We're all guilty of overspending at times, but we don't have to be! Gone are the days of having to set up a separate savings account. These are the best budgeting apps in the UK for those looking to get their finances back on track and plan.
Whether you're just starting or need some help getting organised, these will suit your needs perfectly. It's never too late to start saving money with these great apps!
There is no need to overspend again now you can access this technology for free, so read on to benefit from finding out which budget apps could help you save money.
What are Budgeting Apps?
A budgeting app is software that helps people track their expenses and stick to a budget. It's an excellent tool for those looking to keep their personal capital in check.
There are many different types of budgeting apps, but most of them work by allowing users to connect to their existing bank accounts through a secure 256-bit read-only access, known as open banking. Budgeting apps then offer advice on how much you can afford to save. Some budgeting apps will also give you an overview of your spending habits and set savings goals.
Budgeting apps are the 21st century's answer to money management.
There are several different budgeting apps available. This guide will cover what we believe is the best free budgeting app and an overview of the 10 best budgeting apps on offer.
10 Best Budgeting Apps in the UK
Now you know why a budgeting app may benefit you and your money, let's go through the top contenders so you can decide for yourself which is the best personal finance app for you:
1. Chip - Best Free Budgeting app?
4.5 App Store rating*
*correct as of March 2022
Main Benefits:
Chip app is one of the best budgeting apps in the UK. It connects to your current bank account and monitors your spending habits. It sends a varying amount of funds into your chip each day. It is smart enough to know if you cannot afford to invest more money and evade money transfers.
There are no costs to become a Chip customer, and you can withdraw free money to your account whenever you like. If you want to achieve your financial goals, you could also plan several goals and have Chip split your money between them. 25% of your transferring Chips will go towards a Holiday goal and 75% towards a First Home goal.
Cost: Free for Chip or £3 every 28 days for Chip X
Want to know more? Check out Chip App Review or watch the 60-second video below.
2. Plum: All of Your Accounts in one Place
4.7 App Store rating*
*correct as of March 2022
Main Benefits:
Plum is one of the most popular budgeting apps in the UK, with over 1 million users and great functionality even on the free version. What makes Plum special is its rich money management functionality.
With its handy budgeting features, you can track spending and upcoming bills. Plum will even guide you if it thinks you are overpaying on some of your subscriptions!
Like Chip, it also has investment management services (capital at risk) where you have the option to invest your spare change.
Related Article: Plum vs Chip
Cost: Plum basic (free budgeting app) Plum Plus £1, Plum Pro £2.99, Plum Ultra £4.99.
Want to know more? Check out Plum App Review or watch the 1 minute video below:
3. Money Hub - Free for 180 Days
4.3 App Store rating*
*correct as of March 2022
Main Benefits:
Moneyhub is a personal finance app that helps you see where your money goes and make smarter decisions about spending it. Whilst you don't get the added interest accounts and autosaving features that Plum and Chip give you it is still a great option if your goal is to get an overall picture of your finances.
It automatically categorises all your transactions, so you can quickly see how much you spend on groceries vs eating out or what percentage of your income goes to rent each month. And with Spending Goals, you can set goals for yourself and track progress towards them - freeing up cash for the things that matter.
With Money Hub, there's no more guessing about where your money is going - you can add all of your accounts, such as pensions, investments, mortgages and, of course, your current account.
Cost: Money hub is free to download and use for 180 days. Then it is a small charge of £1.49 a month or £14.99 for the year. Making it one of the cheapest budgeting apps.
Related article: Best Money Saving Apps
4. Starling Bank: Bank & Budgeting App (Best for Round up Purchases)
4.9 App Store rating*
*correct as of March 2022
Main Benefits:
Whilst most budgeting apps are just apps, Starling is an entire bank. Rather than getting a budgeting app to keep your personal finances in check, a bank that does it all might be the better option.
Starling Bank was the UK's first mobile-only bank. They offer a free current account with no monthly fees and round up your purchases by up to 10 times to automatically save more.
You can also set saving goals within the app and get notified when you spend. It's easy to use, secure, and best of all - it's free! It also doubles up as a travel card giving you commission free spending when abroad.
You will also get payment reminders for any upcoming payments. It's more than a bank that will help you budget and support you in your total money management.
Want more information? See Starling Bank Review or Best Online Banks
5. Money Dashboard
4.1 App Store rating*
*correct as of March 2022
Main Benefits:
Do you want to know how much money you have? Then Money dashboard could help you.
Money Dashboard is a free app that helps you manage your finances. It shows all of your bank accounts in one place, so it's easy to see where your money is going and what bills need to be paid. You can also track spending across categories, compare with previous months and create budgets for what you spend most on.
Is Money Dashboard Safe to use?
Money dashboard has been operating for more than ten years. It uses bank-level encryption and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority - registration number 800652.
6. Monzo: Best for a Savings pot
4.9 App Store rating*
*correct as of March 2022
Main Benefits:
Monzo is another excellent digital bank that allows you to set up separate savings pots, categorise your spending and round up your everyday purchases. It's great for keeping money aside for bills, too, as you can separate the money for your accounts into a separate savings pot.
Want more information see Monzo Vs Starling
7. Emma
4.7 App Store rating*
*correct as of March 2022
Main Benefits:
Emma checks your savings and credit account statements too. It categorises your spending to ensure you will quickly see where your money goes each month.
A premium account, Emma Pro, has additional features such as individualised categories and extra cashback. Emma Pro costs £59.99 a year, while the first seven days are free.
Emma is easy to create and easy to use but a bit gamified, and the push to subscribe to Emma Pro can be irritating. The service is accessible and recommended both for beginners and managing subscriptions. It also rewards spending at certain stores such as Body Shop, B&Q Gousto, Boots, etc.
Is Emma Safe to use?
Emma looks pretty confident about their safety and security and notes they are ICO registered. This is a UK independent authority whose aim is to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
They also say they have bank-level security. Emma is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 to provide payment services.
Emma uses 256-bit TLS encryption 100% of the time.
8. Moneybox
4.8 App Store rating*
*correct as of March 2022
Main Benefits:
Moneybox has the only few features of all budgeting and finance apps in this article but it is useful and probably the best budgeting app for long term goals.
It focuses significantly on assisting you in your investments. All that I spend is directly in a saving account. You can select between general investments accounts, the lifetime ISA, stock-and-share ISA and the fixed-rate savings accounts. It is important to note that you have to pay a monthly service charge of £1. However, interest rates and fees for all accounts appear competitive. Moneybox seems aimed at consumers looking for long-term saving options.
For full details see Money Box Review
9. Monese
4.8 App Store rating*
*correct as of March 2022
Main Benefits:
A Monese Bank account allows access to on-the-go budgeting tools and bank services. It will enable easy-to-remember cash transfers and immediate notifications from any bank.
Want more information? See Monese Review.
10. Revolut
4.9 App Store rating*
*correct as of March 2022
Revolut offers personal finance apps for managing money and making your daily expenditures easy. Revolut gives you the flexibility to limit the amounts you spend and give you recommendations on how you spend them.
It sends you notifications to ensure you keep track of your spending and it can warn you if you have reached your budget. The app offers weekly insights to help you understand how much you spend each day.
What is the Best Budgeting App in the UK?
This does depend on your individual needs, however out of the apps reviewed in this article, here are our favourite picks:
What is a Budget?
A budget is a monthly financial plan based on your income/ expenses over a longer period. A financial plan that ensures you never run low on your next payday. If done right, you could have enough money to invest in long term loan and retirement investments. A budget is key to build your financial future.
There are many different kinds of budgeting apps and email services around these days, but we've found that you don't need to pay for some of the online ones if you use these great tools. Whether you're new to money management or want a friendly reminder, the below selections will help you get on track!
Why Should I Use a Budgeting App?
The real advantage of such app-based apps for saving or managing money is simplicity and ease of use.
And most of them are free (like Cleo and Yolt), so there's nothing to lose. It takes only a few minutes a month to make a plan that will benefit you in the long term and save you from overspending.
The last few years have seen an explosion in the Fintech market. Thanks to the introduction of open banking, more and more companies are introducing their personal finance apps. These apps use available banking technology, which connects to your bank account on a read-only basis meaning your money is safe still within your existing bank
Do I Need a Budgeting App?
Not necessarily. You may not need additional budgeting apps if you have accounts with bank providers like Starling, Monzo or Monese. That's because bank accounts like the ones mentioned above have built-in budgeting features that allow you to budget within the need for additional apps.
It's still reading about the budgeting apps below as some of them will also link up to your credit cards, meaning you see a total picture of your debt and available balance. If you have multiple bank accounts, this could be incredibly useful.
Best Budgeting Apps: Final Words
The best budgeting apps in the UK offer a wide range of features, from rounding up your spare change to investing. If you want to take charge of your money, some of the apps listed in this article could help you with your finances.
The app that suits you will depend on what you need it for and how often you plan to use it. To find out more about which is right for you, check our guide below!
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Best Budgeting Apps UK FAQ
What is the Best Free App for Budgeting?
In terms of functionality and value for money Chip app comes out on top. Not only does it have one of the best interest rates it helps you save money without thinking.
Does the Mint Budget App Work In the UK?
You can’t get Mint budgeting app in the UK yet. If and when it becomes available, it’s well worth a look, as it’s free and super useful to be able to see everything on one app without having to log into various sites. If you want something similar to Mint in that you can see your network Moneyhub is worth checking out.
What Is The Easiest Budget App?
According to app store reviews, Plum is the highest-rated and of the budgeting apps in the volume of reviews and score (4.8 stars). Users have commented how easy and fun it is to save money. Plum offers a lot more than basic budgeting apps.
Why Do Budgets Fail?
Budgets fail because we run out of willpower to resist the temptation of buying something.
We get tempted by everything from our favourite online store’s promotion to tempting fruit papaya and then another. The more we have access to shopping deals or friends who like nagging us for clothes, the greater the chance that we will hit our limit and go over budget with no way of stopping it. That doesn’t have to happen if you try some budgeting apps or chatbots today!
We live in an age-old ‘nudge’ society where nudging has become normality whereby companies employ people solely to develop tactics to nag their customers into impulse purchasing, which are quite often in opposition to their goals.
I Decided Not TO Have A Budgeting App. What Budgeting Tips Can You Give me?
There are a few things to consider when budgeting without an app. One is that you’ll need to be more diligent in tracking your expenses manually. A second is that you’ll need to find a system that works for you and stick to it. This article on budgeting tips can give you more information.
What is the Best Budget app UK?
Plum is the best budget app in the UK. It has over a million users and a 4.8 App Store rating.
Plum’s easy-to-use interface makes it perfect for anyone who wants to get their finances under control. You can connect your bank account, credit cards, and investment accounts to get a holistic view of your financial situation. Plus, Plum gives you personalised spending recommendations and helps you stay on top of your budget with daily updates.
What is the Most user-friendly Budget App?
When testing these budgeting apps we found Chip and Plum to be the most user-friendly apps. Both have personalisation features and are both really easy to connect to your bank accounts. Plum has a slight edge if you want to connect more than one bank account but Chip has the better interest rates through its partner banks.
