A budgeting app may be what you need if you and your spouse are consistently wondering where your money has gone.
There are a number of budgeting apps for couples to choose from, but it’s important to find one specifically created for couples.
Some are as basic as just inputting your income and expenses, while others are more comprehensive with features like debt and investment tracking.
Below you’ll find our list of the best budgeting apps for couples to start using this year.
Best Features In Budgeting Apps For Couples
We’ve been using budgeting apps since 2015 and here are some of the best and most important features in our opinion:
Bank Account Syncing
We prefer the convenience of having our transactions automatically show up in our budgeting app over manually entering our transactions.
I’ll admit that if you’re new to budgeting, this may not be the best strategy.
You may still need to manually input each transaction as it happens in order to see how much money you have remaining in that category for the month.
However, as time passes and you and your spouse get much more comfortable with your budgeting app, the convenience may mean more to you.
Dual Accounts
Some of my favorite budgeting apps for couples allow both of you to have an individual login.
This is great for couples who keep their money separate, but have shared expenses like rent and utilities.
Or you may decide to allocate a certain amount of personal spending money to each of you per month.
With dual accounts, you control which accounts your spouse can and can’t see inside the app.
Custom Categories
Your montly budget should be unique to your household because your spending patterns are unique.
For example, we don’t have pets in our home. This means we don’t have a budget category for them, however, if your home has pets, your budget will probably need to include a savings category for trips to the vet, food, a groomer, dog-walker, or any of the other various expenses that come with owning pets.
This is why budgeting apps that allow couples to customize their spending categories matter so much.
Financial Reporting/Historical Tracking
Budgeting apps for couples should also have some kind of financial reporting or historical tracking.
We both love going back and reviewing our net worth growth over the years.
I also enjoy viewing how our spending habits have changed over time.
At a bare minimum, your budget app should show you the percentages of the income you’re spending in each category.
Free Budgeting Apps for Couples
Qube
Qube is a digital cash envelope budgeting app for couples with a mobile banking app attached.
Many people love the cash envelope budgeting method but are apprehensive about carrying wads of cash around town.
Qube has replaced the physical cash envelopes with digital ones making it a safer alternative for couples looking to better handle their money.
With Qube, you set up your cash envelopes within the app and when it’s time to spend, you open the app and authorize the purchase to be made.
With real-time alerts when either of you spends money, Qube is great when one (or both) of you struggles with impulse spending.
There is a free version of Qube that comes with 10 “Qubes” (budget categories). To unlock more Qubes and access a few other features like budget automation and partner notifications, you would need to upgrade to the paid version for just $6.50 per month.
Qube will also offer a family version of its budgeting app soon that allows up to 10 kid accounts which will go a long way towards teaching your kids about money.
Qube is currently available for ios and Android devices.
PocketSmith
Pocketsmith is one of the most unique budgeting apps for couples available. That’s because it functions more as a financial assistant than just a basic budgeting app.
In addition to helping you control your spending, PocketSmith has a forecasting feature that helps you and your spouse weigh the pros and cons of making certain financial decisions as far as 10 years from now.
Also, PocketSmith is one of the few budgeting apps that allows you to create budgets that fit your personal lifestyle like weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or whatever else works for you.
The free version of the app comes with manually transaction importing, 6 months of projections, and two accounts making it a solid option for couples looking to take their finances to the next level.
The premium version comes with automatic transaction importing, automatic categorization, 10 years of projections, up to 10 accounts, and more. The cost is $9.95 per month or $7.50 per month when you pay for 12 months up-front.
Be sure to look into PocketSmith if you’re a person that consistently wonders how today’s financial choices impact your future.
HoneyDue
HoneyDue is a fantastic budgeting app for couples hoping to get improve their relationship with money together.
The app partners with over 20,000 banking institutions which means you’re more likely to be able to sync your bank account than not.
In addition to bank account syncing, you can add accounts for most loans or investments you or your partner has.
HoneyDue also lets you choose which accounts your partner can see making it a great budgeting app for couples who keep their money separate.
Additional features like bill reminders and customizable spending categories help you create more effective budgets with your partner and the chat feature helps you and your spouse stay in constant communication about money throughout the month.
Last but certainly not least, Honeydue has a banking feature that comes with transaction notifications, 55,000 surcharge free ATM’s, and has no monthly fees or minimums. All deposits are FDIC insured through Sutton Bank so your money is always safe.
HoneyDue really is an amazing app designed specifically for couples that allows you to see your full financial picture in one place.
Zeta
Zeta was created to be a budgeting app for couples specifically.
You can manually add transactions or sync your bank account for automatic transaction importing.
Custom budget categories makes sure you’re actually in control over where your money goes and bill reminders helps you avoid late fees and penalties.
The net worth tracker is another great feature for couples on their wealth-building journey.
There are also features for couples that keep money separate like shared and individual accounts plus an option to split transactions allowing you to be paid back for shared expenses.
Zeta also allows you to set specific savings goals and track your progress towards those goals within the app.
Mint
Mint is more than just a budgeting app- it’s a comprehensive personal finance service.
In addition to its monthly budget feature, Mint allows you to connect all of your financial accounts, monitor your credit score, and even track your net worth.
Mint is very easy to setup and can pull several months worth of transactions within a few minutes. This means you can get an accurate picture of where your money has been going when creating your first budget.
It’s also pretty easy to navigate which makes it a great budgeting app for couples who are just getting started on their financial wellness journey.
When it comes to budgeting, Mint automatically categorizes expenses, however, you’re able to edit the transactions in the instance Mint gets it wrong. Mint also allows you to edit the categories- giving you and your spouse the ability to create a budget unique to your household.
Wally
Even thought it’s currently only available on Apple devices, Wally is a phenomenal budgeting app for couples looking to get on the same page financially.
It’s one of the more robust budgeting apps with features like:
- Monthly budgeting
- Syncing with bank accounts, credit cards, and loan accounts
- Currency converter
- Custom budget categories
- Receipt and bill scanning
- Shopping lists
- Bill reminders
Another things that separates Wally from a lot of other budgeting apps is the Groups feature. Wally allows you to manage shared finances with a spouse, friends, or even roommates and even provides some financial insights on your spending habits.
The best part is the ability to share certain accounts while restricting access to other accounts. This makes Wally the perfect budgeting app for couples choosing to keep their money separate, but have joint expenses.
You can also create joint goals and upload important documents like lease agreements and receipts.
Wally is free, but does offer a gold version for $36 per year
GoodBudget
GoodBudget is one of the budgeting apps for couples looking to utilize the cash envelope method on a digital platform.
Every month, you plan your spending by allocating your income to different envelopes, and when you or your spouse makes a purchase, you manually input that transaction into the app right then and there.
This is a little more work than the automatic importing you get from other apps, but it’s helpful for those who struggle with overspending because you’re always aware of what you have left in each budget category as you make purchases.
GoodBudget does allow you to sync your account across multiple devices- which helps both parties in a relationship stay aware of where their money is going.
GoodBudget offers a free and a paid version. With the free version, you get up to 20 envelopes and can track your progress on 2 different devices.
The free version also comes with debt tracking and keeps your financial history for 1 year.
The paid version of the app is $7 per month (or $60 annually) and comes with unlimited envelopes, tracking across 5 devices, debt tracking, and stores 7 years of history.
The app is available in the Apple App Store as well as on Android devices.
With GoodBudget being one of the best budgeting apps for couples, I’m confident that you’ll be happy with either plan.
EveryDollar
EveryDollar is the app my wife and I started our financial wellness journey with.
It’s based on the popular zero-based budgeting method and is an excellent budgeting app for couples looking for a very simple, back-to-the-basics solution.
The free version allows you to manually input each transaction while the paid version syncs with your bank account to automatically import transactions.
The paid version also features income and spending reports, recommendations based on past spending, and one free coaching call with a financial coach.
The paid version is free for 15 days and then $129.99 per year after the trial ends.
One of the best features of the EveryDollar app is the ability to turn a budget category into a sinking fund. Sinking funds allow you to save for larger expenses like annual insurance payments, vacation, etc a little bit at a time. Tap here to learn more about sinking funds.
Best Paid Budgeting Apps For Couples
You may be wondering why anyone would pay for an app to help them get their finances in order.
Well- there are a few reasons.
Subscription-based budgeting apps typically aren’t supported by ads. This means no temptation to spend on something you don’t need while you’re trying to decide how much spending money to set aside.
Also, building a great app and keeping it great costs a lot of money.
I’ve learned that paid apps tend to have more robust features, better support, and a lot fewer bugs than free apps.
This is not to say that you should automatically jump to a paid budgeting app, but, rather, that you shouldn’t be dismissive of them.
Tiller
Tiller is the best budgeting app for couples who prefer to use spreadsheets, but don’t like manually entering data.
You can customize an existing template or even create your own- a choice that gives you the flexibility you simply won’t find with other budgeting apps.
With Tiller, you connect your accounts and setup customer categorization rules. Your transactions are, then, automatically imported into your spreadsheets each day and categorized and tracked based on the rules you’ve set.
In addition to budgeting, Tiller has templates for net worth, debt reduction, investing, and so much more.
Tiller can be utilized with Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets and you can link up to 5 spreadsheets.
Tiller comes with a 30-day free trial and costs just $79 per year after the trial is complete.
HoneyFI (Firstly)
Not every couple chooses to completely merge their finances together. HoneyFi is aware of this and allows you to share as much financial information with your partner as necessary.
Both of you will have your own separate login. Once you’re logged in, you both would sync your bank accounts, credit cards, loan accounts, and more to the app then choose which accounts your partner should see.
As you make transactions, they appear within the app and you can move them to the appropriate categories.
You can also leave comments under shared accounts if you’re unsure of where a purchase made by your partner should go.
There is also a calendar feature that allows you to set certain transactions as recurring bills and even provides reminders each month with the due date attached.
Finally, I love the “split transactions” feature, which allows you to split a single transaction between multiple budget categories.
HoneyFi was specifically created to be a budgeting app for couples and comes with a free, 30-day trial. If you like it after the 30-day trial, the cost is $60 per year which breaks down to just $5 per month.
Monarch Money
I personally believe Monarch Money is one of the best budgeting apps for couples because of the people behind the app.
Sure key features like automatic transaction importing, goal and net worth tracking, and even a customizable dashboard make it impressive, but one of my favorite things about Monarch is how receptive they are to the feedback of their customers.
It’s already a great app, but the team at Monarch Money does a great job listening to feedback, getting a plan in place, communicating that plan to its customers, and then executing the plan quickly.
Just this year alone I’ve seen new features like an advice tab that makes recommendations based on your answers to a few questions and even the ability to get your homes worth from Zillow- which can be important when calculating your net worth.
Monarch Money is free for 7 days and then you’ll need to choose between paying $9.99 per month or $89.99 for the year.
I’ll be honest- with how the team consistently makes this app better, I wouldn’t hesitate spending the money to at least try it for a few months.
Simplifi
Simplifi is a web-based personal finance software backed by the company Quicken.
The app allows you to view your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and even investments all in one convenient place.
You and your partner can also set up savings goals and track your progress within the app while also receiving key insights regarding your spending habits on a regular basis.
You can also log in on a computer and access key features like a sleek dashboard that displays your top spending categories for the last 30 days and upcoming bills.
Simplifi comes with a free, 30-day trial and then you’ll have to choose between paying $35.99 for the year or $3.99 per month.
YNAB
YNAB stands for You Need A Budget and is one of the most popular budgeting apps for couples.
YNAB was built to use the zero-based budgeting method- which forces you to be more proactive instead of reactive.
I’ll be honest, there was a steep learning curve with YNAB. I had to watch quite a few YouTube videos to really get an understanding of the apps features and how to use them well, but once you get everything figured out it seems to be a fantastic budgeting app for couples.
YNAB offers automatic transaction importing from your bank or you can manually input transactions as they happen.
There are also customizable categories making your monthly budget more personal.
YNAB comes with a free 34-day trial. Afterwards, you can choose to pay $11.99 per month or $84 per year- which would be a savings of $59.
How To Start Budgeting As A Couple
Create The Right Environment
Talking about money with your significant can feel overwhelming-especially if it’s new territory- but it’s extremely important for couples to have ongoing talks about their finances.
You want to create an environment where you both can feel free to discuss money behaviors without any judgment or guilt.
The key isn’t to point fingers at one another and pass blame, but, rather, to understand the motive behind your money choices as individuals- which requires listening and empathy.
Once you’ve created this kind of space, you can move on to talking about shared goals and dreams.
Find Your Motivation To Change
Couples should begin their financial wellness journey by discovering each other’s financial motivators.
You can do this by each grabbing a sheet of paper and writing down 3 positive and 3 negative motivators for change.
Here’s an example:
- I want to change our finances because I’m constantly stressed about money.
- I want to change our finances so we can travel more as a family.
Once you both have 3 of each, share with each other and discuss the ones you have in common.
Once you’ve discussed your motivation to change, you need to know what’s at stake if you don’t.
Both of you should begin to think of what could happen within the next 2 years if nothing changes.
Things like:
- If nothing changes, we will be forced to file bankruptcy.
- If nothing changes, we will not have money saved for our kids college tuition.
You both need to be on the same page about what is motivating you to change as well as what’s at stake if nothing changes.
Do The Math
Budgeting as a couple isn’t complicated; it’s just a math problem.
The key to a good budget is making sure your expenses are always less than your income. Click To TweetThat’s it.
The best part is you’re in complete control over where your money goes.
You don’t have to follow some outdated budget percentages. You just sit down at the beginning of the month and tell your money where to go.
Every budgeting app should at least allow you to enter your income, subtract your expenses- which will show you the changes you need to make.
If money is tight and you don’t want to cut expenses, you’ll need to find a way to raise income. If you don’t want to take on a side hustle, the key is lowering your expenses.
It’s really that simple.
