Best Budgeting Apps [2023]

It might be difficult to manage your finances in today's fast-paced world. To help you keep track of your spending and saving, you can use one of the many budgeting apps available. The top budgeting apps include Rocket Money for its bill negotiation feature, Simplifi for its simple budgeting interface, Oportun for its automated savings feature, and more.  Every budgeting software offers special features and advantages that can help you reach your financial goals.

Budgeting apps can help you track your spending and keep an eye on your income and net worth while keeping it all simple. Choose the right one for your individual needs, and you’ll be more likely to succeed at maintaining your budget.

The 11 best budgeting apps

1. Rocket Money: Best for cutting your bills
2. Simplifi: Best for user-friendly budgeting
3. Oportun: Best for automating your savings
4. Wally: Best for family budgeting
5. Marcus Insights: Best for all-in-one budgeting
6. Mint: Best for tracking your credit score
7. Empower: Best for budgeting and investment tracking
8. PocketGuard: Best for quick spending insights
9. EveryDollar: Best for building a budget quickly
10. YNAB (You Need a Budget): Best for cross-platform budgeting
11. Honeydue: Best for couples

Comparison of the best budgeting apps

Budgeting app	Best for...	Why it’s special	Pricing
Rocket Money	Cutting your bills	Rocket Money cancels unused subscriptions and negotiates bills on your behalf, making the process simple.	Free version $3 to $12 per month
Simplifi	User-friendly budgeting	Simplifi gives you a snapshot of all your accounts in one place.	30-day free trial period $47.88 per year for annual plans
Oportun	Automating your savings	Oportun analyzes your spending and bills to determine how much to save on your behalf.	30-day free trial period $5 per month
Wally	Family budgeting	Wally allows you to set group budgets and sync information about all your accounts.	Free version $8.99 per month for the Wally Gold monthly plan $39.96 per year for the Wally Gold annual plan $99.99 for the Wally Gold lifetime membership
Marcus Insights	All-in-one budgeting	Marcus Insights helps you track your spending, trim your bills, and even save directly through the app.	Free
Mint	Tracking your credit score	Mint provides free credit score access along with a suite of budgeting tools.	Free version $0.99 per month for the ad-free version $4.99 per month for Mint Premium (only available on iOS)
Empower	Budgeting and investment tracking	Track your retirement account, net worth, and investments in one place with Empower.	Free
PocketGuard	Quick spending insights	PocketGuard shows you how much available cash you have, along with your upcoming bills, in one glance.	Free version $7.99 per month for the monthly plan $34.99 per year for the annual plan $79.99 for the lifetime subscription
EveryDollar	Building a budget quickly	You can create a personalized budget with EveryDollar in less than 10 minutes.	Free version 14-day free trial period for EveryDollar Premium $12.99 per month for the monthly plan $79.99 per year for the annual plan
YNAB	Cross-platform budgeting	When you sign up for YNAB, you’ll get access to the web app, along with YNAB for iPhone, Android, iPad, Apple Watch, and Alexa.	34-day free trial period $14.99 per month on the monthly plan $99 per year for the annual plan
Honeydue	Couples	Honeydue allows couples to budget in one place, mutually manage their finances, and divvy up balances and expenses.	Free

Rocket Money: Best for cutting your bills

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

Pricing: Free version. $3 to $12 per month for premium version.

Why we like Rocket Money: Rocket Money can help its users save hundreds of dollars per year on average by canceling unwanted subscriptions, negotiating recurring bills with providers, and securing refunds on certain fees. The app also allows you to track your spending, connect your bank accounts, and automate your savings. It also gives you access to educational resources about budgeting, debt, investing, and more.

The app offers a simple user experience and comprehensive features that we like. The app makes it easy to track income and expenses, set budgeting goals, and receive personalized budgeting recommendations for saving money. It also imports your transactions and creates simple yet detailed reports, and can even negotiate recurring bills and subscriptions for you.

What we don't like about Rocket Money: While we can use Rocket Money for free, there are functions that only premium subscribers can access. This includes automated cancellations, overdraft and late fee refunds, and credit reports. Additionally, the company makes money by taking a portion of your savings after their expert team works to reduce costs on your behalf. Rocket Money allows you to choose from 30% to 60% of the amount saved as its success fee. On the other hand, if it can’t lower your bills, you pay nothing.

Visit Rocket Money

... Or read our Rocket Money review.

Simplifi: Best for user-friendly budgeting

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

Pricing: 30-day free trial period. $47.88 per year for annual plans.

Why we like Simplifi: Simplifi is a new tool by Quicken that helps you with money management and financial planning. It has an interactive interface and can connect to over 14,000 financial institutions to track your progress toward your financial goals. The app automatically categorizes your transactions, including debit card purchases, to help you identify unnecessary expenses and track your monthly spending. 

You can set up custom limits for each category to help prevent you from overspending. You’ll also be able to establish and track your savings goals from the app. The app can also track your bills to assist you with paying them on time and avoid late fees.

What we don't like about Simplifi: Simplifi doesn't offer a free version. This means that once your trial period is over, you have to subscribe to continue using the app. Additionally, it doesn't have specific tools such as a debt payoff tracker or a retirement planner.

Visit Simplifi

... Or read our Simplifi review.

Oportun: Best for automating your savings

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

Pricing: 30-day free trial period. $5 per month after the trial period ends.

Why we like Oportun: Oportun is an app that can help you save money by analyzing your spending patterns and upcoming bills to determine the appropriate amount to set aside in savings each day. The money is held within banks that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). 

Oportun makes it simple to link existing bank accounts and automatically moves money to help you grow your savings. The app also offers unlimited withdrawals and the option for instant access to the money for a $0.99 fee. Oportun makes it easy to link existing bank accounts, track expenses and income, and set goals and budgets. It also offers personalized insights and spending trends.

What we don't like about Oportun: While Oportun has many great features, one thing we don't like is that it doesn't have a free version. You can use Oportun for a trial period before having to subscribe to continue using it.

Visit Oportun

... Or read our Oportun review.

Wally: Best for family budgeting

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

Pricing: Free version. $8.99 per month for the Wally Gold monthly plan. $39.96 per year for the Wally Gold annual plan. $99.99 for the Wally Gold lifetime membership.

Why we like Wally: Wally is a personal finance app that allows you to connect all your financial accounts, budget by category, collaborate on a shared budget, schedule bill reminders, upload important documents, and save receipts and warranties.

One of the main features of Wally is WallyGPT, a feature that uses recent advances in artificial intelligence to power your personal finance experience. This feature enables you to converse with the app and ask it about your expenses and savings in natural language. The mobile app also allows you to track your bills to stay on top of their due dates. You can also take pictures of your receipts to make it easy to keep track of spending.

What we don't like about Wally: While there is a free version of Wally, the paid version costs more than some other budgeting apps.

Visit Wally.

Marcus Insights: Best for all-in-one budgeting

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

Pricing: Free.

Why we like Marcus Insights: Marcus Insights is a free app from Marcus by Goldman Sachs that allows you to link all your financial accounts for an overview of your finances. It features powerful spending tracking tools, including automatic categorization of transactions into spending categories, an overview of income and expenses, and the ability to view transactions by retailer or time of day.

The app identifies recurring expenses to help you cut down on unnecessary bills and cancel unwanted subscriptions. It includes a budget planner and the ability to check your credit score for free. Additionally, Marcus Insights lets you open a Marcus online savings account directly from the app with no minimum deposit or fees, and your money is FDIC-insured. You can set savings goals, automate your savings, and earn an interest rate on the money you save. The Marcus online savings account offers an annual percentage yield (APY) of 4.30% (as of Aug. 4, 2023).

What we don't like about Marcus Insights: Marcus Insight isn't a standalone app. Instead, it lives within the Marcus app from Goldman Sachs. While you can use Marcus Insights without becoming a Marcus member, you won't be able to use certain features in the app without applying for a Marcus savings or investing account.

Visit Marcus Insights.

Mint: Best for tracking your credit score

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

Pricing: Free version. $0.99 per month for the ad-free version. $4.99 per month for Mint Premium (only available on iOS).

Why we like Mint: Mint is a budgeting app that allows you to regularly check your credit score and receive alerts when new credit information is available. The app has a free version and two paid versions, one that's available for Android devices and removes ads, and another that offers additional features such as subscription cancellation, advanced data visualization, and graphs, but is only available for iOS users.

Mint allows you to track your bills, get reminders about due dates, and receive notifications when your funds are low. It also has a budget tracker that automatically categorizes your expenses and allows you to add custom tags and assign categories for transactions.

What we don't like about Mint: Like some other apps on the list, Mint mislabels transactions in some cases. This leads to providing inaccurate spending data when investments are marked as normal purchases. Mint also experiences occasional connectivity issues with certain financial institutions, which isn't out of the ordinary but may interrupt your experience.

Visit Mint.

Empower: Best for budgeting and investment tracking

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

Pricing: Free.

Why we like Empower: Empower, formerly known as Personal Capital, is a personal finance app designed to help you stay on top of your net worth. The app’s financial tools are free to use and allow you to link your accounts, including investment accounts, to get an overview of your finances. You can also build and manage a savings and retirement plan directly from the app and use the app’s investment tools to get insights about your portfolio.

Empower analyzes any hidden fees associated with your retirement accounts and provides instructions on minimizing them. The app’s wealth management features are for paying customers with a minimum of $100,000 in investment assets, who receive unlimited financial advice and a professionally managed ETF portfolio. Customers with more than $200,000 in investment assets also get two dedicated financial advisors and a customized portfolio, while those with more than $1 million in investment assets are considered private clients and receive priority access and in-depth support.

What we don't like about Empower: Accessing the full suite of Empower features, such as wealth management and dedicated financial advisors, requires you to be a paying customer with a minimum amount of $100,000 in investment assets. 

Visit Empower.

PocketGuard: Best for quick spending insights

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

Pricing: Free version. $7.99 per month for the monthly plan. $34.99 per year for the annual plan. $79.99 for the lifetime subscription.

Why we like PocketGuard: PocketGuard is a budgeting app that helps you track your spending, reduce bill payments, and link your financial accounts. It has an “In My Pocket” feature that shows your available cash and recommended spending limits. 

PocketGuard Plus offers additional features such as creating custom categories, exporting transaction data, and managing cash and ATM transactions. The app also has a “Find Savings” tab to help negotiate bills, cancel subscriptions, and improve credit scores. It also allows you to set savings goals and use the autosave function.

What we don't like about PocketGuard: The free version offers limited functionality, while the paid version costs more on a monthly basis than some of the apps on our list. Additionally, the app also struggles with correctly categorizing some transactions, which is a common issue for several budgeting apps.

Visit PocketGuard.

EveryDollar: Best for building a budget quickly

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

Pricing: Free version. 14-day free trial period for EveryDollar Premium. $12.99 per month for the monthly plan. $79.99 per year for the annual plan.

Why we like EveryDollar: EveryDollar is a budgeting app launched in 2015 by personal finance expert Dave Ramsey that could help you create a budget in less than 10 minutes. It uses zero-based budgeting, where every dollar is assigned to a specific category. You can connect your bank accounts and credit cards to track spending and monitor progress. The app is simple to use, just add your income, plan expenses by category, and track spending. This information will be synced across the devices you use as well.

What we don't like about EveryDollar: The free version doesn’t allow you to link your financial accounts; instead, you enter your transactions manually. Although this might seem inconvenient, it can be extremely helpful for people who need to pay more attention to their money.

Visit EveryDollar.

YNAB: Best for cross-platform budgeting

Available on: 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. $99 per year for the annual plan.

Why we like YNAB: 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.

YNAB is a proactive system where you manually categorize and track spending. It allows you to set up zero-based budgeting goals to manage income and pay down debt faster or avoid overspending. YNAB offers a higher level of control than other apps that make spending and savings decisions for you.

What we don't like about YNAB: YNAB is one of the pricier apps. Despite its price, it requires time and effort to categorize your transactions, which can be time-consuming and may not be a good fit if you prefer a more hands-off approach to your finances.

Visit YNAB

... Or read our YNAB review. 

Honeydue: Best for couples

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

Pricing: Free.

Why we like Honeydue: Honeydue is a free budget planning app for couples that's available for iOS and Android. It helps partners manage their money together by tracking expenses, bills, and financial accounts, including joint bank accounts and investment accounts.

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. Honeydue aims to provide clear financial pictures for couples to ease communication about money habits and goals, reducing misunderstandings. At the same time, we appreciate that the app still enables each person to maintain the level of privacy they need by enabling custom information sharing.

What we don't like about Honeydue: You can’t access your information through your laptop or desktop device, limiting you to using your phone. This can make it harder to dig deeper into the information available on the app.

Visit Honeydue

What is a budgeting app?

Budgeting apps are a type of digital platform that assists you in keeping track of your income and expenses. Some of these platforms are available on mobile devices, while others are available on both mobile and desktop devices.

Some budgeting apps go beyond tracking your income and expenses by offering tools such as automated savings, bill negotiation, and more. By pointing out areas where you may reduce expenses and giving you concrete methods to take charge of your finances, these extra features can help you save money and improve your overall financial health.

How do budgeting apps work?

The main goal of most budgeting apps is simplifying the way you keep track of income and expenses.

Instead of using a pen and paper or an Excel sheet to write down everything, many budgeting apps connect to your bank or financial institution to automatically import and categorize your transactions.

The categories a budgeting app may use can include income and expenses by type, such as dining, phone bills, insurance premiums, and more. This helps you see the areas where you might be able to cut back on your spending, keep an eye on your due bills, cancel subscriptions you don’t need, and more.

Some budgeting apps also offer investment tracking or credit score monitoring. These apps help you get a complete picture of your financial status and may even propose practical measures to improve your finances or creditworthiness.

How to choose the best budgeting app

Here are some things to consider when choosing the best budgeting app for you:

• Cost: Some budgeting apps are free, but apps that offer the best features may charge a one-off fee or use a paid subscription. Think about the features you need and if it’s worth paying for them.
• Connection with your bank accounts: Not all budgeting apps are created equal. Some apps might simply be better at connecting with your bank and financial institutions. Before settling for one app, make sure to test a few to find the one that offers the most stable connection.
• Bill negotiation: Some budgeting apps offer bill negotiation services to help you save money on your regular bills, such as those for streaming services, internet, or phone service. These apps can examine your bills, find any areas where you might be able to save money or receive a discount, and negotiate with the service providers on your behalf to lower your monthly payments.
• Automated savings: Some budgeting apps allow you to set up automatic transfers from your checking account to a savings account or set aside money for specific savings objectives with some budgeting tools. Both the amount you wish to save and the frequency of the transfers are up to you. This can help you to increase your savings Without much work.

FAQ about budgeting apps

Best budgeting apps: bottom line

If you’ve never budgeted before, it’s simple to learn how to manage your money, and it's something you can look forward to. The right financial product could help you get better control over where your money goes and improve your cash flow, which will help you if you’re drowning in debt. And no matter your budgeting style, there’s an app that can help you better manage your money.

In order to be successful, narrow down your options to a few that fit your needs. Decide if you want your budget to be restrictive or flexible, automatic or manual, and shared or individual. Determine what devices you’ll use to access the service and how much time you can devote to startup and ongoing use. From there, try out a few of your picks. One interface may stand out to you more than others, or you might find certain features particularly helpful.

Once you’ve selected your ideal budgeting tool, you should also consider your budgeting strategy. Some people may use an envelope budgeting technique to split their money, a 50/30/20 system to divide their income between needs, wants, and savings, or opt for a zero-based budgeting system that assigns a purpose for every dollar they earn. Learn more about these budgeting systems, and you may be on your way to a healthier and wealthier future.

Our methodology

To develop our list of the best budget apps, we looked at popular apps and evaluated them according to a set of criteria we consider critical to the consumer, including product features, product interfaces, pricing, and ease of use. We did not evaluate all companies in the category. We used editorial judgment to determine what use or type of user each budgeting app is best for.

Disclaimer: All rates and fees are accurate as of May 9, 2023.