ClearGov Budget Cycle vs YNAB

ClearGov Budget Cycle is cloud-based finance and budgeting software for public-sector agencies, including local governments and school districts. Operational Budgeting supports budgets from baseline through adoption and amendments, with annual or biennial cycles, future-year forecasts, and year-end projections. Teams can edit budget line items together in real time, save versions, and attach justifications and supporting documents. An audit trail records adjustments and user actions, while role-based permissions govern who can import capital and personnel scenarios. The software supports approval workflows, scenario planning, actual-versus-budget tracking, and multi-entity budgeting. Capital Budgeting includes request forms, scoring, dashboards, and spreadsheet or PDF exports; Personnel Budgeting tracks filled and vacant positions, compensation, and multi-year staffing scenarios. Digital Budget Book creates web, mobile, and PDF budget books with customizable pages and generated content. Capital and personnel data can feed into Operational Budgeting with automatic updates and duplicate detection. Pricing is by quote; support and product updates are included, with no per-seat fees. ClearGov says implementation requires no systems integration.

YNAB is a budgeting service for web, Android, and iOS, with an API. Its method asks users to assign each dollar a purpose, supported by budgeting tools, bill tracking, net-worth reports, savings targets, and an integrated loan calculator. Users can link accounts to import transactions automatically from select banks in the US, Canada, UK, and EU; file-based import is available outside those areas. Balances, priorities, goals, and transactions sync across devices in real time. A spending plan can use a selected currency, but cannot mix currencies. YNAB offers a 34-day trial without a credit card when signing up directly, and does not charge unless users subscribe afterward. The annual plan costs $109 USD paid annually, or $9.08 per month before applicable tax; monthly billing costs $14.99 a month before applicable tax. College students with proof of enrollment can get a 365-day trial, and one subscription can be shared with up to six people. YNAB says it does not sell user data and keeps the app ad-free.