You are not the only one who thinks creating a budget is a daunting task. Many will agree with this statement. You learn various financial lessons over time. Some come in a hard way, while the other side is more opportunistic, like using your first credit card.
However, according to a recent survey by the largest financial services company, Empower, 53 percent of Americans say that learning various ways to track expenses and budgets is the most valuable lesson they have learned.
Similarly, budgeting and tracking expenses can only be possible with the help of a good budget app. A good budgeting app will not only save your time and energy but also help you become a wise saver, investor, and spender.
This guide will take you on a ride to exploring some of the best money management apps for better spending habits, but before that, let’s understand what budgeting apps are.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- Budgeting apps are software applications that help you to make a weekly or monthly budget.
- Financial management and expense tracking can be quickly done with the help of a free budget app like Fudget.
- You need to sync your bank accounts wisely to the budgeting apps, which will analyze and calculate the amount of money left in your account each month.
- There are various expense tracker apps available, so try them and then decide which one is best for your needs.
What are Budgeting Apps?
Budgeting apps are tools or software applications that enable you to create a budget (weekly or monthly). These apps help you track monthly income and expenses and require you to sync your bank accounts.
As soon as you sync your bank accounts to the best budget app, all your data will automatically be imported into the application. This helps you analyze and calculate the amount of money remaining in your account each month.
This provides you with an idea of where you can spend money and where to restrict or cut back so that you can contribute to the savings.
Best Money Management Apps in 2024
1. Goodbudget: Best App for Envelope Budgeting & Free Budget App
Overview:
Goodbudget was founded in 2009 with digital envelopes and later included recurring transactions, account reconciliation, and other budgeting features. If you love envelope budgeting methods and want to avoid carrying huge wads of cash susceptible to theft, you can do it with the Goodbudget app.
When it comes to money spending, it’s preferable to use digital envelopes rather than your bank account. This means your spending is based on your budget allotment criteria and not on how much money you have in your account.
Features:
- Sync bank account and share budget
- Pay off debt
- Save for big expenses
- Keeps you on track with the help of a time-tested envelope budgeting method.
- Expense tracker
Pros:
- Low-cost paid version
- Digitizes the envelope budgeting method
- Ability to share the budget with your partner
- Helps couple to manage their finances
Cons:
- You must add each purchase manually
- The free version of the application restricts users to one financial institution
Price:
- Forever free version available
- Premium is $10 per month or $80 annually
Automatic Account Syncing Capabilities: Yes (US banks only)
2. YNAB (You Need A Budget): Best App for Zero-based Budgeting
Overview:
YNAB was founded in September 2004 and is headquartered in Lehi, Utah. It is an award-winning and also the best budget app that specializes in helping consumers save money and get out of debt.
The average YNAB investor saves up to $600 in two months & $6,000 in their first year.
This easy-to-access application can be easily accessible via mobile phones, desktops, and voice-activated devices.
Though YNAB is a costly personal finance app on our list of best budget apps, the company also offers its customers a 34-day free trial. That sounds amazing!
Features:
- Bank-grade security
- World-class support
- Manage money with your friends, family, partners, and other close-knit groups
- Endless customization
- Split transactions
- Easy setup mode
- Availability of “Widgets”
- Loan Calculator
- Goal tracking
Pros:
- Accessible from various devices
- Easily shareable up to six people
- Sync to bank accounts & credit cards
- Personal customer support
Cons:
- It takes longer time to set up than other budgeting apps
- Lack of investment tracking
Price:
- Free-34 day trial
- The annual plan is $8.25*/month, with $80 Savings and $99 paid annually
- The monthly plan is $14.99*/month
Automatic Account Syncing Capabilities: Yes
3. Pocketguard: Best for Tracking Expenses
Overview:
Pocketguard, launched in 2015 by Igor Kuznetsov and located in California, United States, is the best expense tracker app because it helps customers control overspending and makes them restrictive spenders.
They leverage an algorithm that efficiently and effectively tracks all your expenses, income, and saving goals to let you know how much you can splurge daily. This restrictive spending makes avoiding an overspending task a cakewalk for you and having complete control of your finances.
Features:
- Manages and calculates monthly cash flow
- Track all your expenses
- Ability to create your spending categories
- Sync bank accounts and credit accounts
- Build custom budgets
Pros:
- Real-time spending availability
- Easy to use
- Glance at a cash flow
- Free basic budgeting app
- Ability to integrate bank accounts from thousands of institutions
Cons:
- Tricky to navigate the website
- Limited features in the free version
- No support via phone
Price:
- Free version available
- Plus is $12.99/month or $74.99/year
Automatic Account Syncing Capabilities: Yes
4. Quicken Simplifi: Best App to Manage Expenses
Overview:
Simplifi is a personal finance app offered by a money management platform named “Quicken.” They have built over 20 million better financial lives.
Simplify provides combined criteria to manage and control your finances with a monthly budgeting system. Moreover, the app looks into your tax planning, business expenses, organizing personal, investment, and debt repayment.
It has a lower application rating than some other expense tracker apps and offers a desktop version with an optimized experience. Nevertheless, the Simplifi budgeting app maintains the privacy of your bank information and other details with the help of 256-bit encryption.
Features:
- Manage your finances
- Real-time alerts
- Bank-grade security
- Ad-free app
Pros:
- Credit monitoring
- Refund tracker
- Robust investments dashboard
- Customizable reports
- Sync with bank & credit card
Cons:
- No free tier
- Quicken data can’t be imported
- No bill pay feature
Price:
- Starting at $2.99/month
- Premium plan starts at $5.99/month
Automatic Account Syncing Capabilities: Yes
5. Fudget: Best Free Budget App
Overview:
Fudget was founded by Danny Connell. Its free budget plan allows users to create up to five budgets, a budget on one device, and up to 250 entities.
A Fudget Plus subscription costs $19.99/year or $14.99 every six months.
It unfolds unlimited entries and budgets, multiple-device syncing, and add-on features such as a calculator folder and reminders. This budgeting app is available for Android, iOS, Mac, or Windows to get started for free.
Features:
- Unlimited budgets & entities
- Budget on multiple devices in real-time
Pros:
- Free version available
- 7-day free trial
- Beginner friendly interface
- Customize languages and currencies
Cons:
- Some features are only available in the paid version
- Lacks standard budgeting features like syncing bank account
Price:
- Free version
- Plus is $19.99/year or $14.99/six months
- 7-day free trial
Automatic Account Syncing Capabilities: Yes
6. Empower: Best App to Manage Personal Finances
Overview:
Empower is a wealth management company that began as Great-West Life Assurance Company in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is an all-in-one budgeting and net worth tracker, which makes it an ideal investment tool for tracking your wealth and spending.
In addition, you can create a budget, make adjustments as things change, and look into your investment portfolio, Individual Retirement Account (IRA), mortgage, and bank accounts.
With Empower, it’s simple to categorize your transactions by merchant or date and set a savings goal.
Features:
- Track spending
- Set saving goals
- Stay on budget
- Data encryption
- Fraud protection
- Strong user authentication
Pros:
- Free to use
- Free investing tools like
- Sync to bank accounts and credit cards
- Net worth tracker and money tracking dashboard
Cons:
- Investment management services cost higher
- Budgeting features are not very comprehensive
- The user interface is restricted to customization
Price:
- Free to use
Automatic Account Syncing Capabilities: Yes
7. Honeydue: Best Budget App for Couples
Overview:
Honeydue is the best budget application for couples, and it helps them manage their spending, household bills, and balances together. The best part of the honeydue app is that it’s totally free. You can still tip the developers who could help support new features.
In addition, honeydue integrates with 20,000+ financial institutions in five countries to sync your bank account(s). As a result, you can coordinate bills with your partner, remind them about the bill’s due date, and even chat via the app about any transaction you have made.
Nevertheless, the app enables you to create custom categories. If you’re near the budget limit for that particular category, you’ll get a notification, which is truly fantastic!
Features:
- Multi-factor authentication
- Touch ID
- Data encryption
- Bill payment reminders
- Set up monthly limit spending
Pros:
- Syncs your bank account
- Free to use
- Helps couples to track spending, coordinate bills, and manage money together
- Chat & send emojis to your partner
Cons:
- Reports of the application being buggy and delays in displaying the transactions
Price:
- Free to use
Automatic Account Syncing Capabilities: Yes
You learned about the best budget apps. If you are finding the best budgeting apps for your family then we have a separate guide for it. You can check out this guide to learn how you can manage your family finances.
Final Thought
It’s high time you start learning about the best budget apps to grow your wealth. There are various expense tracker apps available in the market, you need to give them a try and then decide which one is best for your needs.
Moreover, considering key aspects like price, features, pros and cons, and account syncing capabilities will provide a clear vision for choosing the best app to manage expenses and income and create financial awareness.
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Happy Budgeting!
