Beautifully automatic. Or deliberately yours.
Copilot is one of the best-designed money apps on iPhone and Mac, with smart categories that learn from you. Oakfold is a free desktop app for Windows and Mac where you write the budget yourself.
If you live in Apple's world and want an app that sorts your transactions for you, Copilot is a pleasure to use. If you're on Windows, want to skip bank linking, or don't want a subscription, Oakfold is the better fit.
| Oakfold | Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for all budgeting. Core is $4.99 a month for Oak, your household and sync | $9 a month, or $109 a year (a limited-time price; normally $119) |
| Free option | Free for good, with every budgeting tool. No trial to run out | 1-month free trial. No free plan |
| Where it runs | Desktop app for Windows and Mac. No phone app yet | iPhone, iPad, Mac and web. No Android or Windows app |
| Bank connection | None, by design. Enter transactions yourself, or scan a statement (PDF, CSV or photo) | Required in practice: it connects to over 16,000 banks |
| Where your data lives | On your computer. Cloud backup and sync are optional, with Core | Copilot's cloud. No ads, no data selling, and your data isn't used to train outside AI |
| How you budget | Category and subcategory budgets, 50/30/20 or your own split, fixed and variable | Category budgets with rollovers, sorted automatically as it learns |
| AI assistant | Ask Oak, with Core: chat, voice and screen share, 150,000 credits a month | Built-in assistant, included in the price with no credits |
| Budgeting with a partner | With Core, up to 4 people, each with a profile and PIN, on up to 5 computers | Partner sharing for up to 3 people is announced but not out yet |
| If you stop paying | Everything you entered keeps working on Free | Access ends when the trial or subscription does |
Facts about Copilot from its own site, checked November 10, 2026. Prices and plans change, so check before you decide.
What Copilot does well
- One of the most polished designs of any money app.
- A native Mac app, not just a website.
- Automatic categories that learn from your corrections.
- An AI assistant included in the price.
Why people choose Oakfold
- Runs on Windows as well as Mac.
- Budgeting is free for good. Copilot is $109 a year after its trial.
- Share your budget with a partner today, with a profile and PIN each, with Core.
- No bank linking needed, and your data stays on your computer.
Pick the one that fits how you budget
Pick Copilot if
- You use an iPhone and a Mac and want them in sync.
- You want transactions to arrive and sort themselves.
- Design polish is a big part of what keeps you budgeting.
Pick Oakfold if
- You use Windows, or a mix of Windows and Mac.
- You want to budget with a partner now.
- You'd rather not link your bank or pay a subscription to budget.
The cost, plainly
What each costs over three years, at the prices listed today.
Oakfold and Copilot, answered
Does Oakfold have a phone app like Copilot?
Not yet. Oakfold runs on Windows and Mac computers. If an iPhone app is essential, Copilot is the better choice today.
Does Oakfold sort my transactions automatically?
No, you choose each transaction's category, subcategory and 50/30/20 tag. Scheduled bills arrive already filled in, Recategorize changes a merchant's subcategory on all of its transactions at once, and with Core, Fill with Oak can fill in missing details. If you want sorting to happen without you, Copilot is better at it.
Is Copilot's AI included while Oakfold's is paid?
Copilot includes its assistant in a subscription that starts at $9 a month. Oakfold's budgeting is free, and Ask Oak comes with Core at $4.99 a month, with 150,000 credits a month.
More comparisons
- Oakfold vs YNABZero-based budgeting, two ways
- Oakfold vs MonarchLinked accounts, or a budget you write
- Oakfold vs EveryDollarRamsey's budget, or your own
- Oakfold vs Rocket MoneySubscriptions found, or a plan written
Try it on your own month. It's free.
Every budgeting tool is free for good, with no trial to run out and no card to enter.