A good budgeting app doesn’t have to cost money. There are numerous free options that can help you track account balances, pay down debt and bring you closer to achieving financial goals.
If you feel overwhelmed by your choices, here are some of the best free budgeting apps and services and why you might want to use them:
— SoFi Relay for expense tracking
— Debt Payoff Planner for debt deletion
— EveryDollar for budget creation
— Empower for saving and investing
— Zogo for financial education
— Money Canvas for budget coaching
1. Expense Tracking: SoFi Relay
For a comprehensive budgeting app, try SoFi Relay. It offers both budget planning and expense tracking in one place. You can also monitor your credit score, investments and property values in the app.
The SoFi app can connect to more than 12,000 financial institutions, making it easy to access all your account data in one place. Use it to plan for upcoming bills, spot recurring subscription charges and gain insights into which spending categories are claiming most of your money.
There is even an option to get professional help if you need it. SoFi members can request a 30-minute call with a financial planner for free.
2. Debt Deletion: Debt Payoff Planner
If debt is your primary concern, try the Debt Payoff Planner. In a survey of users, the vast majority — more than 90% — said the app gave them hope and determination, more motivation and a faster payoff schedule.
Most people will find the free version of the app meets their needs, and adding debts is simple. To get started, you’ll only need to enter the balance, APR and minimum payment of each debt. Then, the Debt Payoff Planner will help organize those debts and create a payoff strategy.
With charts, countdowns and progress celebrations, this app is designed to keep you on the path to financial freedom.
3. Budget Creation: EveryDollar
Based on Dave Ramsey’s philosophy of giving every dollar a job, EveryDollar is a zero-based budgeting app. In other words, you decide how every dollar you earn will be spent or saved.
“It’s nice because it wants you to account for every dollar and that forced me to pool money for different things like phone, groceries, gas and eating out,” says Stephanie Siegler of Allegan, Michigan, who has used the app for several years. “I’m able to adjust as needed and see where my money is going.”
While the app has a paid version that automatically links to accounts, Siegler says she prefers the free version. EveryDollar says that most new users can cut monthly expenses by 9% and find up to $395 to use toward debt.
[Read: How to Make a Budget — and Stick to It.]
4. Saving and Investing: Empower
Empower can be used as a budgeting app to stay on top of investments.
“I use Empower Personal Dashboard, mostly to track my net worth, but it also offers a view of all my transactions and some limited budgeting functionality,” explains Harlan Vaughn, a personal finance writer. “It’s helpful to see everything in one place and get charts of top spending categories.”
The app can link to accounts from more than 16,000 financial institutions, including banks, mortgage lenders, brokerages and credit card companies. Once linked, you can review spending trends, track savings and plan for retirement.
[The Real Cost of Free Apps and Services]
5. Financial Education: Zogo
Budgeting confidently starts with having the proper knowledge to back up your decisions. That’s where Zogo comes in.
This isn’t a budgeting app because it will allow you to create a budget and monitor finances, but it offers more than 1,200 short modules to teach you the ins and outs of managing your money. Zogo gamifies the learning process and offers rewards, such as gift cards, to those who continue to log on and learn.
The catch is that you can only sign up for Zogo through a participating financial institution. More than 250 banks, credit unions and financial technology firms currently partner with Zogo, so check to see if your institution offers it.
Bonus: Budget Coaching from Money Canvas
Pairing a budgeting app with personal coaching can be a good way to get ahead financially. Money Canvas isn’t an app, but it is a free service that anyone can use to understand the budgeting process better and implement their spending plan.
“Our program really exists to catalyze behavior change,” says Kelley Kahler, vice president of Money Canvas. The service is provided by the financial firm Thrivent. But “There’s no sales pitch. There’s no hidden agenda,” according to Kahler.
Participants get matched with a coach, and the program includes three 60-minute sessions conducted via Zoom. The sessions build upon one another and cover organizing finances, trimming bills and creating healthy spending habits (users report an average monthly savings of $645). Using bright visuals and easy-to-understand terms, Money Canvas is designed to be accessible to people from all walks of life.
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These Are the 5 Best Free Budgeting Apps to Use originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 06/17/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
