7 best budgeting tools to track spending and save more

Overwhelmed at the thought of creating a budget from scratch? Using a budgeting tool can take the pain out of tracking expenses.

Whether you’re trying to rein in spending, save more consistently, or simply understand where your money goes each month, the right budgeting tool can make managing your finances easier.

That’s why we’ve rounded up the best budgeting tools — from free options to paid plans — that work for a wide variety of budgeters, whether you’re just getting started or looking to fine-tune your system.

My Money is a brand new personal finance tool from Yahoo Finance. It provides a single, clear snapshot of your entire financial life, from your credit score to your net worth and monthly cash flow, all in one convenient place at no cost.

With My Money, your income and expenses are automatically categorized and tracked, allowing you to easily see your spending patterns and how they impact your overall net worth. You can also view balances from your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, retirement funds, and investments — all conveniently displayed in one spot. Plus, you’ll receive ongoing tips and strategies designed to help grow your wealth.

• Cost: Free

• Key features: Free Vantagescore from TransUnion, ability to connect and track financial accounts, net worth calculation, cash flow analysis.

• Who is My Money good for? Individuals who want to see all of their important financial stats in one place and don’t want to pay for a premium budgeting app.

The Quicken Simplifi app offers a wealth of features, including customized reports and personalized spending plans. Once you import data like your bank account and billing information, the Simplifi app allows you to track income and spending, manage savings goals and stay on top of bills.

• Cost: $5.99 per month, billed annually. Discounted promotional prices are offered throughout the year (currently, new users can enroll at a discounted rate of $2.99 per month). There is no free version.

• Key features: Customizable spending categories, spending and store refund tracker, bill tracking and transaction watchlists, customizable financial reports and more.

• Who is Quicken Simplifi best for? Budgeting beginners trying to stick to spending limits or track monthly expenses, with tools for users at all levels of money management.

Rocket Money offers a variety of financial tools, including monthly budget management, subscription tracking, and cancellation services. Premium services (such as unlimited budgeting categories, automated Smart Savings Accounts, and account sharing) along with bill negotiation do require you to pay a fee. However, Rocket Money also offers a free membership plan that includes basic budgeting tools.

• Cost: Free for basic membership, $6-$12 per month for Premium Membership (after 7-day free trial), 35%-60% of first year’s savings for Bill Negotiation Service.

• Key features: Create a budget (free and premium versions), unlimited budgets, automated savings, bill negotiation, subscription management, account sharing between multiple users.

• Who is Rocket Money best for? Couples or families who want to manage money together may be especially interested in Rocket Money, along with people who are interested in unlimited budget categories or automated savings account features. But keep in mind that aside from basic budgeting services, you’ll have to pay a monthly fee to be a Premium Member of Rocket Money.

Read more: How to merge finances with your spouse after getting married

If you’re looking for a free online budgeting tool, Empower may be worth considering. Formerly known as Personal Capital, Empower offers free budgeting services along with a spending tracker. The app also has investment management tools, but those services cost extra.

• Cost: Free for budgeting tools and spending tracker, additional fees apply for optional investment management services.

• Key features: Free budget planning and tracking, net worth tracking, spending and savings management, and optional investment management services for additional fees.

• Who is Empower best for? People looking for a free budgeting tool to replace Mint may appreciate the features that Empower has to offer.

Read more: How the ‘loud budgeting’ trend could help you save more money

With PocketGuard, you can track spending, income, and net worth using the free version of the app. But if you want access to premium features such as a debt payoff plan or unlimited budget categories, there’s an additional cost.

• Cost: Free for basic membership, $12.99 per month or $74.99 per year (billed annually) for PocketGuard Plus (after 7-day free trial).

• Key features: Customized budgets, unlimited budgets, debt payoff plan, spending tracker, bills and income tracking, and net worth tracker.

• Who is PocketGuard best for? PocketGuard could be a good fit for people who want to take control of their spending, especially those who are working to pay down debt.

Goodbudget is another free budgeting app — one that takes the classic envelope budgeting strategy and updates it for the digital world. With the free version of Goodbudget, you can create up to 20 digital “envelopes” to divide your cash into different categories each month (e.g., gas, groceries, dining, etc.). This allows you to plan how to use your money before you spend it. The app also offers debt-tracking features.

If you upgrade to the paid premium version of Goodbudget, you can enjoy unlimited budget categories and share your budget with multiple users. This feature could be helpful for couples or families who are managing household finances together.

• Cost: Free for basic membership, $10 per month, or $80 per year for Premium membership.

• Key features: Digital envelope budgeting method, debt tracking.

• Who is Goodbudget good for? Fans of envelope-style budgeting and those who want a simple way to track a zero-based budget — either on their own or with a partner — may want to consider Goodbudget.

Read more: 5 common mistakes people make when ‘cash stuffing’

You Need a Budget, known as YNAB for short, is a zero-based budgeting tool that allows you to plan how you’ll use your money before you spend it. Aside from the initial trial period, there is no free version of the YNAB app, but the company claims users save an average of $600 in the first two months.

The app is also full of premium features, including the ability to share budgets with up to six people, unlimited budget customization, financial goal planning, spending trackers, debt management tools, and net worth trackers.

• Cost: $14.99 per month or $109 per year

• Key features: Unlimited budget customization, debt management, financial goal planning and tracking, spending trackers, plus the ability to share budgets with up to six users.

• Who is YNAB good for? People, couples, or groups who want to start or manage a zero-based budget and don’t mind paying for a robust budgeting app.