The Best Budgeting Apps Based on Your Savings Goals
Budgeting is a problem. Even if you know all the spreadsheet best practices , doing it yourself can be confusing and time consuming. But I have good news for you: right now you have a smartphone in your hands, which means that you will never have to do anything on your own again!
But seriously, there is no shortage of fantastic money management apps that will do the hard work of budgeting for you. Instead of doing all the manual work of entering numbers into a spreadsheet, you can simply sync your bank accounts with an app on your phone and let it handle the numbers for you.
With so many options, finding the best budgeting app comes down to figuring out your money management goals. Here are the most popular budgeting apps so you can choose the best one for your personal budgeting style. All of our options offer basic free versions with the option to pay for additional features.
Best budgeting app for big spenders
If your primary goal is to control your spending habits , then PocketGuard is the app for you. This app has a simple interface to make keeping track of your expenses as easy as possible. PocketGuard classifies expenses and calculates how much is left after paying bills; in other words, it creates the basic automatic budget you need. In addition, you can set savings goals to include in your spending tracker.
Download the app and register here.
Best Budget App for Detailed Budgeting
For the budget worker who needs a plan to spend every dollar, check out YNAB (You Need A Budget). The idea behind YNAB is zero-based budgeting, which means budgeting regularly from scratch every pay period (i.e., starting from “zero”), which YNAB describes as “setting every dollar of work” until how you spend it.
Like all the apps collected here, YNAB can link your bank accounts, create a budget and keep data in sync, track goals, and generate reports detailing financial progress.
Download the app and register here.
The best budgeting app for investors
Formerly known as Personal Capital, Empower is a budgeting tool that also includes an investment management component. The app can be linked to various financial accounts for budgeting, equity tracking, and portfolio performance monitoring. The app is free, but you have the option to pay for additional services such as personalized investment advice.
Download the app and register here.
The best budgeting app for couples
Self-budgeting seems like a breeze if you add a partner to the mix. Honeydue is designed for couples to manage their finances together. Even if you have separate finances, the app allows you to view all of your overall financial picture in one app. Partners can sync bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investments—and retain the freedom to choose how much to share with the other person.
Honeydue is family-oriented, with features like upcoming bill reminders, spending limits that you can set as a single entity, and the ability to send a message to your partner with one or two emojis.
Download the app and register here.
Best app for general budget
It must be Mint. It’s pretty much the dominant name in budgeting apps. When it comes to free services, Mint provides the most personalization and the easiest user experience.
Once you sync your bank accounts, Mint tracks and automatically categorizes your spending and then creates a recommended budget. You can then customize those categories or the budget itself if needed. Mint also gives you free access to credit scores, tracks investments, sends budget notifications, and gives you tons of money management tips and tricks.