99 a year.

Choose Monarch if…

You live in the US or Canada and want bank sync with more than 13,000 institutions.
All your money is in US or Canadian dollars.
You want a built-in AI assistant, and receipts matched to their transactions, from a photo or a forwarded email.
You want net worth and cash flow projected to age 90 by default, on its Plus plan.

Choose Balans.finance if…

You keep money in more than one currency: Monarch's help centre says it shows every amount with a $ sign and does not convert between currencies.
You live outside the US and Canada, or bank with Bank of Georgia or TBC Bank.
You want to import PDF and Excel statements, not CSV files alone.
You want a free plan with no time limit rather than a 7-day trial, in one of 11 languages.

What you give up by switching from Monarch

Bank sync: Balans.finance imports statement files instead.
Phone apps: Balans.finance runs on the web until its Android app ships.
A built-in AI assistant: Balans.finance connects to your own through its MCP server and has no built-in chat.
Long-range projections: Balans.finance projects your total balance three months ahead, or a year on paid plans.

Where these facts come from

Every fact about Monarch on this page comes from its own pages - its website, help centre, developer documentation or app-store listing - read on 2026-11-08 and 2026-11-09. Where its pages do not mention something, the table says so rather than guessing. If something here is out of date, write to us and we will correct it.

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Balans.finance vs Monarch