Tiller alternatives in 2026: cheaper and free ways to budget in a spreadsheet
Updated August 2026
Tiller is $99/year and its headline feature is automatic bank sync into a Google Sheet or Excel file (tiller.com/pricing). If you want the spreadsheet workflow without the subscription, the main alternatives are: a free manual template (Vertex42, Google Sheets, Microsoft) if you’ll enter transactions yourself; a one-time-purchase template ($9, $29) for a nicer manual layout; or a budgeting app like YNAB ($109/yr) or Monarch if you’d rather leave spreadsheets entirely. Only Tiller keeps you inside a real spreadsheet and automates entry, the trade is subscription vs manual work.
The alternatives compared
| Alternative | Price | Spreadsheet? | Auto bank sync? | Best if… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vertex42 / Google / Microsoft | $0 | Yes | No | You’ll type transactions and want $0 |
| One-time template | $9, $29 once | Yes | No | You want polish, no subscription |
| YNAB | $109/yr | No (app) | Yes | You want zero-based budgeting + sync |
| Monarch | Paid (7-day trial) | No (app) | Yes | You want a dashboard app, not a sheet |
| Tiller (baseline) | $99/yr | Yes | Yes | You want both: a real sheet + automation |
Monarch publishes a paid subscription with a “first week is on us” trial; we don’t list a precise figure here because it wasn’t verifiable on our fetch, check monarch.com/pricing for the current number.
If the goal is to stop paying a subscription
Go free-manual (Vertex42) or one-time template. You lose automatic import, so budget time to enter transactions, the CFPB’s free budget worksheet and spending tracker are a $0 starting point.