7 Best Budgeting Apps for 2024

Are you looking to get your finances back on track without breaking the bank this year? I’m going over the 7 Best Budgeting Apps for 2024 moving into the new year that are going to take your money management to the next level.

So, you want to stay on top of your budget but you don’t know which app or method is best to use? Well, after Mint closed down (it was one of the budgeting apps that we’ve used for years), I did some extensive research to find the best budgeting apps. You might notice that a lot of these budgeting apps are very similar in nature, so I made sure to do a deep dive to find the differences between all of them to make sure that you are setting yourself up for success with the best budgeting app that fits your lifestyle and your needs.

I think this goes without saying, but the most important thing when it comes to budgeting and managing your money is finding a platform and an app that you can use on a consistent basis.

Empower

All right, number one is going to be the Empower app. This is a budgeting app that caters to new budgeters who want an easier, more hands-off approach. This is an app that my wife and I have been using for over a decade along with Mint, but now that Mint has closed down, we’ve switched over completely to Empower. This is a great way to track all of your finances in one easy-to-use platform.

So, who is Empower for? It’s really good for beginners that want a simple budget and money-managing experience without the extra cost. So, let’s jump over and see what their features are.

Empower is really about creating an incredible experience built around you and your needs. They have a net worth tracker, savings planner, retirement planner, and investment tracker. It’s really helping you utilize your money in the best way possible. This is, again, the platform that we are currently using, and I absolutely love that it gives you everything all in one place. If you want a hands-off approach and it’s free, we’ve never signed up for the premium version because we don’t think it’s necessary.

The net worth tracker is kind of like your overall financial health. Your saving solutions help you figure out where you need to be saving more and set goals for that. The retirement planner is amazing for long-term planning; you can create scenarios for when you want to retire, how much you’re going to be spending, and what’s in your savings and investment accounts—all in one place. It also helps with anticipating big expenses, adding income events, and getting a perspective on whether you’re going to hit your goals or not. They also have an investment tracker checkup, which is a really good way to analyze your portfolio, past performance, risk, fees, and pinpoint areas for improvement to make the most out of your money. This is another feature we use all the time.

I should quickly mention that Empower used to be called Personal Capital; they switched names a few years ago. So, what makes Empower different? They have real help with real people—you can always talk to someone live or get a financial advisor. I’m going to talk about their premium plan in a minute. They are easy to understand and navigate, offering a hands-off approach to budgeting and financial wellness. I love that they provide a 360-degree view of your overall financial health, which is really nice to use. They also offer solutions for wealth management, such as Personal Capital Cash, taxable accounts, investment accounts, and more.

So, what are customers saying? This app allows you to track your expenses, set up a budget, receive personal tips and advice on how to save your money better, and get a clear overall picture of your financial health. This is a completely free app, which is why we’re recommending it. They do offer a premium plan if you want to get a financial advisor to help you work more towards your investments and goals, but as far as budgeting and getting a clear picture of your finances, this is absolutely free. You can click the link in the description to set up your free account now.

RocketMoney

All right, number two is Rocket Money. It’s a budgeting app that gives you complete control of your finances, allowing you to customize your budget and track your expenses in real time. Rocket Money is ideal for individuals or couples who want complete control over their budget and finances.

All right, so over on the Rocket Money website, the tagline is: “The money app that works for you.” Managing money is hard, but it doesn’t have to be, and you don’t have to do it alone. Rocket Money empowers you to save more, spend less, see everything, and take back control of your financial health. They have a very good dashboard that’s very aesthetically pleasing; it lets you view everything all in one place, just like Empower.

They have over 5 million members with a 4.5-star rating out of 22,000 ratings. Empower had about 18 customers; this one is a lot smaller, but it’s still one of the most popular apps and one that’s really on the rise.

You can get control over your subscriptions—never pay for unwanted subscriptions again. Rocket Money instantly finds and tracks your subscriptions; your concierge is there when you need them to cancel your services, so you don’t have to. That’s a really good feature for people who hate calling to cancel or even keeping track of their subscriptions. If you have a ton and you don’t know where all the money is going each month, Rocket Money is a great solution for that. I believe this is a premium feature, but they do have a free plan just like most of these apps. To get all of the features, you will have to pay a monthly fee. I’ll talk about that in a minute.

You can stay on top of all your spending—it effortlessly breaks down all the finances and where your money is going so you can improve and figure out where money is being wasted and where money needs to be spent more. You can put your savings on autopilot; this allows you to save money without thinking about it. It basically helps learn your habits and puts the right amount of money away so you don’t incur overdraft fees.

Again, Rocket Money is a great budgeting app. It helps you create that custom budget, track your expenses in real time, set financial goals, receive personalized advice on how to achieve them, and it also helps you cancel those unwanted subscriptions right on the platform. They do have a free version of the app, and to get all the premium features, you will have to unlock it with a premium plan, but you can try that out for seven days.

Every dollar

All right, number three is EveryDollar, which is a very popular Dave Ramsey budgeting app. This follows the popular zero-balance budget method, where every dollar has a purpose in your budget. It’s great for those who want a structured, more detailed approach to budgeting. It’s perfect for fans of Dave Ramsey who are trying to pay off debt, get control of their money, and really want that hands-on, zero-based budgeting method.

So, over on the site, you can see the simplest way to budget your life. They know how to juggle weekly grocery runs, date nights, and surprise flat tires 50 miles into a road trip—those are the worst! EveryDollar helps you prepare for it all. So, it’s really about preparing for the future, setting up that emergency fund, making sure you’re paying off your debt, and managing your money the way you’re supposed to. No matter what you do with your money, it starts with a budget, which I can’t agree with more.

To get started, you can set up an account, create your budget, and say goodbye to all that money stress. Just like any of these platforms, budgeting is free. EveryDollar does have a free plan, but they also have a premium plan to unlock all the features. You can create a customized budget and savings fund for free, so this one is definitely an app where you might want to pay for the premium membership, which is just a few dollars a month, to get all the features. They really lock up most of the features under their free account.

There are tons and tons of happy customers paying off debt and making money moves with EveryDollar, so it’s definitely a platform we recommend and one that made it on the list as number three. Again, you can track your expenses, create a monthly budget based on your income, give each dollar a purpose, and connect with other users for accountability.

All right, before we move on to the next set of budgeting apps, let me know in the comments which are the best budgeting apps that you’ve used before. Are there any that are your favorite? Maybe Mint, and it shut down? I’d love to hear from you.

YNAB

All right, number four is the popular YNAB, which is short for You Need A Budget. It’s an app that focuses on helping users break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and control their finances. YNAB has a strong community aspect and offers a lot of resources for users to learn about budgeting, personal finance, and the psychology behind money management.

YNAB is great for individuals and couples who want to break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck and are willing to put in some work to learn about budgeting. By far, this is the most hands-on budgeting app that I found, so it’s the most time-consuming, but if you really need that hand-holding and community aspect, YNAB is a great option for you.

So, over on the website, their main focus is about changing your relationship with money. As you know, personal finance is very personal, and that’s what YNAB allows you to get deep into. You can enjoy guilt-free spending and effortless savings with a flexible method for managing your money. They do have a free trial, but they are a premium service.

All right, so let’s go over the pricing real quick. There is an annual plan that saves you $80, and it’s basically $99 for the year. That’s not bad—you’re paying $100 to really control your money and help you reach your financial goals. If you pay monthly, it’s about $15 per month. Again, they do have a free 34-day trial. I love that it’s not a 7-day trial or a 14-day trial; it’s a 34-day trial, so it gives you an entire month to check it out, build those habits, and see if it’s going to work for you.

We have used this one before. It was very hands-on and very user-intuitive. It worked really well; it’s just a little bit too hands-on for us for what our needs are. It basically allows you to organize your money, not have it be a mess, and avoid all that stress. You give every dollar a job, embrace your true expenses, roll with the punches, and age your money. It has an awesome website platform and also has an app. A lot of these have both, and a bunch of customers are absolutely loving it and have been using it for a very long time.

The average YNAB user saves $600 in 2 months and $6,000 in their first year. There’s no other app that I think can promote this type of success. So, if you are living paycheck to paycheck and really struggling with your money, I think that YNAB is a great solution for you to check out.

Monarch money

All right, number five is Monarch Money. This is a budgeting app that helps you manage your finances and build wealth by providing personalized coaching and investment recommendations. Monarch Money is definitely best for couples who want to take control of their finances together as a team, and it’s great for those looking to invest and build wealth.

All right, so we’re over on the website, and this is also an app that we have personally used and set up in the past. We ended up switching back to Empower just for a more hands-off approach, but this is the modern way to manage your money. Get clarity, confidence, and peace of mind in your finances. Track all of your account balances, transactions, and investments in one place. Collaborate with your partner to reach your financial goals faster.

So, this is really an app for couples. If you guys have separate bank accounts, which we highly recommend you don’t do if you’re married—you should be sharing a bank account. If you can share a bed, you can share a bank account. I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s proven that the divorce rate is much higher when you guys are not sharing the same bank account and working together as a team because teamwork makes the dream work on your finances.

So, if you are working as a couple and you want to have that bird’s-eye view and overall picture of everyone’s account all in one place, working as a team, this is really a good app for you to use. It’s best in class in data connectivity. You’ll notice a lot of these financial apps and budgeting apps require you to connect your accounts to them, and sometimes they break, which is really annoying and frustrating. You have to sign back in and get them connected and get the transactions. Monarch is best in class in data connectivity, so you don’t have to do that often, and they’re syncing constantly.

You can set up transaction rules so that they use AI to clean up your transactions and make sure they’re in the right categories. Empower also does that. The flexible budgeting tool allows rollovers, so if your utility bill is not on a budgeted billing and it’s $100 one month and $90 the next month, you can save that $10 you budgeted for the next month, which is a really nice feature. You can see exactly where your money is going. They have diagrams, visuals, and charts to help you track your spending and look at patterns.

Again, this is definitely meant for couples looking to collaborate with their partner, set up both your accounts securely, and work as a team. It also allows for all your investments in one place, so you can look at the overall picture, track your progress, and your financial goals. You can set up to buy a home, set up retirement, save for a vacation, or start a business. You can customize your dashboards and charts, search for anything, and trust the security. A lot of these are very secure—I wouldn’t promote them if they weren’t. Focus on your money, not the advertisements. A lot of the free budgeting apps have lots of advertisements to try to get you to sign up because they make a commission on certain things they promote or advise on. This is a premium service that makes it so you don’t have to see all those ads.

Obviously, a lot of customers love it—4.5 out of 4,000 reviews—and you can sign up and get started today. So again, Monarch is definitely meant for couples. They do have a free plan, and they also offer a premium plan for $9 a month or $90 a year.

Simplify

All right, number six is Simplifi, which is a budgeting app created by Quicken. Quicken was a well-known personal finance software back in the day. If you’re a millennial, you probably heard of it but never used it. Simplifi is best described as a hybrid between a budgeting app and a personal finance tool, making it a perfect solution for those who want a comprehensive approach to managing their finances.

So, over on the Simplifi website, it’s all about automation, real-time alerts, saving goals, insights, and managing your finances together. It is a very cheap option compared to some of the other ones like YNAB, and they say these are the tools you need for the finances you want. A fresh user experience, concise helpful dashboard, and intuitive views make it very intuitive and visually appealing to look at your overall finances and plan for the future. You can see your investments and share your finances. Trustpilot has them rated very highly, and it is a very cheap option if you are looking to manage your money with Simplifi.

With over 20 million better financial lives built and counting, and trusted for over 40 years, this is probably the longest-running app on the market in this video. No surprise charges or ads—they won’t sell your personal data, so it’s obviously very secure like all of these that I’ve gone through. This is definitely an app for someone that wants a holistic approach and doesn’t want something that’s over $10 per month. This is $3.99 per month or $34 for the year, and they do offer a free trial just like many of the other ones.

Honeydew

The first one over here is going to be Honeydue. Now, it is completely free; there is actually no paywall that you have to worry about when it comes to all of its features. It is ideal for couples and partners. You can automatically categorize your expenses to make things really easy. You can also set up monthly limits as well, so you have an idea of where your goals are for every single month.

Now, there is a way to actually have a built-in account in the app. The unfortunate thing is there is no APY on your deposit. There is a bill reminder to help you avoid late fees, and you can actually have it toggled on to either one person or both. So, if you want to have one person take care of that particular bill, there is also going to be an in-app chat feature to help keep budget conversations filtered in one place. You don’t have to worry about looking back in your text messages—it’s all in one spot. You’ll also be able to track all your accounts in one place.

There’s also expense splitting, similar to apps like Splitwise. Honeydue allows couples to split expenses and keep track of shared costs, which makes things a little bit easier if you have things in individual bank accounts and connected to certain joint accounts. This is unfortunately just an app only, so there is no desktop version—something to keep in mind if you like to also track on your home computer.

Honeydue is more focused on analyzing and understanding previous financial activities rather than preparing for future ones, so just something to keep in mind when considering Honeydue as an option.

Now, as we go through this, all of our resources are going to be in the show notes down below. All the different links to these different apps—some of them do help support the channel financially, but we get to make more free content just like this for you.

All right, so that’s my list of the best budgeting apps moving into the new year. Each app offers unique features and pricing, and you can choose the best one that fits your financial needs. Remember, budgeting is all about finding what works best for you, so don’t be afraid to try a few different apps until you find the one that fits perfectly.

Now that you know the best budgeting apps to use, what about the best side hustle apps to help you increase your income? Well, don’t worry, because in my next video, I’m going over the best side hustle apps to help you earn extra income next month