Budgeting apps can help you manage your money effectively, track spending, create budgets and receive an overview of your finances. Some of the best apps can even automate saving money for you. Additional features include the option to allocate money to spending categories, set limits, and receive notifications if you exceed your budget. These apps can help you manage your finances and save towards your financial goals.
Here are some of the best budgeting and saving apps, including details about their key features. All these apps have a free version, and they also offer premium versions for a monthly subscription cost.
Emma
Best for: Budgeting, tracking spending and saving money
Emma is a budgeting app for tracking your spending and expenses to help you manage your finances and save money. With Emma, you can connect your bank accounts to view your finances and receive complete insight into your spending.
Key Features
- Savings goals tool: The Emma app can tell you how much money you could be saving and can automate payments into designated savings pots
- Savings categories: The app allows you to provide information about limits for certain categories and receive notifications if you go over your budget
- Rent reporting: If you rent your home, you can set up rent reporting where credit referencing agencies are notified of your payments to help boost your credit score
The Emma budgeting app is a fantastic option for budgeting and saving money. The app is free to download and is available on iOS and Android. However, the free version offers limited budgeting tools, and you can only link to two accounts. To link more accounts and access enhanced budgeting tools, cashback and custom savings categories you will need to pay a monthly subscription. Fees range from £3.49 and £10.49 depending on the number of accounts you want to link, and the level of functionality required.
Snoop
Best for: Budgeting, smart money management and tracking spending
Snoop is a budgeting app that connects to your bank accounts to provide a complete overview of your finances. The Snoop app monitors your spending and suggests areas where you could save money. The key objectives of the Snoop app are to help you spend smarter, budget and recognise opportunities to save. According to Snoop, it can help you save up to £1,500 a year.
Key Features
- Spending categories: With the Snoop app you can add spending categories and set a budget for each category to help you manage your finances
- Personalised recommendations: Snoop provides bespoke suggestions and tailored offers, based on your spending habits
- Subscription management: The Snoop app can detect your subscriptions and notify you if you have been charged twice for the same subscription
It is worth considering that if you already actively track your spending and are a savvy shopper and look for deals such as cashback offers and discount codes, Snoop might not be the best option for you. However, Snoop is a great option if you are looking for a robust, general budgeting app. Snoop provides a free version or you can pay £4.99 a month for Snoop Plus to receive all the features including tracking your spending from payday to payday, bill tracking and unlimited customised spending reports.
Plum
Best for: Effortlessly tracking spending and automating saving money
Plum is a money management app that provides a complete overview of your finances to help you save money and budget. With Plum, you can connect your bank accounts and credit cards to see your finances in one place.
Key Features
- Automated savings: The Plum app can monitor your spending to determine how much you can save each week and automatically save this money for you
- Savings ‘splitter’ tool: This feature provides you with the option to allocate your money into different pots, to help you achieve your savings goals
- Investment opportunities: Plum allows you to invest your savings into various funds
- Bill tracking: Plum monitors your regular bills and will inform you if switching providers can save you money
The Plum app is free to download and is available on iOS and Android. The free version provides access to the basic budgeting and money management features. However, to access advanced budgeting features and start investing, you can subscribe for £2.99 or £4.99 per month. Plum has an additional plan that costs £9.99 per month if you want to access enhanced investment opportunities.
Chip
Best for: Automated saving and investing
Chip is a savings and investment app that helps you automate saving money and provides access to investing opportunities. The Chip app can analyse transaction data from your bank accounts and automatically save money for you. Chip is a great option if you are looking to save money without manual budgeting.
Key Features
- Automatic saving feature: The Chip app offers an artificial intelligence tool that calculates how much you can afford to save or invest regularly. The tool can also automate transfers to save you time, helping you to save money effortlessly
- Savings goals: Chip provides the option to create multiple savings goals and allocate money from your Chip savings accounts towards these goals
- Investment options: There are a variety of ways to invest with the Chip app, including investment accounts and investment funds
The Chip app is available to download on iOS and Android. The basic Chip membership is free. You can upgrade your membership to the ChipX premium plan which costs £5.99 a month and offers features including access to investment funds, enhanced savings tools and zero platform fees on investments.
The benefits of budgeting apps
Budgeting apps can help you manage your finances, track spending and identify where you can save money. When determining which app to use, consider the features that you require. For example, are you looking to set budgets and spending limits to help you manage your money and avoid overspending? Perhaps you want to automatically categorise and track spending and receive a spending overview without manual effort. Alternatively, you might be interested in saving towards specific goals or want to start investing? Regardless of your ambitions, there will be a budgeting app available to suit your requirements.
Looking for additional ways to save money and improve your finances? Read about budgeting habits to improve your finances to help you realise opportunities to save and contribute towards achieving your financial goals.