7 Best Budgeting Apps [2025]: Tools To Manage Your Everyday Finances

Best for user-friendly budgeting

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Quicken Simplifi

• Offers a simple method for visualizing your spending habits
• Automatically categorizes your transactions
• Gives you access to customizable categories

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Best for cutting your bills

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Rocket Money

• Finds unused subscriptions and helps you cancel them
• Negotiates your bills on your behalf
• Offers simple user experience

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Managing your finances can be a lot easier if you take advantage of tools to budget smarter. The best budgeting apps can help you track your spending, find savings opportunities, create a debt payoff strategy, and see your net worth. Some can even help you cancel subscriptions or lower your bills.

Some of our favorite budget apps include:

• Rocket Money for its bill negotiation features
• Quicken Simplifi for its simple budgeting interface
• YNAB for its granular and cross-platform budgeting, and more

I like a fairly simple budgeting app that allows me to choose my spending and savings categories, but you might want something more nuanced. Take a look at our roundup of some of the best budgeting apps and decide which features are essential to you.

The best budget apps we recommend

Rocket Money

Available for: iOS devices on the App Store and Android devices on Google Play

Pricing: Free version, or choose to pay $6 to $12 per month for premium version

With Rocket Money, you can connect your bank accounts and credit cards (using Plaid). The app analyzes your transactions to assist you in tracking spending, budgeting, and saving.

Where Rocket Money really stands out is its work on recurring subscriptions. If you're anything like me, chances are you've signed up for a subscription or six to various retailers and have forgotten to use them. The app alerts you to recurring bills for things like cable TV and gym memberships and lets you either cancel useless subscriptions yourself, or you can have Rocket Money handle it.

Plus, Rocket Money offers a "lower your bills" feature in which the company negotiates bills on your behalf. It charges 35%-60% of the first year's savings, if successful (so you still save money, though not as much as you might hope).

Overall, I like Rocket Money's features, especially if you're looking for help lowering your bills, since calling service providers to request discounts is a hassle and not all of us are built for negotiations.

Visit Rocket Money | Read our Rocket Money review.

Lower Your Monthly Bills

Smart budgeting app that helps you cancel unwanted subscriptions, grow your savings on autopilot, and more.

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Quicken Simplifi

Available for: iOS devices on the App Store and Android devices on Google Play

Pricing: $5.99 per month, billed annually

Quicken Simplifi is a tool by Quicken that helps you with money management and financial planning. Over 14,000 financial institutions can connect directly to your Simplifi account, or you can input your transactions manually if your banks aren't included.

The app automatically categorizes your transactions to help you identify unnecessary expenses and track your monthly spending. You can set up custom limits for each category to help prevent overspending, as well as real-time alerts for unexpected transactions. You'll also be able to establish and track your savings goals from the app.

The app can track your bills to assist you with paying them on time and avoid late fees, and it also offers a credit report feature that allows you to keep track of your credit score.

Quicken Simplifi doesn't offer a free version, but its cost is lower than many other budget apps we've tried. We see the platform running specials pretty often, so you might be able to snag a subscription for less.

If you're looking for specific tools such as a debt payoff tracker or a retirement planner, you'll need to look elsewhere. Overall, though, customers are fairly happy with Quicken Simplifi: it has a 4.5-star rating on Google Play and 4.3 stars on the App Store.

Visit Quicken Simplifi | Read our Quicken Simplifi review.

YNAB

Available for: iOS devices on the App Store and Android devices on Google Play.

Pricing: 34-day free trial period. $14.99 per month on the monthly plan. $109 per year for the annual plan ($9.08 per month equivalent).

You Need a Budget (YNAB) is a budgeting app that offers extensive cross-platform support, including desktop, iPhone, Android, iPad, Apple Watch, and Alexa. It has a dedicated following and reports that new users save an average of $600 in their first two months and $6,000 in their first year.

I personally haven't used YNAB, possibly because I'm not as motivated to learn the ins and outs of how it works. But I know a lot of folks who swear by YNAB and wouldn't use any other budgeting app, so it really comes down to preference.

YNAB is a proactive system where you manually categorize and track spending. You set up a zero-based budget aimed at managing income, paying down debt, avoiding overspending, or other goals. YNAB offers a higher level of control than other apps that make spending and savings decisions for you.

It does cost a bit for YNAB (it's more than double the monthly fee for Quicken Simplifi). Plus, you might be willing to pay the money but want to be more hands-off, while YNAB requires time and effort.

Visit YNAB (You Need A Budget) | Read our YNAB review.

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Monarch

Available for: iOS devices on the App Store and Android devices on Google Play

Pricing: Seven-day free trial period. $99.99 per year if billed annually (equal to $8.33 a month) or $14.99 per month for a month-to-month subscription. Welcome discounts may be available.

Monarch (from Monarch Money) is a budgeting app that provides tools for budgeting, net worth tracking, monitoring recurring bills, and more. Like other budgeting apps, it syncs with your financial accounts to automatically input transactions and track progress.

You can see info on recurring transactions and get notifications in advance before those bills come due. There's also an option to plan ahead for larger expenses that don't occur every month.

If you're looking for a budgeting tool that also provides a comprehensive view of all of your finances, including investments, it might be worth checking out Monarch.

I had heard Monarch mentioned as a good alternative to Mint, which disappointed quite a few users when it shut down. A quick glance at some of the user reviews on the Google Play and App Store reveals that a lot of people hopped over to Monarch, but reviews are mixed as to whether this succeeds as an alternative. Overall, the reviews are positive (4.7 stars on Google Play and 4.9 stars on App Store).

Price-wise, Monarch is pretty similar to YNAB. It's cheaper if you pay for a whole year at a time, but certainly not as cheap as budget apps come.

Visit Monarch | Read our Monarch Review for more info.

SoFi®

Available for: iOS devices on the App Store and Android devices on Google Play.

Pricing: Free.

SoFi®, one of the best online banks, offers ways to comprehensively manage all of your financial accounts. You can use the free budgeting app to link bank accounts along with investment and retirement accounts.

I like SoFi's budgeting tools as they allow you to set straightforward budgets, see upcoming bills, and monitor your credit score weekly. Overall, it can help you keep your finances in order without spending any extra money. This might make it a good choice if you want to learn how to budget, but you might also keep it as your long-term budgeting tool.

Perspectives

Yahia Barakah, CEPF

Editor

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Yahia Barakah, CEPF, has created finance-focused content since 2011. As a Certified Educator of Personal Finance, he has a background in institutional investment and asset management, as well as a deep passion for financial literacy.

WHY SOFI IS MY PERSONAL FAVORITE

SoFi's tools are some of the best budgeting tools for maintaining connections with financial accounts without frequent verification. It also allows manual linking of accounts that can't be automatically linked, such as certain liabilities or assets. This ensures a more comprehensive and up-to-date financial picture.

You need to register for a SoFi® account to use SoFi's tools. This isn't a significant downside, as most apps require a similar step.

You may even double down and opt for opening a SoFi Checking and Savings² <p>New and existing Checking and Savings members who have not previously enrolled in Direct Deposit with SoFi are eligible to earn a cash bonus of either $50 (with at least $1,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period) <b>OR</b> $300 (with at least $5,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period). Cash bonus will be based on the total amount of Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit Promotion begins on 12/7/2023 and will be available through 1/31/2026. See full bonus and annual percentage yield (APY) terms at <a href="http://www.sofi.com/banking#1">sofi.com/banking#1</a>. SoFi Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Bank, N.A., Member FDIC.</p> <p>SoFi members who enroll in SoFi Plus with Direct Deposit or by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee every 30 days or with $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits during the 30-Day Evaluation Period can earn 3.80% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate. Members without either SoFi Plus or Qualifying Deposits, during the 30-Day Evaluation Period will earn 1.00% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Only SoFi Plus members are eligible for other SoFi Plus benefits. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of Jan. 24, 2025. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at <a href="http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet">http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet</a>. See the SoFi Plus Terms and Conditions at <a href="https://www.sofi.com/terms-of-use/#plus">https://www.sofi.com/terms-of-use/#plus</a>.</p> account, one of our favorite bank accounts. It has $0 monthly fees³ <p>We do not charge any account, service or maintenance fees for SoFi Checking and Savings. We do charge a transaction fee to process each outgoing wire transfer. SoFi does not charge a fee for incoming wire transfers, however the sending bank may charge a fee. Our fee policy is subject to change at any time. See the SoFi Checking & Savings Fee Sheet for details at <a href="http://sofi.com/legal/banking-fees/">sofi.com/legal/banking-fees/</a></p> , offers access to high annual percentage yield (APY)⁴ <p>SoFi members who enroll in SoFi Plus with Direct Deposit or by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee every 30 days or with $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits during the 30-Day Evaluation Period can earn 3.80% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate. Members without either SoFi Plus or Qualifying Deposits, during the 30-Day Evaluation Period will earn 1.00% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Only SoFi Plus members are eligible for other SoFi Plus benefits. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of Jan. 24, 2025. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at <a href="http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet">http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet</a>. See the SoFi Plus Terms and Conditions at <a href="https://www.sofi.com/terms-of-use/#plus">https://www.sofi.com/terms-of-use/#plus</a>.</p> ⁵ <p class="">The product and annual percentage yield (APY) data displayed on this website is gathered from various sources and may not reflect all of the offers available in your area. Although we strive to provide the most accurate data possible, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Always verify account details and availability with the financial institution before opening an account.<br></p> with direct deposits, and SoFi is a Member, FDIC ⁶ <p><b style="font-family: Rubik, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, sans-serif;">SoFi Bank is a member FDIC and does not provide more than $250,000 of FDIC insurance per depositor per legal category of account ownership, as described in the FDIC’s regulations.&nbsp;Any additional FDIC insurance is provided by the SoFi Insured Deposit Program. Deposits may be insured up to $3M through participation in the program. See full terms at&nbsp;<a href="http://sofi.com/banking/fdic/sidpterms">SoFi.com/banking/fdic/sidpterms</a>. See list of participating banks at <a href="http://sofi.com/banking/fdic/participatingbanks">SoFi.com/banking/fdic/participatingbanks</a>.</b></p> .

Visit SoFi | Read our SoFi Checking and Savings review.

Goodbudget

Available for: iOS devices on the App Store and Android devices on Google Play.

Pricing: Free version. $10 per month or $80 per year for the Goodbudget Premium monthly plan.

Goodbudget is a user-friendly budgeting app that uses the envelope system to help users manage their finances. If you haven't heard of the envelope system, it has you assign a dollar amount to different spending categories, known as "envelopes." You might have envelopes for groceries, rent, utilities, dining out, saving, and the like. This system is designed to curb overspending and force you to think about how you use your money. When an envelope is empty, you're done spending in that category or need to dip into another. Some people still love the old-school method of actual envelopes, but apps like Goodbudget digitize the system.

We've found Goodbudget to be best for tracking expenses and overriding unhealthy spending habits. The app is particularly useful for those looking to establish an emergency fund, as it allows users to set aside money for unexpected costs.

The app offers a simple user experience and comprehensive features. It allows you to track income and expenses and set budgeting goals, such as paying off debt or saving money. You can manually input your transactions or import them by uploading a supported file.

The free version gives you one account and access on up to two devices, while the premium version offers unlimited accounts and up to five devices. A downside is that Goodbudget doesn't integrate with other tools or accounts.

Visit Goodbudget.

Honeydue

Available for: iOS devices on the App Store and Android devices on Google Play.

Pricing: Free.

Honeydue is a free budget planning app for couples that's available for iOS and Android. It helps partners simplify essential money talks by tracking expenses, bills, and financial account balances, including joint bank accounts and investment accounts.

I like this because it's so important for couples or partners to be on the same page with their finances. Using Honeydue can take a lot of the stress out of financial communication between you and your partner.

Couples can choose how much information to share, set monthly spending limits, add custom categories, split expenses, and settle balances. The app also offers a joint Cash bank account with a debit Visa card.

You can't access your Honeydue information through your laptop or desktop device, limiting you to using your phone. That would be a con in my book because my eyes get tired pretty fast when looking at a tiny screen, but you might prefer mobile-only access.

Visit Honeydue.

How do budgeting apps work?

The main goal of most budgeting apps is simplifying the way you manage your money on a day-to-day basis. You can manage your budget by setting up spending categories and tracking your actual spending.

You typically connect the app directly to your bank to import and categorize transactions. Plus, many apps today help provide alerts to recurring transactions, which could save you money by reminding you to cancel unused subscriptions.

Some budgeting apps also offer investment tracking or credit score monitoring. While I'll remind you that you can easily get updates on your credit score for free from a lot of places (credit cards, MyFICO.com, etc.), the investment tracking aspect could be quite useful.

Tips for choosing a budgeting app

When learning to budget better, you need an app that complements your organizational style and experience.

For instance, if all you want is a mobile tool that helps you monitor your spending and you've never used budget software, you can pick a no-frills app like Quicken Simplifi or Rocket Money. We also recommend simpler apps to people who have tried and failed to stick to a budget before since you're more likely to use an app that's easy to pick up and manage.

But if you're hoping for something that's fully customizable or requires quite a bit of effort on your part, you should be ready to put in more time. YNAB is well-known for having a bit of a learning curve, which is great if you're a planner and have an eye for detail. But if you're more interested in hands-off budgeting, YNAB isn't likely to be a good fit.

Overall, pay attention to what it is you want from a budgeting tool. It won't be exactly the same as what I might want or what your coworkers want. Decide on what matters to you with regard to cost, ease of syncing with accounts, automated features, investment tracking, and other potential features.

FAQs

Products that didn't make our list

These are a couple of other budgeting apps to consider if you haven't found one you love yet.

EveryDollar

The app connected to Dave Ramsey, EveryDollar is focused on debt-free living. There's a free version of EveryDollar as well as a paid version, which you can also get as part of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University if you'd like to get more for your money. Compared to other apps we've tried, EveryDollar is pretty bare-bones when it comes to features, and this is why we didn't pick it for our list. But we'd recommend it over others if you're into tracking your transactions manually.

PocketGuard

Another budgeting app to consider is PocketGuard, an app with bill payment tracking, budgeting, goal tracking, and unique spending insights to help you make the right financial decisions. PocketGuard only offers paid plans, which cost $74.99 a year (equal to $6.25 a month) or $12.99 a month. We didn't choose it as one of the best budget apps because many users report that the app can be buggy, and the platform has significantly increased its price recently (and done away with its appealing free version).

Bottom line

If you've never budgeted before, it's simple to learn how to manage your money. You can actually have fun with a budgeting app because you'll get a better understanding of where your money is going. I like budgeting because it lets me plan ahead for what's necessary as well as the fun things I'm looking forward to in the future.

No matter your budgeting style, there's an app that can help you better manage your money. You may want to look into various budgeting techniques before you pick an app, because different apps are stronger with certain techniques like the 50/30/20 method.

If a couple of apps discussed here stand out, you might check out one of our comparison pieces, such as Rocket Money vs. Quicken Simplifi, to help you make a decision.

Learn More

Consolidates finances in one place and automatically tracks real estate value

Uncovers forgotten subscriptions to cancel and negotiates bills

Supports tracking trial subscriptions

Automates moving money into a savings account

Provides credit monitoring and insights

Low cost for premium features at $6 for the monthly plan or $4 a month for the annual plan