PocketGuard vs Mint: Which One Was Better — and What to Use Now (2026)

The "PocketGuard vs Mint" question is asked thousands of times a month, but it has changed shape since Mint was officially shut down by Intuit in March 2024. PocketGuard is still active. Mint is not. So the real question for most people is: was PocketGuard a better Mint, and is it the best replacement now?

Are PocketGuard and Mint still both available in 2026?

No. Mint was discontinued by Intuit on March 23, 2024 and is no longer available. Existing Mint users were migrated to Credit Karma, which is a credit-monitoring product rather than a budgeting app. PocketGuard is still active in 2026 and continues to operate on a freemium model with a paid tier (PocketGuard Plus) for serious users.

How does PocketGuard compare to what Mint offered?

PocketGuard's core feature — its "In My Pocket" view that shows how much you can safely spend today after bills, savings goals, and category budgets — is genuinely useful and arguably more action-oriented than Mint's category-spending dashboards. But PocketGuard does fewer things than Mint did. It is narrower, simpler, and more opinionated.

Where Mint covered automatic transaction import, category-level budgets, bill reminders, credit-score monitoring, and net-worth tracking in one app, PocketGuard focuses tightly on cashflow and the "what can I spend today" question. If your Mint use was mostly checking the dashboard, PocketGuard fills that gap. If you used Mint's full feature set, you will feel constrained.

What does PocketGuard's free tier actually include?

PocketGuard's free tier supports automatic bank import, basic category tracking, and the "In My Pocket" calculation — but most analytical features (custom categories, debt payoff planning, exportable data, advanced budgets) are paywalled behind PocketGuard Plus at roughly $7.99/month or $79.99/year. The free tier also shows ads. Mint's free tier was more comprehensive — but Mint funded that breadth by selling user data and showing ads, which is exactly why Intuit eventually killed it.

Is PocketGuard the best Mint replacement for free users?

For automatic bank import on a free tier, PocketGuard is one of the few options — but its free tier is intentionally limited to push you to Plus. A more comprehensive look at free Mint alternatives compares Empower, Vento, Goodbudget, and PocketGuard side-by-side. The honest summary: PocketGuard fits if you want bank import and a simple "what can I spend" view; Empower if you want net-worth and investment tracking; Vento if you want unlimited free tracking with no bank linking and no ads.

Compared in detail: Vento vs PocketGuard · Vento vs Mint.

What should you use instead of either?

If your priority is automatic bank import and you are happy paying ~$8/month, PocketGuard Plus is reasonable. If your priority is a free tier that actually stays useful long-term and you don't mind manual entry, Vento gives you unlimited transactions, three accounts, one budget, three goals, and zero ads — for free. The full alternative-app comparison covers YNAB, Copilot, Monarch, Empower, and Vento side-by-side if you want a wider view.

The lesson from Mint's shutdown is also worth carrying forward: apps that monetize free users via ads or data resale tend to be unstable over the long term. Whatever you pick, look at the business model — it tells you whether the app will still be there in five years.