7 Best Budgeting Apps for Every Budgeting Type

When you decide to take on your finances, finding a good budgeting app is a logical place to start. But with so many options on the table, how do you choose the right one for you? The good news is that there are plenty of useful alternatives to help you manage your personal finances without getting bogged down in the details, even though Mint.com shut down earlier this year.

The best budgeting app for you depends a lot on your personal lifestyle and what’s important to you when trying to manage your assets and expenses. Here are seven of the best budgeting apps for every type of financial personality.

If you’re new to budgeting, you may have more of a learning curve and want some hand-holding to manage your finances. CPA Ashley Akin recommends Goodbudget because it offers a “simple, intuitive experience.”

She explains that you can create envelopes for your expenses and sources of income in one app. Plus, “Goodbudget will track your cash flow,” she says, “and alert you when envelopes run low.” Akin says the app’s payoff is easy-to-understand budgeting principles for beginners.

Conclusion: “The free version is robust enough for basic money management. Without the hassle or expense, Goodbudget is a solid introductory app,” says Akin. If you want to get access to the in-app plugins, the price is $10 per month, but the free version should cover your basic budgeting needs.

For newlyweds or long-term partners who want a way to combine their assets, Honeydue (formerly known as HoneyFi) could be your answer. “Managing money with your partner can be stressful—especially if you’re not on the same page,” says financial expert Andrea Woroch. She says one of the benefits of the Honeydue app is that “you work together on common goals to align your financial priorities.” All financial accounts are connected in one place, and there is an option to track shared expenses. “Couples can plan big purchases and savings and manage money together seamlessly,” says Woroch.

The app is free and there is a chat feature that allows couples to chat together in real time within the app. There are over 20,000 financial institutions available that you can connect through the app.

It’s not hard to spend a little on everyday expenses, but over time those expenses can easily add up without you even realizing it. Woroch recommends using Flippa as “a savings app that helps you stay on budget when it comes to a variety of purchases from everyday essentials like groceries, cleaning supplies and specialty purchases.” And luckily, you can download the app to your phone for free.

According to Woroch, an attractive feature is that the app aggregates circular and weekly coupons based on your location. “You can then ‘clip’ the items you want to buy by tapping them, create an in-app shopping list and add items to the ‘watch list’ feature for alerts when a coupon or extra discount becomes available so you never miss out on extra savings,” says Woroch.

If you want to go beyond basic budgeting and step up your financial game, Akin suggests Empower, which is ideal for those looking to grow their wealth.

The tool is great for those who “want to better understand your financial big picture,” says Akin. Here’s why: “It provides tools for tracking net worth, cash flow, investments, retirement planning and more — everything you need for financial clarity in one place. Empower also offers free financial analysis from its advisors, a perk that’s unusually generous for a free app,” she says.

If Mint.com was your go-to financial app and you want a similar experience, Quicken’s Simplifi might be the answer. Woroch says the app takes a modern approach to budgeting. “Like Mint.com, it syncs with financial accounts to track money flow,” she says.

Another attractive feature of Simpli is that it “provides spending alerts and weekly goals to help you stay on budget,” explains Woroch. Users have the option to manually adjust the categories based on their personal needs.

Overall, it’s one of the best budgeting apps to cover all your bases. “Simplifi offers detailed investment tracking and premium features like bill payments. It’s a powerful option for those who want an all-in-one financial platform,” says Woroch. Simplifi starts at $1.99 per month and has different prices based on what you want to track.

Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of all the subscriptions you’ve purchased. And over the course of a few years, you might realize that you’re paying for apps you don’t use or even completely forgot about. Woroch recommends using Trim — this app “helps you identify not only your monthly bills, but subscriptions you may have forgotten about, and even cancel the ones you don’t use or want,” she explains.

The app gives you access to most features for free, though there’s an account negotiation service that can help you get discounted subscription prices — a potentially money-saving add-on that you’ll have to pay extra for.

If you want a no-frills financial app, Doug Carey, CFA, recommends Fudget. “It offers a simple budgeting experience with a simple interface that resembles a basic spreadsheet,” says Carey. He recommends Fudget to older or less tech-savvy users because there is no requirement to connect to external accounts. You can easily list your expenses and income and update them as you see fit.

There are no distractions, such as statistics, charts or graphs, and its simplicity may appeal to users who just want a simple budgeting app. However, Carey cautions, “Most people these days want to integrate with external accounts to make the process easier.” So if you want to link your accounts, you should look at one of the other options. You can download the basic version for free or pay $20 to upgrade to Fudget Plus during the year.