Budgeting can be tedious and daunting, especially when there are so many different accounts to keep track of, such as savings, investments, and retirement. So if you and your partner have to manage your money together as a couple, managing double the number of accounts can make budgeting particularly stressful.
That’s why there are so many budgeting apps out there to do the work for you—and some of them even work perfectly for couples.
To find out which budgeting apps are best for couples, Select reviewed and compared various options, looking at their prices, features and user reviews. (For more information on how we choose the best budgeting apps, see our methodology.)
Best budgeting apps for couples
Overall the best free app
Treasure
Information about Honeydue was collected independently by CNBC Select and was not verified or provided by Honeydue prior to publication.
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Cost
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Outstanding features
Allows couples to view both partners’ bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments (and each partner can choose what to share with the other), so you can manage money together and see everything at a glance
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Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users can customize it
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Links to accounts
Yes, you and your partner’s debit and credit cards
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Availability
Offered on both the App Store (for iOS) and Google Play (for Android).
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Security features
Data encryption, Touch ID and multi-factor authentication
Advantages
- Free use
- Helps couples manage their money together, track expenses and coordinate bills
- Syncs with both you and your partner’s bank accounts
- Choose which accounts you want to share
- Users set monthly spending limits in each category and are notified when they or their partner reach the limit
- Bill payment reminders
- Chat and send emojis to your partner via the app
- Offers a shared bank account
- Security features include data encryption, Touch ID and multi-factor authentication
Disadvantages
- Some reports say that the app is buggy and transactions are not displayed immediately
For whom is that? The Honeydue budgeting app makes it easy for you and your partner to get a comprehensive overview of your finances together, without having to log into a bunch of different accounts each time. In other words, loans, investments, checking accounts, and savings accounts can all be shared with your partner, but the app lets you both choose which accounts you actually want to connect.
The app also lets you track expenses and coordinate bill payments so you’re both on the same page. And with bill payment reminders and monthly spending limits that users can set in each category, the app helps couples make sure they don’t overspend. When you or your partner reach a certain spending limit, you both will be notified. Partners can also split expenses between each other directly in the app.
And Honeydue also offers its own shared bank account. The account offers free ATM access, a debit card for both partners, and no monthly fees or minimums.
Best for envelope budgeting system
Good budget
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Cost
Free for a total of 20 envelopes; $8/month (or $70/year) for unlimited envelopes
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Outstanding features
Allows couples to digitally use the envelope system for budgeting and debt tracking
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Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users must enter transactions manually as the app does not sync with your bank account
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Links to accounts
No, users must enter purchases and transactions manually
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Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS), Google Play (for Android), and a laptop version
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Security features
The information is secured with bank-grade 256-bit SSL
Advantages
- Free version of the app
- Helps couples manage their money together, track expenses and track debts
- Ability to share the budget with your partner
- Digital envelopes help couples save for big goals that are important to them
- Money management courses and resources available
Disadvantages
- Bank accounts cannot be connected, requiring users to enter transactions manually
For whom is that? The Goodbudget app allows users to track their household’s expenses using the “envelope method.” The envelope method means that users allocate a certain amount of their income each month into categories (or digital “envelopes”) marked for things like groceries, rent, dating, travel, and paying off debt.
This makes it easier to prioritize your spending and plan ahead. Users are only supposed to spend the amount assigned to each envelope. If they go over their budget, the envelope turns red to indicate they overspent.
The envelope method is generally recommended for people new to budgeting. So if you and your partner need a way to categorize your spending more easily, the app may be able to increase your confidence in this area.
Unlike most budgeting and expense tracking apps, Goodbudget does not link to users’ bank accounts and credit cards. Instead, you manually enter your transactions into each digital envelope. This actually forces couples to take a hands-on approach to managing their money, as they actually have to check how much they are spending to upload purchases to the app. However, for some people it can be tedious to enter their transactions manually.
The Goodbudget app has a free version that allows you to create 20 envelopes, use the app on up to two devices, track a year’s worth of transaction history, and track debts. Some couples may find that 20 envelopes are not enough for them. In this case, they may consider upgrading to the premium version of Goodbudget for $70 per year or $8 per month. The premium version allows use of unlimited envelopes, access to the account on up to five devices, access to seven years of transaction history and debt tracking.
Best for zero-based budgeting
You need a budget (YNAB)
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Cost
34-day free trial, then $99 per year or $14.99 per month (Students who provide proof of enrollment receive 12 months free)
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Outstanding features
Instead of using traditional budgeting ranges, users allocate every dollar they earn to a specific cause (known as a “zero-based budgeting system,” where no dollar is left unaccounted for). Every dollar is assigned a “purpose,” be it for bills, savings, investments, etc.
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Categorizes your expenses
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Links to accounts
Yes, debit and credit cards
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Availability
Offered on both the App Store (for iOS) and Google Play (for Android).
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Security features
Encrypted data, accredited data centers, third-party audits and more
Advantages
- Offers a 34-day free trial and students get 12 months free
- Designed to help you get out of debt
- The YNAB website states that an average user saves $600 in the first two months and $6,000 in the first year
- Syncs with your bank accounts and credit cards
- Users can set goals and customize spending categories
- Offers educational resources like budgeting advice and free live workshops
- Personal customer support
- Security features include encrypted data, accredited data centers, third-party audits, and more
Disadvantages
- Costs $99 per year or $14.99 per month
- Customer reviews indicate that it takes longer to set up than other apps
For whom is that? You Need A Budget (YNAB) is best for couples who want to find a way to put every single dollar to work to reach their goals a little faster. YNAB automatically syncs with your bank accounts, credit cards and investment accounts as soon as you link them to the app.
Unlike other budgeting apps that typically categorize your spending for you, YNAB users decide where each dollar is allocated based on their priorities and what’s important to them. Couples who have a joint checking account can sync the account with YNAB to allocate their money to different spending categories.
For these reasons, the app is beneficial for anyone who wants to escape their debt. According to YNAB’s website, the average customer saves $600 in the first two months and more than $6,000 in the first year of using the app.
YNAB also offers educational resources like a budgeting blog and world-class personal customer support. Another great benefit is YNAB’s 100+ free live online workshops offered every week by experienced teachers.
Our methodology
To determine which budgeting apps offer the best user experience, Select analyzed over a dozen apps from the top companies in this market, examining their prices, features, user reviews and ratings.
We narrowed our ranking by only considering apps that sync transactions from users’ bank accounts, have low (or no) sign-up costs, are easy to use, and can be accessed across multiple devices, making them suitable for the most accessible and compatible.
The apps we selected for this ranking are either free, offer a free version, or have a free trial that users can test before signing up.
All of the apps in our roundup have a significant number of user reviews and high ratings. Every app on this list has at least 1,000 reviews on both the App Store (for iOS) and Google Play (for Android), as well as a rating of over 4 stars (out of 5) on both platforms.
Other factors we examined included the apps’ security features, user customization, and learning tools offered.
Editorial note: The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial team alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.