Both live in Google Sheets but solve different problems. Tiller automates transaction feeds. Aspire gives you a complete zero-based budgeting system. Here's how to decide.
Try Aspire freeNo sign-up. No bank linking. Copy to your Drive and start.
Tiller is a transaction feed — it automatically pulls bank data into a spreadsheet so you can analyze and categorize spending. It's great at what it does. Aspire is a budgeting system — it implements zero-based envelope budgeting with a dashboard, reports, and category management built in. They're complementary philosophies: Tiller answers "where did my money go?" while Aspire answers "where should my money go?"
Aspire: ~2 minutes
No account creation. No email required. No bank linking.
Tiller: ~15–20 minutes
30-day free trial, then $99/year.
| Feature | Aspire Budgeting | Tiller Money |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $99/year |
| Platform | Google Sheets | Google Sheets or Excel |
| Budgeting method | Zero-based envelope (built in) | None built in (community templates) |
| Automatic bank sync | No | Yes (via Plaid) |
| CSV import | Yes (Turbo, $5/month) | Manual (paste into sheet) |
| Bank credentials required | Never | Yes (Plaid) |
| Dashboard | Built in (category balances, accounts) | Community templates vary |
| Category transfers | Yes (dedicated tab) | No |
| Spending reports | Built in | Template-dependent |
| Trend reports | Built in | Template-dependent |
| Partner sharing | Free (Google Sheets sharing) | Included in subscription |
| Works without subscription | Yes — it's your spreadsheet | Data stays, but bank feed requires active subscription |
| Auto-categorization | Yes (Turbo, $5/month) | Basic rules in some templates |
Tiller is an excellent product built by good people. It's the better fit if:
You want automatic bank sync directly into Google Sheets and are willing to pay $99/year for it.
You prefer tracking and analysis over proactive zero-based budgeting — you want to see where money went, not assign it beforehand.
You want to build a completely custom system from scratch using raw transaction data as the starting point.
You also need Excel support (Tiller works with both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel).
You want zero-based budgeting. Aspire implements envelope budgeting out of the box. Tiller gives you raw data — you'd need to build the budgeting layer yourself.
You don't want to pay $99/year. Aspire's core is free. Even with Turbo for CSV import, you pay $60/year — still less than Tiller.
You don't want to share bank credentials. Tiller requires Plaid access to your bank accounts. Aspire never touches your bank login.
You want a ready-to-use system. Aspire works out of the box — dashboard, reports, transfers, categories. Tiller requires assembly.
You want independence from a subscription. If you cancel Tiller, the bank feed stops and the product's core value disappears. Aspire works forever regardless.
You value spending awareness. Manual entry (or weekly CSV import) keeps you closer to your transactions than automatic background sync.
Both Tiller and Aspire live in Google Sheets — but they offer different kinds of flexibility. Tiller gives you raw data to build on. Aspire gives you a complete system you can extend:
Custom paycheck allocation
Build a formula that automatically splits each paycheck across categories based on percentages you define.
Tax-deductible flagging
Add a column to mark transactions as tax-deductible. Filter at tax time for an instant summary.
Conditional formatting alerts
Color-code categories that are close to their limit. Red when overspent, yellow when 90% used.
Custom reports and charts
Build pivot tables, create Google Charts, or add sparklines. Your reporting isn't limited to community templates.
Side hustle tracking
Add a dedicated sheet for freelance income, expenses, and profit margin — all linked to your main budget.
Zero-based budgeting built in
Tiller requires you to build budgeting from scratch or find a template. Aspire has envelope budgeting ready from day one — then you extend it.
Tiller connects to your bank through Plaid — the same secure aggregator used by thousands of fintech apps. For most people this works great and saves real time. But if you'd prefer to keep your bank login entirely to yourself, Aspire with CSV import gives you the same end result (transactions in your spreadsheet) without connecting any third-party service.
Tiller's approach
Connect your bank via Plaid → Transactions appear in your sheet automatically. Convenient and hands-off.
Aspire's approach
Download a CSV from your bank → Drop it into the add-on → Transactions appear in your sheet. More manual, but no third-party connection.
| Timeframe | Aspire (free) | Aspire + Turbo | Tiller Money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | $0 | $60 | $99 |
| 3 years | $0 | $180 | $297 |
| 5 years | $0 | $300 | $495 |
Even with Turbo's CSV import, Aspire costs less — though Tiller's automatic bank feed may be worth the difference if hands-off importing is your priority.
If you're on Tiller and want to switch, the transition is straightforward:
Copy the Aspire spreadsheet
One click — it's in your Drive.
Set up categories and accounts
Map your Tiller categories to Aspire's envelope system. Takes 10 minutes.
Allocate your money
On the Dashboard, assign every dollar to a category until Available to Budget is zero.
Import or enter transactions
Log manually, or use Aspire Turbo to import your bank CSV weekly.
Cancel Tiller
Once you're comfortable with Aspire, cancel your Tiller subscription. Your old Tiller data stays in its sheet if you want it for reference.
A complete zero-based budgeting system in Google Sheets. Free. No bank credentials required.