My Top 7 Best Budgeting Apps For 2020

When it comes to the best budgeting apps there are literally loads to choose from. But why are we all so fascinated with budgeting apps all of a sudden?

Well, the ongoing development of more and more powerful mobile phones with bigger and bigger screens. Along with this comes more powerful processing power and all of a sudden we have the power of a personal computer from 10 years ago in the palm of our hands.

Also, we as a nation are becoming more financially savvy. I believe that all the talk of leaving the EU and Brexit has helped get people more interested in finance and how certain things that happen in politics may affect our everyday lives.

In the last few years, personal finance apps have blossomed and in the last 3 or 4 years, people have started to use them regularly to help keep their finances in check.

We are also now using them to create budgets and help us actually save money.

So with all the choice out there when it comes to picking a budgeting app where do I start? Well, that is where I come in.

I have spent the last couple of years delving through most of the apps that are out there. I have handpicked 7 of what I think are the best and also most wide-ranging budgeting apps. They are all listed below.

YNAB:

Let’s start with the one I most recently looked at. YNAB which stands for “you need a budget”. On first looking at their site it sure looks impressive. They also make some major statements such as people are making on average $6000 per year savings. This is pretty incredible let me tell you.

One of the first things you may notice is the testimonials. They are just as complimentary about this software and how it can transform your finances.

What makes this one of the best budgeting apps is that it actually makes you work. You have to account for every dollar. Not only that but YNAB makes you plan out your finances so that you dont end up going out for dinner or spending needlessly.

Once you have set up your budgets YNAB will be on your case the whole time. This is a good thing as it really does help you save.

YNAB once set up will have your budgets right there to hand on both android and apple. It is also through other techs such as Iwatches, Samsung watches, and even Alexa. That’s right Alexa is gonna kick your ass if you try and spend outside of a prearranged budget.

You might be wondering how much all this software and technical budgeting is gonna cost. Well, you can try free for 34 days and see if it fits your lifestyle.

Pricing Brackets:

After the initial freebie, there are 2 pricing brackets. The monthly plan is $11.99 per month. There is also an annual plan which saves you a little and is $84 for the year.

Now although there is no long term free version dont let that put you off. This is a serious app and one of the best budgeting apps out there. This is for people that have had enough of not controlling their finances and feel like they are at the point of getting into debt.

You need a budget app will help you and will get your finances into check.

Spendee:

I have already spent a good deal of time playing with the Spendee App. The main thing I found is it has a great user interface. This is handy on the pc but very nice to have on a phone due to the small screen compared to a computer.

First off Spendee is available for both Android and Apple. Secondly, this app has great security. It was one of the first things I checked.

It is the first thing you should look for when deciding on a budgeting app. All the best budgeting apps have bank-level security. This is a must especially if the apps are getting linked to your bank accounts.

Talking of bank accounts this app can link to over 200 different bank accounts. It does this all seamlessly within a matter of seconds.

When your accounts are linked it means you can access real-time data at the touch of a button and all from the palm of your hand.

Crypto Wallets:

One of the reasons I love this app is because you can also connect it to your Crypto wallet should you have one. I am a bit of a bitcoin promoter and have a small amount of digital currency as an investment. The fact that this can now be linked with this app is a big selling point for me. I’m sure lots of other crypto enthusiasts are thinking the same.

Spendee at the time of writing has 3 pricing points. Basic which is free, Plus which is $14.99 per year. This has the added functionality of multiple wallets and shared wallets as well as the ability to create multiple budgets.

Then there is the premium price plan which is $22.99 per year and has the super-swish and speedy bank account sync. This function is worth the extra money per year.

Spendee is one of my favorite budgeting apps because of the usability and the crypto wallets along with the speedy bank account sync, this is top of my list.

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PocketGuard:

When it comes to the best budgeting apps the one thing that makes any app stand out for me is mobile functionality. Let’s face it we all live our lives on our mobiles these days so having a budgeting app that works so seamlessly on our phones is high up on my list of budgeting app must-haves.

Pocketguard luckily has exactly this. It is very well converted to our mobile devices. As an added bonus for first-time novice budgeters, it is an absolute doddle to use.

I only needed to play about with it for 20-30 minutes and I had found everything I needed and how it worked.

Like most budgeting apps Pocketguard is available to download on both android and apple.

The great thing about Pocketguard is the way it looks. It makes it easy to navigate and understand your finances at a glance. There is no need to delve into this app to find what you need, it is all there for you to see.

Set budgets and limits and clearly track your finances with ease. If you are new to budgeting and or new to budgeting apps then I would recommend trying Pocketguard first as it simply is one of the easiest on the market.

The free edition is pretty good. There is however a more advanced edition which will cost you $3.99 monthly.

Mint:

Mint is one of the bigger apps out there. This is one of the first budgeting apps I tried. Although it was very comprehensive I found it quite easy to get on with.

It works in a similar fashion to Spendee in that once you have linked your bank accounts and credit card accounts the app comes to life and can really help you nail down your spending.

Mint has a free credit score checker right there on your phone. This is a great added addition and can help you see your credit score on the go. It gives a very visual overview of your credit score making it easy to see how well you are doing with it.

Payment Tracker:

Mint will also teach you how to improve your score. You can set up alerts to let you know when it drops or when it reaches a goal you have set.

Mint has a bill payment tracker so you can keep on top of those pesky monthly or weekly bills. Just like the credit score, you can set up alerts and be reminded when a bill is close to needing to be paid.

The mint app can calculate your average spending via categories. This means that creating budgets within the app is easy and as it is a very visual app it makes life simpler to manage when with one glance you can see if you are within your budget.

You can also see how much is left within each particular budget. This allows you to know whether you can grab that cheeky Cappuccino or whether you are at your limit and its a no for today.

Investment Portfolio tracking is another great addition which means you can access your investments easily and see on the go how they are doing.

Investment tracking will also catch any hidden fees associated with those investments meaning you are in full control and taking charge of your future.

With security, mint is up there with the best budgeting apps. Multi-factor authentication is in place along with passwords. Any log in details or passwords are stored on a separate database and this adds a new layer of security.

None of these budgeting apps would last long without decent security and Mint security is up there with the best.

Mint is free to download on both android and apple.

Wally:

The Wally budgeting app doesn’t sound like a place where the very business-like sorting of your finances happens but it is indeed a great budgeting app.

Available for free on both the Apple store and Android, Wally app is the number one app in over 20 countries and lets you take control of your finances.

Wally is 100% free but they do plan to add some premium extras at some point in the future. These will naturally come with pricing structures to match.

Wally has a very simple outlook on your finances and that is that their app should in a very simple way show you your incomings and outgoings and then help you manage them and keep in control.

The team at the Wally budgeting app is a small team but this makes the app all the better for it as it is built for you by people like you.

Good Budget:

The Goodbudget app’s motto is “Budget with a why”. There are no more surprises with the Goodbudget app. It is based on the Envelope budgeting strategy. This is where your wages go in and then get split into the various categories in which the money needs to be.

When you need to spend you take it out of the appropriate envelope and only that envelope. This saves you spending money that is not set aside for a certain thing.

Once you have spent everything in that envelope then that is you done. The key obviously is to stop spending before it runs out.

Syncing:

You can sync your budgets between devices so that no matter where you are you can keep track of your envelope budgeting system.

Also the ability to sync and share budgets across your household. This means that everyone in the family knows where the household is in regards to finances.

When Saving you can set up envelopes and it is always a joy when you can finally pay for that nice holiday from your “holiday envelope” and not end up putting it on a credit card.

You can view your debt and use debt accounts to track your progress when paying it off. These visual aids, in my opinion, can always help you pay off faster.

There are two pricing systems. The first is free and gives you access to one account across 2 devices. This also gives you 10 regular envelopes and 10 extra ones which are more than enough for one person.

Should you wish to upgrade then for $6 per month or $50 annually you can get your finances across 5 devices with unlimited envelopes and 7 years worth of history should you manage to accumulate that much.

The good budget app is one for the people who like clean and easy budgeting, I include myself in that category.

EveryDollar:

EveryDollar helps you create a monthly budget you can stick too. They aim to be able to help you create your first budget in around 10 minutes. I must admit that I did find it that quick and easy to use.

All you do is start by adding the amount you expect to be paid at the end of the month. Once finished add the outgoings you know are going to be taken at the end of the month.

EveryDollar will help you with a customizable template with which you can add all the incomings and outgoings so it makes it easier to track. If you can plan your expenses then there are going to be no nasty surprises.

You can connect your bank account with Everydollar plus which comes with a price of $129.99 per year but for this, you get not only the ability to connect your bank accounts but also get access to a special 9 lesson class which will teach you how to save money and control your finances better so you end up building wealth and becoming better with your money.

You can get email support as well with the plus plan. This really does seem like it is worth the money. I had fun with the free version and this will do if you dont want to splash out on the plus version.

With any of the Everydollar versions, there is also a blog to run alongside where you can get added advice and tips. This really is a well thought out app.

Summing Up:

No matter which budgeting app you decide to go for the main thing is you have made the leap and decided to try and get your finances in control. This is the biggest step.

All of the above apps are what I consider to be the best budgeting apps around at the moment. They all have great security and neat features. Good luck choosing one and I hope that it has a positive impact on your finances. I would love to hear from you in the comments section if you have tried any of the above apps.