According to a research report, the people in the United States who follow a budget plan feel more confident, safe, and in control of their financial situation.
Sadly, the same survey found that the majority of Americans do not have a budget and many of those who claim to have a budget actually only log their receipts and do not have a method in place to restrict their spending.
The availability of a wide variety of budgeting software makes it much simpler to create and adhere to a financial plan, and there is a lot of competition in this space.
We reviewed the best budgeting apps in the market to help you make your selection
What is Budgeting Software?
A budgeting app is a software that assists you in organizing and allocating your own spending money. In contrast to accounting software, which concentrates mostly on keeping a close eye on what you have spent and who is owing to you, budgeting software is forward-thinking and gives you the ability to allot your money before you spend it.
Putting together a family budget may be a time-consuming process, and it’s not always easy to know where to get started. The purpose of using budgeting software platforms is to simplify the process so that you may put your money to work for you rather than just spending it as it comes into your account.
Best Budgeting software
Here is our review of the top budgeting apps in the market:
Mint
Unlike many budgeting apps, Mint syncs a wide variety of accounts at no additional cost, including bank and savings accounts, credit cards, loans, investments, and invoices.
When it comes to the actual process of budgeting, Mint will keep track of your expenditures and organize them into several budget categories. You have the ability to put your own spin on any of these limitless categories.
Mint will notify you when you are getting close to exceeding the restrictions that you established for each of these categories that you have defined.
In addition to these capabilities for budgeting, Mint may also assist customers in paying off debt, saving more money, and tracking their objectives. The software also displays the user’s credit score as well as their net worth.
An added perk is that Mint offers a wealth of help for its mobile app users, including a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions section.
Mint is remarkable in a variety of ways, one of which is the fact that it monitors and manages virtually everything on your behalf. If, on the other hand, you want to be more actively involved in the process of budgeting, this might not be the best option for you.
If you are looking for software that allows you to plan ahead for your money rather than one that tracks it after the fact, some of the other applications on our list could work better for you than Mint.
YNAB
With the right budget app like YNAB, instead of tracking their previous purchases, users of this software will be encouraged to instead prepare ahead for their future financial choices. YNAB adheres to the zero-based budgeting method, which requires users to devise a monthly budget spending strategy for each and every dollar they bring in.
As soon as you are paid, you tell this budgeting tool, YNAB how much of your personal finances should go toward various spending categories, such as costs, objectives, and savings. YNAB will automatically update these amounts. When you are forced to make a decision about what to do with your money, the thought is that you would treat it with greater intention because of the added responsibility.
YNAB puts you in the driver’s seat with all of these different decision-making opportunities. The website of YNAB provides various instructional resources that explain precisely how to create a budget and utilize the app in order to assist users in overcoming the learning curve associated with the program.
YNAB gives you the ability to integrate all your financial accounts, including credit cards, loans, and bank and savings accounts. The app is compatible with mobile devices, desktop computers, Apple Watches & Ipads, and Amazon Alexa devices.
You need to be dedicated to YNAB in order to succeed with it. Because of the way it was developed, it is most useful to users who wish to be actively involved in budgeting and financial planning. In addition, when compared to the prices of the other applications on our list, its cost is considerably higher.
The paid version costs $14.99 per month or you can save money by paying $98.99 per year, but first, you can take advantage of the free trial that lasts for a month.
Goodbudget
Goodbudget will help you manage your personal finance more effectively by preparing for the future of your money than it is about documenting the financial transactions that have already taken place.
The envelope method of budgeting, in which one allocates a certain amount of one’s monthly income to each of a number of distinct expenditure categories, which makes it one of the best budgeting software.
This software does not connect or import data from any of your financial institutions’ accounts. You will need to manually enter account balances as well as cash quantities, debts, and income. After that, you distribute the money among the envelopes.
Both the web and the mobile device may be used to access the application. You’ll also get access to a plethora of instructional articles and videos that will walk you through the process of using the app.
A free version of Goodbudget has limited features, it only supports one account, two devices, and a certain number of envelopes. Its commercial version, Goodbudget Plus, offers a number of features in addition to limitless envelopes and accounts, including support for multiple devices.
Because your bank accounts cannot be synchronized, you are required to manually enter each and every cost. If you’re not willing to put in that kind of effort, you shouldn’t expect the software to yield positive results.
Goodbudget is free. The monthly fee for Goodbudget Plus is $8, and the annual fee is $70. Overall Goodbudget is the best budgeting app for money management
EveryDollar
This software program provides a foundation for zero-based budgeting that is more straightforward than that provided by YNAB.
Let’s begin with the most basic version of EveryDollar, which is one of the best free budgeting app. You do not need to link bank accounts, rather, you manually enter all of the money that comes into and leaves your account during the month.
In addition to this, you organize the individual line items in your budget into categories and set reminders for when bill payments are due.
The paid edition of EveryDollar also grants access to your financial institution’s online banking system. Your purchases will be reflected in the app without any additional input from you, and it will also provide individualized reports and suggestions based on your typical behaviour. Additionally, you have the option of connecting your savings and investment accounts.
The free version of EveryDollar is not very feature-rich, and the premium version of the software is the priciest option. Before you sign up for a trial of the software, the website for the app provides materials that will assist you in understanding how to use the app.
The core functionality of EveryDollar may be used without cost. You have a free trial period of 14 days to test out the premium version. Following the conclusion of the trial, you will have the option of paying $59.99 for three months, $99.99 for six months, or $129.99 for a whole year of access.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital, is an investment tool for monitoring one’s assets and expenditures. It is primarily an investing tool, but its free mobile app offers features that are handy for budgeters who wish to keep track of their expenditures.
You are able to link and monitor not just bank and savings accounts, but also credit card accounts, mortgages, and loans, as well as IRAs and 401(k)s.
The application compiles a list of recent financial dealings and organizes them according to category. You have the ability to modify those categories and view the proportion of the total monthly spending that is represented by each category.
Additionally, a tracker for one’s portfolio and net worth is offered by Personal Capital. Both mobile and desktop devices may be used to access the application.
You might want to use a different approach if one of your objectives is to organize both your spending and your savings. This app’s investing tools are what set it apart from the competition and helped it earn a spot on the list. There are other applications that provide more in-depth features for budgeting than Personal Capital.
Personal Capital is a completely free app for budgeters and with it, you can easily attain your savings goals.
PocketGuard
Although PocketGuard may not have the most comprehensive collection of capabilities available, this is one of the reasons that we appreciate using it. The app’s primary focus is on making things easier.
You can track spending, link your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investments, and do all of these things at the same time. Using this information, the app will display how much money you have left over to spend after you have deducted money for things like essentials, bills, and ambitions.
Additionally, PocketGuard monitors your net worth and provides you with the option to link your accounts in favour of manually monitoring your financial situation. A debt payback plan, the ability to export your transactions, and other features are available in the commercial edition of PocketGuard called PocketGuard Plus.
This program takes care of a lot of responsibilities for you. That’s great if you want to have a somewhat hands-off experience, but it makes it more difficult to make financial plans.
PocketGuard Basic is free. The paid version cost of PocketGuard Plus is $7.99 per month or $34.99 per year, or it may be purchased all at once for $79.99.
Honeydue
Honeydue is a software that allows you and your spouse to examine both of your financial statements in one place.
Both partners are able to track expenses by synchronising their financial information, including bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investments, although you have the ability to decide how much of your information you share with your significant partner.
The free budgeting program will automatically group your spending into categories, but you also have the option to create your own categories. Honeydue allows you and your spouse to establish monthly limitations on each of these areas, and it will notify you when one of you is getting close to exceeding those restrictions.
Honeydue notifies you of future expenses, allows you to talk with other users, and enables you to send and receive messages. It is also the right budgeting app for tracking spending habits.
Honeydue, much like a handful of the other apps on our list, places a greater emphasis on looking back on and learning from past transactions than it does on budgeting for future costs. It is also free to use.
Fudget
Fudget is a budgeting tool that does not need synchronization of accounts. It is an option to take into consideration if you would rather not synchronize your various bank accounts and would like a plain, calculator-like interface over more advanced capabilities.
You generate lists of money coming in and money going out, and Fudget keeps track of your balances. The design of Fudget is really straightforward. There are not really any categories for the budget at all. The Pro account gives you more features and capabilities, including the ability to export your budget.
If you would want to categorize your costs, get insights, or do just about anything other than the bare essentials, you will probably find this software to be too basic for your needs. And if you don’t think you can be bothered to record each and every expenditure, it’s probably best to go elsewhere.
There is a one-time charge of $3.99 to upgrade to Fudget Pro from the free version of Fudget.
What Features Should I Look For in Budgeting Software
When searching for software to assist with budgeting, some key features to keep in mind include the following:
- When you link your accounts to your program, you should be able to monitor your spending and check to see whether you are remaining within your budget without having to manually import transactions from your bank accounts.
- You will be required to enter your banking credentials before the application will be able to access your bank account and credit card transactions and compile them.
- Depending on the type of budgeting software you use, the categorization of your transactions may be done automatically or you may have to do it manually. Most software comes with some preset categories, but you should also be able to add your own.
- On reporting, the software you use should provide charts and graphs that reveal the trends of your expenditure.
- Some software offers a free credit score, monitoring for investments and net worth, and tracking for other financial metrics as well.
Conclusion
Maintaining a debt-free lifestyle may be made easier with the help of regular budgeting. You’ll be able to exert complete control over your expenditure thanks to the software on our handpicked list of the best budgeting software together for you, which will also encourage you to increase your investing activity and assist you in making retirement plans.
