6 Best Budget Apps For Couples
Financial management is vital for couples as they share responsibilities and goals. However, ensuring transparency and control over personal and shared finances can be challenging, leading many to seek fair expense division and effective budgets to avoid disagreements. With the support of technology, financial management apps have been developed and become valuable tools that help couples track expenses, improve communication, and strengthen their mutual understanding. Here are 6 best budget apps for couples to save money and build a strong financial foundation together.
Budget & Money Tracker: Spendee
Manage your bank accounts and optimize budgets with ease
Spendee can act as a financial mediator for couples. With its intuitive design and robust features, this app takes the stress out of managing shared expenses, monitor spending,and design budgets that suit both your needs, and maintain financial balance with ease.
- App Store: 4.8 stars
- Google Play Store: 4.7 stars
Cost
- Free with Spendee Basic
- $14.99 per year with Spendee Plus
- $22.99 per year with Spendee Premium
UX/UI
Spendee’s modern and minimalist interface is specifically designed for couples, making it straightforward to manage shared finances. With just a few taps, you can add transactions, create budgets, and monitor financial progress without confusion or hassle.
Key features
- Shared wallets: This feature is ideal for couples looking to manage shared expenses efficiently. You and your partner are allowed to access and contribute to a single wallet, ensuring transparency and collaboration in handling joint finances such as rent, bills, or groceries. With real-time updates, everyone stays on the same page, making financial management seamless and stress-free.
- Tracking of crypto wallets: Crypto wallet in Spendee allows you to monitor Ethereum blockchain transactions in real-time, manually categorize them, and view converted values in their primary currency. It complements other financial wallets within Spendee, consolidating all financial data in one platform for better management.
- Scheduled transactions: With Spendee, you and your partner are able to automate regular expenses, such as monthly rent or weekly utility bills, by setting them up as recurring transactions. This ensures timely tracking and helps maintain accurate financial records.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Flexible and convenient shared wallet management
- Easy-to-use interface, ideal for busy couples.
- Categorizes spending automatically
Cons:
- The free version lacks access to advanced shared features for groups, couples, families
- Glitches occurs can be extremely frustrating to use
You Need a Budget: YNAB
Where does all your money go? Exactly where you tell it to!
YNAB is not just a financial management app. It’s a system that transforms the way you perceive and control your money. Applying the proactive budgeting method, YNAB is an excellent app that helps users take control of their money, achieve financial goals, and get out of debt by giving “every dollar a job.”
- App Store: 4.8 stars
- Google Play Store: 4.5 stars
Cost
- $14.99 per month
- $99 per year
UX/UI
Its proactive budgeting tools are presented with a minimalist design, particularly focusing on proactive interaction and highlighting actionable insights, directing users’ attention to priority areas like overspending categories.
Key features
YNAB (You need a budget) incorporates four standout rules for effective financial management:
- Give every dollar a job: This means every dollar you earn needs to have a purpose, whenever it’s for rent, groceries, savings, or entertainment, you decide where every cent goes. By doing so, you ensure that your money is working purposefully for you, addressing your priorities and minimizing unnecessary spending.
- Embrace your true expenses: YNAB enables you to plan ahead for irregular or big expenses by saving for them gradually over time. As a result, it smooths out your spending and prevents financial stress when these unavoidable expenses occur, ensuring you have the funds available precisely when needed.
- Roll with the punches: This highlights the flexibility and proactiveness in your budget management, ensuring suitable allocation in your budgeting. For example, if you overspend in one category (like groceries), you can reallocate funds from another category (like dining out) to cover the difference.
- Age your money: The goal is to use last month’s income for this month’s expenses, breaking the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and creating financial stability
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Proactive budgeting
- Provide educational resources to support users
- Well-designed interface
Cons:
- Require subscription cost
- Lack of investment tracking
Honeydue – Couples Finance
Manage shared finances and collaborate on budgets with your partner effortlessly.
A great financial app for couple as Honeydue. This is a free personal finance app designed specifically for couples. This app is a perfect budget option for those who want to track shared expenses, manage budgets, and keep up with financial goals together, ensuring couples stay on the same page financially.
- App Store: 4.5 stars
- Google Play Store: 3.6 stars
Cost
With Honeydue, all features are accessible without cost, designed for couples to manage their finances together.
UX/UI
Honeydue keeps things simple by using colors and clear labels to show what’s yours, mine, and ours, so there’s no mix-up. Plus, the chat feature is built right in, letting you talk about any transaction instantly without any hassle.
Key features
- Account linking: Honeydue connects with over 20,000 financial institutions, allowing couples to view and manage various accounts in one place.
- Shared calendar for bills: This app also includes a shared calendar where users can input bill reminders along with the amount attributed to each bill. In addition, the calendar will send alerts to both partners when a bill’s due date is approaching, ensuring timely payments and shared accountability.
- Distinguishing features with “you” and “us”: Honeydue offers separate categories for individual and shared expenses, enabling users to clearly differentiate between personal and joint finances. While promoting transparency, the app also respects privacy by allowing certain expenses to remain personal.
- Ask your partner if that mysterious purchase was theirs: This is one of Honeydue’s unique features, which allows you to communicate directly with your partner about specific transactions. If you spot an unrecognized purchase, just tag it and ask your partner directly through the app, ensuring transparent and stress-free financial conversations.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- App is free
- Flexibility in managing shared and personal expenses
- In-app chatting
Cons
- Lack of desktop version
- The app contains ads
Pocketguard – Money & Bill Tracker
A financial tracker – Your smart guide to spending less and saving more
It’s perfect for couples aiming to manage their finances effortlessly, offering a clear view of how much money is “in your pocket” after covering bills, savings goals, and essentials. This helps encourage smarter spending while promoting effective saving and better financial collaboration between partners.
- App Store: 4.6 stars
- Google Play Store: 3.6 stars
Cost
- Free for classic features
- $12.99 for monthly subscription
- $74.99 for annual subscription
UX/UI
PocketGuard’s “In my pocket” feature puts your disposable income front and center, so you always know how much you can safely spend. Additionally, the app syncs with bank accounts in real time and keeps the layout simple and clutter-free, making it easy for couples to check their finances and make quick decisions.
Key features
- Stay organized with a bill tracker: Link your bank accounts to PocketGuard to automatically track bills and subscriptions, integrate them into your budget, ensure timely payments, avoid late fees, and keep your finances organized.
- “In my pocket” feature: This feature calculates your disposable income after factoring in bills and essential expenses, giving you a clear picture of how much you can safely spend.
- Setting your financial goals: PocketGuard helps you set and track financial goals, whether you’re cutting back on spending or saving for something special. Stay motivated and keep an eye on your progress as you work toward your financial aspirations.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Unlimited connected accounts
- Uses bank-level encryption to protect user data
- Customizable budgets
Cons:
- Limited features with free version
- Data sync issues
Goodbudget : Budget and Finance
Ideal for manual budgeting and especially co-budgeting with others
This app brings the traditional envelope budgeting method into the digital age. It utilizes the envelope budgeting method to help users allocate their income into virtual envelopes for various spending categories, making it an ideal for couples aiming to manage their finances effectively.
- App Store: 4.6 stars
- Google Play Store: 4.2 stars
Cost
- Free for standard version
- $8 for monthly subscription
- $70 for annual subscription
UX/UI
Goodbudget’s interface revolves around its envelope budgeting system, displaying virtual envelopes in a neatly organized grid that’s easy to navigate. With simple drag-and-drop features for managing scheduled transactions and recurring expenses, even first-time users can feel confident and in control.
Key features
- Envelope budgeting system: With this function, users can allocate funds into virtual envelopes designated for different spending categories, such as groceries, rent, or entertainment.
- Scheduled transactions: Goodbudget lets users set up recurring transactions and automatic envelope fills for regular expenses, such as monthly bills or savings goals.
- Reports and insights: The app generates detailed financial reports, such as “Spending by envelope” or “ Income vs. spending”, thus providing valuable insights into spending patterns and cash flow for users to adjust their budgets to achieve financial goals.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- The envelope budgeting method -easy to use and has a clean, intuitive interface
- Available on both mobile app and website, app enhancements are announced on website regularly
- Resources to support users (podcasts and courses)
Cons:
- Lack of investing resources or tools
- Free version restricts users to one account
Personal budget: EveryDollar
Give every dollar a purpose, and take full control of your financial future
EveryDollar is particularly well-suited for couples who are new to budgeting or those looking for a simple, effective way to manage their joint and individual finances while building a strong financial foundation together. Whether you’re managing shared expenses like rent or groceries, saving for an important goal, or just tracking personal spending, EveryDollar offers simple tools to help build a strong financial foundation while encouraging teamwork and clear communication.
- App Store: 4.7 stars
- Google Play Store: 3.4 stars
Cost
- Free for standard version
- $17.99 for monthly subscription
- $79.99 for annual subscription
UX/UI
The interface of Everydollar is clean and intuitive, showing all financial accounts and budget categories on a single page. This design eliminates unnecessary navigation, making it easy for users to track their finances and make adjustments quickly.
Key features
- See all your accounts in one place: With this design, you can view your budget and all your financial accounts in one convenient place, from checking and savings to retirement and debt, thus eliminating the need to juggle multiple apps to stay informed about your finances.
- Save more money every month: On average, users save $395 and cut their monthly spending by 9% within the first month of budgeting with the app, helping you maximize your finances and making it feel like you’ve received a pay increase.
- Find hidden expenses: EveryDollar makes it easy to identify unnoticed costs, such as forgotten subscriptions or recurring charges, by providing a detailed view of your spending. This feature not only streamlines your budgeting but also ensures you’re not wasting money on services you don’t use.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Make it easy to do zero-based budgeting
- Simple set-up process
- Well-designed and clean user interface
Cons:
- High cost for premium version
- No transaction reconciliation feature
Don’t miss out on:
Song Nhi: Budget Bill Expense – Best budget apps for couples
Your companion for smarter finances, turning goals into achievements with every conversation
With Song Nhi app, this is an intelligent virtual financial assistant crafted to simplify personal finance management through a conversational and intuitive approach. Proudly powered by a chatbot assistant, Song Nhi empowers users to break free from the rat race and achieve true financial freedom. Therefore, It’s perfect and easy for couples, families, or groups sharing expenses.
UX/UI
Song Nhi uses AI chat to make managing money feel easy and fun. The jar budgeting comes with cool graphics, multi-currency support keeps things clear for global users, and voice recognition makes it perfect for couples on the move.
Key features
- Chatbot interaction: Users can simplify their financial management by conversing with Song Nhi. To illustrate, you can input “salary $5000” to add income or “gas $50” to record an expense, and also request reports, such as “Show last month report.”
- Voice recognition: Besides chatting, Song Nhi also includes two voice recognition modes, allowing for hands-free operation and ease of use.
- Multi-currency: This app supports various currencies, including USD, EUR, CNY, and VND, catering to a global user base.
- Partner sharing: This function allows sharing financial information and collaborating on budgeting with partners, making it suitable for couples, families, or groups managing shared expenses.
Especially, Song Nhi provide “The four provide options” which are designed to cater to various financial management needs, offering flexibility and tailored tools for different users
- Personal free profile: It’s ideal for beginners in budgeting or those with simple financial management needs, providing basic functionalities for managing daily incomes and expenses at no cost.
- Personal premium profile: This is an upgrade from the free version with additional features, such as jar budget management, miscellaneous chat with Song Nhi, and data syncing. It’s a special suit for those who are looking for a more customized and comprehensive budgeting experience.
- Family profile: Perfect for couples or families, this profile helps manage shared finances seamlessly while working toward collective financial goals. It’s so useful to align on common financial goals, track household expenses, and create a transparent family budget.
- Group profile: Designed for groups of friends, colleagues, or roommates, this option simplifies splitting and tracking shared financial responsibilities. It’s perfect for managing costs related to group activities like trips, parties, or shared living expenses, ensuring everything stays organized and transparent.
Cost
Song Nhi offers two purchase options:
- Subscription packages: Recurring payments that provide ongoing access to premium features. For example, users can subscribe to receive 200 coins per month for $ 5.99 or 500 coins per month for $10.99.
- One-time packages: Single payments for a set amount of coins or features. Options include purchasing 10 coins for $0.99, 200 coins for $ 7.99, or 1000 coins for $24.99.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Provide financial advices to help users make informed decisions
- Utilizing advanced technologies such as AI, OCR, and NLP, helping users manage finance effectively
Cons:
- Use coin-based transaction might be confusing or less appealing to some users
FAQ – The best budget apps for couples
How important are good budgeting habits for couples?
Good budgeting habits are essential for couples as they promote financial transparency and strengthen the partnership. Because having a clear plan for income and expenses, both partners can avoid misunderstandings, align their priorities, and work together toward shared goals like saving or debt repayment. This not only reduces stress but also helps build a solid financial foundation for the future. That’s why budget apps are often seen as “companions” on the journey to financial management and freedom for couples.
Which is the best budget app for couples?
Choosing the best budget app for couples largely depends on their financial habits and specific needs. However, two apps that stand out as ideal solutions for couples working toward shared financial goals are Honeydue and Song Nhi.
- Honeydue is designed specifically for couples, offering features like shared expense tracking, bill reminders, and customizable privacy options. It’s perfect for couples who want transparency in their finances while maintaining some independence. The app’s intuitive interface encourages collaboration, making it easier to manage joint expenses and stay aligned on financial goals.
- Song Nhi, on the other hand, takes a unique approach by leveraging a conversational interface powered by AI. It enables couples to interact with the app through chat, track shared expenses, and manage financial responsibilities collaboratively. With features like jar budgeting, multi-currency support, and personalized financial advice, Song Nhi is particularly suitable for tech-savvy couples looking for an innovative way to manage their finances.
Are these apps free?
The cost of these best budget apps for couples varies, as some offer free versions with essential features while others require a subscription for full functionality.
- Honeydue is the budget app that provides a free version to use with access to essential features, though it accepts voluntary tips.
- Besides, apps like Pocketguard, Goodbudget, Mint and EveryDollar also provide free basic versions but charge for premium tools, ranging from $7/month to $79.99/year.
- YNAB is subscription-based only, costing $14.99/month or $99/year, but includes a 34-day free trial.
- Song Nhi combines free core features with optional subscriptions or coin-based purchases starting at $7.99/month for advanced functionalities.
Can I use these apps to track joint expenses?
Definitely, you can use most budgeting apps to track joint expenses effectively. These apps provide comprehensive financial solutions to manage finances with partners, families, or groups. Many include tools for splitting bills, setting shared financial goals, and providing transparency in spending, making them ideal for managing joint responsibilities. Some apps, like Honeydue, even offer customizable privacy options, ensuring flexibility between personal and shared finances.
Do I need a premium subscription?
Whether you need a premium subscription depends so much on your financial management needs. Many apps offer free versions with essential features like expense tracking, budgeting, and basic financial experiences. If you are simple and beginners in this journey, the free version might be sufficient. However, premium subscriptions unlock advanced tools such as automated transaction imports or detailed reports, which can enhance your budgeting experience.
Conclusion
Finding the right budget app can transform the way couples manage their finances, turning money conversations into opportunities for collaboration and growth. These best budget apps for couples not only simplify budgeting but also help strengthen trust and alignment in achieving shared dreams. By working together with the right tools, couples can take control of their finances and build a future filled with stability, clarity, and mutual support.
