Does YNAB work with UK banks? (2026)

YNAB works in the UK, and it has a mixed record with UK banks. Its own description is that direct import supports select US, Canadian, UK and EU banks, so whether yours is included depends on the bank. You can always add transactions by hand or import a file, and many UK users do exactly that. If you would rather have every UK bank update on its own, open banking tools such as Era connect through the regulated route.

Does YNAB work in the UK?

Yes. You can use YNAB anywhere, set your currency to pounds, and budget by hand or by file import. It is priced in US dollars, at US$14.99 a month or US$109 a year. The part that varies is automatic bank import, which is available for select UK banks only.

Does YNAB work with Monzo?

YNAB users often ask about Monzo, and the answer depends on whether Monzo is among the banks YNAB's direct import supports at the time you connect. Where it is not, the usual routes are importing a file from the Monzo app or using a connector built by the YNAB community.

Era connects Monzo through open banking, so the account updates on its own.

Which UK banks does Era connect to?

Era connects UK banks through open banking, including Monzo, Revolut, Starling, Barclays, Lloyds, Halifax, NatWest, HSBC UK, Nationwide, Santander UK, Chase UK and American Express cards. Era connects data from many sources, and across the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and 40+ countries in all.

Can I use YNAB with Era?

Yes. YNAB has a public API, and open banking lets the same bank feed more than one tool, so you can keep YNAB's method and use Era to ask Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini about the same accounts. The assistants share a memory, so your plan and goals follow you between them.

Era adds a financial health view, shared spaces and a document library.

What happens when my bank is not on YNAB's list?

When your bank is not supported, YNAB still works, and the missing piece is the automatic import. You can enter transactions by hand, which is slow but keeps you close to your money, or import a file from your bank each week. Both are dependable and suit people who enjoy the habit.

The trade-off is time. Importing by hand is part of the method for many YNAB users, who say it keeps them aware of what they spend. If you would rather not, a tool that connects through open banking can collect the transactions, and you can export them into YNAB when you want them there.

Which UK banks work with YNAB's direct import?

YNAB describes its direct import as supporting select UK banks, and the list changes over time, so the quickest check is to start a connection inside YNAB and search for yours. If your bank is there, it will tell you straight away. If it is not, use file import.

The list is shorter than the list of banks UK people use. Smaller banks, building societies, card issuers and investment platforms are the usual gaps. That is the main reason that UK YNAB users look at open banking tools beside it, since open banking covers a broader set of providers.

How does Era's connection differ from YNAB's direct import?

Era connects through UK open banking, the regulated, bank-approved route. You sign in at your bank, approve access in its app, and the access is read-only. You can see and withdraw it in your bank's app whenever you like, and your online banking password never goes to Era.

That route reaches the banks, building societies and card issuers that most people in the UK use, and each has its own guide on this site for the features worth asking an assistant about. Era also connects accounts across the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and 40+ countries in all, so a move abroad does not mean a new tool.

Can I run a YNAB budget from Era's data?

Yes, as a way of working. Connect your banks to Era, and ask Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini to run a YNAB-style plan from your real accounts. It adds up your income, sets aside the true cost of your bills and goals, assigns the rest, and tells you when a payment has gone over what you gave it.

If you want to keep YNAB itself, you can keep it. Era reads your accounts through open banking, and YNAB reads whatever you give it, so the two can run side by side. The plan you describe to one assistant is held in Era's shared memory, so the others know it too.

How do I choose between importing files and connecting a bank?

Choose file import if you value the weekly check and your bank is awkward to connect. Choose a live connection if you would rather the data arrived on its own and you have several accounts to keep in step. Many people use both, importing for the odd account and connecting for the rest.

The decision is not permanent. A live connection can be withdrawn at your bank in a moment, and a file import can be repeated at any time, so you can try one for a month and switch. Whichever you choose, keep a copy of your exports, since they are the quickest way to bring history into any new tool.

What should I do first if I am new to YNAB in the UK?

Start with one account and one month. Set your currency to pounds, enter your balance, and import a file from your bank so that you have real transactions to assign. Spend the first session giving every pound a job, and see how it feels before you connect anything else.

If the method suits you, add the rest of your accounts and decide whether a live connection or a weekly file import fits your routine. If it does not suit you, you have lost very little, and an assistant connected to Era can give you a lighter version of the same discipline from your real accounts.

What else does Era add for a UK budgeter?

Era adds the things a budgeting method does not try to do. A document library reads statements, payslips and tax forms, so an assistant can answer from a document and show you the page. Shared spaces let a couple or a flat see the same figures for whatever they have chosen to share.

A financial health view shows in figures how your finances are doing, with the measures behind them and the analysis that explains what is moving them. Transaction import brings a statement into a manual account, which is the quickest way to add a provider that has no live connection and to bring in history from an app you are leaving.

What are the alternatives to YNAB for UK banks?

If you want a UK-first app, Emma and Snoop are built on open banking and priced in pounds. The comparisons are at YNAB vs Emma, Snoop vs YNAB and YNAB alternatives. The pricing page shows what each Era plan includes.

See YNAB vs Emma and Snoop vs YNAB and YNAB alternatives and pricing page.