We’ve compiled a list of some of the best budgeting and money management apps in the UK. These are manual and open banking budgeting apps that help you track your spending, categorise your expenses, organise your money and identify wasteful subscriptions.
All the open banking budgeting apps listed here are available on Android and iOS
What Is the Best Personal Finance App Uk
Moneyhub
You’ll find that the features of Moneyhub are very similar to Money Dashboard. It does come with a couple of benefits though. You can link investment accounts like Nutmeg and Fidelity, plus your mortgages and any loans you may have.
If you’re looking for an overall picture of your net worth, then Moneyhub is one of the best apps out there. However, although you’ll have a free trial for six months, you will then need to pay a 99 pence monthly fee or £9.99 for the year.
Pros:
- Lots of budgeting options
- Unique features to see your financial health
- Comprehensive analysis of your spending habits
- Connects to more financial accounts compared to its rivals
Cons:
- There is a small fee
- Might not be worth paying depending on the features you need
Emma
The Emma app links to your current accounts, savings and investments and keeps track of money coming in and going out. You can breakdown into categories where your money is being spent or which merchants you use the most.
Emma learns when you have money coming in, so it is able to set you a budget each month. Emma also lists all your subscriptions, which is very handy in finding if you’re paying for services 5 years after you last used them.
There is also an option to move to a paid version of Emma, called Pro, which offers some (rather underwhelming) extras. Emma also offers ‘rewards’. These generally involve you signing up for a trial or purchasing something and receiving money back. No reward should ever involve me spending money.
Pros:
- Ability to set spending limits/budgets
- Set savings goals
- Easy navigation
- Will point out where your money is wasted
- A decent referral scheme
Cons:
- Emma Pro provides little in the way of benefits compared to the free version
- The rewards on offer can often be found at cashback sites with better rates
Money Dashboard
Money Dashboard works in a similar way to Emma. Link your current, savings accounts, investment accounts and credit cards to find out how much you are up or down overall. There is an active budget tracker that breaks down how much you have spent that month and in what categories. You can then compare this to the previous month’s spend.
You can also set yourself a budget for every month. For example, if you don’t want to spend more than £400 on ‘fun’, create your budget, and Money Dashboard will let you know your progress. You can also see how your budget compares to previous months.
Pros:
- A completely free app, there’s not even a paid version
- A comprehensive budget planner
- Easy to set up and operate
- Link to popular investment accounts like Nutmeg and Fidelity and cryptocurrency accounts
- Access to a mobile app and a desktop version
Cons:
- Not as many ‘extra’ features compared to its competitors
Snoop[
Snoop is a little different from the above apps. Instead of showing you graphs and figures, you’ll be shown ‘Snoops’. These are easy-to-understand summaries about your finances, which give you tips about how to save money.
There’s nothing groundbreaking, but Snoop is a simple way of keeping an eye on your money and tracking your spending habits. There is now a paid subscription available, but this isn’t a big improvement on the free version.
Pros:
- Easy to set up
- No fees
- Uses language that everybody understands
- Will let you know of any wasteful subscriptions
- £5 Amazon voucher for referring friends (subject to availability)
- Recommends some useful financial products
Cons:
- Snoops are not always relevant
- They’re keen on you to click on their referral links so Snoop can earn money.
Monzo
Many banks have now started to provide their own budgeting apps and Monzo’s is one of the best. This digital-only bank allows you to track your spending, see your spending trends and set your own monthly budget. You can create savings pots, which will allow you to easily put money aside for a rainy day. Plus, you’ll get instant notifications when you spend with your debit card.
If you upgrade to a paid version of Monzo, you can create custom spending categories, earn interest and boost roundups. You can even track your credit score.
Pros:
- Simple to organise your spending
- Budget and bank with the same app
- Great card for spending abroad
- £5 for referring friends
Cons:
- You can only connect to other banks and cards if you pay a monthly fee
Monese
Like Monzo, Monese allows you to bank and budget all from one app. You can set weekly or monthly spending budgets, move your money into separate pots and receive instant notifications when a transaction is made.
Pros:
- Access to multi-currency accounts
- Ability to categorise your spending
- A great refer a friend scheme
Cons:
- Lacks some budgeting features compared to rival apps
Quirk
This is an app that claims to be tailored to you. When you start with Quirk, you fill out a quick survey about your financial preferences. The app can then give you tips based on your ‘unique character’. With the ability to add multiple accounts, this is a good app for keeping an eye on your overall wealth.
Pros:
- Free to use
- Easy to set up and monitor your budgets
- Quite nifty being able to see your overall wealth
Cons:
- I’m not convinced that your financial character actually changes much
- Can be a little tough to navigate the app
- Unable to link to investment accounts, meaning you have to manually add the value of them to Quirk
- This means your overall wealth will probably not be accurate
Tandem
Tandem is useful for letting you know how much money you have available to spend throughout the month. It calculates how much your expected bills will be and subtracts it from your income.
Tandem originally had an autosave function, but this was removed in January 2021.
Any money you have in your Tandem account earns a rather decent 1.35% (better than many rivals). However, you can place your money in fixed-term savings account for better returns.
Pros:
- Free to use
- A decent choice of savings accounts
- FSCS protected
Cons:
- Limited budgeting and finance options since being granted full bank status
Mint budget app
Mint is one of the most popular budgeting apps available today. Founded in 2006, Mint was purchased by the software company Intuit in 2009. Our Mint app review will help you learn more about the app, its features, cost and ratings to determine if it’s right for you.
With more than 924,737 ratings on the App Store and Google Play, Mint dwarfs its competitors in terms of reported user experience. Mint earns a spot on Forbes Advisors’ Best Budgeting Apps and is worth strong consideration for helping meet your budgeting needs.
Mobile apps like Mint can automate your budgeting process and help you find ways to save and set aside money toward future goals. Account details and fees are accurate as of March 4, 2022.
Mint and Your Budget
Mint is a free budgeting app that allows you to connect all of your financial accounts in one digital space so you get a high-level overview of your financial health. The app also allows users to track spending and savings and set and track budget goals.
Through Mint, users can sync up bank accounts, money management accounts, retirement and investment accounts, credit cards and other financial accounts. You also can track all of your monthly bills through Mint and receive reminders so you can easily pay your bills on time.
After connecting your financial accounts, Mint tracks your transactions and categorizes them into budget categories to simplify tracking. Users can keep the default categories provided by Mint or create custom categories to fit their needs.
For added customization, you can also add tags and reorganize transactions as necessary to better track your spending. If you’re like most users, many transactions don’t necessarily fall into one specific category. With Mint, users have the ability to separate a single transaction into multiple categories, including any fees charged.
Mint is meant for individual users and there’s no option for joint Mint accounts. However, two people with joint financial accounts can each create their own Mint account and sync the same accounts to view the same information.
Security
Security is of the utmost priority for Mint and its parent company, Intuit. Mint closely guards user information through the latest security measures, including strong encryption, multi-factor authentication and other security protocols. Users also can safeguard their Mint account by adding a four-digit security code to their mobile device.
Users can control mobile access from their account. If your mobile device is ever lost or stolen, you can turn off mobile access or delete your account remotely from your online account to keep your information safe.
Pricing
Mint is free for everyone to use. There are no premium versions of the app available for an added cost. Signing up for a free account gets you access to all of the app’s features and benefits. Mint makes its money on strategic partnerships with other companies, which is why the app features ads and offers for other financial products. Some users may find the product offers to be somewhat intrusive, and there’s no paid option to remove the ads.
Other App Tools
Mint is not an investing app, but it allows you to view and track your investments. Having access to your investments in a budgeting app will enable you to get a complete snapshot of your finances in one spot. You can add all of your investment accounts, including 401(k), brokerage accounts, IRAs and more. The investment tracking tool allows you to compare your investment portfolio to market benchmarks and even track investment fees so you can see if there are any unnecessary charges.
Distinguishing Features
Mint gives account holders free access to their credit score and credit monitoring tools. You can view your TransUnion VantageScore as often as you would like, thanks to a partnership with TransUnion. Checking your credit score through Mint doesn’t negatively affect your credit.
Your score comes with a snapshot of your credit report, along with insights into how scores are calculated and steps you can take to improve your score. Mint also offers free credit monitoring through TransUnion. Users can sign up to receive real-time alerts whenever TransUnion receives new information from creditors.
Access and Ratings
Mint is available for iOS and Android. You also can access your account online through Mint’s website. Mint is ranked #1 among finance apps on the App Store and is rated 4.8 stars out of 5. The app receives 4.5 stars out of 5 on Google Play.
Pros
- Link all of your financial accounts in one place
- Allows you to set up notifications and alerts
- Free credit score access
- The app is free
Cons
- Connectivity issues with financial accounts
- No joint accounts
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What Is the Best Personal Finance App
Mint
Best budgeting app overall
Cost: Free
Mint is one of the most popular budgeting apps and for good reason. It is free to use, something rare among the best budgeting apps, and you get financial budgeting shared by 24 million users.
The app allows you to create a personalized budget and will then monitor your spending. It studies your spending habits and advises how to increase your savings. It will also check your subscriptions to ensure that you are not paying for services you do not need. With MintSights, you can set goals to reach financial milestones and build a stronger financial foundation. Once you connect your accounts, you can easily navigate between outstanding account balances, your monthly expenses versus spending, and even access your free credit score. Mint is compatible with not just banking accounts, but also your credit cards, loans, and investments. You can even file your IRS taxes and receive your refund through the app’s integrated TurboTax services.
Whichever version you opt for, there’s a 30 day free trial available, so you can try before you buy to get an idea if BankTree will work for you.
Money Dashboard
The Money Dashboard iOS/Android app doesn’t try to reinvent the banking world or offer anything truly ground-breaking, but it is perhaps one of the most useful money management tools out there. Hook up every one of your UK bank and credit card accounts and you’ll be able to see each of your balances in a single place with a single login. That in itself is enough for us to recommend it.
But there’s more – Money Dashboard will track your spending, offering you an overall pie chart depicting your spending on loans, consumables, transport and the like. There’s an at-a-glance overall balance, showing exactly how much money you have available across all of your accounts, and you can compare this to the previous month’s figure to show how well you’ve been managing your funds. That’s a great motivator.
Moneydance
Made primarily for Mac users (but also out on Windows and Linux), Moneydance is a desktop money management package with a very neat single-window interface. Load it up and you’ll get an instant view of your finances, upcoming bills, recent expenses and more. Click an item in the left hand sidebar and the main content changes to reflect it.
Its reporting features are quite strong if not spectacular to look at, and one of Moneydance’s most useful sections is its account register. If you’re old-school and once managed a cheque book, this operates on a very similar principle. There’s also an iOS app for logging transactions on the go, which later syncs with the software on your desktop.
Unfortunately for UK users, Moneydance doesn’t support the connection protocols used by UK banks, so you’ll need to download your transaction history manually to keep on top of it and revert to your bank’s own app to move money around. US users, however, are well covered.
Goodbudget
Best budgeting app with digital envelopes
Cost: There is a free version with ads, or you can upgrade to an ad-free plan for $7 per month or $60 per year.
Goodbudget is a budgeting app that helps you create and stick to a budget. There is available debt tracking to keep you motivated and on track. It also helps with money management so you know exactly where your funds are and how they are performing. You will have to subscribe to Goodbudget, but once you do, you will have wide access to the app through both the web and multiple phones. This means that it is easy to share your account with others, like a spouse or family member. It helps you stay connected financially even if you are physically apart, helping to prevent miscommunications and financial mishaps. All transactions are synced to the cloud so you never have to worry about certain financial transactions going missing. Review pie charts and reports to track your spending, with generated reports to show your finances in greater detail. Digital envelopes help you categorize your finances into available funds with each envelope assigned to certain expenses. It is a visual way to improve your finances through the help of virtual tools.
Personal Capital
Best budgeting app for investors
Cost: Personal Capital is free to use.
More than 2.8 million people utilize Personal Capital, and it is a portfolio tracker specifically designed to help with your investments, offering a unique digital approach to your personal finance. The app works with several different types of accounts, including your normal banking accounts, as well as investments, stocks, and retirement funds. The exclusive Retirement Planner tool helps you view your 401K, IRAs, and also your debt so you can have a complete, well-rounded portrait of your finances at the click of a button. The Cash Flow graph stacks your income versus your expenses for an overall financial snapshot that is easy to understand, plus there is an Investment Checkup tool that checks your investments, looking for ways to minimize risk while maximizing rewards. The Retirement Planner is an excellent option when you want to create and manage your retirement. You also have the option to join Personal Capital as an investment client so you can receive direct support from its financial advisors.
Pocketguard
Best budgeting app for overspenders
Cost: There are three subscription plans, in addition to a basic plan with limited features for free.
| Type of plan | Cost |
| Monthly | $7.99 |
| Annual | $34.99 |
| Lifetime One-Time Purchase | $79.99 |
PocketGuard takes a different approach to budgeting, utilizing smart algorithms to manage and track your spending. It also monitors your bills, helping to ensure that you do not miss a payment and risk falling further into debt. There is a bill tracker and organizer available as soon as you link your bank accounts. Any subscriptions you have will be automatically flagged and built into your monthly budget. With the IN MY POCKET feature, the app will automatically calculate your monthly expenses and then advise you on what is left over to spend. It also can help you negotiate better interest rates on your existing accounts, helping you save those extra dollars. It is easy to identify what disposable income you have to spend when the app does all the calculating and reporting for you. You do not have to pay to use PocketGuard, although you will need to subscribe if you want to access all of the best features.
BankTree is more than happy to support worldwide currencies, and in fact does a solid job if you’re working simultaneously with more than one, offering balances in multiple currencies rather than rounding them off into a single total. It’s also good for keeping track of everything, allowing you to scan receipts with its mobile app and import them later on.
It’s not the prettiest software around, and it’s slightly more awkward to use than many of its more refined cousins, although BankTree does produce very neat reports which you can break down by time, or by payee. It may be worth experimenting with the free trial before you choose to invest in this one.
The desktop software comes with one year of updates and support, though you are restricted to one PC and there is a charge for any additional PC you want to run the software on. There’s also a browser-based version available.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to save money in the UK with Personal Finance Software, there are a few ways to do so. Save money on groceries by shopping at local stores or buying food online. Save money on car repairs and health insurance by signing up for a car loan or getting quotes from various providers. And, of course, save money on taxes through carefulbudgeting and donating to charity.