Keep Above
Keep Above vs Monarch
Monarch begins with a bank connection, categorises what comes in, and on its upper tier forecasts to an end date you choose, built from your account data and spending history, in the United States and Canada. Keep Above starts from bills you typed once and projects from those alone, in any country, with no connection and no history.
Written and maintained by Manandai Ltd, the company that makes Keep Above. This is our comparison, not an independent review, and no winner is named on this page. How we compare.
Every Monarch fact below is taken from Monarch's own published pages, linked beside it. Features and prices change. Check each provider before deciding.
Spotted something out of date? Email support@keepabove.com and we correct or remove it within five business days.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Monarch. Product names are trademarks of their owners.
Last verified 21 September 2026What each one is
Monarch
A personal finance app built around connected accounts, categorisation and reporting, for users in the United States and Canada. Forecasting sits on its upper tier and runs to an end date you configure. Note it has renamed to monarch.com. Help centre.
Keep Above
A forward-looking budgeting app with no bank connection and no spending record. You enter each bill and your income once and keep your balance current, and it works out the balance you would need to cover everything coming and projects that and your reserved funds ahead day by day, up to 30 years.
| Keep Above | Monarch | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank connection | None, by design | The primary path; United States and Canada | help centre |
| Manual entry | The whole model | Manual accounts and CSV are supported | help centre |
| What feeds the forecast | Bills and income you entered once | Account data and spending history | help centre |
| Forecast horizon | 30 years, free plan and Premium alike | To an end date you configure, on the upper tier | help centre |
| Recurring bills | Entered once, projected forward | Auto-detected from what comes in | help centre |
| Keeping it current | A balance update, now and then | Reviewing categories; some institutions re-verify every few months, or more frequently | help centre |
| Money set aside for later bills | Reserved funds, projected with the balance | Save Up and Pay Down goals | help centre |
| Spending history | None shown | Yes, categorised, with reports | help centre |
| Free tier | One budget, the full 30-year projection | None; a 7-day trial | help centre |
| Price | Free with one budget; Premium from about US$6.99/mo | US$99.99/yr; upper tier US$199/yr | help centre |
What does each forecast get built from?
Monarch's forecast is built from your account data and your spending history, so it can account for what you actually spend rather than what you meant to, and it needs no effort from you once the accounts are connected and the categories are settled.
It also means the forecast inherits whatever the history contains. A quiet three months makes the future look quiet. Keep Above's forecast has the opposite property: it knows nothing about your spending, so it only ever projects the bills and income you entered, and your day-to-day spending shows up only as the balance you update.
So one is a forecast of what your life has looked like, and the other is a forecast of what you have committed to. Both are partial, in different directions.
What does each one ask you to keep doing?
Monarch asks you to review categories as transactions arrive and refine them over time, and its help centre notes that some institutions require re-verification every few months, or more frequently. That is the maintenance that comes with a connection.
Keep Above asks for a balance update and nothing else. There is no connection to re-verify and no category queue, and the cost of that is everything on this page: no history, no automatic capture, no reports.
Is Monarch available in your country?
Monarch covers the United States and Canada, and as at 21 September 2026 it was not available on the New Zealand App Store. For most readers outside North America this page is informational rather than a decision.
Keep Above has no connection to localise and is sold in any country.
What Monarch does that Keep Above does not
- Captures and categorises transactions automatically from connected accounts.
- Forecasts from real spending history rather than from entered commitments.
- Reports across your spending, and tracks net worth.
- Forecasts to an end date you configure, on its upper tier.
- Detects recurring transactions from what actually arrives.
What Keep Above does that Monarch's pages do not document
- Projects 30 years ahead on the free plan, with no tier required for the horizon.
- Works out the balance you would need today to cover every bill still coming.
- Needs no connection to establish, re-verify or support, so it behaves the same in any country.
- Asks for one number to be kept current, and nothing categorised or approved.
Where Monarch's own pages state nothing on a point, the table above leaves the cell blank rather than calling it absent.
Our comparison, not a review. Every Monarch fact here is taken from Monarch's own published pages on 21 September 2026 and linked beside it. Projections described here are conditional on the figures a person enters and on nothing changing. This page takes no account of your circumstances. Nothing here is financial advice.
Keep Above
Enter each bill and your income once, and keep your balance current now and then. Keep Above works out the balance you would need to cover everything coming, and projects your balance and your sinking funds — which it calls reserved funds — forward. No bank connection.
Common questions
Is Monarch available in New Zealand or Australia?
Monarch covers the United States and Canada, and as at 21 September 2026 it was not available on the New Zealand App Store. Keep Above is sold in any country, having no bank connection to localise.
How does Monarch's forecast work?
Its help centre describes forecasting on the upper tier, running to an end date you configure, built from your account data and spending history. Keep Above projects from the bills and income you entered, with no history at all.
What does Monarch ask of me to stay accurate?
Reviewing categories as transactions arrive, and re-verifying connections when your institution requires it, which its help centre says can be every few months or more frequently. Keep Above asks for a balance update and nothing else.
Does Monarch have a free tier?
No. Its help centre documents a 7-day trial and paid plans. Keep Above has a free tier with one budget and the full 30-year projection.