As we look ahead to a future where financial literacy is becoming increasingly paramount, budgeting apps have proven to be invaluable resources for individuals and families hoping to be more healthy financially. Whether you wish to pay off debts, save for a large purchase, or simply try to understand where your money is going, it is likely that there is an app designed specifically for your needs. Here is a list of 10 budgeting apps that you can use to help you save better and manage your money together.
1. Mint
Best For: Beginners and All-In-One Financial Management
Overview:
Mint, from Intuit (the makers of TurboTax and QuickBooks), is one of the more widely known personal finance apps. Mint connects to your bank accounts, credit cards, and bills to give you a real-time overview of your financial life.
Key Features:
- Automatic categorization of transactions
- Bill tracking and reminders
- Credit score tracking
- Custom budgets
How It Helps You Save:
Mint will give you alerts of overspending and show you where you can cut back. The visual representation of your finances in the app encourages spending and saving habits.
2. YNAB (You Need a Budget)
Best for: proactive budgeters who want to give every dollar a job
Overview:
YNAB is not just a budgeting app; it’s a method of budgeting. It teaches you to live off of last month’s income and to spend according to what is most important to you.
Key Features:
- Zero-based budgeting
- Setting goals and tracking progress
- Sync across platforms in real-time
- Educational resources and workshops
Why It Helps You Save:
YNAB prioritizes planning for the future, cutting back on impulse purchases, and building an emergency fund, which is especially beneficial for those trying to break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.
3. PocketGuard
Best for: an oversimplified budget and preventing overspending
Overview:
PocketGuard allows budgeting to be a lot less complex, and in my experience, it makes the most sense. The most powerful metric for PocketGuard is the “In My Pocket” metric, which helps users understand how much they can spend safely, accounting for bills, goals, and essential expenses.
Key Features:
- Automatic transaction categorization
- Bill negotiation features
- Graphics and summaries that take only seconds to understand
- Savings goals tracking
Why It Helps You Save:
PocketGuard explains exactly how much you have left that is safe to spend, allowing you to stay within budget and save money without thinking about it.
4. Goodbudget
Best for: envelope budgeting method perfectionists
Overview:
Goodbudget is the digital version of the envelope budgeting system in which you set aside parts of your income (sort of) into different expense “envelopes.”
Key Features:
- Envelope-style budgeting
- Cloud-syncing with multiple devices
- Debt payoff & savings tracking
- Manual transaction entry (helps foster spend monitoring)
Why It Helps You Save:
The envelope system is a discipline that requires users to make more deliberate spending and is ultimately a planning tool for larger expenses and goal setting.
5. EveryDollar
Best for: Dave Ramsey followers or anyone who wants something simple
Overview:
EveryDollar was created by financial expert Dave Ramsey, who has built a following on financial accountability and zero-based budgeting.
Key Features:
- Monthly budgeting templates
- Ability to manually add transactions (Paid version offers automatic recording)
- Goal tracking
- Direct link or integration with Ramsey+ content
Why It Helps You Save:
EveryDollar reinforces your commitment to your financial goals and monitors your spending habits, especially when you are on Ramsey’s Baby Steps program.
6. Personal Capital (Now Empower Personal Dashboard)
Best for: Budgeting with an emphasis on investments and future goals
Overview:
While generally referenced as a wealth management tool, Personal Capital provides robust budgeting options in addition to investment monitoring.
Key Features:
- Budget monitoring and cash flow tracking
- Net worth calculator
- Retirement planning tools
- Investment fee analyzer
Why It Helps You Save:
Having a view of the whole financial pie can help users not just save but invest smartly and achieve a vision for their future.
7. Zeta
Best for: Couples and families that are budgeting together
Overview:
Zeta is built to help couples – married, engaged, or living together in “common” law—budget together, whether it’s together as a couple or as individuals.
Key Features:
- Shared and individual budgets
- Bill splitting and payments tracking
- Goals and milestones
- Secure communication and note sharing features
Why It Helps You Save:
Zeta helps to create visibility between partners to promote financial transparency with one another to help establish where a couple’s savings should align and to minimize any friction created from money.
8. Honeydue
Ideal for: Couples looking to coordinate spending.
Overview:
Honeydue’s friendly interface makes it easy for couples to track finances together without necessarily merging every single one of their accounts.
Key Features:
- Shared expense tracking
- Customizable privacy settings
- Bill reminders
- Ability to message each other in-app to discuss finances
Why it helps you save:
Honeydue creates an environment of open communication and jointly visible finances. It allows couples to be more in step with their finances together and is likely to reduce duplicate spending, and being in contact with your partner should also help you both budget more effectively.
9. Simplifi by Quicken
Ideal for: Person searching for smart, AI-powered personal finance insights.
Overview:
Simplifi is a newer budgeting application from Quicken that is designed for modern, easy-to-use money management and even offers real-time syncing and personalized financial insights.
Key Features:
- Real-time spending tracking
- Custom watchlists and alerts
- Custom monthly spending plan
- Savings goal progress tracking
Why it helps you save:
Simplify’s visual tools and spending trends allow you to follow your habits and remain focused on savings.
10. Spendee
Best For: Budgeters who value visual design and collaboration
Overview:
The clean, colorful interface and functional options set Spendee apart from other budgeting apps. Spendee was designed for individuals or groups that want to keep track of and manage expenses (shared or not) together.
Key features:
- Wallets for either personal or shared expenses
- Multi-currency support
- Synched bank accounts or manual entry
- Infographic-style expense presentation
Why it will help you save:
The aesthetic quality of the app makes the task of budgeting seem less boring or tedious. You will be likely to have better and long-lasting habits of regular savings with an app you enjoy using.
Final thoughts
The best budgeting app for you will depend on your financial situation, your goals, and how you want to budget your finances. Some apps will force you to budget more manually and recruit discipline, while others will automate much of the process so you don’t have to think too far outside the box. The bottom line is that, no matter which path you take, a great budgeting app can be a strong ally in your quest to spend smart, save more, and sleep better.
Pro Tip: While you may be inclined to go with the first app you pick, don’t be afraid to browse through several of them and see which app’s interface resonates with you. Many will give you an opportunity to trial their app or at least have freemium versions available for you to choose from.
