Meet the best in show & put them to work in your budget!

When we released YNAB’s public API, we were excited. Flash forward, and our hopes have been realized—we’ve seen some very cool, new developments. Seriously, even if “API integration” sounds like mumbo jumbo to you, keep reading to find out how the API can make your budget more extra.

To kick things off, we hosted an API development contest and received dozens of entries. Then it was up to our panel of five judges, including two developers, a designer, a customer support representative and one of those jokers from our marketing team. They assessed each submission for innovation, usefulness, foresight, usability and cohesiveness with The Four Rules.

It was satisfying, if not easy, work … and we’re so pleased to announce the winners!

First Place Goes to James Miller

for Allowance for YNAB

James Miller’s app, Allowance for YNAB, earned him first place and our grand prize, a virtual reality headset/rig (up to $3,000 total), plus three years of YNAB.

Allowance for YNAB is an iOS app that allows you to choose a few of your most-used budget categories and display their balances in prominent places. You can view your favorite categories within the app, in the Today Widget, or by using force touch on the app. This allows you to check balances quickly and easily without opening YNAB. Read more here.

Second Place Goes to Darren Taylor

for Family Budgets

Our runner-up is Darren Taylor’s Family Budgets, which earned him second place, an iPhone X or Google Pixel 2 XL, and a year of YNAB.

Family Budgets lets you create a profile and integrate that profile with your YNAB budget. This allows you to share your budget with another user, but with limited access, as determined by you! Use the profile settings to select which categories the user may view and record transactions to.

And the Honorable Mentions Go to …

Finally, we’d be remiss without including three, well-deserved honorable mentions:

Monzo to YNAB, developed by Ashley Hindle, allows users to link their YNAB account with Monzo bank in order to import transactions in real time.

Beyond Rule 4, by John Morrissey, turns your YNAB data into a chart that shows how far along you are in your journey to financial independence.

YNAB Multi-Currency, by Rafael Millán, lets you budget with multiple currencies in a single budget. This integration automatically converts transactions from your bank accounts that hold a foreign currency into the currency that you use in your YNAB budget.

Everyone’s A Winner!

The prizes are accounted for, but we’re all winners in this contest—and the fun doesn’t have to end! If you’re a YNABer, definitely check out this winning lineup of integrations.

And, calling all developers: Our API is ready and willing! If you’ve got an idea up your sleeve, check out our API documentation for everything you need to start your own integration. And our Support Forum is a great place to share your work. See you in there!