Food and household item prices keep rising, but budgeting apps can help you keep track of your expenses and income without straying from your financial goals. Here’s a rundown of the best apps for managing your budget
How do financial tracking apps work?
Different apps use various approaches, but they all aim at one goal—financial management. Some apps, for example, aggregate data from multiple bank accounts, making it easier to monitor overall spending and income. Others allow you to maintain a budget book—by understanding where you spend your money, you can decide where to cut costs.
You can also use these apps to set savings goals. Some use push notifications to remind you to stick to your plan. Additionally, some apps will alert you if you overspend—such as when large amounts are withdrawn from your account.
Money Manager: budget book
It is an ideal for managing your income, expenses, and budget. Visual charts and statistics show where your money goes. You can even integrate your credit balance into the app to see how much money you have left. The app creates clear statistics based on the data you enter, helping you get a precise view of your finances. You can define various categories and subcategories to make your budget book as detailed as possible.
Available for: iOS and Android
Price: Free
Monefy: expense manager
With Monefy, you can easily track all your expenses. Just enter your expenditures into the app. You can also categorize expenses, and the pie chart provides an overview of where your money is going. Additionally, you can view expenses in various categories as a chronological list. You can switch between card and cash payments and use extensive analysis tools. If you use Monefy on multiple devices, such as a smartphone and tablet, data syncs across them.
Available for: iOS and Android
Price: Free
YNAB (You Need a Budget): tracking every dollar
This app is for those who like to delve into details. It employs the Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) strategy, which focuses on planning for every dollar earned rather than analyzing past transactions. As soon as you receive money, enter it into the app and allocate it across categories (including expenses, savings, and debts). YNAB allows you to link current and savings accounts, as well as credit cards and deposits.
Available for: iOS and Android, as well as Apple Watch, PC, and Alexa.
Price: $14.99 per month or $99 per year, with a 34-day free trial available. College students can use YNAB free for a year.
Goodbudget: envelope method
Creating a budget for the first time might seem overwhelming. Goodbudget simplifies this by using the “envelope” method—a financial strategy that involves dividing your income into separate envelopes or categories. For instance, you might have envelopes for rent, bills, groceries, utilities, unplanned purchases, and savings.
Goodbudget allows you to use this method digitally. You select envelopes from a pre-set list of goals and add money to them monthly. The free version allows you to use one of 10 pre-set envelopes (but not create your own). The Plus version allows for unlimited envelopes and additional features like unlimited accounts and a longer transaction history. There is no free trial, but you can get a full refund if you cancel within 30 days.
The biggest drawback of the app is that it doesn’t connect to external accounts, so you’ll need to manually enter each transaction. This may help you understand your daily spending better but can be tedious for some users.
Price: Goodbudget is free, Goodbudget Premium is $10 per month or $80 per year
Rocket Money: no frills
Rocket Money is perfect for those who want to keep things simple. The app includes all the basic budgeting features, is straightforward and intuitive. Numerous notifications and reports help you monitor your budget, including alerts for increased bills and monthly spending reports. You can also set up automatic transfers to your savings account.
The free version is fairly limited, but you can upgrade to the premium version for $4 to $12 per month—regardless of the plan, you get the same features.
Price: Basic version is free, Premium version is $4-12 per month (7-day free trial)
EveryDollar: easy enough for kids
Popular speaker and personal finance author Dave Ramsey launched EveryDollar to help followers of his financial philosophy follow Baby Steps to eliminate debt and achieve financial freedom.
In the free version of EveryDollar, you don’t sync accounts; instead, you manually enter expenses and income throughout the month. You also categorize budget items and set bill reminders. The paid version includes the same features but allows you to connect your bank account. Your transactions automatically appear in the app, which also provides custom reports and recommendations based on your habits. You can also link your savings and investment accounts.
Why you might want to think twice: The free version of EveryDollar is quite limited, and the premium version is expensive. Additionally, its overall rating on the App Store and Google Play has declined over the past few years.
Price: Free version available, Premium version free for 14 days; after trial, it’s $79.99 per year or $17.99 per month.
PocketGuard: categorized spending
Another option for tracking expenses by category. The app helps you control spending and focus on savings goals. Linking the app to your accounts automates the tracking process.
It features a useful automatic saving function—allowing you to set aside certain amounts at regular intervals. The In My Pocket feature shows you how much money you can spend on a given day. The app calculates this by taking your income, subtracting all necessary expenses and savings, and dividing the remainder by the number of days. Security measures include PIN codes, Touch ID, Face ID, and 256-bit SSL encryption.
The free version offers many features, including budgeting tools, expense reports, and expense tracking. The paid version allows for multiple budgets and custom budget categories, unlimited savings goals, and debt payoff plans.
Price: Basic version is free, PocketGuard Plus is $12.99 per month or $74.99 per year.
