February 7th, 2019 | Updated on June 29th, 2022
Money is a very crucial aspect of our lives and we cannot ignore its existence completely. In fact, the sooner we learn to balance its usage with our earnings, the better our lives become.
Thankfully, the advent of technology has made our lives quite easy and we have multiple methods by which we can regulate the way in which we use money in our lives.
Expenses tracking apps are just a conscious effort in that regards and their presence have brought a somewhat positive change.
But, the problem arises when you have to choose an expense tracking app from a wide variety available. To assist we bring you a compilation of the ones that are best equipped to handle your money woes.
Though most of these apps are free, some have additional features which can be accessed only after payment. Not to forget that they handle all your basic tasks like entering the expenses, tabulating and at the end of the month helping you with keeping the budget under control.
Few of them even give you the benefit of linking your bank and credit cards detail so that all your transactions can be conducted smoothly from the app itself. For people wary of adding confidential information manual entries can also be done.
Here’s our list of 12 expense tracking apps. Read all about the features they offer and find out which one’s the best for you.
1. BillGuard
BillGuard is a personal finance security and productivity company. Its mobile and website application scans credit card and debit card transactions, alerting users to possible scams, billing errors, fraudulent charges and hidden fees.
TRACK your spending, the fast and smart way:
- Powerful spending meter and budgeting at a glance.
- Know exactly what you’re spending by category. Adjust on the fly.
- All your charges, intelligently organized in one Smart Inbox.
- Get notified on new purchases. Nothing sneaks through!
PROTECT your cards from fraud and unfair charges:
- New! Location-based fraud alerts notify you if your card is used at a store or ATM when you’re not there.
- Data breach alerts tell you when a hacker may have access to your cards.
- Get alerted when BillGuard identifies a sneaky charge.
- The world’s #1 transaction monitoring app, powered by millions of diligent consumers.
SAVE money with smarter tech:
- Found an unfair charge? Ask the merchant for a refund with a tap.
- Bite-sized, real-time budgeting.
- $60+ million in card fraud and grey charges found.
- Over $17 million in fraudulent charges flagged by BillGuard users following data breaches.
Review: Tom’s Guide
Billguard’s extensive array of features dedicated to helping you manage your money contribute to a wonderful solution for letting you save, and be secure with your finances. Instant notifications for potentially fraudulent charges, quick access to your credit score, and self-learning for how you verify your charges, all make handling money less of a chore, providing ease of mind and security.
2. Fudget
Fudget is a simple and fast alternative to the feature-rich, complex budget planner / personal finance apps. There are no categories to manage, no charts to interpret and no learning curve.
Features:
- Much simpler than other apps – see people’s reviews!
- Create simple lists of incomings & expenses – keep track of the balance
- Learn the interface in seconds
- One-tap adding & editing
- Tap star on an income or expense to repeat it on future budgets
- No time constraints – use it monthly, weekly or however you like
- Drag to reorder items
- Mark an expense/income item as “paid” – optionally view the balance of only your Paid items
- Choice of currency symbols (or choose your own)
- Passcode lock & login
- Touch ID login – secure your app and data with your fingerprint
- Universal app – install on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
Review: iTunes
You know all those fancy apps that do this and make that and ooh, bells, whistles! Yeah, it looks awesome the first time you open it, but then it keeps tinkling and whistling at you and you never actually use the dang thing. This is not that. Fudget is ridiculously simple, and hey presto, I use it constantly! I’ve never had a budget before in my life and now I do. I’ve been using this steadily for almost a year which is like an eon in my attention span… Squirrel! I am a freelancer, so my pay fluctuates every month.
Once I know what I will get paid for next month, I go put in my income. Fudget has saved all my regular expenses, so it puts those in for me. I check them off as I pay them. I don’t detail everything, just major expenses including my credit card (paid off monthly) that I use to budget for groceries, eating out, etc. I keep an eye on my card balance and make sure it does not go over my Fudget budget. Easy!
Then when I am thinking of spending money on some ridiculous or not so ridiculous thing, I go and check Fudget first. It tells me I can afford a new blender or I need to wait a month and maybe save for it. I also am using this to save for some travel, track my quarterly tax payments. I cannot believe I actually have a budget, but I finally do!
3. Dollarbird
Track and forecast your money as easily as adding events to a calendar! It helps you make sense of your financial situation, plan ahead and manage your money together with those who matter.
“Dollarbird makes sense for anyone who wants to keep a closer eye on their cash flow for better financial planning purposes.”
Also featured in Mashable, Lifehacker, The Guardian, iMore, TUAW etc.
It Comes With:
- A simple calendar-based interface where you can add, keep track and visualize your transactions.
- Auto-categorization with a hint of AI that helps you classify your entries instantly.
- Automatic balance calculation for each day or month and a transparent breakdown of your past and planned transactions.
- Option to collaborate with your partner, family or friends to manage your finances and stay up to date on common money matters.
- Your data stored in the cloud, available on all your devices regardless of the platform you’re rocking on.
Review: PlayStore
I really like how easy it was to set up my budget and know in real time how much money I have on hand. I had an issue with the app so I emailed them and had a response right away from an actual person. They worked with me until the issue was resolved. Fantastic app!
4. Level Money
Level Money, an app recently acquired by Capital One, aims to track your “spendable” money—i.e. the amount that’s left over after you’ve paid all fixed expenses, and set aside some money for savings. This happens to be how you manage your finances—track your “spendable” in a clunky spreadsheet, and manually enter all transactions.
Review: Studentloanhero
Level Money is a free mobile app available for iPhone and Android. Once you download the app, connect it to your bank account and credit cards.
After you complete some initial steps, the Level app gets to work analyzing your budget. It looks at your income, bills, and other expenses to help you meet your savings goals.
Level then labels any money that’s left over for non-essential expenses as “Spendable.” Your Spendable is the money you can spend on eating out or going to the movies without compromising your budget or going into the red.
The Level app recalculates your budget on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times per day. If you overspend on one day, your Spendable amount will go down the next. As long as you don’t push past the monthly limit, you’ll keep a balanced budget. Read Full Review…
5. LearnVest
Start making progress on your money today with the free LearnVest app for iPhone and iPad. Track your budget, set your goals, and get articles full of advice. You can also work with a LearnVest Planner to get dedicated help achieving your goals.
App Enables You To:
- Securely link your accounts
- Get a holistic view of your money life and net worth
- Track your spending and saving
- Build a custom budget
- Set goals and work towards them
- Add cash transactions on the go
- Access articles full of advice!
Review: PCmag
Pros
Personal finance app with automated data import from your financial institutions. Clean, user-friendly design. Loads of financial education materials included.
Cons
Can’t split transactions; difficult for managing multi-person budgets. No way to exclude a transaction. No bill-pay reminders.
BottomLine
Personal finance education website LearnVest puts forth a compelling mobile app for monitoring your money. It’s comprehensive, except when it comes to managing finances for multiple people.
6. Goodbudget
A budget tracker for the modern age. Say no more to carrying paper envelopes. This virtual budget program keeps you on track with family and friends with the time tested envelope budgeting method.
Budgeting is more than pinching pennies and building nest eggs. This budget software helps keep you accountable to the goals you set, allowing you to live out a budget that truly reflects what’s important.
Review: iTunes
I have used Goodbudget for 3 years now, and it has absolutely changed my life. Even as a single-person household working in human services, Goodbudget helped me save a down payment for a house, which I bought 18 months after I began using the program. Today, Goodbudget helps make paying all the monthly bills possible and still have money for 401k and for whatever fun goals I set, such as saving up for an overseas vacation or a new car.
My parents began using Goodbudget a year ago, and they have also saved thousands within the course of a year. I can’t recommend this program enough.
That being said, it’s high time that the IT department stepped up its game. The app hasn’t been optimized for iPhone X, envelopes cannot be fully customized on the app, etc. If I’m going to keep recommending the app to all my friends, I hope they will step up their game and make the app something to be really proud of. (I don’t like recommending a program and then apologizing to my friends because the app is lacking in areas). Also, pricing could be reduced to attract more newcomers, in combination with starting a referral program so we could be rewarded for bringing Goodbudget brand new long term paying customers.
7. mvelopes
“Mvelopes lets you see where you’re overspending, so you can make the necessary adjustments in your habits. Love it.” Like GoodBudeget, mvelopes is a spin on classic envelope budgeting but with account integration.
Review: Investorjunkie
There are many different budgeting systems out there, but one of the more popular methods for getting your finances back on track is the envelope budgeting system. The envelope budgeting system, made popular by Dave Ramsey, uses a cash-based budget that is divided into several different categories.
For example, you’d have an envelope for rent, an envelope for groceries, and an envelope for discretionary “fun” money. To get started, you would withdraw the cash allotted in your budget and separate it into several envelopes.
8. Mint
Experience Mint like never before—beautifully redefined to make money management simpler and more seamless. Now your financial information will unlock personalized money-saving MintSights™ you can’t find anywhere else.
Mint is the free money management and financial tracker app that helps you get ahead and stay ahead. We bring together your bank accounts, credit cards, bills, and investments in one place. See what you’re spending and where you can save money, so you can live the life you want.
Review: iTunes
I love nearly everything about this app. I love seeing all of my information displayed and the overall look and ease of the app. However, I wish they would fix some of the issues they have with the banks and credit unions. When I first connected with them I had no issues then it duplicated most of my accounts.
Now I have a few credit union accounts that show all savings, checkings and loans twice. When I asked for assistance with customer service to resolve they advised me to delete the account then reload (but they were not promising this would fix the issue) or just “hide” the duplicate accounts so I do not see them and the app does not use the info.
They also said if I deleted the account then I would lose all of my history it has collected. I opted to just hide my duplicate accounts since at that time I had several months of data I would lose and now I would have several years of data I would lose if I were to do it now.
9. Penny
Penny is a personal finance app that helps you track your income and spending. Whenever you chatted with Penny, she shared important and fun information about your finances with you.
Penny was acquired by Credit Karma, the company that gives 80 million people free access to their credit scores. Penny the app is no longer available, but Penny as a force for giving friendly, helpful financial advice lives on in Credit Karma.
Review: Supermoney
Penny is a money management app that helps you control your spending and become a smarter consumer. It’s like Mint, but simpler. The app learns about your spending patterns and expenses by analyzing your bank transaction histories. Penny then uses this information to help you make smart financial decisions.
10. Personal Capital
Track and manage your financial life. Personal Capital combines award-winning financial tools with personal attention from registered financial advisors. Transform the way you understand, manage and grow your net worth.
Our unique combination of people and technology makes Personal Capital the smart choice because you can see all of your accounts in one place. Our app provides real-time data that uncovers trends and accurately reflects your cash flow. As fiduciaries, our advisors are legally bound to act in your best interest so we will never put our personal financial gain above yours. Let Personal Capital help ensure that you’re always moving towards your financial goals – at significantly less cost than traditional financial advisors, and with no hidden fees.
Review: iTunes
This app consolidated all of my accounts including different fund companies, brokerage accounts, 403 retirement accounts,401 accounts from my wife and my work companies, our trust accounts, several bank accounts and hard assets as well.
Our loans and credit card accounts are available at a glance too. It has the SEP Roth and IRAs all noted and totaled in one easy to view layout. It helps keep track of a budget with categories (customizable) for monthly year to date and specified time periods. I can tell with an encrypted sign just where I stand.
The planning feature for education and retirement plans is great and easy to use and modify for different scenarios. Asset allocation as well as major holdings are easily identified. My cash flow is easily followed all year long with the budget module. The use of the app is free and gives one a very in depth financial snapshot at a glance.
Personal Capital also offers a financial planner if one doesn’t want to go it alone. The advisor assigned works hard to put your interests first for your own good Fiduciary rep. Vs the company or their own enrichment. You will love the app especially once you realize the value received from it.
11. Wally
Wally is a personal finance app available on the iPhone. It helps you compare your income to your expenses, understand where your money goes, and set and achieve goals. Wally lets you keep track of the details as you spend money: where, when, what, why, & how much.
Review: Pcworld
There’s something to be said for the simplicity of budgeting with just pen and paper. Wally+, a free Android app (a separate app called Wally Next is available for iOS) comes closest to replicating that ease. Though it’s more of a spending tracker than a full-fledged budgeting tool, it can help you stay on top of what, where, and with whom you spend your money.
12. Wallaby
Wallaby enables customers to maximize their everyday spend through intelligent credit card selection. With different rewards, rates, benefits, and fees, credit cards are complicated, but Wallaby makes it easy. Based on your preferences, Wallaby tells you which is the best card in every situation, online and offline. Powered by CardBase, Wallaby’s proprietary database of more than 2,700 credit card products, the Wallaby app is the smartest financial assistance you can carry. The app includes personal finance analysis tools, customizable widgets, and Apple Watch integration. Wallaby makes it easy to monitor your spending and identify trends and fraud, while still helping consumers maximize rewards and get the most value out of each purchase.
Review: PCMAGAZINE
Pros
Advises which credit card to use to maximize rewards. Includes brick-and-mortar store and online retail advice. Tracks spending, total credit, and payment due dates. Suggests credit cards with rewards that meet your needs.
Cons
Doesn’t provide real insight into missed rewards opportunities.
Bottomline
Wallaby Credit Card Rewards, a free app for Android, tells you which of your credit cards to use at different businesses to maximize your miles, cash back, and other rewards. It’s a great service with real value, though the app has room for improvement.
