Compare
Loomstead vs Mint / Credit Karma vs YNAB.
A side-by-side for self-employed households weighing a budgeting app against a personal-finance suite. We’ve called out where Loomstead actually differs — a read-only household view, the 6-week shortfall forecast, ProPause, PDF tax exports, multi-source income tracking, and the quarterly estimated-tax calculation — and left the rest to a plain feature checklist.
What sets Loomstead apart
Six reasons a self-employed household switches off a budgeting app and onto Loomstead — the features Mint / Credit Karma and YNAB do not ship, or offer only as a manual workaround.
| Feature | Loomstead This app | Mint / Credit Karma | YNAB |
|---|---|---|---|
Household read-only inviteBoth partners see the same forecast, deposits, and tax calendar — the invitee is read-only, never a co-signer on bills. | Included | Not included | Not included |
ProPause hardship pausePause Pro for 1 or 3 months when cash is tight — your bills, income, and forecasts stay intact, and Pro resumes on the date you pick. No cancellation fee, no re-buy. | Pro tier | Not included | Not included |
6-week shortfall forecastForward visibility to the next shortfall, not the 14-day window most apps stop at — see what hits the account before the bill lands. | Included | Not included | Manual |
Quarterly estimated-tax calculationQuarterly estimates computed from your actual income minus deductions — not a separate spreadsheet you re-key each due date. | Included | Not included | Manual — line items |
PDF tax exportsSchedule C and quarterly estimates export as a PDF your CPA can open — no CSV reformat, no re-keying the totals. | Included | Not included | Not included |
Multi-source income trackingTrack 1099, W-2, and cash income side-by-side in Inputs — the totals roll up to one forecast the household can read against. | Included | Limited — bank-linked deposits | Manual categories |
The everyday comparison
The features a household typically checks first — and where each alternative lands on the rest of the budgeting-app checklist.
| Feature | Loomstead This app | Mint / Credit Karma | YNAB |
|---|---|---|---|
Free tier available | Included | Included | 34-day trial only |
Ad-supported | Not included | Included | Not included |
Mileage log for self-employed deductionsAuto-detected drives plus a manual override, mapped to Schedule C lines. | Included | Not included | Not included |
Schedule C / quarterly tax mapping | Included | Limited | Manual |
Multi-scenario planning (best / baseline / worst) | Included | Not included | Manual |
Mobile-first | Included | Included | App, secondary |
Real-person support | Included | Not included | Forum-led |
Pro pricingLock in the founders rate of $10/mo — standard is $14/mo after the first 1,000 seats. | $10/mo founders · $14/mo standard | Ad-supported | $14.99/mo |
Ready when you are
See the Pro plan — and the $10 founders rate — in full.
The compare table tells you what’s different. The pricing page tells you what you’d pay, what each tier includes, and how the founders promo of $10/mo locks in for the first 1,000 numbered Pro subscribers.