12 best budgeting apps in the UK

We’ve all experienced an extra tightening of the purse strings recently, and with that stiffening only set to continue, money management has never been so important.

One of the best ways to stretch the pennies as far as possible is to budget. But what if you haven’t got the financial know-how to do so? Well, using the services of personal finance budgeting apps could provide the answer!

So, here at Skint Dad, we’ve pooled together the best budgeting apps in the UK to help you battle those ever-rising bills.

We’ve even managed to blag some exclusive offers listed below.

Best budgeting app

1. Snoop

Founded collectively by a former CEO and an Ex-Managing Director of Virgin (rather than a certain rapper), Snoop is sold as the smart answer to saving while living.

Cost:

• Free

Features

• In-app broadband, energy, and mortgage switching suggestions
• Credit card tracker and assessment
• Spending categorisation
• Bill-tracking function
• Weekly and monthly spending summaries
• Daily balance alerts

Pros:

• Easy set-up
• Intelligent switching solutions
• Localised access to separate savings account(s)

Cons:

• Relatively young app (but it’s still developing)

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android

2. Emma

Emma is a premium money management budgeting app that helps track debt, manage your subscriptions, and find cheaper alternatives while you save money.

Cost:

• Standard Emma: Free
• Emma Plus: £4.99/month
• Emma Pro: £9.99/month
• Emma Ultimate: £14.99/month

Features

• Links directly to and actively assesses your bank account and other monetary apps
• Makes money-saving recommendations based on the information gathered
• Provides cashback offers through company partners
• Plus and Pro packages have fraud detection functionality, bill alerts and a “True Balance” to provide a real-time assessment of your budget
• Pro package also enables users to monitor net worth and update the balance of separate accounts

Pros:

• Broad and varying paid features
• Delivers live and accurate assessment of finances

Cons:

• Paid services only represent value for money if you use all of their features

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android

3. Revolut

Revolut is a free budgeting app that’s true value rests in its overseas support. So, if you’re a keen traveller, Revolut could be the best budgeting app for you.

Cost:

• Free
• Metal: £12.99/month
• Premium: £6.99/month
• Plus: £2.99/month

Features

• Categorise spending habits
• Monthly budget and spending goals
• Smart savings
• Free transfers to other Revolut users
• Apple & Google Pay are supported (in some countries)
• Supports direct debit

Pros:

• Supports several currencies
• Every-growing range of features
• Premium subscription provides value for money
• In-built budgeting
• Limited free cash withdrawals abroad (5/month)

Cons:

• Direct debit is limited to EU countries
• Accounts can be frozen temporarily due to security processes

* Sign up with either link below for 3 months of Revolut Premium for free *

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android

4. Curve

The curve is a budgeting app that consolidates your bank accounts into one single debit card, thus streamlining your ability to track all your spending in one localised place.

Cost:

• Curve Blue: Free
• Curve Black: £9.99/month
• Curve Metal: £14.99/month

Features

• Curve card integrates with all accounts
• Spending categorisation
• Multiple pay options supported (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay etc.)
• Ability to move transactions from one account to another 14 days after
• 1% Curve Cashback reward scheme (selected suppliers)
• Insurance (premium clients)

Pros:

• One curve debit card for all your accounts
• Cash reward programme is substantial
• Transaction account transfer is intuitive

Cons:

• No budget limit function
• Expensive paid subscriptions

*Sign up with either link below for a FREE £10*

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android

5. Plum

Plum’s stand-out feature is its AI Assistant, designed to automatically analyse and save your money when and where it can without eating into your budget.

Cost:

• Plum Standard: Free
• Plum Plus: £1/month
• Plum Pro: £2.99/month
• Plum Ultra: £4.99/month

Features

• Integrated AI Assistant analyses spending and conduct regular savings calculations, sending the calculated sum to a linked saving account
• Split and tracked spending categories
• Automated investments and deposits
• ‘Lost money’ and ‘Utility Switch’ functions flag overcharged bills and suggest cheaper alternatives to wasteful subscriptions

Pros:

• AI assistant genuinely enhances the savings experience
• Simple and intuitive user operation
• Automatic deposits can be tailored to preference

Cons:

• Savings rate of 0.4% only available with paid subscription

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android

Take a read of our full Plum savings app review.

Find out about some of the other best investment apps for UK-based savers.

6. Moneyhub

Moneyhub uses open banking to pull together multiple bank accounts into one manageable space, providing easy access, analysis and advice for individuals, professionals and businesses.

Cost:

• Desktop: £0.99/month, £9.99/year
• Apple: £1.49/month, £14.99/year
• Free trial: 6 months

Features

• The spending analysis tool provides insights into spending habits
• Localised, multiple account management
• Spending goals
• Bill notifications
• Financial help/advice function
• Split transactions

Pros:

• Easy setup process
• Active alerts and reminders
• In-depth analysis and budgeting
• Comprehensive planning function

Cons:

• It doesn’t support all providers
• No free option after six months

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android
• Desktop

7. Monese

One of the UK’s first app-only banks, Monese puts your money where its mouth is, offering users dual UK and EU bank accounts and making banking available to all.

Cost:

• Monese Simple: Free
• Monese Classic: £4.95/month
• Monese Premium: £14.95/month

Features

• Globally applicable Mastercard debit card (contactless)
• Live spending notifications
• Apple Pay functionality
• In-depth spending analysis
• Direct debit management
• Single-swipe balance check

Pros:

• Free payments (in the UK & abroad)
• Intuitive budgeting tool
• Wide range of accounts
• Integrates with PayPal

Cons:

• Post office and pay point deposit fees
• £200 ATM cash withdrawal is low
• Lack of savings account options

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android

Take a look at some of the other best online banks.

8. Chip

Another automatic savings app, Chip’s port of call, is another automatic savings app to redress the imbalance between saving and spending. As such, it calculates and saves small sums daily, depending on your budget and spending activity.

Cost:

• Chip: Free
• ChipX: £5.99/28 days

Features

• Market-leading 3.55% AER Instant Access savings account
• Automatic, flexible depositing
• Tracks spending behaviour
• Multiple financial savings goals (holiday, house etc.)
• Bank account connectivity

Pros:

• Automatic savings deposit based on budget
• Easy set-up
• Automatic savings function
• Set savings goals

Cons:

• You cannot split savings between multiple accounts

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android

Read up on our Chip app review.

9. Monzo

Monzo enables users to easily manage their current accounts, track spending, and set budgets. Moreover, with its focus on reducing fees abroad, it’s another app to consider for those of us with wanderlust.

Cost:

• Standard Monzo: Free
• Monzo Plus: £5/month, 3 month minimum
• Monzo Premium: £15/month, 6 month minimum

Features

• Apple and Google Pay supported
• Current and joint account connectivity
• Savings pot bill payment function
• Free ATM withdrawals (in the UK and abroad)
• Credit score tracker
• Direct debits

Pros:

• 1.00% AER gross interest (Monzo Plus)
• Instant payment notifications
• Easy bill splitting
• A savings pot enables one to categorise bill payments

Cons:

• 1.00% AER gross interest only available with paid subscription
• Free ATM withdrawals abroad come with limitations

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android

10. Budget by Koody

Koody enables its users to set budgets, upload physical receipts and manage all of their finances from one place without being connected to a bank account.

Cost:

• Koody Standard: Free
• Koody Pro: £1/month, £10/year

Features

• In-depth spending insights and monitoring
• In-built budgeting, including transaction forecasting
• Expense categorisation
• Regular expense, direct debit and subscription reminders
• Upload receipts

Pros:

• Ten currency options
• Track current and savings accounts in one place
• Comprehensive personalisation

Cons:

• No bank account connectivity

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android

11. Starling Bank

Starling Bank provides a full banking service, 24/7. That means you have access to all the money management tools you need in the palm of your hand.

Cost:

• Free

Features

• Card freeze (in the event of loss or theft)
• Saving spaces, including direct bill payment
• Instant spending notifications
• In-app statements
• Free cash withdrawals (abroad)
• International transfers (0.4% fee)

Pros:

• Contactless payment limit modification
• Free cash withdrawals abroad
• No transaction fees abroad
• 24/7 accessibility
• Easy set-up

Cons:

• Available to UK residents only

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android
• Desktop

12. Moneybox

Moneybox is an investments and savings app that rounds up the cost of every purchase you make and puts that extra aside into a savings account. For example, if you buy a sandwich for £3.50, Moneybox will round the cost up to £4 and place the extra £0.50 into your savings.

Cost:

• Free

Features

• A broad range of savings accounts, including Simple Saver and Lifetime ISA.
• Users earn interest on savings
• Spending round up
• Mortgage advice
• Multiple saving options

Pros:

• Easy Set-up
• Significant AER variable

Cons:

• Cannot move money between accounts
• Limited to withdrawal/month
• Long withdrawal notice periods for subscriptions above Simple Saver

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android

13. Money Dashboard – closing

Money Dashboard is a free personal finance app designed to simplify your saving experience by providing easy budgeting, saving options and even a forward planning function.

Sadly, the app is closing on 31 October 2023.

If you currently have an account, you’re able to log in to download or copy any data.

After Money Dashboard’s closure on 31 October 2023, any data held will be deleted (other than what is required to be kept for legal etc reasons).

Cost:

• Free

Features

• Split transactions
• Spending history review
• Low balance warnings
• Accounts transfer function
• Manage bills and subscriptions in one place
• Set budgets

Pros:

• Income and expenditure prediction function
• Comprehensive free service

Cons:

• Relatively complex set-up and operation

Available for:

• iPhone OS
• Android
• Desktop

FAQs

Final thoughts

Clearly, there are many personal finance apps available in today’s market for those of us who want to create budgets and save. While many of the apps provide many of the same functions and features, each has its own characteristics, virtues and negatives.

Thus, when searching for the best budgeting app, UK residents must take the time to assess which is the best for their specific circumstances before taking the plunge. For that reason, we would recommend trialling one of the free budgeting apps initially.

This will help to provide an informed assessment regarding the needs of your specific finances and, indeed, which apps and functions match them moving forward.