BudgetForge BudgetForge AI vs Mint: What to Use After Mint Shut Down (2026)
Mint closed in March 2024 and Credit Karma does not do budgets. Here is what former Mint users need, what BudgetForge AI covers, and how to import an old Mint CSV.
At a glance
| Feature | BudgetForge AI | Mint |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | No longer available (was free, ad-supported) |
| Free trial / plan | Free forever | No longer available |
| Platform | Windows 10/11 (64-bit) | Was web, iOS, Android |
| Works offline | Yes | No |
| Account required | No | yes (Intuit account) |
| Data storage | Local database on your PC | Intuit cloud (service closed) |
| Bank sync | No | Was yes |
| CSV/QFX import | Yes | No |
| Budgeting method | Envelopes, zero-based, monthly plan | Category budgets with alerts |
| Reports | Category, trends, savings rate, cash flow | Was spending trends, net worth |
| AI / insights | On-device insights | No |
| Multi-currency | Yes | No |
| Export | CSV any time | CSV (before shutdown only) |
| Best for | Mint users who want a free, private desktop budget | No longer available |
Comparison reflects public information as of September 11, 2026. Mint is a trademark of its owner; we are not affiliated.
Mint was the default free budgeting app for more than a decade, and then it was gone. Intuit shut Mint down on March 23, 2024 and pointed users to Credit Karma, which it also owns. Credit Karma kept some of Mint's features but not the budgeting, so millions of people are still searching for a Mint alternative two years later. This page explains what Mint users actually need, how BudgetForge AI covers it, where it does not, and how to bring an old Mint export with you.
What happened to Mint
Intuit announced in late 2023 that it was "reimagining Mint" as part of Credit Karma. The original shutdown date of December 31, 2023 was pushed back, and Mint finally closed on March 23, 2024. Users who did not migrate to Credit Karma before then lost access to their Mint accounts. NerdWallet's coverage of the Mint closing has the full timeline.
The key detail for budgeters: Credit Karma carried over spending tracking and net worth, but monthly budgets and custom categories did not make the cut. If you used Mint to set a grocery limit and watch it through the month, Credit Karma does not replace that.
Mint's closure also made a broader point. A free cloud service can disappear on a schedule you do not control, and your years of data go with it unless you exported in time. That is one of the reasons offline budgeting apps have had a second look since 2024. We cover the trade-offs in offline vs cloud budgeting apps.
Credit Karma vs Mint: what changed
Credit Karma is a credit monitoring and financial product recommendation service first. After absorbing Mint, it added linked-account transaction views and a net worth number. What it does not have is Mint's core budgeting workflow.
- Kept: linked bank accounts, transaction feed, spending by category view, net worth, credit score monitoring.
- Dropped: monthly category budgets, budget alerts, custom categories, bill reminders in Mint's form, and Mint's goals.
- Business model: Credit Karma is free because it recommends cards and loans. It is a marketing channel with finance tools attached, as Mint was.
So the question for a former Mint user is not "Mint or Credit Karma", it is "what replaces the budgeting part". That is where the comparison with BudgetForge AI starts.
What Mint users need from a Mint alternative
Most people used a short list of Mint features every month. Here is how BudgetForge AI, a free budgeting app for Windows 10 and 11, handles each one.
| Mint feature | BudgetForge AI |
|---|---|
| Free to use | Yes. No subscription, no ads, no in-app purchases. |
| Monthly category budgets | Yes. Category envelopes with "left to spend", plus zero-based and monthly planning modes. |
| Spending by category | Yes. Category reports, monthly trends, income vs. expenses charts. |
| Overspending alerts | Partial. On-device insights flag overspending categories and unusual transactions; there are no push notifications since there is no phone app. |
| Bill reminders | Yes. Recurring bills are built in. |
| Automatic bank feeds | No. Import CSV/QFX from your bank, or enter transactions manually. |
| Credit score | No. Use Credit Karma or your card issuer for that. |
| Mobile app | No. Windows desktop only. |
| Subscription detection | Yes. Insights flag unused subscriptions from your transaction history. |
How BudgetForge AI covers the budgeting side
Mint's budgeting was simple: set a limit per category, watch the bar fill up. BudgetForge AI does the same with envelopes. You create a category, give it a monthly amount, and the app shows what is left to spend as transactions come in. If you want more structure, switch to zero-based budgeting, where you assign every dollar of income until "To Budget" reads $0.
Reports cover what Mint's Trends tab did and a bit more: spending by category, monthly trends, savings rate, net cash flow, and income vs. expenses. Everything is calculated from the local database on your PC.
The on-device insights engine partly replaces Mint's alerts. It scans your transactions for unusual amounts, categories that keep going over, and subscriptions that look unused, then suggests where you could save. Unlike Mint, none of that analysis leaves your computer.
Multi-currency support is included, which Mint never offered, and you can export your data to CSV at any time, so you are never locked in.
BudgetForge AI replaces Mint's budgets, categories and spending reports with a free Windows app that keeps your data on your own PC.
Download BudgetForge AI (free)What BudgetForge AI does not do
Two Mint features are not here, and you should know that before you install.
No automatic bank feeds
Mint pulled transactions from every linked account overnight. BudgetForge AI does not link to banks at all. Instead, you download a CSV or QFX export from your bank's website and import it. For a typical household with two or three accounts, that is a five-minute job once a week or once a month. The upside is that no third party holds your bank login, and the app keeps working if any service shuts down. The downside is that it is a habit you have to keep.
No credit score
Mint showed a credit score on the dashboard. BudgetForge AI is a budgeting app and does not pull credit data. Credit Karma, your card issuer, or free annual credit reports cover that need separately.
If either of these is a dealbreaker, a cloud app with bank sync such as YNAB or Monarch Money will fit better, at $109 to $99.99 a year respectively. Our roundup of Mint alternatives compares the options in more depth.
Migrating from an old Mint CSV export
If you exported your Mint transactions before the March 2024 shutdown, you have a CSV file with columns like Date, Description, Original Description, Amount, Transaction Type, Category and Account Name. BudgetForge AI can import it.
- Find the file. Mint exports were usually named transactions.csv. Check your Downloads folder, email attachments, or wherever you saved backups in early 2024. If you never exported, the data is gone; Intuit does not provide it after closure.
- Open it in a spreadsheet and clean it. Mint used a Transaction Type column with "debit" and "credit" and kept all amounts positive. Add a minus sign to debits, or keep the column and map it during import. Delete rows for accounts you no longer track.
- Install BudgetForge AI. Get the installer from the download page. If SmartScreen warns about an unrecognized app, click More info then Run anyway.
- Create your categories. Mint's category list was long. Use the Category column in the CSV to decide which ones you actually used, then create matching envelopes.
- Import the CSV. Choose CSV import, select the file, and map Date, Description, Amount and Category. Review the preview, then confirm. Several years of history imports in one pass.
- Add recent months. For transactions since March 2024, download CSV or QFX files from each bank and import them the same way. Then set this month's budget.
From here on, the workflow is the one described in our bank CSV import guide: export from the bank, import into BudgetForge AI, categorize anything the app did not recognize, and check the "left to spend" on each envelope.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mint still available?
No. Intuit shut Mint down on March 23, 2024 and directed users to Credit Karma. Credit Karma does not include Mint's monthly budgets or custom categories.
Is BudgetForge AI a free Mint alternative?
Yes. BudgetForge AI is free for Windows 10 and 11, with no subscription, no account and no ads. It covers category budgets, spending reports, recurring bills and on-device spending insights.
Does BudgetForge AI connect to my bank like Mint did?
No. There is no automatic bank sync. You import CSV or QFX exports from your bank or enter transactions manually, and all data stays on your PC.
Can I import my old Mint data?
Yes, if you exported a CSV before the shutdown. Clean the Amount and Transaction Type columns in a spreadsheet, create your categories in BudgetForge AI, then use CSV import.
Does BudgetForge AI show my credit score?
No. It is a budgeting app only. Use Credit Karma, your card issuer, or your free annual credit report for credit monitoring.
Try the free alternative to Mint
Free for Windows 10 and 11. No account, no subscription, no bank login. Your data stays on your PC.
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