Best Budgeting and Expense Tracking Apps

Managing your money can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right tools, you can take control of your finances, track your expenses effortlessly, and set yourself up for financial success. Today’s technology has made budgeting easier than ever, thanks to a wide variety of personal finance apps designed for every style and goal. In this guide, we’ll break down the best budgeting and expense tracking apps organized by type so you can find the perfect fit for your financial journey.

Why Budgeting Apps Are a Must-Have in 2025

Keeping track of your money is more crucial now than ever. Between rising living costs and new digital payment trends, it’s easy for spending to get out of hand. The best budgeting and expense tracking apps help you stay accountable, build better habits, and reach your savings goals without feeling overwhelmed. Whether you want to monitor your daily coffee habit, plan for a big purchase, or tackle debt, there’s an app tailored to your needs.

Instead of giving you just a simple list, we’ve categorized apps by their budgeting style and purpose to make it even easier for you to choose.

Different Types of Budgeting and Expense Tracking Apps

Comprehensive Budgeting Apps (All-in-One Solutions)

These apps offer everything you need for overall financial management, from expense tracking to goal setting to financial reporting.

Mint

Mint is one of the most well-known personal finance apps and has remained a favorite among budgeters for over a decade. Developed by Intuit (the makers of TurboTax), Mint offers a robust suite of features for managing all aspects of your financial life and it’s completely free. Once you connect your bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial accounts, Mint automatically categorizes your transactions, giving you a real-time overview of your spending patterns. It tracks bills, sends payment reminders, and even provides free credit score monitoring, all from an easy-to-navigate dashboard. The app is particularly popular with users who want a “set it and forget it” system that requires minimal manual input but offers deep insights into financial behavior. You can set customized budgets for various spending categories and receive alerts when you’re close to exceeding them, helping you develop smarter money habits over time.

One of Mint’s standout features is its comprehensive financial overview. Besides just tracking expenses, it visualizes your entire financial health, from your net worth to your debt-to-income ratio. You can also track investments and create simple financial goals like saving for a vacation or paying off a loan. However, because Mint is free, it is ad-supported, meaning you may see recommendations for financial products such as credit cards and loans. While these offers can sometimes be useful, some users find them distracting. Nevertheless, Mint remains one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps for beginners and busy individuals who want a powerful, all-in-one tool without paying a subscription fee. Its reputation for ease of use, comprehensive reporting, and real-time updates makes it an essential choice for anyone serious about gaining control over their finances.

Simplifi by Quicken

Simplifi by Quicken is a modern personal finance app that aims to give users clarity and confidence with their money. Launched as a more streamlined and mobile-friendly counterpart to Quicken’s classic desktop software, Simplifi is designed for today’s busy lifestyles. It syncs effortlessly with your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investment accounts, providing real-time updates on your financial standing. Unlike many other apps, Simplifi emphasizes proactive planning by allowing you to create a personalized spending plan that projects future cash flow based on upcoming bills, subscriptions, and savings goals. This helps you stay ahead of financial surprises instead of merely reacting to them. Its clean, intuitive interface makes it incredibly easy to set up goals like building an emergency fund, saving for a trip, or paying down debt, all while keeping an eye on your monthly financial targets.

What sets Simplifi apart is its customization and forecasting capabilities. Users can tailor their experience by creating custom watchlists for categories or specific merchants to monitor spending trends over time. Additionally, Simplifi gives you the ability to set aside money for recurring expenses separately from your “spendable” cash, a feature many users appreciate for day-to-day money management. Though Simplifi charges a modest annual subscription fee, many find that the benefits such as ad-free use, detailed reports, and predictive analytics far outweigh the cost. In fact, it often ranks among the best budgeting and expense tracking apps for users who want a more future-focused and goal-oriented approach to personal finance. If you’re looking for a highly visual, customizable app that not only tracks your money but actively helps you plan ahead, Simplifi is well worth considering.

Goodbudget

Goodbudget offers a refreshing take on budgeting by bringing the traditional envelope budgeting method into the digital age. Instead of linking directly to your bank accounts and automatically categorizing transactions, Goodbudget encourages a more intentional, manual approach to budgeting. Users allocate money into virtual “envelopes” for different spending categories, such as groceries, rent, entertainment, and savings goals. Every time you make a purchase, you manually record the expense, deducting it from the corresponding envelope. While this might sound like more work compared to apps that automate everything, many users find that the act of manually entering transactions increases mindfulness and accountability with their spending. Goodbudget is available in both free and paid versions, with the paid version offering more envelopes, device syncing, and expanded history.

One of the most appealing aspects of Goodbudget is how it supports shared budgeting for families and couples. You can sync your budget across multiple devices, making it easy for partners or family members to stay on the same financial page. This is particularly helpful for managing household budgets where multiple people are responsible for spending. Goodbudget also provides clear reports showing spending trends and helps users plan for large upcoming expenses by allowing them to save incrementally over time. Unlike many other apps focused on real-time bank syncing, Goodbudget is an excellent choice for people who want to be more hands-on with their finances, practice intentional budgeting, or simply prefer not to link their bank accounts to an app. Its emphasis on manual tracking, planning ahead, and mindful spending makes it one of the best budgeting apps for users who value a more traditional, deliberate approach to money management.

Apps Focused on Zero-Based Budgeting

Zero-based budgeting apps help you give every dollar a purpose, ensuring that nothing is left idle.

YNAB (You Need A Budget)

YNAB (short for You Need A Budget) is a premium budgeting app that teaches users a completely different way to manage money compared to traditional budgeting tools. At its core, YNAB is built around the zero-based budgeting method, where every dollar you earn is assigned a specific job — whether it’s paying a bill, saving for a vacation, or building an emergency fund. Rather than simply tracking what you’ve already spent, YNAB focuses on proactive planning, helping users make intentional decisions about every dollar before it’s spent. This philosophy is designed to break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and empower users to gain full control of their finances. YNAB offers real-time syncing with bank accounts, detailed goal tracking, customizable categories, and powerful reporting features to help you understand where your money goes and how you can improve over time.

One of YNAB’s standout qualities is its educational approach. In addition to offering an intuitive app, the YNAB team provides free live workshops, a comprehensive blog, and extensive help resources that teach financial literacy and strategic budgeting skills. This makes it more than just one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps, it’s a full system for transforming your financial habits. While YNAB comes with a subscription fee, many users find that the cost is well worth the value they receive in improved financial clarity and stress reduction. It’s especially beneficial for users who are serious about goal-setting, debt payoff, or large financial milestones like homeownership or starting a business. If you’re willing to commit to a more hands-on and structured approach to budgeting, YNAB is one of the most powerful tools available.

EveryDollar

EveryDollar is a budgeting app developed by financial expert Dave Ramsey and his team, designed specifically to complement his well-known “Baby Steps” financial plan. Like YNAB, EveryDollar is based on zero-based budgeting principles, meaning you allocate every single dollar of income toward expenses, savings, or debt payments before the month begins. The app is clean, straightforward, and easy to use, making it an ideal choice for budgeting beginners and Dave Ramsey followers. In the free version, users manually input income, expenses, and transactions, while the premium version (EveryDollar Plus) connects to your bank accounts for automatic transaction tracking and provides additional features like custom budget reports and goal setting. EveryDollar’s intuitive design helps you create a full monthly budget in less than 10 minutes, allowing you to plan where every dollar will go.

What makes EveryDollar unique is how seamlessly it integrates with Ramsey’s financial philosophy, emphasizing debt payoff, emergency fund building, and disciplined financial management. The app encourages users to focus intensely on reducing unnecessary expenses and sticking closely to their planned budgets, promoting faster financial progress. EveryDollar Plus subscribers benefit from real-time transaction syncing and access to Ramsey+ a suite of financial education tools, courses, and resources. If you’re motivated by a clear, goal-driven financial strategy and appreciate a no-frills, user-friendly app layout, EveryDollar stands out as one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps for getting serious about your money. Whether you’re paying off debt, saving for a home, or simply trying to stay on top of your bills, EveryDollar makes building better financial habits easier and more manageable.

Expense Trackers (Pure Tracking Focus)

If you’re mainly interested in monitoring your expenses without diving into full-on budgeting, these apps are for you.

PocketGuard

PocketGuard is designed for users who want a simple, hands-off way to keep their spending under control without getting bogged down in complex budgeting systems. After linking your checking, savings, and credit accounts, PocketGuard automatically categorizes your transactions, tracks your income and expenses, and shows you exactly how much money you have left to spend your “In My Pocket” amount after accounting for bills, savings goals, and essentials. The app’s primary goal is to make money management feel less overwhelming by focusing on what’s available to spend, helping users avoid overdrafts and keep their discretionary spending within safe limits. PocketGuard’s intuitive dashboard highlights upcoming bills, subscriptions, and spending by category, giving you a clear snapshot of your financial situation at a glance.

One of PocketGuard’s most popular features is its ability to identify opportunities to save money. It can suggest better deals on recurring bills like cable, phone, and insurance, and even help you negotiate lower rates through third-party services. PocketGuard also allows you to set up specific savings goals and automatically allocate small amounts of money toward them, making it easier to build savings without much effort. There’s a free version that covers the basics, but PocketGuard Plus offers more customization options like setting custom categories, tracking cash transactions, and planning for irregular income for a modest annual fee. If you’re looking for one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps that provides real-time insights, spending protection, and savings opportunities without requiring a ton of manual setup, PocketGuard is an excellent choice for busy individuals who want to stay on top of their finances with minimal stress.

Wally

Wally is a smart, minimalist expense tracking app that emphasizes manual entry and financial mindfulness. Designed for users who want more control over how they record and view their spending, Wally allows you to quickly log expenses, set savings goals, and track income without linking to your bank accounts — although bank syncing is available with Wally Gold (the premium version). Its intuitive interface supports multiple currencies and even allows you to track group expenses, making it a great choice for frequent travelers, roommates, and couples who want to split costs. One of Wally’s standout features is its ability to attach photos of receipts, helping users keep a visual record of purchases without needing separate apps or spreadsheets.

Wally also offers detailed budgeting features, including custom spending limits by category, flexible savings plans, and notifications to help you stay within budget. Unlike apps that prioritize automation, Wally focuses on user-driven interaction, encouraging a higher level of awareness around your financial habits. It’s ideal for individuals who want a more hands-on, intentional approach to managing money without being overwhelmed by complexity. Wally Gold subscribers enjoy even more functionality, such as bank aggregation, advanced analytics, and multiple account management. If you’re seeking one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps that offers both flexibility and privacy, Wally is an excellent choice, blending simplicity with powerful personalization.

Apps for Couples and Shared Budgets

Managing money with a partner can be tricky, but these apps make it easier to stay on the same page.

Honeydue

Honeydue is a budgeting app designed specifically for couples who want to manage their finances together without completely merging their accounts. It allows partners to link selected bank accounts, credit cards, and loans, and then choose what information to share with each other — whether it’s full account balances, individual transactions, or just bill due dates. Honeydue makes collaboration easy by providing a shared financial dashboard, bill tracking, and a built-in chat feature where couples can discuss transactions in real time. One of the app’s standout features is the ability to categorize and split expenses, helping couples easily track who paid for what, which is especially useful for managing shared expenses like rent, groceries, or vacations. Honeydue is free to use and supports a wide range of banks and credit unions, offering flexibility no matter your financial situation.

Beyond simple budgeting and expense tracking, Honeydue promotes healthy financial communication, which is often cited as one of the top challenges in relationships. The app sends reminders for upcoming bills, helping both partners stay on top of due dates and avoid late fees. It also provides monthly summary reports that give an overview of combined spending habits. While Honeydue is a lighter tool compared to more comprehensive financial planners, it shines when it comes to encouraging transparency and teamwork around money. For couples looking for an easy, low-pressure way to share financial information and stay organized without fully combining their finances, Honeydue is one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps available.

Zeta

Zeta takes shared budgeting for couples to the next level by offering not just shared budgets but also the option to open joint bank accounts through its platform. Tailored for modern couples whether dating, engaged, married, or managing a household together, Zeta allows users to link both individual and joint accounts, categorize expenses, track shared bills, and set savings goals collaboratively. The app is highly flexible, allowing each partner to decide which accounts and information they want to share. Zeta automatically syncs your financial data and provides an intuitive overview of both personal and shared expenses, making it easy to manage money together while respecting financial independence.

One of Zeta’s most attractive features is its emphasis on collaborative financial planning. Users can create shared budgets, assign expenses, and establish goals like “save for a wedding” or “build an emergency fund together.” Notifications and reminders ensure that bills are paid on time and that both partners remain aligned on their financial goals. Plus, for couples ready to take the plunge, Zeta offers FDIC-insured joint accounts with features like debit cards, bill pay, and contactless payment options. For modern relationships where financial cooperation needs to be flexible and transparent, Zeta stands out as one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps, offering an unparalleled blend of personalization, security, and collaboration.

Investment and Wealth Tracking Apps

If growing wealth and tracking investments are your priorities, these apps deliver powerful features beyond basic budgeting.

Empower (formerly Personal Capital)

Empower, formerly known as Personal Capital, is a hybrid personal finance and wealth management tool that goes beyond simple budgeting to offer full-spectrum financial oversight. While Empower provides solid budgeting tools like expense tracking, cash flow analysis, and budgeting dashboards where it truly excels is in investment tracking and long-term financial planning. Users can link all their accounts, including bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, loans, and investment portfolios, to get a comprehensive view of their entire net worth in real time. Empower’s Retirement Planner is one of its standout features, allowing users to model different financial scenarios and plan for future milestones like retirement or purchasing a home.

Empower is free for basic personal finance and budgeting tools, though it also offers paid wealth management services for users with higher investment balances. The app provides robust analytics, including asset allocation breakdowns, investment performance reviews, and fee analyzers to uncover hidden management costs. For those serious about growing and protecting their wealth, Empower is easily one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps available today. It’s ideal for individuals who want a clear view of both their day-to-day cash flow and their long-term financial health, all in one highly polished platform. Whether you’re focused on building savings, managing debt, or maximizing your investment returns, Empower delivers an outstanding all-in-one solution.

Kubera

Kubera is a next-generation personal finance app designed for individuals who want a comprehensive view of their net worth, investments, and overall financial health in one place. Unlike traditional budgeting apps, Kubera focuses heavily on wealth tracking, providing an elegant and simple dashboard where you can link everything from bank accounts and real estate to cryptocurrency wallets and retirement portfolios. Users can manually enter assets like cars, collectibles, or private investments, making it a truly complete net worth tracker. Kubera also supports global currencies and multiple country integrations, catering to users with international holdings or expat lifestyles.

Another unique feature of Kubera is its “Life Vault,” a secure repository where users can store key financial documents, passwords, and even designate a trusted contact to access their information in case of emergencies. Kubera doesn’t focus on micromanaging daily expenses like most apps; instead, it helps users see the bigger picture by monitoring wealth growth and financial trends over time. There is a subscription fee for using Kubera, but it’s well justified by the app’s robust security, privacy-first approach, and seamless integration of complex financial data. For high-net-worth individuals, investors, and anyone serious about long-term wealth building, Kubera stands out as one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps for the modern era.

Apps for Specific Goals (Saving, Debt Payoff, Sinking Funds)

Some apps are laser-focused on helping you meet particular financial goals like saving or getting out of debt.

Qapital

Qapital is a creative savings and budgeting app that helps users turn their financial goals into reality through customizable “rules” that automate saving. Instead of just tracking expenses, Qapital encourages saving money in small, manageable increments based on your behavior. For example, you can set rules to automatically save $5 every time you buy coffee or round up purchases to the nearest dollar and stash the difference into a savings goal. Qapital also offers pre-built templates like the 52-week savings challenge or lets you create completely custom savings rules. This approach makes saving money feel almost effortless and surprisingly fun, especially for users who struggle with setting aside funds manually.

Beyond savings, Qapital provides a holistic financial planning experience by offering budgeting tools, investing features, and joint goals for couples or groups. Users can set up personalized spending targets and receive real-time feedback to help stay on track. There’s even a built-in checking account option with a debit card for those who want a full banking alternative. Qapital requires a monthly subscription fee, but many users feel the behavioral savings techniques and automatic progress toward financial goals more than justify the cost. For those who prefer a goal-driven, automated approach to managing their money, Qapital is one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps for building strong financial habits without feeling restricted.

Tally

Tally is a financial app that focuses specifically on helping users manage and pay off credit card debt more efficiently. After linking your credit cards, Tally analyzes your balances, interest rates, and payment due dates, then provides a customized payment plan designed to minimize interest charges and accelerate debt payoff. If you qualify, Tally offers a low-interest line of credit, which it uses to pay down your higher-interest credit cards automatically. This not only simplifies the repayment process but can also save users significant money in interest fees over time. Tally handles all the payments for you, ensuring that you never miss a due date and helping to protect your credit score.

What sets Tally apart from other budgeting apps is its laser focus on debt management and its hands-off approach to simplifying a complex and stressful area of personal finance. While it doesn’t offer traditional budgeting categories like groceries or utilities, Tally is one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps for individuals overwhelmed by multiple credit card payments. With a strong emphasis on automation and debt reduction, it relieves users of the burden of juggling different due dates and payment amounts. For anyone who wants to consolidate debt management into one simple app and make faster progress toward financial freedom, Tally is a powerful and highly specialized tool worth considering.

Digit

Digit is a smart financial app that uses algorithms and automation to help users save money, pay off debt, and invest effortlessly. After linking your checking account, Digit analyzes your income and spending patterns daily, automatically transferring small amounts of money into savings or toward specific financial goals without requiring manual input. The app’s goal is to help users consistently build savings without even noticing the money leaving their accounts, making it perfect for individuals who struggle with traditional budgeting. Digit also offers features for paying down credit card debt and investing for the future, creating a comprehensive financial ecosystem in one app.

What makes Digit truly stand out is its personalization and adaptability. The app continually adjusts its savings amounts based on your cash flow to ensure that you never overdraft your account. You can set up multiple savings goals like building an emergency fund, planning for a vacation, or saving for holiday gifts and Digit manages the allocation automatically. Although Digit now charges a small monthly fee, many users find that the automatic savings and financial momentum they gain far outweigh the cost. For people who want an effortless, stress-free way to save and manage money without the need for detailed budgeting, Digit remains one of the best budgeting and expense tracking apps available.

Comparison Table

How to Choose the Right Budgeting App for You

Choosing the best budgeting and expense tracking apps depends entirely on your financial goals and personal style. Here’s a quick guide:

• For Beginners: Start with Mint or PocketGuard for easy setup and automation.

• For Detailed Planners: Choose YNAB if you want full control and planning power.

• For Couples: Try Honeydue or Zeta to stay coordinated on joint expenses.

• For Investors: Use Empower or Kubera for wealth monitoring.

• For Savers or Debtors: Pick Qapital, Tally, or Digit based on your specific goals.

Testing a few free versions first can help you discover what interface and features you actually enjoy using.

Tips for Making the Most of Your Budgeting App

• Check in frequently: Review your budget daily or weekly to stay aware of your spending.

• Stay realistic: Set achievable goals to avoid frustration and burnout.

• Adjust when needed: Update your budget regularly to match life changes like new jobs, expenses, or financial goals.

Consistency is key even the best budgeting apps can’t help you if you don’t open them!

Conclusion

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to managing your money. The best budgeting and expense tracking apps are the ones that align with your lifestyle, goals, and habits. Whether you need a full budgeting system, simple expense tracking, or a tool for collaborative money management with your partner, there’s an app on this list ready to support your journey.

johnson

I am a content writer with 5 years of experience and a degree in English Literature. Specializing in lifestyle, food, and health, she creates engaging, research-driven content.