Top 5 Budget Apps

Budgeting has one simple rule: spend less than you earn.

So obviously, it’s a lot easier said than done, but it’s easier done if you get help from a budget app. There are a ton of them on the market, all of which are better than just trying to do the math in your head as you go along. Remember that the best budget app is one that helps you follow the one simple rule: spend less than you earn.

Updated: December 16, 2021 | Joey Johnston |
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    Budget app for iPhone

    Daily Budget

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    Cost: Free with the option to upgrade to pro for $8.99. That’s relatively cheap compared to some of the subscription based apps. The free version will get you to where you need to go. Upgrading to pro adds more category icons and unlocks analysis graphs.

    Cons: Unfortunately, Daily Budget is only available on iOS (iPhone users), however, the company based out of Germany is working on a version for Android as well.

    At A Glance

    Daily Budget’s website boasts “It’s so simple, you’ll actually use it.” My thoughts exactly. This app calculates income and expenses in a simple intuitive way, and one unique feature makes it the best budgeting app out there. Daily Budget crunches your yearly budget into a small bite-sized “per diem” (that’s a daily allowance). It does this by taking your yearly income and subtracting your recurring expenses and savings. The leftover amount is broken down into a daily total to cover every other expense.

    Features

    Your “daily budget” is placed loudly at the top of your screen. As you enter each purchase, the total ticks down. That helps to demonstrate how much each transaction affects your overall budget, and you might be surprised to see how quickly it adds up when your budget is put under a microscope. The Big Spendings tab allows you to plan for larger one-time purchases, like a TV or new cellphone, then calculates that into your per diem.

    That’s it.

    No registering or creating a profile. No estimating what you think you’ll spend on gas, groceries etc. Download the app and budget as you go.

    Spending app

    Spending

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    Cost: Free with option to upgrade to pro for $2.99. The pro upgrade is cheap but not necessary. Repeating transactions and PDF and CSV exports are useful pro features, but you can still add them individually by watching a short advertisement.

    Cons: The app lacks some of the bells and whistles of other budgeting apps, but that is what keeps it so simple and easy to use.

    At A Glance

    It’s a simple name and a simple app. Spending is a DIY budget app that tracks income and expenses on a month-month basis. Add income as it comes in and expenses as you pay them out. The app subtracts the two and gives you a balance at the bottom.

    Features

    Transactions can be categorized as you add them and are listed in a tab to the right. Rotating the phone displays a pie chart, giving you an idea of how much money is being spent on each category. Toggle to the cash flow feature to show a graph tracking total income and expenses month-to-month.

    Mint Logo

    Mint App

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    Cost: Free. Mint makes its money by advertising credit cards, loans and investments. YNAB ($6.99/month or $83.99/year) and EveryDollar ($9.99/month) do basically the same thing as Mint but for a hefty price.

    Where It’s Available: The downside to these types of apps is that it’s a form of passive budgeting. Transactions are sorted into categories automatically, which takes away user engagement. Users are less likely to open the app after each transaction and actively track expenses to balance their budget. That makes them more prone to going over budget without knowing it.

    At A Glance

    Unlike Daily Budget, I don’t think you would actually use Mint. That’s where this very popular app falls short on being the best budget app. Mint links financial institutions like your bank and credit card company using the same login information. Then it aggregates your checking, savings, investment and credit card accounts into one place, giving you a big picture of your finances. As you purchase things with a credit card, the expense automatically shows up in your budget. It’s a very clever software, but because it did everything for me, I had no reason to open the app. I went about my day oblivious to how much I was really spending.

    Features

    Transactions are compiled into one list, making it a great tool to track cash flow. It also comes with a budgeting feature that lets you estimate how much money should be allocated to each category (rent, utilities, groceries, entertainment, restaurants, etc.). Mint partners with TransUnion to provide credit score monitoring.

    YNAB Logo

    You Need A Budget

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    Cost: YNAB doesn’t run ads on its app. Instead, they charge a fee of $6.99/month or $83.99/year. There isn’t a free or lite version, but they do offer a one-month free trial

    Cons: The price might not scare you off, but if you are already over budget, it should. Mint does basically the same thing for free, and there is no sense in adding another reoccurring expense to an already tight budget. YNAB might be an option for someone that could make use of the multiple budgets feature, someone that has personal and business budgets, but it would be hard to justify the price when there are many cheaper alternatives.

    At A Glance

    YNAB (You Need A Budget) is an app very similar to Mint, but YNAB puts budgeting front and center. As soon as you open the app, you’re budgeting.

    Features

    Like Mint, YNAB links directly to your accounts and tracks transactions all in one place. You can also manually add accounts without linking them. Enter the balance when you create the budget, and each time you manually enter in transactions, it will calculate that into the balance. The homepage is an estimated budget you design, and as transactions come in, they are filed into each category helping you track your budget goals in real time. They have a quick budget tool, which shows averages of how much you spend versus how much you budgeted for and whether or not you have enough funds to balance that out. The one thing that separates YNAB from Mint is the ability to create multiple budgets.

    GoodBudget App Logo

    GoodBudget App

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    Cost: Goodbudget has a free version with 20 total envelopes and one account for two devices. Upgrading to Goodbudget Plus for $5.99/month or $49.99/year gets you unlimited envelopes and accounts for five devices.

    Cons: The price of the upgrade is expensive considering the app doesn’t link to bank accounts. The Mvelopes app offers the same style of envelope budgeting with linking to bank accounts for $3.99/month or $39.99/year. But Mvelopes doesn’t have a free version. Fortunately, the free version of Goodbudget is really all you need to balance a budget. Envelope-style budgeting isn’t for everyone, but it could help limit spending to just the necessities.

    At A Glance

    Goodbudget is the old-school envelope technique of budgeting updated for the 21st century. The idea is that you label envelopes gas, groceries, dining out, etc., fill them with cash and only spend money from the envelopes. Once the funds from one envelope are gone, that’s it—no more spending on that category until next month unless you transfer funds from another envelope.

    Features

    The envelopes tab displays a progress bar that indicates how much money is left in each envelope. As transactions are manually entered, money is taken out of the virtual envelope and progress bar reflects the change. Accounts can be manually tracked by entering in a balance at the beginning, although the free version allows for only one account. The reports tab gives you a pie chart that illustrates how much money is spent on each envelope, and a bar graph shows net income and spending.

    Honorable Mention Candidate

    Microsoft Excel

    Cost: Free

    Sometimes the best budgeting software is just a spreadsheet. All you need to do is create one table with Excel to estimate your monthly income and expenses. Then, create another table to list your actual income and expenses as you go.

    If you wind up way over budget, take a look at a debt reduction spreadsheet to get back on your feet. This spreadsheet factors in interest rates to calculate how much money you have left over each month to attack debt, and the number of years it would take to pay it off.

    Rules Before Choosing

    1. It should be simple

    There’s no need to overcomplicate things. You should be able to open a budgeting app and immediately begin creating a monthly budget. Maybe a few easy-to-follow instructions to get you started, but if you’re budgeting app needs a tutorial, then try another one.

    2. It should be cheap

    After all, the whole goal of a budgeting app is to help you save money. There’s enough apps out there with free features for you not to have to pay for one that by itself will cut into your budget.

    So, something simple and cheap that will track how much you spend and how much you earn. There are a lot of apps that can do that, and to be honest, they all will work— for the most part – but only if you use them and stick to it!

    Picking a budget app is a lot like picking a diet. They’ll ask you to track your expenses (count your calories) and record your income (exercise). Some will encourage you to cut certain things out of your budget (diet). And just like a diet, consistency and discipline are key.