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    Budget App Picker

    Pick the right app for tracking spending and planning savings.

    What changed

    Mint (free, popular for 15 years) shut down in 2024. Several apps stepped in. Most charge a monthly fee — but for tracking $50,000+ in retirement and credit cards, $10-15/month often pays for itself in spotted errors and saved subscriptions.

    Monarch Money

    $15/month

    Best for: Most popular Mint replacement. Connects to bank accounts, credit cards, retirement. Beautiful dashboards.

    Net worth tracking. Goals. Couples can share.

    Rocket Money (formerly Truebill)

    Free version + $4-12/month premium

    Best for: Cancels unwanted subscriptions for you. Negotiates lower bills. The "what am I paying for?" app.

    Free version is fine for tracking spending.

    Copilot

    $13/month, iPhone only

    Best for: Smartest auto-categorization. Best for someone who wants to see where money actually goes without manual tagging.

    Free trial.

    YNAB (You Need A Budget)

    $15/month

    Best for: For people who want hands-on budget control. Every dollar gets a job. Steeper learning curve, big results.

    34-day free trial.

    Empower (free) — formerly Personal Capital

    Free

    Best for: Best for retirement and net-worth tracking. Free retirement calculators. They want you to use their advisors but you don't have to.

    No cost. Strong fee analyzer for 401(k)s and IRAs.

    EveryDollar (Dave Ramsey)

    Free basic, $18/month for premium

    Best for: Zero-based budgeting in plain English. Good for the Dave Ramsey approach.

    Free version works for manual tracking.

    If you want totally free

    • Empower — best free option for tracking everything in one place.
    • EveryDollar Free — manual entry but works.
    • Your bank's app — Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo all have spending breakdowns built in.
    • A spreadsheet — old-fashioned but free. Google Sheets has free templates.

    Security worry?

    All these apps use Plaid (or similar) to connect to your bank — read-only. They can SEE transactions but cannot move money. Still, set up two-factor on your bank, never share login codes, and use unique passwords.

    Where to start

    If you don't know where your money goes — start with Rocket Money's free version. It surfaces every subscription you're paying for. Most users find $20-50/month to cancel right away.