With the cost of living at its highest point in years, it’s never been more important to create and follow a budget. In this review, we will explore 6 personal budgeting apps: Mint, YNAB (You Need a Budget), Personal Capital, PocketGuard, Honeydue, and Goodbudget. These apps are powerful tools to help you effectively create a budget and manage your finances. Whether you’re looking for a single mom budget, a college student making the most of your limited income, or just trying to make ends meet, there’s an app for you. Let’s take a look at the features, pros, cons, pricing, and user ratings of these top-rated budgeting apps.
Comprehensive financial overview: Mint allows you to aggregate all your accounts, including bank accounts, credit cards, investments, and loans, in one place, providing a complete picture of your finances.
Automatic expense tracking: The app automatically categorizes and tracks your expenses, saving you time and effort.
Bill alerts and reminders: Mint sends notifications for upcoming bills and helps you stay on top of your payments.
Custom budgets and spending insights: Create customized budgets based on your financial goals and track your spending habits. Mint provides insights into your spending patterns to help you make informed financial decisions.
Investment tracking: Monitor your investment accounts and track their performance, giving you a comprehensive overview of your financial portfolio.
Free to use: Mint offers a free version of the app with a wide range of features, making it accessible to users of all budgets.
Cons of Mint
Difficulty connecting financial accounts: Some users have reported difficulties in connecting their financial accounts to the app, which can be frustrating.
Lack of support for joint accounts: Mint does not currently support joint account tracking, which may be a limitation for couples or shared finances.
Ad-supported: Mint displays targeted ads within the app, which some users may find intrusive.
Key Features of Mint
Account aggregation and net worth tracking
Automatic expense tracking and categorization
Bill alerts and reminders
Custom budgets and spending insights
Investment tracking
Free to use with optional premium features
Cost of Mint
Mint is free to use with optional premium features. The premium version, Mint Premium, offers advanced analytics, data export capabilities, and access to Billshark, a service that helps cancel unwanted subscriptions. The cost of Mint Premium is $4.99 per month.
Google Play Store: Mint has a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars based on more than 400,000 reviews.
Apple’s App Store: Mint has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars based on more than 2 million reviews.
2. YNAB
Pros of YNAB
Zero-based budgeting approach: YNAB encourages users to assign each dollar to a specific purpose or budget category, promoting mindful spending and reducing waste.
Detailed budgeting tools: Create detailed budgets, track your spending, and categorize your expenses to gain control over your finances.
Regular budgeting workshops: YNAB offers regular online workshops to educate users on budgeting techniques and provide ongoing support.
Strong user community and support: Join a vibrant user community where you can seek advice, share experiences, and receive support on your financial journey.
Cons of YNAB
No free version available: YNAB does not offer a free version of the app. Users need to subscribe to YNAB at a cost of $11.99 per month to access its features.
Steeper learning curve: YNAB’s zero-based budgeting approach and unique features may require a learning curve for new users who are unfamiliar with this budgeting method.
Subscription cost: The subscription cost of YNAB may deter users who are not willing to pay for budgeting software.
Key Features of YNAB
Zero-based budgeting approach
Detailed budgeting tools and expense tracking
Regular online budgeting workshops
Strong user community and support
Cost of YNAB
YNAB is a subscription-based app with a cost of $11.99 per month.
Google Play Store: YNAB has a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars based on more than 10,000 reviews.
Apple’s App Store: YNAB has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars based on more than 120,000 reviews.
3. Empower
Pros of Empower
Holistic financial overview: Empower allows you to aggregate all your financial accounts, providing a comprehensive view of your net worth and financial progress.
Budgeting and expense tracking: Empower offers budgeting tools to track your spending and categorize your expenses, helping you analyze your financial habits.
Investment tracking and analysis: Monitor your investment performance, asset allocation, and receive personalized investment recommendations.
Retirement planning: Empower provides retirement planning tools to help you forecast your savings and set realistic retirement goals.
Fee analyzer: Identify hidden fees in your investment accounts to optimize your investment costs.
Secure and reliable: Empower prioritizes security with advanced measures such as two-factor authentication and data encryption.
Cons of Empower
Limited budgeting features: Empower’s budgeting tools are not as extensive as those offered by dedicated budgeting apps. The app’s primary focus is on investment tracking and financial planning.
Limited manual transaction entry: Empower relies heavily on automatic account syncing for transaction tracking, which may limit manual transaction entry options.
Wealth management services: Empower offers wealth management services, which may be advantageous for some users but less appealing for those seeking a standalone budgeting app.
Key Features of Empower
Account aggregation and net worth tracking
Budgeting and expense tracking
Investment tracking and analysis
Retirement planning
Fee analyzer
Two-factor authentication and data encryption
Cost of Empower
The Personal Capital app is free to download and use. However, additional wealth management services are available for users with higher account balances, with costs varying based on the level of assets under management.
Google Play Store: Empower has a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars based on more than 50,000 reviews.
Apple’s App Store: Empower has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars based on more than 30,000 reviews.
4. PocketGuard
Pros of PocketGuard
Automatic expense tracking: PocketGuard syncs with your bank accounts and credit cards, eliminating the need for manual entry and providing real-time expense tracking.
Budgeting and categorization: Create customized budgets and categorize transactions to gain insights into your spending habits.
Bill tracking and reminders: Stay organized with bill tracking and receive timely reminders for upcoming payments.
Savings goals and recommendations: Set savings goals and receive recommendations based on your income, expenses, and spending patterns.
Financial insights and reports: Generate reports and visual graphs to gain a better understanding of your financial situation.
User-friendly interface: PocketGuard’s clean and intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate and use, even for beginners.
Cons of PocketGuard
Limited manual transaction editing: The focus on automatic expense tracking restricts manual transaction editing options.
Paid features: Some advanced features require a subscription to PocketGuard Plus, which comes at an additional cost.
Key Features of PocketGuard
Automatic expense tracking
Budgeting and categorization
Bill tracking and reminders
Savings goals and recommendations
Financial insights and reports
User-friendly interface
Cost of PocketGuard
PocketGuard offers a free version with basic features. PocketGuard Plus, with advanced features like custom categories and unlimited goals, costs $3.99/month or $34.99/year.
Google Play Store: PocketGuard has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars based on more than 35,000 reviews.
Apple’s App Store: PocketGuard has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars based on more than 12,000 reviews.
5. Honeydue
Pros of Honeydue
Simplified financial management: Honeydue enables couples to view and track shared accounts, transactions, and expenses in one place.
Real-time syncing: The app syncs with bank accounts, providing real-time updates on balances and transactions.
Bill tracking and reminders: Honeydue sends bill reminders to help couples stay on top of payments.
Expense categorization: Automatically categorize expenses to track spending patterns and budget allocation.
Secure data sharing: Honeydue ensures privacy and security with bank-level encryption.
Cons of Honeydue
Limited customization options: Some users may find the lack of customization options restrictive.
No investment tracking: Honeydue focuses on budgeting and expense management and does not include investment tracking features.
Key Features of Honeydue
Joint account visibility and management
Real-time transaction syncing
Bill tracking and reminders
Expense categorization and analysis
Secure data encryption and privacy
Cost of Honeydue
Honeydue is available for free, with advanced features like custom categories and additional accounts available through Honeydue Plus for $9.99/month or $79.99/year.
Google Play Store: Honeydue has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars based on over 50,000 reviews.
Apple’s App Store: Honeydue has a rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars based on more than 35,000 reviews.
6. Goodbudget
Pros of Goodbudget
Envelope budgeting system: Allocate funds to specific categories or envelopes to track and control your spending.
Sync across multiple devices: Access your budget and transaction information from smartphones, tablets, and web browsers.
Expense tracking and categorization: Track expenses and categorize transactions to understand your spending habits.
Bill tracking and reminders: Stay organized with bill tracking and receive reminders for upcoming payments.
Savings goals and progress tracking: Set savings goals and track your progress over time.
User-friendly interface: Goodbudget offers an intuitive interface for easy navigation and usability.
Cons of Goodbudget
Limited automation: Goodbudget requires manual transaction entry and lacks automatic syncing with bank accounts.
Paid features: Advanced features like account reconciliation and unlimited envelopes are available through a Goodbudget Plus subscription.
Key Features of Goodbudget
Envelope budgeting system
Multi-device sync
Expense tracking and categorization
Bill tracking and reminders
Savings goals and progress tracking
User-friendly interface
Cost of Goodbudget
Goodbudget offers a free version with limited features. Goodbudget Plus, with additional features, costs $7/month or $60/year.
Google Play Store: Goodbudget has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars based on more than 20,000 reviews.
Apple’s App Store: Goodbudget has a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars based on over 12,000 reviews.
Amber Aldridge is a Lead Writer at MoneyMaver covering personal finance, budgeting, and debt management.
Amber passionately champions the cause of individuals who feel excluded or overlooked in the present-day economy. She is deeply committed to supporting and empowering those who face challenges in today’s economic landscape. With her background as a teacher, she adeptly shares practical advice that truly benefits families striving to manage their finances.
“Learning about and making the most of budgeting and debt management has profoundly transformed my life. Being a single mom of 2 kids, I draw from my real-life experiences, and love passing that knowledge onto my readers”.
