Best Apps For Financial Management

Financial management is one of the most important parts of life. It’s about more than just making sure you have enough money to pay for everything, it’s about having enough money to pay for everything now and in the future. Good financial management helps your credit score, and can even help you get better interest rates on loans.

You don’t have to be a financial prodigy to manage your money well—you just need a good strategy and the right tools. That’s why we’ve put together our list of the best apps for financial management. Each of these apps is simple to use, while also having powerful features that help you keep track of your finances

The 7 Best Personal Finance Apps of 2022

Best Apps For Financial Management

The 6 Best Budgeting Apps of 2022
Best Overall: You Need a Budget (YNAB)
Best Free Budgeting App: Mint
Best for Cash Flow: Simplifi by Quicken
Best for Overspenders: PocketGuard
Best for Building Wealth: Personal Capital
Best for Couples: Zeta
Best Budgeting Apps
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Mint
Simplifi By Quicken
PocketGuard
Personal Capital
Zeta
Final Verdict
Compare Providers
What Are Budgeting Apps?
Should I Pay For An App Or Use A Free One?
What Features Should I Look For?
Methodology
BEST OVERALL
You Need a Budget (YNAB)
You Need a Budget (YNAB)
Price: $98.99 per year
Bank Sync: Yes
Free Trial: 34 days
SIGN UP NOW
Why We Chose It
You Need a Budget (YNAB) earns the top spot because of the company’s renowned budgeting philosophy and reputation. YNAB says new budgeters typically save $600 in their first two months and more than $6,000 in their first year. Although YNAB is the most costly option on our list, the company offers a 34-day free trial.

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Pros & Cons
Pros
Complete budget makeover
Free 34-day trial
Strong customer service and comprehensive education
Cons
$98.99 per year
More time-intensive to learn
Recent sync issues
Overview
YNAB rises to the top of our list because of its budgeting philosophy. The company offers a free trial for 34 days (no credit card required), and after that, the cost is $98.99 per year. If you prefer to pay less upfront, the cost is $14.99 per month.

YNAB offers the ability to sync your bank accounts, import your data from a file, or manually enter each transaction. To begin, the company suggests learning the basics about the app through video courses, a live workshop, or reading a guide. YNAB offers a proactive budgeting approach, rather than tracking what you have already spent, like some competitors.

After signing up, you create your first budget and assign every dollar a purpose, like your rent or car payment, for example. The goal is to eventually get at least one month ahead, so you’re spending money you earned from 30 days ago. The company offers extensive educational resources and customer support to keep you on track.

YNAB says privacy and security are its top priority. The company protects your information by using bank-level encryption for all data, best practices for password security, third-party audits, and more.

BEST FREE BUDGETING APP
Mint
Mint
Price: Free
Bank Sync: Yes
Free Trial: N/A
SIGN UP NOW
Why We Chose It
Mint stands out for a few reasons. It’s one of the most popular budgeting apps available, with 25 million users. The app is free and easy to use for budgeters of all levels. You can also set up bill payment reminders, track investments, and access your TransUnion credit score—all of which makes Mint our choice for the best free budgeting app.

Pros & Cons
Pros
Free budgeting app
Free TransUnion credit scores
Investment tracking
Cons
In-app product advertisements
Some complaints about technical issues
Spending categorization could be better
Overview
Mint offers the best-known free budgeting app on the market. It’s a great option for anyone looking to improve their spending habits. The app is free, but you may see targeted financial product advertisements.

You may sync your financial accounts within the app or manually add transactions. Mint allows you to see all your accounts in one place and keep track of your spending daily. The app automatically organizes your spending so that you can see totals by category at a glance. Mint also offers monthly bill tracking, including payment reminders to avoid late fees. The app also offers the ability to keep track of your investments and check portfolio fees. Mint offers a few education resources like a home affordability calculator, loan repayment calculator, and blog with various personal finance topics.

Mint protects your data through features like security scanning with Verisign, multi-factor authentication, and touch ID mobile access. The company stores your login information in a separate database with multiple layers of hardware and software encryption.

BEST FOR CASH FLOW
Simplifi by Quicken
Simplifi by Quicken
Price: $47.99 per year
Bank Sync: Yes
Free Trial: 30 day
SIGN UP NOW
Why We Chose It
Simplifi by Quicken earns high marks because it offers a personalized spending plan with real-time updates of how much you have left to spend throughout the month. The app syncs your bank accounts to show you where you stand and your progress on financial goals. Simplifi by Quicken also tracks your monthly bills and subscriptions, including those you don’t use.

Pros & Cons
Pros
Strong cash flow tools
Watch lists for mindful spending
Free 30-day trial
Cons
$47.99 per year
Some complaints about technical issues
Overview
Simplifi by Quicken ranks best for cash flow because of the app’s effective tracking capabilities. It’s the best option for staying on top of how much you can spend between your paychecks. The app offers a free 30-day trial, and then you will pay $3.99 per month (billed annually at $47.99) or $5.99 per month if you choose not to pay upfront.

To get started, you have to sync bank accounts, and then you will have a complete snapshot of your finances. The app automatically categorizes your spending, tracks recurring bills and subscriptions, and stays on top of upcoming expenses.

One standout feature is the app’s custom watchlists, which allow you to limit spending by category or payee. Also, the custom spending plan monitors cash flow to make sure you never spend more than you make. Simplifi by Quicken offers tips while you’re using the app, but there’s also a blog full of educational content at your fingertips.

Security and privacy are top priorities for Quicken, the app’s parent company. Quicken has been trusted with sensitive financial data for decades (since 1984) and continues to work on new security measures. The app uses 256-bit encryption to transmit banking data and keeps the information confidential.

BEST FOR OVERSPENDERS
PocketGuard
PocketGuard
Price: Free/$7.99 per month, $34.99 annually, or $79.99 one-time fee, lifetime subscription
Bank Sync: Yes
Free Trial: Free version available
SIGN UP NOW
Why We Chose It
PocketGuard made the cut because the app helps curb overspending. The company uses an algorithm to track your income, expenses, and savings goals to tell you how much you can spend every day. These spending limits make it easier to quit overspending and take control of your financial goals.

Pros & Cons
Pros
Free basic budgeting app
Cash flow at a glance
Easy to use
Cons
PocketGuard Plus has a cost
No phone support
Some complaints about technical issues
Overview
PocketGuard earned the top spot as best for overspenders because its features focus on helping users control overspending. The app offers a free and a paid, premium version, PocketGuard Plus.

To get started, you need to connect your checking, savings, and credit card accounts. The app can see what you are spending, where to save, and reminds you when credit card bills are due. PocketGuard’s “In My Pocket” feature uses an algorithm to identify how much money you can spend based on your income, upcoming bills, goals, recent spending, and budgets.

The app offers a smart bill reminder to keep track of due dates and shows where you may be able to negotiate for lower bills. There’s also an automated savings feature, which allows you to set a goal and save for it. PocketGuard automatically moves the money to a bank account on your behalf.

PocketGuard Plus offers additional features like creating your categories, changing transaction dates, the ability to export data, tracking cash, managing ATM deposits and withdrawals, and splitting up transactions. The company also publishes an educational blog for additional opportunities to learn.

PocketGuard prioritizes security with 256-bit encryption, a four-digit PIN, and biometrics like Touch ID and Face ID as another layer of protection.

BEST FOR BUILDING WEALTH
Personal Capital
Personal Capital
Price: Free, Paid Investment Service Available
Bank Sync: Yes
Free Trial: N/A
SIGN UP NOW
Why We Chose It
Personal Capital scores high because the company offers the best free tools for wealth building. You can sync your financial accounts in one place to track your net worth, plan for the future with the Retirement Planner, and use the Fee Analyzer to check portfolio fees.

Pros & Cons
Pros
Free wealth management app
Retirement Planner tool
Education Planner tool
Net worth tracking
Fee Analyzer tool for your portfolio
Cons
Less focused on budgeting
No option to manually add transactions for budgeting
Sales calls for wealth management services
Overview
Personal Capital lands at the top of our list with the best app for building wealth. You can use the product’s dashboards to sync accounts for a complete picture of your finances. The company’s primary app is free, with the option to add investment management services for 0.89% of your money for accounts under $1 million.

Unfortunately, Personal Capital doesn’t allow you to add budgeting transactions manually, but you can manually add investments without syncing those accounts. You can use Personal Capital’s budgeting tools to see your total income and expenses every month. While you can’t create specific goals, you can add a budget, compare to previous months, and see your spending by categories.

Although the company’s budgeting features aren’t as comprehensive as others, Personal Capital does offer better investing tools. You can use the dashboard to see changes to your net worth over time, and Personal Capital’s Fee Analyzer gives you a closer look into your portfolio fees. You may also prepare for the future with the company’s Retirement Planner tool or save for college with the Education Planner tool. Personal Capital’s blog, Daily Capital, covers a range of financial planning topics for beginners to more experienced users alike.

Personal Capital protects your data with encryption, fraud protection, and robust authentication. No one has access to your individual login credentials, and the company’s partnership with Yodlee, a veteran financial technology company, offers another layer of security.

Read the full Personal Capital review.

free money management apps

There are a lot of free personal finance apps out there these days. Each one offers different features and capabilities. Many of them can be quite helpful for your finances. Some offer budgeting help while others can help with your investments or help you decipher your credit.

However, free usually comes with a price. Every free app has some way of making money, whether it’s selling you to a paid service or targeting you with ads.

Here are five excellent free personal finance apps that stand out from the pack, with their features significantly outweighing their methods of making money. You can find each of these free money apps in the app store on your smartphone:

Personal Capital
Mint
Acorns
Credit Karma
Coupon Sherpa
Read on for more information on each free money app.

[ SEE: 10 Expenses Destroying Your Budget. ]
Personal Capital
This app provides a real-time view of your financial accounts and offers suggestions for good moves to make. Personal Capital focuses primarily on investments, nudging you toward saving for long-term goals like retirement and your children’s college education. If you’re looking for an app that will provide good analysis and overview of your 401(k), Roth IRA or 529 college savings account, Personal Capital is the way to go.

Personal Capital does try to upsell you on investment-related services and financial planning services, but these are fairly easy to say no to. Their free service primarily serves as an introduction to those more robust planning services.

Mint
Mint also provides real-time viewing of your various financial accounts and offers suggestions for good financial moves. As opposed to Personal Capital, Mint focuses on monthly budgeting and evaluation of your spending and credit cards. If you’re looking for an app that will keep an eye on your spending, watch your checking and credit accounts and help you figure out where you’re overspending, Mint is probably a good fit for you.

Mint often incorporates offers of various kinds directly into the app, such as credit card offers and spending recommendations, though, as with Personal Capital, they’re easy to ignore. These incorporated ads are how Mint makes money.

Acorns
This app takes a different approach to saving. You integrate Acorns with your checking account and when you spend money on your credit cards or debit cards, Acorns rounds that up to the nearest dollar and pulls that money into an investment. So, if you spent $3.61 at Starbucks on your credit card, Acorns will take 39 cents from your checking account and invest it for you, turning that $3.61 purchase into a round $4.

If you use Acorns, your money is being swept into their investment products, so Acorns makes money through the monthly fees on their investment products, which are reasonably competitive. If you accumulate a large balance with Acorns, you may want to move the investment elsewhere, but for small amounts, the convenience of the app is wonderful.

[ SEE: 12 Useless Fees Draining Your Budget. ]
Credit Karma
This is an app that offers you access to your credit report, which a company may use to determine whether to employ you, and a strong estimation of your credit score, which businesses use to figure out what rates to charge you. The app helps explain exactly what your credit score means and how it is likely to impact your applications for loans, credit cards or other services.

Credit Karma pays for this free service by offering targeted ads to you based on your credit score. So, for example, if you have really good credit, you might see ads aimed at people with exceptional credit, but if your credit is shaky, you might see completely different ads for products that can help improve your credit.

Coupon Sherpa
This is the best of the coupon apps out there. It will help you find retailer coupons based on your location and lets retailers scan the bar code from your phone screen. Just glancing at the app when you visit a retailer can end up saving you quite a bit of money on your purchase.

Coupon Sherpa makes money through affiliate programs in which retailers essentially pay Coupon Sherpa to include their coupons in the app and get paid when you use them.

All of these applications are extremely useful and well-designed, with excellent features that can help you with your personal finance situation. As long as you’re aware of how the app is conducting business (ad placement or trying to sell you additional services), you can use these apps with confidence and use the information they provide to make smarter personal finance decisions for yourself and your family.

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Conclusion

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