Here is a breakdown of popular budgeting apps and what they cost. There is a wide range of cost, features, and ease of use in the world of personal accounting software. The most expensive is $99 / year. There are a few options below $40 per year. There are also a few free ones to consider.

Don’t be afraid to get started on your journey towards organizing your finances. The apps make it pretty easy (at least a well designed one). If you can post on social media or order a pizza, you can use a budgeting app!!! If you want to get started now, try our home budget tracker which is free.
 

Summary of popular Budgeting Apps:

More details about each app:

1) Mint, for just about everything

Mint is a popular budget tracking mobile app. Like any free app, it has limitations and contains advertising. iOS users can purchase Mint Premium which costs $4.99 per month ($60/year) which provides an ad free experience. 

Mint allows you to connect all financial accounts in one space. In addition to helping you track your spending and savings you can setup a budget, track your credit score and get Mintsights which are like tips tailored to your financial data.

When you link accounts Mint can put them into specific categories for ease of use, but you can also create categories according to your needs.

If you are married, know that you cannot create a joint account with your spouse. You need to create separate accounts that you can link to keep track of your financial balance.

As for security, the Mint app has multi-factor authentication, as well as a four-digit security code for your mobile phone. All users can also have an account through an online account. If you happen to lose your phone, you can delete your entire Mint account via a laptop or other device to which you have online access.
 

2) YNAB, for hands-on zero-based budgeting

Another popular budget-tracking app is YNAB which stands for You Need A Budget. 

It is specific in that it helps to plan future transactions, without looking back at past transactions. This application offers a free trial for 34 days. Students can use it free for a year. The price of YNAB is $14.99 per month or $99 annually.

When you get paid, you tell YNAB how much you made and then allocate the money to expenses, savings, and goals.

YNAB allows you to connect all types of accounts such as checking and savings accounts, as well as credit cards and loans.
 

3) Goodbudget, for hands-on envelope budgeting

Goodbudget also deals with the planning of future transactions, but it has one drawback, which is that it does not have linked accounts, you have to enter all the data manually. 

This app has both a free and a paid version called Goodbudget Plus and it costs $8 per month or $70 per year. When you use the free version, you can have one account on two devices, one year of history, and a limited number of envelopes or categories in which you organize your money. With the paid version you can have accounts on up to five devices, unlimited envelopes, seven years of history and other benefits.
 

4) EveryDollar, for simple zero-based budgeting

This app is offered by the famous (infamous) Dave Ramsey radio personality and author of the Total Money Makeover. It has a free and paid version. You have 14 days of free use after which you pay $12.99 month or $79.99 per year for the non-free features.

With the free version, you enter your own data, more precisely how much money you have available and where you spend it. With the paid version you can link all your accounts such as savings, investment, and bank accounts. When you connect your bank account, all transactions in the app automatically appear, and it also provides customized reports and recommendations based on your habits.
 

5) PocketGuard, for a simplified budgeting snapshot

This application is very interesting, it has a free and a paid version. With the free version, you can link your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investments and track your accounts. When you manually enter all the data, this app shows you how much money you have left when you pay all the bills, but also keeps track of your net worth.

With the paid version of PocketGuard Plus, you get the ability to track your debt repayment plan, the ability to export your transactions and other features. Interestingly, you can pay for this app in several ways. You pay $7.99 a month for it, $34.99 a year, and $79.99 for a lifetime subscription.
 

6) Honeydue, for budgeting with a partner

This app looks more at past transactions than planning future transactions. There is only a free version of this app and it can only be used on a phone. The innovation Honeydue brings is the idea of budgeting and managing finances with your partner so everything is transparent and inclusive. You can link multiple accounts such as bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investments to this app. You can set limits on this app and the app will notify you when you get close to those limits. They offer an integrated Honeydue bank account that goes with the app.
 

7) Fudget, for budgeting without syncing accounts

This app is for those who like a simple look. It looks more like a calculator than an expense-tracking app. This app has no budget categories. It has three functions, which are lists of incoming and outgoing money and monitoring of your financial situation. There is also a paid version called Fudget Pro that costs $3.99 per month.
 

8) Quicken

Quicken was originally released in 1983 when it ran on MS-DOS and later became a big hit on Windows 95. Quicken has gone through many iterations, some good, some bad. The wide range of features and price points means you can zero in on exactly what you are looking for (such as the Home and Business edition if you run your own small business). Quicken by itself is traditionally a desktop app but it includes mobile companion apps.
 

9) Simplifi

Also made by Quicken, Simplify is their new shiny iOS / Android app for managing your finances. It slots in at the bottom of the Quicken product line, but offers most of the features Quicken Deluxe offers and a few different ones. Instead of traditional category based budgeting, Simplifi uses a “personalized monthly spending plan” which is closer to envelope budgeting.
 

10) Wealth Meta - Home Budget Tracker

If you want a simple, easy to use budget tracker check out our Home Budget Tracker. Yes this is the tool built by Wealth Meta, makers of the Net Worth Dashboard, and Income Spending Simulator.

Our vision was to create these three tools to help households manage every aspect of their finances. 

• The Home Budget Tracker does your budget, account balances, and historical spending.
• The Net Worth Dashboard calculates your current asset allocation and retirement account balances. 
• The Income Spending Simulator allows planning for various scenarios in the future such as early retirement, a career change, or a big purchase.

So far so good getting a web version of all three launched! We are continually working on improving the tools (we use them ourselves) so stay tuned for more.
 

11) GnuCash - free and open source

If you are looking for a simple, free, desktop only experience for tracking your account balances and spending you might check out GnuCash. The user interface is not as slick as any of the others mentioned above. However it does support 61 different languages.

Conclusion: There are many budgeting apps to choose from. No matter which one you go with, the payback will be big. Managing your finances and watching where your money goes means you will have more control over it. 
 

Hey, if we missed a budgeting app you like contact us and we will add it to the list!