The Best Budget Apps for 2026
NerdWallet’s editorial team evaluated a wide range of budgeting apps based on features, user reviews, and usability to identify top options. Our recommendations include tools tailored for individuals, couples, and wealth tracking
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Choosing a budget app can feel overwhelming. There are many on the market and they all offer different things — and at different price points.
Some apps take a more hands-off approach, letting you do the work of entering transactions and categorizing expenses. Others do the work for you through automation, bank connectivity and AI assistance.
Many people download apps only to quit weeks or months later because it’s not a good fit. This guide helps you find an app that matches how you actually manage money. Because the best budget is the one you’ll stick to.
NerdWallet's editorial team assessed popular budget apps and user reviews to arrive at top choices for you to consider. See our full methodology at the bottom of the page.
Budgeting apps
Monarch Money, for flexible budgeting
Monarch Money stands out for its robust lineup of features and customizable budgeting tools. It works well for singles or couples and you can add a household member to the same subscription at no extra cost.
Monarch lets you to sync bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments. After syncing, you can choose between two budgeting styles:
Flex budgeting is a high-level view that groups spending into three buckets: your fixed expenses, non-monthly recurring expenses (like annual subscriptions and kids' activity fees) and flexible expenses, such as groceries and dining out. This is the default option when you sign up for Monarch.
Category budgeting is a more detailed approach, where you set spending limits for specific categories, from your utilities to clothing.
Beyond budgeting features, Monarch includes a net worth tracker, investment dashboard, personalized reports and bill reminders. Its collaboration tools also stand out: users can tag expenses and set shared savings goals. Recent updates include an AI assistant, weekly spending recaps, improved goal-setting tools and support for equity compensation.
The app is available on desktop and mobile.
» We tried this app. See our Monarch Money app review
YNAB, for hands-on zero-based budgeting
This app is designed so that users plan ahead for their financial decisions, rather than track past transactions. YNAB (You Need A Budget) follows the zero-based budgeting system, which means you assign a job to every dollar you earn.
When you get paid, you decide how much of your income goes toward spending, savings and debt. The goal is to become more intentional with your money because actively deciding how it's used.
YNAB lets you to link checking and savings accounts, credit cards and loans, or you can opt out of syncing and manually add or import transactions, if you prefer.
The app also features a loan payoff simulator and “YNAB Together,” which allows up to five users — including partners, parents or caregivers — to share one membership.
The app works on mobile, desktop and Apple Watch.
» We tried this app. See our YNAB review
Goodbudget, for hands-on envelope budgeting
Goodbudget is more about planning your finances than tracking previous transactions. This app is based on the envelope budgeting system, in which you portion out your monthly income toward specific spending categories (called envelopes).
The free version doesn’t connect to your bank accounts. You manually add account balances (that you can pull from your bank’s website), as well as cash amounts, debts and income. Then you assign money to envelopes.
The free version allows one account, two devices and limited envelopes. The paid version, Goodbudget Premium, allows unlimited envelopes and accounts, up to five devices and other perks. You can also link checking, savings and credit accounts to allow automatic tracking.
You can access the app from your phone and the web. You’ll also find many helpful articles and videos that help you use the app. Goodbudget provides courses related to budgeting, paying off debt and more.
» We tried this app. See our Goodbudget review
Empower Personal Dashboard, for tracking wealth and spending
Empower is primarily an investment tool, but its free app includes features helpful for budgeters looking to track their spending.
You can connect and monitor checking, savings and credit card accounts, as well as IRAs, 401(k)s, mortgages and loans. With that information, Empower offers a net worth and portfolio tracker.
The app provides a spending snapshot by listing recent transactions by category. You can customize those categories and see the total monthly spending each category represents.
Empower can be accessed on mobile and desktop.
» We tried this app. See our Empower Personal Dashboard review
PocketGuard, for a budget snapshot
PocketGuard is another app that follows the zero-based budgeting framework.
After you connect your checking, savings and credit card accounts, you enter your monthly income and recurring expenses, such as housing, utilities, groceries and transportation costs.
The app then shows a detailed view of your incoming and outgoing cash flow and calculates how much money you have left to spend after covering bills, debt payments and savings goals. If there's an imbalance in your budget, the app will let you know.
You can customize how your transactions are categorized in bulk, rather than manually changing categories one by one, but there are limits on how many times free users can do this. PocketGuard also organizes recurring bills so you know what’s ahead, and its subscription manager lets you track and cancel subscriptions.
Other PocketGuard features include a net worth tracker, which allows you to sync investment accounts, track property values and manually track other assets; a savings goals tracker; and a debt payoff plan.
You can access PocketGuard on the web, phone and Apple Watch.
» We tried this app. See our PocketGuard app review
Honeydue, for budgeting with a partner
Honeydue is designed so you and your partner can view both your financial pictures in one app. Both partners can sync bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments. (Although you can choose how much you share with your significant other.)
The free budget app automatically categorizes expenses, but you’re also able to create custom categories. Together, you can set up monthly limits on each of these categories, and Honeydue will alert you when you or your partner is nearing them.
Honeydue also sends reminders for upcoming bills and lets you chat and send emojis.
» We tried this app. See our Honeydue review
EveryDollar, for simple zero-based budgeting
Everydollar, designed by personal finance expert Dave Ramsey’s company Ramsey Solutions, offers another zero-based budgeting framework. It relaunched in January of 2026 to include features like a “margin finder” to find extra breathing room in your budget, personalized plans, daily lessons and live group coaching.
In the free version of the EveryDollar app, you can't sync accounts with your bank. Instead, you need to manually enter incoming and outgoing money throughout the month. You will also need to categorize line items in your budget as you add them.
The premium version of EveryDollar allows you to connect your bank account, which means your transactions automatically appear in the app. Premium users also get access to custom reports and recommendations based on your habits.
EveryDollar is available on both mobile and the web.
» We tried this app. See our EveryDollar review
Copilot Money, for autocategorization
Copilot uses AI to autocategorize spending and help users understand where their money goes. The app is designed solely for Apple users and learns your spending patterns over time to suggest savings goals and make predictions.
While Copilot includes budgeting tools, it's better suited for getting a big-picture view of your finances. The app tracks spending, cash flow, net worth and investments in one place, making it easy to see how everything fits together.
Copilot offers snapshots of daily spending and upcoming bills, along with a high-level overview of cashflow. It spots subscription services you might have forgotten about, and lets you roll over money you didn’t spend to the next month or save for bigger purchases.
WalletHub, for credit monitoring
WalletHub is a multifaceted financial app that hosts several areas of financial wellness: spending, credit, investments and identity protection.
The free version centers on credit, offering daily credit reports and scores, as well as credit monitoring and tips for improving your score. Advanced features, including budgeting, credit building, identity protection and account sharing require an upgrade to the premium version.
For budgeting, the platform hosts a spending tracker, budgeting tool and subscription manager. It also provides a financial “score” to assess your overall financial health. The new “spending trimmer” helps you spot chances to save and compares you with your peers.
Popular budget apps, according to Reddit users
We sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check on how users feel about budget apps. We used an AI tool to help analyze the feedback. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.
Users stress that the best budget app is the one you’ll actually use and stick with. Users also say you get what you pay for, noting apps with fees tend to offer more features. These references rose to the top of our analysis.
YNAB is frequently thought of as a top choice, with its biggest caveat being cost.
Monarch Money garners positive reviews and is often cited as a good replacement for users of the now defunct Mint app.
Copilot gets mentioned multiple times as a good option that's only available to Apple users.
Google Sheets and Excel come up consistently as a free and customizable way to make a budget.