Budgeting is a pain. It’s hard to do, it takes time, and it can be overwhelming. But the benefits of budgeting are so worth it!
If you want to save money and build a solid financial future, you need to know what your expenses are—and that means knowing where the money is going right now. That’s where these apps come in handy. They’ll help you find ways to spend less and save more, without all the hassle of manually tracking your spending habits.
Apps like [product name] give you full visibility into your spending habits by allowing you to track your purchases and categorize them as needed. You can set up automatic budgets based on categories of spending or specific goals like retirement savings or emergency funds—whatever works best for you!
Best Apps For Saving Money And Budgeting
The most basic budget apps typically connect with your financial accounts, track spending and categorize expenses so you can see where your money is going. But many apps do much more than that.
The budget apps below are crowd-pleasers because of their features. At the time of this writing, each has at least 4.5 stars (out of 5) in the iOS App Store or on Google Play, as well as at least 1,000 reviews. (Jump to the methodology.)
The best budget apps
Mint, for just about everything
Goodbudget, for hands-on envelope budgeting
YNAB, for hands-on zero-based budgeting
EveryDollar, for simpler zero-based budgeting
Personal Capital, for tracking wealth and spending
PocketGuard, for a simplified budgeting snapshot
Honeydue, for budgeting with a partner
Fudget, for budgeting without syncing accounts
Mint, for just about everything
Why we recommend it: Let’s start with Mint’s very high ratings in both the App Store and Google Play. (It also has, by far, more reviews than any other app we reviewed.) It’s free and syncs many kinds of accounts: checking and savings, credit cards, loans, investments and bills.
As far as the actual budgeting, Mint automatically puts your spending into budget categories. You can personalize these categories, which are unlimited. You set limits for these categories, and Mint lets you know if you’re approaching those limits.
Besides those budgeting features, Mint may help users pay down debt, save more money and track goals. The app also shows users their credit score and net worth. Bonus: Mint provides tons of support for using the app, including a detailed FAQ and a list of “known issues.”
Why you may want to think twice: Mint is impressive in many ways, including the fact that it tracks just about everything on your behalf. But that may not be ideal if you’re looking to be more actively hands-on in your budgeting. If you’re searching for an app in which you plan ahead for your money, rather than track it after the fact, other apps on our list may work better for you.
Cost: Free
Apple store rating: 4.8
Google Play rating: 4.5
Note that all ratings were current as of Dec. 15, 2021.
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Goodbudget, for hands-on envelope budgeting
Why we recommend it: Goodbudget is more about planning for your finances than tracking previous transactions. This app is based on the envelope budgeting system, in which you portion out your monthly income toward specific spending categories (called envelopes).
This app doesn’t connect your bank accounts. You manually add account balances (that you can pull from your bank’s website), as well as cash amounts, debts and income. Then you assign money toward envelopes.
You can access the app from your phone and the web. You’ll also find many helpful articles and videos that help you use the app.
Goodbudget offers a free version that allows one account, two devices and limited envelopes. Its paid version, Goodbudget Plus, allows unlimited envelopes and accounts, up to five devices and other perks.
Why you may want to think twice: Because you can’t sync financial accounts, you must enter every expense. If you’re not up for that work, the app probably won’t be effective.
Cost: Goodbudget is free. Goodbudget Plus is $7 per month or $60 per year.
Apple store rating: 4.7
Google Play rating: 4.5
Nerdy tip: Want to try envelope budgeting and sync your accounts? Check out Mvelopes. It didn’t quite make our list but follows the same budget system and allows you to link bank accounts.
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YNAB, for hands-on zero-based budgeting
Why we recommend it: YNAB is designed so that users plan ahead for their financial decisions, rather than track past transactions. This app follows the zero-based budgeting system, which has you make a plan for every dollar you earn.
As soon as you get paid, you tell YNAB how much of your income should go toward various categories, including expenses, goals and savings. The idea is that you become more intentional with your money when you’re prompted to actively decide what to do with it.
With all this decision making, YNAB is about as hands-on as you can get. To help users trek up that learning curve, YNAB’s website offers many educational resources describing exactly how to budget and use the app.
YNAB allows you to link your checking and savings accounts, as well as credit cards and loans. The app works on the phone, desktop, iPad, Apple Watch and Alexa.
Why you may want to think twice: You have to be committed to keep up with YNAB. By design, it works best for users who want to get hands-on while planning for their money. Also, compared to the other apps that made our list, its price is high, and its Google Play ratings are low.
Cost: Pay either $14.99 per month or $98.99 per year, although you can try it out in a free 34-day trial. College students can use YNAB for free for a year.
Apple store rating: 4.8
Google Play rating: 3.2
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EveryDollar, for simpler zero-based budgeting
Why we recommend it: This apps offers a zero-based budgeting framework that’s simpler (and perhaps easier to manage) than YNAB.
First, an explanation of the names: EveryDollar is a free budgeting app. But, to get the app’s extra features, you must become a Ramsey+ member. In addition to a beefed-up version of EveryDollar, a Ramsey+ membership includes other, off-app features, such as audiobooks and courses.
The free version is simple, in part because you don’t sync accounts. You manually enter incoming and outgoing money throughout the month. You also categorize line items in your budget and set reminders for bill payments.
If you sign up for Ramsey+, you can connect your bank accounts so it’s simpler to track transactions. You can also track debts, see reports on how you spent your money and print your transaction history.
Why you may want to think twice: The free version of EveryDollar is pretty bare-bones, and the Ramsey+ membership is more expensive than any app on our list. Also, the app’s website offers few resources to help you understand how to use the app before signing up for a trial.
Cost: The basic version of EveryDollar is free. To access more features, you must join Ramsey+, which you can try for free for 14 days. After the trial, you can pay $59.99 for three months, $99.99 for six months or $129.99 for 12 months.
Apple store rating: 4.8
Google Play rating: 4.2
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Personal Capital, for tracking wealth and spending
Why we recommend it: Personal Capital is primarily an investment tool, but its free app includes features helpful for budgeters looking to track their spending.
You can connect and monitor checking, savings and credit card accounts, as well as IRAs, 401(k)s, mortgages and loans. The app provides a spending snapshot by listing recent transactions by category. You can customize those categories and see the percentage of total monthly spending each category represents.
Personal Capital also serves up a net worth tracker and portfolio breakdown. The app can be accessed through both phone and desktop.
Why you may want to think twice: If your goal is to plan out your spending and saving, you may want to go another route. This app’s budgeting features helped it make the list, but its investment tools are what make it unique. Other apps have more in-the-weeds budgeting capabilities.
Cost: Free
Apple store rating: 4.7
Google Play rating: 4.4
Nerdy tip: Another app worth checking out is Copilot (iOS only). That app tracks investments, in addition to tracking and categorizing expenses.
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PocketGuard, for a simplified budgeting snapshot
Why we recommend it: PocketGuard’s catalogue of features isn’t the most robust on our list, but that’s part of why we like it. The app is big on simplifying.
You can connect your bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments and track bills. With that intel, the app shows how much you have left to spend after setting aside funds for necessities, bills and goals.
PocketGuard also tracks your net worth and gives you the option to not link your accounts and instead track your finances manually. The paid version, PocketGuard Plus, offers a debt payoff plan, the option to export your transactions and other features.
Why you may want to think twice: This app does a lot of work for you. That’s good for a mostly hands-off experience, but less so if you want to plan for your money. Also, a heads up for Android users: PocketGuard also has one of the lowest Google Play scores in our list of best budget apps.
Cost: Basic PocketGuard is free. PocketGuard Plus is $7.99 per month, $79.99 per year or $99.99 for a one-time lifetime purchase.
Apple store rating: 4.7
Google Play rating: 3.6
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Honeydue, for budgeting with a partner
Why we recommend it: Honeydue is designed so you and your partner can view both your financial pictures in one app. Both partners can sync bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments. (Although you can choose how much you share with your significant other.)
The free budget app automatically categorizes expenses, but you’re also able to create custom categories. Together, you can set up monthly limits on each of these categories, and Honeydue will alert you when you or your partner is nearing them.
Honeydue also sends reminders for upcoming bills and lets you chat and send emojis.
Why you may want to think twice: Like a few other apps on our list, Honeydue leans more toward reflecting and learning about past transactions, rather than planning ahead for expenses.
Cost: Free
Apple store rating: 4.5
Google Play rating: 4.0
Nerdy tip: Zeta Money Manager and Firstly (previously Honeyfi) are also designed for multiple people to see their finances in one app.
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Fudget, for budgeting without syncing accounts
Why we recommend it: Consider Fudget if you’d rather not sync financial accounts and would prefer a straightforward, calculator-esque interface over fancy features.
In Fudget’s ultra-simple design, you make lists of incoming and outgoing money and track your balances. There aren’t even any budget categories. The Pro account allows you to also export your budget, along with other extras.
Fudget, which is new to our best budget apps list, has a Google Play rating that’s higher than any of the other apps we reviewed and an App Store rating that ties for the highest score with a few other picks.
Why you may want to think twice: This app is likely too simple for you if you’d prefer categorization of expenses, insights or just about anything else besides the basics. And if you don’t have it in you to log every expense, it’s likely best to look elsewhere. We also didn’t find much in the way of user guides.
Cost: Free for Fudget; $3.99 one-time purchase to upgrade to Fudget Pro.
Apple store rating: 4.8
Google Play rating: 4.6
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Budgeting resources from NerdWallet
NerdWallet has a free app that lets you track your cash, see your net worth and debt, and track your credit score. We chose not to include ourselves in the list above in order to present an unbiased view.
Before you build a budget
NerdWallet breaks down your spending and shows you ways to save.
We also offer other options you can try:
Use a free budget worksheet to record your expenses.
Explore online budget templates for a quick check of your finances.
Estimate how to divide your monthly income using the 50/30/20 rule.
Read a budgeting book.
Try an expense tracker app.
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Methodology to identify the best budget apps
To come up with the lists above, we first reviewed 18 money apps. We appreciated apps that allowed users to do the following:
Sync several types of financial accounts (and opt out of syncing).
Plan ahead for financial decisions versus simply tracking past transactions.
See their expenses categorized and create custom categories.
Track bills and receive alerts for upcoming due dates.
Share financial information with partners.
Access the app via both the mobile app and desktop.
We also gave unofficial bonus points for nice-to-have features, such as showing credit score and net worth, as well as tracking investments. We noted apps that were free or relatively inexpensive.
The experiences of real users matter, too. So we read reviews of the apps in the iOS App Store and Google Play, noting complaints and kudos. We only included apps that received at least 4.5 stars (out of 5) in the iOS App Store or on Google Play, as well as at least 1,000 reviews. Those ratings were pulled on Dec. 15, 2021.
best budget app for couples
Budgeting can be tedious and daunting, especially when there are so many different accounts to keep track of, like for savings, investments and retirement. So when you and your partner have to manage your money together as a couple, dealing with double the number of accounts can make budgeting feel extra stressful.
That’s why there are so many budgeting apps designed to do the grunt work for you — and some of them actually work perfectly for couples.
To determine which budgeting apps are the best for couples Select reviewed and compared a variety of options, looking at their pricing, features and user reviews. (see our methodology for more information on how we choose the best budgeting apps.)
Best budgeting apps for couples
Best overall free app: Honeydue
Best for the envelope budgeting system: Goodbudget
Best for tracking your spending: Mint
Best for zero-based budgeting: You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Best overall free app
Honeydue
LEARN MORE
Information about Honeydue has been collected independently by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by Honeydue prior to publication.
Cost
Free
Standout features
Allows couples to see both partners’ bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments (and each partner can select what to share with the other) so you can manage money together and see everything at one glance
Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users can customize
Links to accounts
Yes, you and your partner’s bank and credit cards
Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
Security features
Data encryption, Touch ID and multi-factor authentication
See our methodology, terms apply.
Pros
Free to use
Helps couples manage their money together, track spending, coordinate bills
Syncs to you and your partner’s bank accounts
Choose what accounts you want to share
Users set up monthly spending limits in each category and are alerted when they or their partner is reaching limit
Bill payment reminders
Chat and send emojis to your partner through the app
Offers joint bank account
Security features include data encryption, Touch ID and multi-factor authentication
Cons
Some reports of app being buggy and transactions not showing up immediately
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Who’s this for? The Honeydue budgeting app makes it easy for you and your partner to get a comprehensive view of your finances together without having to log into a bunch of different accounts every single time. In other words, loans, investments, checking accounts and savings accounts can all be shared with your partner, but the app allows both of you to choose which accounts you want to actually connect.
The app also allows you to track spending and coordinate bill payments so you’re both on the same page. And with bill payment reminders and monthly spending limits that users set up in each category, the app helps couples make sure they aren’t overspending. If you or your partner are reaching a certain spending limit, you both will be alerted. Partners can also split expenses with each other directly in the app.
And, Honeydue is also offering its own joint bank account. The account has free ATM access, a debit card for both partners and no monthly fees or minimums.
Best for the envelope budgeting system
Goodbudget
LEARN MORE
Information about Goodbudget has been collected independently by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by Goodbudget prior to publication.
Cost
Free for 20 total envelopes; $70 annually for unlimited envelopes
Standout features
Allows couples to use the envelope system digitally for budgeting, and allows couples to track their debt
Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users must manually input transactions since the app does not sync to your bank account
Links to accounts
No, users must manually input purchases and transactions
Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android) and as a version for laptops
Security features
Information is secured using bank-grade 256-bit SSL
See our methodology, terms apply.
Pros
Free version of the app
Helps couples manage their money together, track spending and track debt
Ability to share budget with your partner
Digital envelopes help couples save for big goals that matter to them
Indicates when you’ve gone over budget
Money management courses and resources available
Cons
Can’t connect bank accounts so users must manually enter transactions
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Who’s this for? The Goodbudget app allows users to track their household’s spending using the “envelope method.” The envelope method means that each month, users allocate a certain amount of their income into categories (or digital “envelopes”) labeled for things like groceries, rent, date nights, travel and debt payoff.
This makes it easy to prioritize your spending and plan ahead. Users are only supposed to spend the amount allocated to each envelope, and if they go beyond their budget the envelope will show red to indicate that they overspent.
The envelope method is generally recommended for people who are new to budgeting, so if you and your partner need a way to ease into categorizing your spending, the app might be able to improve your confidence in that area.
Unlike most budgeting and expense tracker apps, Goodbudget does not link to users’ bank accounts and credit cards. Instead, you manually input your transactions into each digital envelope. This actually forces couples to take a hands-on approach to managing their money since they’ll have to actually check to see how much they’re spending in order to upload purchases to the app. However, some people may find manually inputting their transactions to be tedious.
The Goodbudget app has a free version which lets you create 20 envelopes, use the app on up to two devices, track one year’s worth of transaction history and track debt. Some couples may find that 20 envelopes aren’t enough for them, in which case they may consider upgrading to the premium version of Goodbudget for $70 a year or $8 a month; the premium version allows the use of unlimited envelopes, access to the account on up to five devices, access to seven years’ worth of transaction history and debt tracking.
Best for tracking your spending
Mint
LEARN MORE
Information about Mint has been collected independently by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by Mint prior to publication.
Cost
Free
Standout features
Shows income, expenses, savings goals, credit score, investments, net worth
Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users can modify
Links to accounts
Yes, bank and credit cards
Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
Security features
Verisign scanning, multi-factor authentication and Touch ID mobile access
See our methodology, terms apply.
Pros
Free to use
Syncs to your bank accounts and credit cards
Users can create savings goals, track investments
Customized alerts when over budget, for large transactions, ATM fees, etc.
Bill payment reminders
Credit monitoring service
Offers blog and education tools, such as a loan repayment calculator
Security features include Verisign scanning, multi-factor authentication and Touch ID mobile access
Cons
Some user reviews complain of ads, glitches in app, expenses assigned to wrong category
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Who’s this for? While the Mint app isn’t actually targeted toward couples, the fact that it allows you to connect several different accounts can make it easier for couples to categorize their spending automatically. Mint syncs to your bank accounts, credit cards and retirement accounts to track your income, purchases and savings. And it’ll automatically categorize all transactions so you and your partner don’t have to manually enter purchases and deposits, but you’ll also have the option to revise and add categories as needed. You can also create your own savings goals as a couple and track your investments in the app.
The app will even send alerts if you’re being charged an ATM fee, going over budget or if there’s been a large or suspicious transaction on any of the connected accounts.
The app also has a monthly bill payment tracker allows you see all your bills at one glance, and you can get reminders on upcoming due dates and alerts if your funds are low. These features make Mint a solid pick for couples but unlike Honeydue, Mint doesn’t offer the option to create a joint checking account for you and your partner.
Best for zero-based budgeting
You Need a Budget (YNAB)
You Need a Budget (YNAB)
LEARN MORE
Information about You Need a Budget (YNAB) has been collected independently by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by YNAB prior to publication.
Cost
34-day free trial then $84 per year or $11.99 per month (students who provide proof of enrollment get 12 months free)
Standout features
Instead of using traditional budgeting buckets, users allocate every dollar they earn to something (known as the “zero-based budgeting system” where no dollar is unaccounted for). Every dollar is assigned a “job,” whether it’s to go toward bills, savings, investments, etc.
Categorizes your expenses
No
Links to accounts
Yes, bank and credit cards
Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
Security features
Encrypted data, accredited data centers, third-party audits and more
See our methodology, terms apply.
Pros
Offers a 34-day free trial, and students get 12 months free
Designed to help you get out of debt
YNAB website claims average user saves $600 in their first two months and more than $6,000 in their first year
Syncs to your bank accounts and credit cards
Users can set goals, customize spending categories
Offers educational resources, such as budgeting advice and 100+ free workshops offered every week
Personal customer support
Security features include encrypted data, accredited data centers, third-party audits and more
Cons
Costs $84 per year or $11.99 per month
Customer reviews note that it takes longer to set up than other apps
View More
Who’s this for? You Need A Budget (YNAB) is best for couples who want to find a way to give every single dollar a job to reach their goals a little faster. YNAB automatically syncs to your bank accounts, credit cards and investment accounts once you link them to the app.
Unlike other budgeting apps which usually categorize your spending for you, YNAB users themselves choose where every dollar gets allocated according to their priorities and what is important to them. Couples who have a joint checking account can sync the account to YNAB to allocate their money to different spending categories.
For these reasons, the app is favorable for anyone trying to get out of debt. According to YNAB’s website, the average customer saves $600 in their first two months and more than $6,000 in their first year of using the app.
YNAB also offers educational resources, such as a budgeting blog, and superior personal customer support. Another big perk is YNAB’s 100+ free, live, online workshops offered every week by expert teachers.
Our methodology
To determine which budgeting apps offer the best user experience, Select analyzed over a dozen apps offered by the top companies in this market and looked at their pricing, features, user reviews and ratings.
We narrowed down our ranking by only considering apps that sync transactions from users’ bank accounts, come with low (or no) cost to sign up, are easy to use and can be accessed on multiple devices so are accessible and compatible for most.
The five apps we selected for this ranking are either free, offer a free version or have a free trial for users to test out before signing up.
All of the apps in our round-up have a sizable number of user reviews and high ratings. Each app on this list has at least 1,000 reviews in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android), as well as a rating over 4 stars (out of 5) on both platforms.
Other factors we looked at included apps’ security features, user customization and educational tools offered.
Conclusion
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